Abstract
Background: High consumption of red meat which is carcinogenic to humans and drinking alcohol are major causes of premature death and shortened life expectancy. The aim of this study was to examine the association between alcohol and red meat consumption on life expectancy (LE) by analyzing data from 164 countries using an ecological approach. Design: This was a longitudinal ecological study and the data that was used was from the United Nation's (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on 164 countries over the period 1992-2013. In the regression analysis, the relationship between alcohol and red meat consumption with LE was estimated using a pooled ordinary least squares regression model, measure of alcohol ingestion and red meat consumption by five each 5 years. Results: The consumption of alcohol and red meat between HIC was about four times (36.8 -143.0 kcal/capita/day) and five times (11.2 -51.9 kcal/capita/day) higher in comparison with low income countries. Red meat and alcohol consumption had a negative estimated effect on LE in HIC (b= -1.616 p= <0.001 and b = -0.615, p = 0.003). Alcohol consumption was negatively associated with LE for all income groups, while positive relationships were found in all estimates associated with GNI. Conclusion: Red meat consumption and alcohol use appear to have a negative impact on LE in HIC and UMIC and no significant association for in LIC or LMIC. So, HIC and UMIC should control consumption of meat and alcohol adopting specific policy. Funding: This research was supported by a grant (2017R1A5A2015369) from the Medical Research Center Program and also by a research grant from Pai Chai University in 2018. Declaration of Interest: None. Ethical Approval: This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. This article does not contain any studies conducted by any of the authors with human participants or animals. Therefore, ethical approval was not necessary.
Highlights
Global meat production has increased rapidly (5 times from 1961 to 2014) over the past 50 years.Meat production in Asia accounts forms around 40–45 percent of global meat production, of which about 2/3 is red meat [1]
Red meat and alcohol consumption appeared to have a negative impact on life expectancy (LE) in high-income countries (HIC) and upper-middle-income countries (UMIC), it had no significant association with LE in low-income countries (LIC) or lower-middle-income countries (LMIC)
Low life expectancy was found in Africa, while relatively high levels of LE were seen in the following regions: North America, Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan (Figure 2)
Summary
Global meat production has increased rapidly (5 times from 1961 to 2014) over the past 50 years.Meat production in Asia accounts forms around 40–45 percent of global meat production, of which about 2/3 is red meat (except poultry) [1]. A positive correlation between red meat consumption and cancer development has been established. Red meat consumption has a high correlation with colorectal cancer [3,4]. The aim of this study was to examine the association of alcohol and red meat consumption with life expectancy (LE). Red meat and alcohol consumption had a negative estimated effect on LE in HIC (b = −1.616 p = < 0.001 and b = −0.615, p = 0.003). Conclusions: Red meat and alcohol consumption appeared to have a negative impact on LE in high-income countries (HIC) and upper-middle-income countries (UMIC), it had no significant association with LE in low-income countries (LIC) or lower-middle-income countries (LMIC). This study suggests reviewing the policies on the gradual reduction of alcohol abuse and the high consumption of red meat, HIC and UMIC
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