Intake of Unprocessed and Processed Meat and the Association with Cardiovascular Disease: An Overview of Systematic Reviews.

Marianne Uhre Jakobsen,Anette Bysted,Heddie Mejborn,Anders Stockmarr,Ellen Trolle

doi:10.3390/nu13103303

Marianne Uhre Jakobsen, Anette Bysted + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13103303

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Journal: Nutrients	Publication Date: Sep 22, 2021
Citations: 9	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Technical University of Denmark

Abstract

We conducted an overview of systematic reviews to summarize reviews of cohort studies on intake of unprocessed and processed meat and the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), coronary heart disease (CHD), and stroke. Systematic reviews of cohort studies published between January 2010 and August 2020 were identified through a systematic literature search in PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science. The quality of how each review was conducted was assessed and the overall confidence in the results of each review was rated using AMSTAR 2. The quality of evidence of each meta-analysis was graded using NutriGrade. Three reviews were included, with meta-analyses of unprocessed red meat and CVD (n = 1) and stroke (n = 2); unprocessed poultry and stroke (n = 1); and processed meat and CVD (n = 1), CHD (n = 1), and stroke (n = 3). The overall confidence in the results of each review was rated as critically low. The meta-evidence was graded moderate for a positive association between unprocessed red meat and stroke and moderate for a positive association between processed meat and CHD and stroke. For other associations the meta-evidence was graded as low or very low. In conclusion, the associations between unprocessed and processed meat with CVD and major subtypes of CVD have not been extensively investigated.

Highlights

Studies were included if they met the following criteria: (1) it was a systematic review of cohort studies with or without meta-analysis and published between January 2010 and August 2020; (2) participants were recruited from the general adult population; (3) it considered at least one of the following exposures: intake of unprocessed red meat, intake of unprocessed poultry, or intake of processed meat; and (4) it considered at least one of the following outcomes: incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD), coronary heart disease (CHD), or stroke
Moderate quality of evidence was found for a higher intake of unprocessed red meat, which was associated with a higher risk of stroke (Table 4)
We identified three systematic reviews including evidence of primary study meta-analyses of associations with risk of CVD, CHD, and stroke for unprocessed red meat, unprocessed poultry, and processed meat intake

Summary

Introduction

The associations between the intake of unprocessed and processed meat with the risk of CVD and major subtypes of CVD have been investigated in a number of observational epidemiological studies and the evidence summarized in reviews. Dietary guidelines are based predominantly on findings from systematic reviews and meta-analyses of epidemiological observational studies on diet-disease relationships and mostly cohort studies [10]. This is because randomised controlled trials are not available or not considered applicable [10]. It is important that users of systematic reviews can identify high quality reviews This underscores the need for assessment of the way in which a review is conducted

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