Intermittent fasting tied to increased risk for death from heart disease
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Key takeaways:
- Time-restricted eating was associated with increased risk for death from heart disease.
- This was a less than 8-hour eating window compared with a 12-to-16-hour window, which is the average in the U.S.
A time-restricted eating window of less than 8 hours was associated with increased risk for cardiovascular death, according to study findings presented at the Epidemiology, Prevention, Lifestyle & Cardiometabolic Scientific Sessions.
“Restricting daily eating time to a short period, such as 8 hours per day, has gained popularity in recent years as a way to lose weight and improve heart health,” Victor Wenze Zhong, PhD, professor and chair of the department of epidemiology and biostatistics at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in Shanghai, said in a press release. “However, the long-term health effects of time-restricted eating, including risk of death from any cause or cardiovascular disease, are unknown.”
The present study included 20,078 participants aged 20 years or older from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2003 to 2018 who completed two valid 24-hour dietary recalls and provided self-reported usual dietary intake (mean age, 49 years; 50% men; 73% white). Average time-restricted eating, a form of intermittent fasting, was stratified by self-reported duration: less than 8 hours, 8 to 10 hours, 10 to 12 hours, 12 to 16 hours or more than 16 hours.
Eating within a 12-to-16-hour window was identified as the mean U.S. eating duration and served as the reference group.
The median follow-up was 8 years.
Compared with the reference group, an eating duration of less than 8 hours was associated with increased risk for CV mortality (HR = 1.91; 95% CI, 1.2-3.03) and was also observed in subgroups of adults with CVD (HR = 2.07; 95% CI, 1.14-3.78) and cancer (HR = 3.04; 95% CI, 1.44-6.41).
No other eating durations were associated with CV mortality, with the exception 8 to 10 hours in adults with CVD compared with 12 to 16 hours (HR = 1.66; 95% CI, 1.03-2.67), according to the presentation.
Moreover, Zhong and colleagues reported no significant associations between eating duration and all-cause or cancer mortality in the overall sample or either CVD or cancer subgroups, except for the eating duration of more than 16 hours, which was associated with lower risk for cancer mortality in adults with cancer (HR = 0.47; 95% CI, 0.23-0.95).
“It’s crucial for patients, particularly those with existing heart conditions or cancer, to be aware of the association between an 8-hour eating window and increased risk of cardiovascular death. Our study’s findings encourage a more cautious, personalized approach to dietary recommendations, ensuring that they are aligned with an individual’s health status and the latest scientific evidence,” Zhong said in the release. “Although the study identified an association between an 8-hour eating window and cardiovascular death, this does not mean that time-restricted eating caused cardiovascular death.”
Reference:
- 8-hour time-restricted eating linked to a 91% higher risk of cardiovascular death. https://newsroom.heart.org/news/8-hour-time-restricted-eating-linked-to-a-91-higher-risk-of-cardiovascular-death. Published March 18, 2024. Accessed March 18, 2024.
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Chen M, et al. Abstract P192. Presented at: Epidemiology, Prevention, Lifestyle & Cardiometabolic Scientific Sessions; March 18-21, 2024; Chicago.
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