Results
As of June 2009, 26,344 deaths were
observed. After multivariate adjustment, a high consumption of red meat was
related to higher all-cause mortality (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.14, 95% confidence
interval (CI) 1.01 to 1.28, 160+ versus 10 to 19.9 g/day), and the association
was stronger for processed meat (HR = 1.44, 95% CI 1.24 to 1.66, 160+ versus 10
to 19.9 g/day). After correction for measurement error, higher all-cause
mortality remained significant only for processed meat (HR = 1.18, 95% CI 1.11
to 1.25, per 50 g/d). We estimated that 3.3% (95% CI 1.5% to 5.0%) of deaths
could be prevented if all participants had a processed meat consumption of less
than 20 g/day. Significant associations with processed meat intake were
observed for cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and 'other causes of death'. The
consumption of poultry was not related to all-cause mortality.
Conclusions
The results of our analysis support
a moderate positive association between processed meat consumption and
mortality, in particular due to cardiovascular diseases, but also to cancer.
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