Replacement of saturated fatty acids from meat by dairy sources in relation to incident cardiovascular disease: The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Norfolk study

Y.D. Vogtschmidt, S.S. Soedamah-Muthu, F. Imamura, D.I. Givens, J.A. Lovegrove*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)
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Abstract

Background
Prospective observational data revealed lower cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence with modeled replacement of saturated fatty acids (SFA) from total meat by total dairy, but it is unknown what the associations are of replacing SFA from types of meat by types of dairy with CVD incidence.

Objectives
This study aimed to investigate the associations of replacing SFA from total, red, processed, and poultry meat by SFA from total dairy, milk, cheese, and yogurt with the incidence of CVD.

Methods
We analyzed longitudinal data from 21,841 participants of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Norfolk study (56.4% female; age, 40-79 years). Dietary data were collected by food frequency questionnaires at baseline (1993-1997). Incident fatal or nonfatal CVD (n = 5902), coronary artery disease (CAD; n = 4215), stroke (total: n = 2544; ischemic: n = 1113; hemorrhagic: n = 449) were identified up to 2018. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using Cox regression for the risk associated with replacement of 2.5% of energy from SFA from meat by dairy, adjusted for sociodemographic, lifestyle, energy, dietary, and cardiometabolic factors.

Results
Replacing SFA from total meat by total dairy was associated with a lower CVD incidence (HR: 0.89; 95% CI: 0.82, 0.96) and CAD (HR: 0.88; 95% CI: 0.80, 0.96). Replacing SFA from processed meat by cheese was associated with lower CVD (HR: 0.77; 95% CI: 0.68, 0.88); CAD (HR: 0.77; 95% CI: 0.66, 0.90), and stroke (HR: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.67, 0.99). Similarly, replacing SFA from red meat by cheese was associated with lower CVD (HR: 0.86; 95% CI: 0.76, 0.97). Higher incidence of stroke was found with replacement of SFA from poultry by milk (HR: 2.06; 95% CI: 1.09, 3.89), yogurt (HR: 2.55; 95% CI: 1.27, 5.13), or cheese (HR: 1.96; 95% CI: 1.04, 3.70), but the CI were relatively large, owing to low, narrow range of poultry SFA intake.

Conclusions
Findings indicate that different SFA-rich foods at baseline have differential associations with CVD risk. If confirmed by further studies, these findings could be used to inform specific food-based dietary guidance.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1495-1503
Number of pages9
JournalThe American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Volume119
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2024

Keywords

  • adults
  • cardiovascular disease
  • cheese
  • dairy
  • meat
  • milk
  • prospective study
  • replacement
  • saturated fatty acids
  • yogurt

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