Consumption of processed meat but not red meat is associated with the incidence of hypertension: ELSA-Brasil cohort

Abstract

Objective: To verify the association between the consumption of red and processed meats and the incidence of hypertension in participants of the Longitudinal Study of Adult Health. Research Methods & Procedures: This was a cohort with data from the baseline (2008–2010) and second wave (2012-2014) with 8,089 public workers of both sexes and different racial groups, with mean age of 49 ± 8 years (35 to 74 years old). Meat consumption (g/day) was estimated using a food frequency questionnaire and was divided into consumption tertiles. Hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure ≥140 mmHg and/or diastolic ≥90 mmHg and/or antihypertensive medication. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate adjusted Hazard Ration (HRs) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for incident hypertension. Results: 1,186 incident cases of hypertension were identified. Even adjusting for confounders, such as urinary Na/K (sodium/potassium) ratio and BMI (body mass index), participants in the second (HR:1.19; 95% CI 1.03–1.30) and third (HR:1.30; 95% CI:1.11–1.53) tertile of processed meat consumption had a higher risk of developing hypertension than those in the first tertile. We did not find a significant association between red meat consumption and hypertension. Conclusion: The increased risk of developing hypertension is associated with moderate and high consumption of processed meats but not with consumption of red meat.