Abstract P284: The Prospective Association Between Unprocessed Meat Consumption and Incident Cardiovascular Disease in Korean Adults

Abstract

Introduction: Cumulative evidence has shown that total meat consumption is associated with the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Western societies. However, epidemiological information is limited regarding such associations in the Korean population whose consumption level of meat is much lower than the global average. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that higher intake levels of unprocessed total meat would not increase the overall risk of CVD incidence, and healthier alternatives to red meat (such as poultry) would have protective effects in middle-aged Korean population. Methods: Ansung-Anasan cohort 2001-12 analyses were conducted from 2001 to 2012 among 9,370 adults, aged 40-69 years, without CVD or cancer at baseline, from two communities, Ansan (urban) and Ansung (rural). Dietary information was ascertained at baseline and at the second follow-up visit. Total meat consumption was estimated as the sum of unprocessed red meat (sum of beef, pork, and organ meat) and chicken consumption. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: During a median follow-up of 7.8 years, 486 incident CVD cases were identified. In the fully adjusted Cox regression model, relative risks of CVD across increasing quintiles of total meat intake were 1.0 (reference), 0.72 (95% CI 0.55-0.95), 0.57 (95% CI 0.42-0.78), 0.69 (95% CI 0.51-0.95), and 0.69 (95% CI 0.48-0.97). Regarding specific types of meat, frequent chicken consumption was significantly associated with decreased risks of CVD, showing participants in the highest quintile of chicken intake were 1.5 times less likely to develop CVD than those in the lowest quintile (95% CI: 0.47-0.99), and this association showed a dose-response relationship for all statistical models ( P for trend <0.05). Conclusion: Higher intakes of unprocessed total and red meat showed inverse associations with incident CVD in a large, prospective, population-based cohort study of middle-aged Koreans. These findings require further confirmation from other populations whose meat intake is relatively lower than the global average.