High Consumption of Ultra-Processed Food is Associated with Incident Dyslipidemia: A Prospective Study of Older Adults

Abstract

Background Ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption has been associated with higher cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality risks. Objectives The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between UPF consumption and incident dyslipidemia in older adults, where evidence is limited. Methods We studied a prospective cohort of 1082 community-dwelling adults in Spain, older than 60 (mean age, 68 ± 6 years old). Participants (52% were women) were recruited between 2008–10 and followed up to 2015. At baseline, food intake data were collected using a validated computerized face-to-face dietary history. UPFs were identified according to the nature and extent of their industrial processing (NOVA classification). Triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol were measured in fasting plasma samples collected at baseline and at follow-up. Statistical analyses were performed with logistic regression adjusted for the main potential confounders. Results Among those free of corresponding dyslipidemia at baseline, and after a follow-up of between 5 to 7 years, 60 (out of 895) developed incident hypertriglyceridemia (≥150 mg/dL), 112 (out of 878) had low HDL cholesterol (<40 in men/<50 mg/dL in women), and 54 (out of 472) had high LDL cholesterol (>129 mg/dL). The mean percentage of UPF consumption was 19% ± 11% of total energy intake. Those in the highest versus the lowest tertile of energy intake from UPFs had more than twice the odds of incident hypertriglyceridemia (OR, 2.66; 95% CI: 1.20–5.90; P-trend, 0.011) or low HDL cholesterol (OR, 2.23; 95% CI: 1.22–4.05; P-trend, 0.012). UPF consumption was not associated with high LDL cholesterol plasma concentrations. Conclusions Although UPF consumption in Spain was low among older adults, high consumption of UPFs was clearly associated with incident dyslipidemia. The increase in CVD risk recently found to be associated with UPF consumption might be mediated by these atherogenic lipid abnormalities.

A Systematic Review of Worldwide Consumption of Ultra-Processed Foods: Findings and Criticisms

“…Other reasons are related to socio-economic inequalities, including lower education status of the mother or unemployed parents, which may lead to a preference for cheaper and less nutritious foods [105]. A different trend was observed for older subjects who showed a lower intake of UPF compared to younger subjects; the main UPF products included cookies and pastries, but also processed breads, breakfast cereals, and yogurts [16,128]. Compared to age, a minor variability was found for sex and/or BMI, which might differ for the net amount of UPF consumption but not for the percent of TEI from UPF.…”

The Role of Diet Quality in Mediating the Association between Ultra-Processed Food Intake, Obesity and Health-Related Outcomes: A Review of Prospective Cohort Studies

“…Donat-Vargas et al identified an increased risk of hypertriglyceridaemia (OR: 2.00 (1.04, 3.85)) and low-HDL cholesterol (OR: 2.04 (1.22, 3.41)), as well as a significant increase in blood triglycerides (β: 6.11 mg/dL (1.30, 10.91)) when comparing the highest vs. lowest tertile of UPF intake [ 136 ]. Adjustment for unprocessed or minimally processed food intake did not alter the increased risk of hypertriglyceridaemia (OR: 2.66 (1.20, 5.90)), low-HDL cholesterol (OR: 2.23 (1.22, 4.05)) or change in blood triglycerides (β: 6.87 mg/dL (1.48, 12.27)) [ 136 ].…”

“…These adjustments are reported in Supplementary Table S2 . The significant associations between UPF intake and all-cause mortality, overweight or obesity, central obesity, T2DM, hypertension, gestational weight gain, neonatal anthropometrics and blood lipid profiles were unchanged following these dietary adjustments [ 103 , 108 , 113 , 114 , 120 , 123 , 135 , 136 ].…”

“…Other dietary adjustments include for fried foods, fruit and vegetables, UPF soft drinks, multivitamin use and excluding bacon, sausage and processed meats from ultra-processed food intake. These adjustments had no impact on the association between higher intakes of UPF and risk of all-cause mortality, cancer, overweight/obesity, increased total and visceral fat mass, increased BMI and FMI, NAFLD, weight and waist circumference gain, adverse blood lipid profiles, grip strength decline, incident hypertension and renal function decline [ 103 , 104 , 106 , 107 , 109 , 111 , 112 , 115 , 121 , 122 , 125 , 126 , 133 , 136 , 138 ].…”

Obesity, Diabetes Mellitus, and Vascular Impediment as Consequences of Excess Processed Food Consumption

“…As processed foodstuffs (Table 2) and drinks contain high phosphate concentrations, CKD patients should cut their consumption of these food products [212,213]. Multiple studies reported that high levels of phosphate preservatives are found in convenience food or ready-to-eat meal [77,[214][215][216][217][218][219][220][221][222][223][224][225][226][227][228][229]. Additionally, high serum phosphorus is incorporated with the cardiac death toll in long-lasting kidney diseases [78,[230][231][232].…”