Health effects associated with consumption of unprocessed red meat: a Burden of Proof study
Lescinsky H, Afshin A, Ashbaugh C, Bisignano C, Brauer M, Ferrara G, Hay SI, He J, Iannucci V, Marczak LB, McLaughlin SA, Mullany EC, Parent MC, Serfes AL, Sorensen RJD, Aravkin AY, Zheng P, Murray CJL
Nature medicine · 110 citations
How it was studied
- Design
- Systematic review (indexed by PubMed)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- Clinical events such as disease or death
- Intake measured by
- Not stated
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Independent funding
- Nonprofit
- Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
- Nonprofit
- Bloomberg Philanthropies
- Nonprofit
- Cardiovascular Medical Research and Education Fund
- University or hospital
- University of Melbourne
- Government
- Public Health England
- Government
- National Institutes of Health
- Government
- Medical Research Council
- Government
- National Health and Medical Research Council
- Government
- Norwegian Institute of Public Health
- Government
- National Institute on Aging
- Government
- National Institute of Mental Health
- Government
- NIMH NIH HHS
- Government
- NIA NIH HHS
- Grants
- National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH110163); National Institute on Aging (#P30AG047845); National Institutes of Health (P30AG047845)
Based on 13 listed funder(s) and full-text disclosure statement.
Publication
- Published
- 2022-10-01 · Nat Med · vol. 28 · issue 10 · pp. 2075–2082
- Publisher
- Nature Portfolio
- Cited
- 173 citations · more than 100% of similar papers · 29.2× the field average
- Impact
- Top 10% most cited in its field
- References
- 116 works
- Access
- Open access (hybrid journal) · CC-BY
- Research areas
- Nutritional Studies and Diet · Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact · Meat and Animal Product Quality
- Keywords
- Red meat, Medicine, Environmental health, Diabetes mellitus, Consumption (sociology), Stroke (engine), Disease, Cardiovascular health, Health benefits, Internal medicine, Traditional medicine, Pathology, Endocrinology
- MeSH
- humans, diabetes mellitus, type 2, chronic disease, diet, risk factors, meat, red meat
18 authors
From US, CA
- Haley LescinskyUniversity of Washington; Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
- Ashkan AfshinUniversity of Washington; Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
- Charlie AshbaughUniversity of Washington; Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
- Catherine BisignanoUniversity of Washington; Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
- Michael D BrauerUniversity of British Columbia; University of Washington; Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
- Giannina FerraraUniversity of Washington; Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
Abstract
Characterizing the potential health effects of exposure to risk factors such as red meat consumption is essential to inform health policy and practice. Previous meta-analyses evaluating the effects of red meat intake have generated mixed findings and do not formally assess evidence strength. Here, we conducted a systematic review and implemented a meta-regression-relaxing conventional log-linearity assumptions and incorporating between-study heterogeneity-to evaluate the relationships between unprocessed red meat consumption and six potential health outcomes. We found weak evidence of association between unprocessed red meat consumption and colorectal cancer, breast cancer, type 2 diabetes and ischemic heart disease. Moreover, we found no evidence of an association between unprocessed red meat and ischemic stroke or hemorrhagic stroke. We also found that while risk for the six outcomes in our analysis combined was minimized at 0 g unprocessed red meat intake per day, the 95% uncertainty interval that incorporated between-study heterogeneity was very wide: from 0-200 g d-1. While there is some evidence that eating unprocessed red meat is associated with increased risk of disease incidence and mortality, it is weak and insufficient to make stronger or more conclusive recommendations. More rigorous, well-powered research is needed to better understand and quantify the relationship between consumption of unprocessed red meat and chronic disease.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher (CC BY).
Community trust
Loading…
How much do you trust this study's findings?
Comments
Sign in to rate, comment on or flag this study.Sign inSomething wrong here?
Flag this study if its information, labels or funding look wrong. An editor reviews every flag.
Sign in to rate, comment on or flag this study.Sign inEducational information about published research. Not medical advice, and not a recommendation to start or stop anything.