Red and processed meat consumption and mortality: dose–response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies

Abstract

Objective: To examine and quantify the potential dose-response relationship between red and processed meat consumption and risk of all-cause, cardiovascular and cancer mortality. Design: We searched MEDLINE, Embase, ISI Web of Knowledge, CINHAL, Scopus, the Cochrane library and reference lists of retrieved articles up to 30 November 2014 without language restrictions. We retrieved prospective cohort studies that reported risk estimates for all-cause, cardiovascular and cancer mortality by red and/or processed meat intake levels. The dose-response relationships were estimated using data from red and processed meat intake categories in each study. Random-effects models were used to calculate pooled relative risks and 95 % confidence intervals and to incorporate between-study variations. Results: Nine articles with seventeen prospective cohorts were eligible in this metaanalysis, including a total of 150 328 deaths. There was evidence of a non-linear association between processed meat consumption and risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, but not for cancer mortality. For processed meat, the pooled relative risk with an increase of one serving per day was 1·15 (95 % CI 1·11, 1·19) for all-cause mortality (five studies; P < 0·001 for linear trend), 1·15 (95 % CI 1·07, 1·24) for cardiovascular mortality (six studies; P < 0·001) and 1·08 (95 % CI 1·06, 1·11) for cancer mortality (five studies; P < 0·001). Similar associations were found with total meat intake. The association between unprocessed red meat consumption and mortality risk was found in the US populations, but not in European or Asian populations. Conclusions: The present meta-analysis indicates that higher consumption of total red meat and processed meat is associated with an increased risk of total, cardiovascular and cancer mortality.

Meat consumption, health, and the environment

“…In high-income Western countries, large prospective studies and meta-analyses generally show that total mortality rates are modestly higher in participants who have high intakes of both red and processed meat than in those with low meat intakes, whereas no or moderate inverse associations have been observed for poultry (27)(28)(29)(30). However, part of this may be due to the association of high meat intakes with other major risk factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and obesity because the information needed to remove statistically the influence of these confounding factors may not be available.…”

“…For example, a recent meta-analysis reported that high intakes of processed meat (but not unprocessed red meat) are associated with a moderate increase in the risk for mortality from cardiovascular disease (Fig. 2B) (27,30). Some studies have also suggested that high intakes of processed meat are associated with an increased risk for other chronic diseases, such as diabetes (33), and with weight gain in adults (34).…”

Total red meat intake of ≥0.5 servings/d does not negatively influence cardiovascular disease risk factors: a systemically searched meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

“…CVD has been the leading cause of death in the United States since the 1950s and is currently attributable to 610,000 US deaths each year (1). Historically, epidemiologic cohort data support associations between high red meat intake and CVD-related events (2,3) and mortality (4)(5)(6). This notion is currently being challenged due to data collection methods that group red meat with processed meat and/or inconsistent nomenclature and classification of red meat throughout the literature (7,8).…”

Misvisende om kosthold i ny nasjonal retningslinje for forebygging av hjerte- og karsykdommer

“…O'Sullivan og medarbeideres metaanalyse, som er nevnt i kapittel 7C, fant at et høyt inntak av rødt og bearbeidet kjøtt var forbundet med økt total dødelighet (+ 17-21 %) og bearbeiet kjøtt med økt kardiovaskulaer dødelighet (+ 17 %). Dette støttes av nyere metaanalyser 293 , men i hvilken grad det kan tilskrives fettinnhold vites ikke.…”