Higher intake of ultraprocessed foods tied to greater risk for death in older adults

Key takeaways:

• Highly processed meats and soft drinks were most strongly associated with mortality risk.
• Greater associations were seen for deaths due to diabetes and heart disease.

CHICAGO — Middle-aged and older adults who consumed greater amounts of ultraprocessed foods, or UPFs, had an approximately 10% increased risk for death over a median follow-up period of 23 years, according to a study presented at NUTRITION.

“Our study results support a larger body of literature, including both observational and experimental studies, which indicate that ultraprocessed food intake adversely impacts health and longevity,” National Cancer Institute Earl Stadtman Investigator Erikka Loftfield, PhD, MPH, said in a press release.

Loftfield and colleagues assessed data from the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study on 318,889 men and 221,607 women who were aged 50 to 71 years between 1995 and 1996. The researchers compared overall death rates among participants who were in the 90th percentile for UPF consumption with those who were in the 10th percentile.

Loftfield and colleagues used two approaches to classify the level of food processing. The first approach incorporated expert consensus, and the second involved food frequency questionnaires that were broken down into food and ingredient types based on the NOVA classification system.

Overall, 178,111 men and 101,766 women died during a mean follow-up period of 22.9 years.

In a multivariable adjusted analysis, the risk for death was higher in men (adjusted HR = 1.1; 95% CI, 1.09-1.11) and women (aHR = 1.09; 95% CI, 1.08-1.1) who were in the 90th percentile of UPF consumption vs. those in the 10th percentile.

“We observed that highly processed meat and soft drinks were a couple of the subgroups of ultraprocessed food most strongly associated with mortality risk and eating a diet low in these foods is already recommended for disease prevention and health promotion,” Loftfield said.

The associations were stronger for deaths related to heart disease and diabetes, according to the researchers. There was no significant association between UPF consumption and deaths caused by cancer.

Loftfield and colleagues also found that participants who consumed more UPFs tended to have higher BMIs and lower Healthy Eating Index-2015 scores, but these variables did not explain the association between UPFs and increased risk for death because the risks persisted among those with normal weight or obesity and in those with better or worse diet quality.

Loftfield noted that the U.S. food supply and food preferences have significantly changed since the 1990s, warranting continued research between UPFs and health outcomes.

“There is still a lot that we don’t know, including what aspects of UPFs pose potential health risks,” she said.

References:

• Intake of ultra-processed foods linked with increased risk of death. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1048890. Published June 29, 2024. Accessed June 29, 2024.
• Loftfield E. Ultra-processed food intake and mortality in the NIH-AARP diet and health Study. Presented at: NUTRITION; June 29-July 2, 2024