Ffrom http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/488923?src=mp
jean-claude
rom Diabetes Care
A Prospective Study of Red Meat Consumption and Type 2
Diabetes in Middle-Aged and Elderly Women
The Women's Health Study
Posted 09/21/2004
Yiqing Song, MD; JoAnn E. Manson, MD, DRPH; Julie E.
Buring, SCD; Simin Liu, MD, SCD
Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
Objective: The aim of this study was to prospectively assess the
relation between red meat intake and incidence of type 2 diabetes.
Research Design and Methods: Over an average of 8.8 years, we
evaluated 37,309 participants in the Women's Health Study aged >/=45 years
who were free of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes and
completed validated semiquantitative food frequency questionnaires in 1993.
Results: During 326,876 person-years of follow-up, we documented
1,558 incident cases of type 2 diabetes. After adjusting for age, BMI, total
energy intake, exercise, alcohol intake, cigarette smoking, and family
history of diabetes, we found positive associations between intakes of red
meat and processed meat and risk of type 2 diabetes. Comparing women in the
highest quintile with those in the lowest quintile, the
multivariate-adjusted relative risks (RRs) of type 2 diabetes were 1.28 for
red meat (95% CI 1.07-1.53, P < 0.001 for trend) and 1.23 for processed meat
intake (1.05-1.45, P = 0.001 for trend). Furthermore, the significantly
increased diabetes risk appeared to be most pronounced for frequent
consumption of total processed meat (RR 1.43, 95% CI 1.17-1.75 for >/=5/week
vs. <1/month, P < 0.001 for trend) and two major subtypes, which were bacon
(1.21, 1.06-1.39 for >/=2/week vs. <1/week, P = 0.004 for trend) and hot
dogs (1.28, 1.09-1.50 for >/=2/week vs. <1/week, P = 0.003 for trend). These
results remained significant after further adjustment for intakes of dietary
fiber, magnesium, glycemic load, and total fat. Intakes of total
cholesterol, animal protein, and heme iron were also significantly
associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes.
Conclusions: Our data indicate that higher consumption of total
red meat, especially various processed meats, may increase risk of
developing type 2 diabetes in women.
Introduction
The adoption of a "western diet" characterized by high intakes
of red and processed meat as well as other components, including refined
grain products, snacks, sweets, French fries, and pizza, is believed to
contribute to the epidemic of type 2 diabetes in the world.[1] A diet high
in red meat has long been suspected as an important and independent
contributor to risk of type 2 diabetes. This hypothesis was first generated
based on the evidence from ecologic and migrant studies[2,3] and
subsequently supported by several cross-sectional and prospective studies of
dietary patterns and diabetes.[4-6]
Since the Seventh Day Adventists Study first reported a positive
association between total meat intake and risk of type 2 diabetes in a
population with a large proportion of vegetarians,[7] few studies have
specifically assessed this relation between meat consumption and incidence
of diabetes. Of note, two recent cohort studies in U.S. men and women
observed a significant association between frequent consumption of processed
meat and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.[8,9] However, because of
scarce data, it is unclear whether these observed positive associations are
consistent in other cohorts. Furthermore, it remains uncertain whether the
adverse association of red meat or processed meat consumption with diabetes
risk is mediated through its high fat content, protein, or some other
specific components produced from certain cooking or processing practices
such as nitrates and nitrites.
Therefore, we prospectively investigated the associations of red
and processed meat and various subtypes of each, and type of major
nutrients, with the incidence of type 2 diabetes in the Women's Health Study
(WHS), comprised of a large cohort of U.S. women.
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