Dietary Behaviors and Incident COVID-19 in the UK Biobank

Background: Nutritional status influences immunity but its specific association with susceptibility to COVID-19 remains unclear. We examined the association of specific dietary data and incident COVID-19 in the UK Biobank (UKB). Methods: We considered UKB participants in England with self-reported baseline (2006–2010) data and linked them to Public Health England COVID-19 test results—performed on samples from combined nose/throat swabs, using real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)—between March and November 2020. Baseline diet factors included breastfed as baby and specific consumption of coffee, tea, oily fish, processed meat, red meat, fruit, and vegetables. Individual COVID-19 exposure was estimated using the UK’s average monthly positive case rate per specific geo-populations. Logistic regression estimated the odds of COVID-19 positivity by diet status adjusting for baseline socio-demographic factors, medical history, and other lifestyle factors. Another model was further adjusted for COVID-19 exposure. Results: Eligible UKB participants (n = 37,988) were 40 to 70 years of age at baseline; 17% tested positive for COVID-19 by SAR-CoV-2 PCR. After multivariable adjustment, the odds (95% CI) of COVID-19 positivity was 0.90 (0.83, 0.96) when consuming 2–3 cups of coffee/day (vs. <1 cup/day), 0.88 (0.80, 0.98) when consuming vegetables in the third quartile of servings/day (vs. lowest quartile), 1.14 (1.01, 1.29) when consuming fourth quartile servings of processed meats (vs. lowest quartile), and 0.91 (0.85, 0.98) when having been breastfed (vs not breastfed). Associations were attenuated when further adjusted for COVID-19 exposure, but patterns of associations remained. Conclusions: In the UK Biobank, consumption of coffee, vegetables, and being breastfed as a baby were favorably associated with incident COVID-19; intake of processed meat was adversely associated. Although these findings warrant independent confirmation, adherence to certain dietary behaviors may be an additional tool to existing COVID-19 protection guidelines to limit the spread of this virus.

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Diet and Risk of Incident Lung Cancer: A Large Prospective Cohort Study in UK Biobank

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition ◽

10.1093/ajcn/nqab298 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Xiaoxia Wei ◽

Chen Zhu ◽

Mengmeng Ji ◽

Jingyi Fan ◽

Junxing Xie ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lung Cancer ◽

Dietary Fiber ◽

Dietary Patterns ◽

Lower Risk ◽

Red Meat ◽

Processed Meat ◽

Uk Biobank ◽

High Intake ◽

Breakfast Cereals ◽

The Uk

ABSTRACT Background Epidemiological evidence remains conflicting regarding diet and risk of lung cancer. Objectives We sought to systematically investigate whether dietary factors are associated with the risk of incident lung cancer in the UK Biobank. Methods A total of 416,588 participants (54% women) from the UK Biobank were included in the present study. Based on baseline data from FFQs, 3 main dietary patterns were identified by using principal component analysis. Cox proportional hazards models were used to investigate the association of individual food groups and dietary patterns with lung cancer risk. Results During a median follow-up of 7.13 y, 1782 incident lung cancer cases were documented. The association analysis showed high intake of red meat and processed meat was associated with an increased risk of lung cancer (HRper 50 g/d: 1.36; 95% CI: 1.13, 1.65 for red meat; HRper 25 g/d: 1.30; 95% CI: 1.10, 1.53 for processed meat). However, the consumption of fruits (HRper 100 g/d: 0.90; 95% CI: 0.84, 0.95), vegetables (HRper 100 g/d: 0.89; 95% CI: 0.81, 0.99), breakfast cereals (HRper 50 g/d: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.74, 0.89), and dietary fiber (HRper 5 g/d: 0.76; 95% CI: 0.69, 0.84) was inversely associated with the risk of lung cancer. For the dietary pattern analysis [quartile (Q) comparison], high adherence to the Prudent pattern (HRQ4 compared with Q1: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.73, 0.96) was associated with a lower risk of lung cancer, whereas the Western pattern (HRQ4 compared with Q1: 1.27; 95% CI: 1.11, 1.46) was associated with a higher risk of lung cancer. Conclusions Our study indicated that a diet characterized by high intake of fruits, vegetables, breakfast cereals, and dietary fiber, as well as low intake of red meat and processed meat, was associated with a lower risk of lung cancer.

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Diet, Sleep, and Mental Health: Insights from the UK Biobank Study

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu13082573 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (8) ◽

pp. 2573

Author(s):

Piril Hepsomali ◽

John A. Groeger

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Health Disorders ◽

Dietary Guidelines ◽

Healthy Diet ◽

Milk Intake ◽

Processed Meat ◽

Uk Biobank ◽

Health Disorders ◽

Mental Health Symptomatology ◽

The Uk

Diet has long been the focus of attention as a leading risk factor for non-communicable diseases. As such, a better understanding of it is crucial to establish priorities for dietary guidelines and to inform, design, and implement strategies for preventing, helping manage, and stopping the progression of sleep and mental health-related symptoms/disorders. The aim of the current study is to conduct the largest investigation of diet, sleep, and mental health to date by utilizing the UK Biobank (UKB) dataset to identify the associations between diet and (i) sleep quality/health, and (ii) mental health symptomatology. This cross-sectional population-based study involved 502,494 middle-aged adults. UKB food frequency, sleep, and psychological factors and mental health questionnaires at baseline were used. Scores were also calculated for healthy diet, healthy sleep, mental health symptomatology, partial fibre intake, and milk intake. We observed positive associations with healthy diet and sleep and mental health, especially benefits of high intakes of vegetable, fruit, fish, water, and fibre. However, processed meat and milk intake were adversely associated with sleep and mental health. These findings make clear that there are health and wellbeing benefits and drawbacks of different diets, but do not, at this stage, demonstrate the clear causal relationships, which would support dietary interventions that might play a role in the treatment and also self-management of sleep and mental health disorders/symptoms. Further research is required to understand mechanisms of actions of which diet acts on to modulate sleep and mental health, while taking comorbidity of sleep and mental health disorders/symptoms into consideration.

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Apolipoprotein E genotype, lifestyle and coronary artery disease: gene-environment interaction analyses in the UK Biobank population

10.1101/2020.01.29.20019620 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Maxime M Bos ◽

Lina de Vries ◽

Patrick CN Rensen ◽

Ko Willems van Dijk ◽

Gerard Jan Blauw ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Coronary Artery Disease ◽

Coronary Artery ◽

Fish Intake ◽

Uk Biobank ◽

Pufa Intake ◽

Oily Fish ◽

Artery Disease ◽

The Uk ◽

Cad Risk

AbstractBackgroundCarriers of the APOE ε4 genotype have an increased risk for developing coronary artery disease (CAD), but there is preliminary evidence that lifestyle factors interact with APOE genotype on CAD risk. Here, we assessed the interactions of physical activity, oily fish intake and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) intake with APOE genotype on risk of incident cardiovascular disease in a large population of middle-aged individuals.Methods and ResultsThe present study was embedded in the UK Biobank population and comprised 344,092 European participants (mean age: 56.5 years, 45.7% men) without a history of CAD. Information regarding physical activity, oily fish intake and PUFA intake was collected through questionnaires, and information on incident CAD through linkage with hospital admission records. Analyses were performed using Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for age and sex. From these analyses, higher physical activity level and a higher intake of oily fish were associated with a lower incidence of CAD. These associations were similar across all APOE isoform groups (p-values for interaction > 0.05). A higher PUFA intake was only associated with a lower CAD risk in APOE ε4 carriers (hazard ratio: 0.76, 95% confidence interval: 0.62,0.90), however, no statistically significant interaction was observed (p-valueinteraction = 0.137).ConclusionWhile higher physical activity, fish intake and PUFA intake all decreased the risk of CAD, no evidence for interaction of these lifestyle factors with APOE genotype was observed in UK Biobank participants. Interventions intended to reduce cardiovascular risk might therefore be similarly effective across the APOE isoform carriers.

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Diet-quality and its association with cardiovascular diseases and cancer incidence and all-cause mortality: a prospective cohort study from UK Biobank

Proceedings of The Nutrition Society ◽

10.1017/s0029665120000208 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 79 (OCE2) ◽

Author(s):

Fanny Petermann-Rocha ◽

Stuart R. Gray ◽

Jill Pell ◽

Carlos Celis-Morales

Keyword(s):

Cancer Incidence ◽

Diet Quality ◽

Lower Risk ◽

Quality Score ◽

Confounding Factors ◽

Uk Biobank ◽

Healthy Group ◽

Oily Fish ◽

All Cause Mortality ◽

The Uk

AbstractIntroductionNewly available data from big scale studies conducted in the UK, such as the UK Biobank, offers the possibility to further explore the prospective association between a diet-quality score and health outcomes after accounting for the effect of important confounding factors. The aim of this work, therefore, was to investigate the association between a diet-quality score, with the incidence of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), cancer and all-cause mortality.Material and methodsThis study includes 345,343 participants (age range: 39–73, 55.1% women) from the UK Biobank, a prospective population-based study. Using 21 standardised variables of diet (alcohol, bread, bread type, cereal, dried fruit, water, coffee, tea, cheese, oily fish, non-oily fish, salt added to food, spread type, fresh fruit, cooked vegetable, raw vegetables, milk type, poultry, beef, lamb, and pork) we created a diet-quality score (very healthy, healthy, unhealthy and very unhealthy) using principal-component factor analysis. Associations between the dietary-quality score (very unhealthy individuals were the reference group) and health outcomes (all-cause mortality, CVD and cancer incidence) were investigated using Cox-proportional hazard models. All analyses were performed using STATA 14 statistical software.ResultsIn comparison to individuals with a very unhealthy diet, those with a better diet-quality had a lower risk of all-cause mortality and cancer as well as incidence of CVD and cancer. For example, individuals classified in the very healthy group had a 12% lower risk of all-cause mortality (HR: 0.88 [95% CI: 0.82 to 0.95]), 12% lower risk of CVD incidence (HR: 0.88 [95% CI: 0.80 to 0.98]), 17% of all-cancer mortality (HR: 0.83 [95% CI: 0.75 to 0.93]), and 10% lower risk all-cancer incidence (HR: 0.90 [95% CI: 0.85 to 0.94]). Those in the healthy group had a 12% lower risk of all-cause (HR: 0.88 [95% CI: 0.83 to 0.93]) and 15% lower risk of all-cancer mortality (HR: 0.85 [95% CI: 0.78 to 0.93]). There was no significant association between CVD mortality and any diet-quality group. These findings were independent of major confounding factors including socio-demographic covariates, prevalent of diseases and lifestyle factors.DiscussionOur findings indicate that individuals with a healthy diet in the UK biobank cohort are associated with a lower risk of premature mortality, and incidence of CVDs and cancer independently of major confounding factors.

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Dietary Patterns, Genetic Predisposition, and Cognitive Function in the UK Biobank

Current Developments in Nutrition ◽

10.1093/cdn/nzab053_083 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (Supplement_2) ◽

pp. 1090-1090

Author(s):

Christina-Alexandra Schulz ◽

Leonie Weinhold ◽

Matthias Schmid ◽

Ute Nöthlings ◽

Marcus M Nöthen

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Function ◽

Neurodegenerative Disease ◽

Genetic Predisposition ◽

Dietary Patterns ◽

Fluid Intelligence ◽

Processed Meat ◽

Uk Biobank ◽

Genetic Disposition ◽

The Uk ◽

Diet Score

Abstract Objectives Elucidating the role of dietary intake in cognitive function, and neurodegenerative disease development is important for prevention. The Mediterranean diet has shown to be beneficial for cognitive function and prevention of neurodegenerative disease. Yet, evidence for other dietary patterns are inconclusive. Since heritability of cognitive functions is substantial, a beneficial diet might mitigate genetic disposition. Therefore, we investigate if dietary patterns are associated with general cognitive function, considering individual genetic disposition. This research has been conducted using the UK Biobank Resource. Methods At baseline, participants reported the frequency of consumption of main foods via a dietary touchscreen questionnaire and filled in a verbal-numerical reasoning (VNR) test, which measures fluid intelligence. A diet score including 7 components: vegetables, fruit, fish, processed meat, unprocessed meat, whole grain, and refined grain was constructed. Participants were categorized into a low (0–1), intermediate (2–5), and high (6–7) diet score. A polygenic score (PGS), previously associated in GWAS with general cognitive function, was constructed. Participants were categorized into low (Quintile 1), intermediate (Q 2–4), and high (Q 5) PGS group. Linear regression was used to test whether the diet score associates with fluid intelligence, and to test if genetic predisposition modifies the association. Results The mean diet score of the 104,898 participants (46% male, mean age 57.1 (SD 8.0) years) was 3.9 (SD 1.4) points. In the VNR-test on average 6.1 (SD 2.1) questions were answered correctly. After multivariate adjustment a positive association between fluid intelligence and the PGS (P < 0.001), but no association between fluid intelligence and the diet score (P = 0.703) was observed. When stratified according to PGS groups, similar results were observed for the association between fluid intelligence and the diet score. Conclusions No evidence was found that the investigated diet score was associated with fluid intelligence. As previously reported, genetic disposition was strongly associated with cognitive performance. Funding Sources This work was partly supported by Diet–Body–Brain (DietBB), the Competence Cluster in Nutrition Research funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (FKZ: 01EA1410A).

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A cross-disorder MR-pheWAS of 5 major psychiatric disorders in UK Biobank

10.1101/634774 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Beate Leppert ◽

Louise AC Millard ◽

Lucy Riglin ◽

George Davey Smith ◽

Anita Thapar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Psychiatric Disorders ◽

Computer Games ◽

Genetic Risk ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Uk Biobank ◽

First Sexual Intercourse ◽

Hyperactivity Disorder ◽

Socio Demographic Factors ◽

The Uk

ABSTRACTPsychiatric disorders are highly heritable and associated with a wide variety of social adversity and physical health problems. Using genetic liability (rather than phenotypic measures of disease) as a proxy for psychiatric disease risk can be a useful alternative for research questions that would traditionally require large cohort studies with long-term follow up.Here we conducted a hypothesis-free phenome-wide association study in about 300,000 participants from the UK Biobank to examine associations of polygenic risk scores (PRS) for five psychiatric disorders (major depression (MDD), bipolar disorder (BP), schizophrenia (SCZ), attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD)) with 23,004 outcomes in UK Biobank, using the open-source PHESANT software package.There was evidence after multiple testing (p<2.55×10−06) for associations of PRSs with 226 outcomes, most of them attributed to associations of PRSMDD (n=120) with mental health factors and PRSADHD (n=77) with socio-demographic factors. Among others, we found strong evidence of associations between a 1 standard deviation increase in PRSADHD with 1.1 months younger age at first sexual intercourse [95% confidence interval [CI]: −1.26,−0.94]; PRSASD with 0.01% reduced lower erythrocyte distribution width [95%CI: −0.013,-0.007]; PRSSCZ with 0.98 odds of playing computer games [95%CI:0.976,0.989]; PRSMDD with a 0.11 points higher neuroticism score [95%CI:0.094,0.118] and PRSBP with 1.04 higher odds of having a university degree [95%CI:1.033,1.048].We were able to show that genetic liabilities for five major psychiatric disorders associate with long-term aspects of adult life, including socio-demographic factors, mental and physical health. This is evident even in individuals from the general population who do not necessarily present with a psychiatric disorder diagnosis.AUTHOR SUMMARYPsychiatric disorders are associated with a wide range of adverse health, social and economic problems. Our study investigates the association of genetic risk for five common psychiatric disorders with socio-demographics, lifestyle and health of about 330,000 participants in the UK Biobank using a systematic, hypothesis-free approach. We found that genetic risk for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and bipolar disorder were most strongly associated with lifestyle factors, such as time of first sexual intercourse and educational attainment. Genetic risks for autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia were associated with altered blood cell counts and time playing computer games, respectively. Increased genetic risk for depression was associated with other mental health outcomes such as neuroticism and irritability. In general, our results suggest that genetic risk for psychiatric disorders associates with a range of health and lifestyle traits that were measured in adulthood, in individuals from the general population who do not necessarily present with a psychiatric disorder diagnosis. However, it is important to note that these associations aren’t necessary causal but can themselves be influenced by other factors, like socio-economic factors and selection into the cohort. The findings inform future hypotheses to be tested using causally informative designs.

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Meat consumption and risk of 25 common conditions: outcome-wide analyses in 475,000 men and women in the UK Biobank study

BMC Medicine ◽

10.1186/s12916-021-01922-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Keren Papier ◽

Georgina K. Fensom ◽

Anika Knuppel ◽

Paul N. Appleby ◽

Tammy Y. N. Tong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Diverticular Disease ◽

Meat Consumption ◽

Red Meat ◽

Poultry Meat ◽

Mortality Data ◽

Processed Meat ◽

Colon Polyps ◽

Uk Biobank ◽

Meat Intake ◽

The Uk

Abstract Background There is limited prospective evidence on the association between meat consumption and many common, non-cancerous health outcomes. We examined associations of meat intake with risk of 25 common conditions (other than cancer). Methods We used data from 474,985 middle-aged adults recruited into the UK Biobank study between 2006 and 2010 and followed up until 2017 (mean follow-up 8.0 years) with available information on meat intake at baseline (collected via touchscreen questionnaire), and linked hospital admissions and mortality data. For a large sub-sample (~ 69,000), dietary intakes were re-measured three or more times using an online, 24-h recall questionnaire. Results On average, participants who reported consuming meat regularly (three or more times per week) had more adverse health behaviours and characteristics than participants who consumed meat less regularly, and most of the positive associations observed for meat consumption and health risks were substantially attenuated after adjustment for body mass index (BMI). In multi-variable adjusted (including BMI) Cox regression models corrected for multiple testing, higher consumption of unprocessed red and processed meat combined was associated with higher risks of ischaemic heart disease (hazard ratio (HRs) per 70 g/day higher intake 1.15, 95% confidence intervals (CIs) 1.07–1.23), pneumonia (1.31, 1.18–1.44), diverticular disease (1.19, 1.11–1.28), colon polyps (1.10, 1.06–1.15), and diabetes (1.30, 1.20–1.42); results were similar for unprocessed red meat and processed meat intakes separately. Higher consumption of unprocessed red meat alone was associated with a lower risk of iron deficiency anaemia (IDA: HR per 50 g/day higher intake 0.80, 95% CIs 0.72–0.90). Higher poultry meat intake was associated with higher risks of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (HR per 30 g/day higher intake 1.17, 95% CIs 1.09–1.26), gastritis and duodenitis (1.12, 1.05–1.18), diverticular disease (1.10, 1.04–1.17), gallbladder disease (1.11, 1.04–1.19), and diabetes (1.14, 1.07–1.21), and a lower IDA risk (0.83, 0.76–0.90). Conclusions Higher unprocessed red meat, processed meat, and poultry meat consumption was associated with higher risks of several common conditions; higher BMI accounted for a substantial proportion of these increased risks suggesting that residual confounding or mediation by adiposity might account for some of these remaining associations. Higher unprocessed red meat and poultry meat consumption was associated with lower IDA risk.

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Standard v. baby-led complementary feeding: a comparison of food and nutrient intakes in 6–12-month-old infants in the UK

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s136898001900082x ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 22 (15) ◽

pp. 2813-2822

Author(s):

Brigid Alpers ◽

Victoria Blackwell ◽

Miriam E Clegg

Keyword(s):

Complementary Feeding ◽

Free Sugar ◽

Food Groups ◽

Nutrient Intakes ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Dietary Recall ◽

Processed Meats ◽

Fish Meat ◽

Oily Fish ◽

The Uk

AbstractObjective:To compare food and nutrient intakes of infants aged 6–12 months following a baby-led complementary feeding (BLCF) approach and a standard weaning (SW) approach.Design:Participants completed an online questionnaire consisting of sociodemographic questions, a 28 d FFQ and a 24 h dietary recall.Setting:UK.Participants:Infants (n 134) aged 6–12 months (n 88, BLCF; n 46, SW).Results:There was no difference between weaning methods for the food groups ‘fruits’, ‘vegetables’, ‘all fish’, ‘meat and fish’, ‘sugary’ or ‘starchy’ foods. The SW group was offered ‘fortified infant cereals’ (P < 0·001), ‘salty snacks’ at 6–8 months (P = 0·03), ‘dairy and dairy-based desserts’ at 9–12 months (P = 0·04) and ‘pre-prepared baby foods’ at all ages (P < 0·001) more often than the BLCF group. The SW group was offered ‘oily fish’ at all ages (P < 0·001) and 6–8 months (P = 0·01) and ‘processed meats’ at all ages (P < 0·001), 6–8 months (P = 0·003) and 9–12 months (P < 0·001) less often than the BLCF group. The BLCF group had significantly greater intakes of Na (P = 0·028) and fat from food (P = 0·035), and significantly lower intakes of Fe from milk (P = 0·012) and free sugar in the 6–8 months subgroup (P = 0·03) v. the SW group. Fe intake was below the Reference Nutrient Intake (RNI) for both groups and Na was above the RNI in the BLCF group.Conclusion:Compared with the SW group, the BLCF group was offered foods higher in Na and lower in Fe; however, the foods offered contained less free sugar.

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Abstract TMP58: Major Risk Factors and the Risk of All, Ischemic, and Hemorrhagic Stroke in Half a Million Women and Men in the UK Biobank

Stroke ◽

10.1161/str.51.suppl_1.tmp58 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 51 (Suppl_1) ◽

Author(s):

Sanne Peters ◽

Cheryl Carcel ◽

Elizabeth Millet (deceased) ◽

Mark Woodward

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Ischaemic Stroke ◽

Low Socioeconomic Status ◽

Cox Regression ◽

Haemorrhagic Stroke ◽

Uk Biobank ◽

History Of ◽

Specific Association ◽

The Uk

Background: Major differences between women and men exist in the clinical presentation, medical care, and prognosis and outcomes of stroke. We assessed the sex-specific association of major risk factors and the risk of incident stroke, including its major subtypes, among women and men. Methods: Between 2006-10, the UK Biobank recruited over 500,000 participants aged 40-69 years across the UK. During 9 years of follow-up, 4,662 (44% women) cases of stroke were recorded among 471,971 (56% women) individuals without a history of cardiovascular disease at baseline. Cox regression models yielded adjusted hazard ratios (HRs), and women-to-men ratios of HRs (RHR), for stroke associated with seven risk factors. Results: The incidence rate per 10,000 person years was 8.66 (8.29; 9.04) in women and 13.96 (13.44; 14.50) in men for any stroke; 6.06 (5.75; 6.38) in women and 11.35 (10.88; 11.84) in men for ischaemic stroke, and 1.56 (1.41; 1.73) in women and 2.23 (2.02; 2.45) in men for haemorrhagic stroke. The magnitude of the relationship between increases in indices of blood pressure, body anthropometry, and lipid levels, diabetes mellitus, and atrial fibrillation and the risk of any stroke was similar between men and women. Hypertension (stage 2), current smoking, and a low socioeconomic status, respectively, were associated with a greater HR of any stroke in women than men; the RHRs were 1.36 (1.26; 1.47), 1.18 (1.02; 1.36), and 1.17 (1.03; 1.33). Diabetes was associated with a higher HR of ischaemic stroke in women than men (RHR: 1.25 [1.00; 1.56]). Atrial fibrillation was associated with a higher HR of haemorrhagic stroke in women than men (RHR: 2.80 [1.07; 7.36]). The incidence of stroke was higher among men than women for all risk factors, except type 1 diabetes and atrial fibrillation (haemorrhagic stroke only). Conclusion: Several risk factors are more strongly associated with the risk of any stroke or stroke subtypes in women compared with men. Despite this, the incidence of stroke in the presence of risk factors generally remains higher among men than women.

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Higher consumption of red and processed meat is associated with adverse cardiovascular magnetic resonance morpho-functional phenotypes: A study of 19,408 UK Biobank participants

European Journal of Preventive Cardiology ◽

10.1093/eurjpc/zwab061.454 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 28 (Supplement_1) ◽

Author(s):

Z Raisi-Estabragh ◽

C Mccracken ◽

P Gkontra ◽

A Jaggi ◽

M Ardissino ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Arterial Stiffness ◽

Meat Consumption ◽

Left Ventricular ◽

Fish Intake ◽

Processed Meat ◽

Uk Biobank ◽

Meat Intake ◽

Oily Fish ◽

Processed Meat Consumption ◽

Red And Processed Meat

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Foundation. Main funding source(s): British Heart Foundation Clinical Research Training Fellowship No. FS/17/81/33318 European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 825903 (euCanSHare project). Background Multiple epidemiological studies link greater red and processed meat consumption with poorer cardiovascular outcomes. However, the impact of these exposures on directly measured cardiovascular phenotypes has not been examined in large cohorts. Limited existing studies suggest that the observed associations may be mediated by cardiometabolic diseases and/or novel mechanisms acting via the heart-gut axes. However, few studies systematically examine potential confounding and mediating mechanisms. Purpose We assessed, in the UK Biobank, the association between meat intake and cardiovascular structure and function incorporating a comprehensive range of confounders and mediators. Methods We studied 19,408 participants with cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) data. We determined average daily red and processed meat intake using food frequency questionnaires. We used oily fish as a comparator linked to favourable cardiac health. We considered conventional CMR measures (ventricular volumes, left ventricular mass, ejection fraction, stroke volume), novel CMR radiomics features (shape, texture), and arterial stiffness metrics (arterial stiffness index, aortic distensibility). Multivariable linear regression models were used to investigate associations between meat/fish intake and cardiovascular phenotypes, adjusting for age, sex, deprivation, educational level, smoking, alcohol intake, and exercise. In separate models, we investigated the mediating role of cardiometabolic morbidities. Results Higher intake of red and processed meat was associated with an adverse overall pattern of right and left ventricular remodelling, poorer cardiac function, and higher arterial stiffness. Conversely, higher oily fish intake was associated with a healthy cardiovascular phenotype (better ventricular function, greater arterial compliance). Radiomics analysis showed association of the different dietary habits with unique overall geometry of the ventricles and myocardial texture. These associations were partially mediated by cardiometabolic morbidities. Conclusions Higher red and processed meat consumption is associated with adverse cardiovascular phenotypes. These relationships are not fully explained by mediation through cardiometabolic morbidities suggesting importance of alternative disease pathways. Understanding these potential novel disease mechanisms is important for optimising cardiovascular disease prevention strategies.

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