Ultraprocessed food intake ups mortality risk in T2D patients

Individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D) who regularly consume ultraprocessed foods (UPF), regardless of diet quality, appear to have reduced survival and increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality rate, suggests a recent study.

A total of 1,065 participants with T2D from the Moli-sani Study in Italy (enrolment 2005‒2010) were included in this prospective observational cohort study, with a median follow-up of 11.6 years. A 188-item food frequency questionnaire was used to assess food intake.

The authors defined UPF following the Nova classification and calculated it as the ratio between UPF and total food consumed. They also assessed the overall diet quality using the Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS). Finally, hazard ratios (HRs) and 95 percent confidence intervals (CIs) for mortality were calculated using Cox proportional hazards models.

Participants had an average UPF intake of 7.4 percent.

Multivariate analyses revealed that higher consumption of UPF (Q4, ≥10.5 percent and ≥9 percent of total food eaten for females and males, respectively) correlated with greater risks of both all-cause (HR, 1.70, 95 percent CI, 1.25‒2.33) and CVD mortality (HR, 2.64, 95 percent CI, 1.59‒4.40) compared with low consumption (Q1, UPF <4.7 percent and <3.7 percent for females and males, respectively).

These associations persisted even after including the MDS into the model (all-cause mortality: HR, 1.64, 95 percent CI, 1.19‒2.25; CVD mortality: HR, 2.55, 95 percent CI, 1.53‒4.24). Additionally, UPF intake showed a linear dose-response relationship with both all-cause and CVD mortality.

“Besides prioritizing the adoption of a diet based on nutritional requirements, dietary guidelines for the management of type 2 diabetes should also recommend limiting UPF,” the authors said.