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Ultra-processed food intake and all-cause mortality: DRECE cohort study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2021

Carmen Romero Ferreiro*
Affiliation:
Scientific Support Unit (i+12), Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, Avenida de Córdoba, s/n, Madrid 28041, Spain Spanish Clinical Research Network (SCReN), Madrid, Spain
Cristina Martín-Arriscado Arroba
Affiliation:
Scientific Support Unit (i+12), Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, Avenida de Córdoba, s/n, Madrid 28041, Spain Spanish Clinical Research Network (SCReN), Madrid, Spain
Pilar Cancelas Navia
Affiliation:
Scientific Support Unit (i+12), Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, Avenida de Córdoba, s/n, Madrid 28041, Spain Spanish Clinical Research Network (SCReN), Madrid, Spain
David Lora Pablos
Affiliation:
Scientific Support Unit (i+12), Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, Avenida de Córdoba, s/n, Madrid 28041, Spain Spanish Clinical Research Network (SCReN), Madrid, Spain Consorcio de Investigación Biomédica en Red de epidemiología y salud pública (CIBEResp), Madrid, Spain Faculty of Statistics, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), Madrid, Spain
Agustín Gómez de la Cámara
Affiliation:
Scientific Support Unit (i+12), Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, Avenida de Córdoba, s/n, Madrid 28041, Spain Spanish Clinical Research Network (SCReN), Madrid, Spain Consorcio de Investigación Biomédica en Red de epidemiología y salud pública (CIBEResp), Madrid, Spain
*
*Corresponding author: Email mcromero.imas12@h12o.es
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Abstract

Objective:

To determine the association between ultra-processed food (UPF) intake and all-cause mortality in a representative sample of Spanish population.

Design:

Prospective cohort design in which follow-up lasted from baseline (1991) to mortality date or 31 December 2017, whichever was first. Dietary information was collected using a validated frequency questionnaire and categorised following the NOVA classification according to the extent of food processing. The association between consumption of UPF and mortality was analysed using Cox models. Isoenergetic substitution models were constructed to compare the health effects of the NOVA groups.

Setting:

Cohort from the Diet and Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD) in Spain (DRECE) study, representative of the Spanish population

Participants:

Totally, 4679 subjects between 5 and 59 years old.

Results:

Average consumption of UPF was 370·8 g/d (24·4 % of energy intake). After a median follow-up of 27 years, 450 deaths occurred. Those who consumed the highest amount of UPF had higher risk of mortality. For every 10 % of the energy intake from UPF consumption, an increase of 15 % in the hazard of all-cause mortality was observed (HR 1·15; (95 % CI 1·03, 1·27); P-value = 0·012). Substitution of UPF with minimally processed foods was significantly associated with a decreased risk of mortality.

Conclusions:

An increase in UPF consumption was associated with higher risk of all-cause mortality in a representative sample of the Spanish population. Moreover, the theoretical substitution of UPF with unprocessed or minimally processed foods leads to a decrease in mortality. These results support the need to promote diets based on unprocessed or minimally processed foods.

Information

Type
Research Paper
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - SA
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the same Creative Commons licence is included and the original work is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Nutrition Society
Figure 0

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of the cohort participants

Figure 1

Fig. 1 UPF consumption in Spain according to the NOVA classification. Error bars denote standard error of the mean. UPF, ultra-processed food

Figure 2

Table 2 Relative contribution of the dietary intake of food groups to UPF (NOVA group 4)

Figure 3

Table 3 Cox proportional hazard ratios (Wald’s 95 % CI) for all-cause mortality according to ultra-processed food consumption (measured as % of total energy intake) in the DRECE study

Figure 4

Fig. 2 Sensitivity analyses for association between consumption of ultra-processed foods and all-cause mortality performed in model 3. a) Cox proportional hazard ratios (Wald’s 95% CI) for all-cause mortality of UPF consumption measured as percentage of total energy intake and b) Cox proportional hazard ratios (Wald’s 95% CI) for all-cause mortality of UPF consumption measured as grams/day. UPF, ultra-processed food

Figure 5

Table 4 Isoenergetic substitution. Hazard ratios derived from Cox multiple regression model 3 in which processed foods or unprocessed/minimally processed foods replaced UPF

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