Ultraprocessed Food Increases Risk for Death With Type 2 Diabetes

Higher consumption of ultraprocessed food (UPF) is associated with lower survival and higher cardiovascular mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes, according to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Marialaura Bonaccio, Ph.D., from the IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Mediterraneo Neuromed in Pozzilli, Italy, and colleagues evaluated the association of UPF intake with all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality among 1,065 participants with type 2 diabetes followed for a median of 11.6 years.

The researchers found that greater UPF intake (quartile 4: ≥10.5 percent of total food eaten for women and ≥9 percent for men) versus the lowest (quartile 1: UPF <4.7 and <3.7 percent for women and men, respectively), was associated with a higher risk for both all-cause (hazard ratio, 1.70) and CVD mortality (hazard ratio, 2.64). Associations were not substantially changed with inclusion of the Mediterranean diet score in the model (hazard ratios, 1.64 and 2.55 for all-cause and CVD mortality, respectively). There was a linear dose-response relationship observed between UPF intake with both all-cause and CVD mortality.