Not Just Red Meat: Poultry Linked to Diabetes Risk

Red meat and poultry were both associated with an increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes, according to the findings of a recent study, although this relationship was mediated by heme iron intake.

The population-based cohort study enrolled 63,257 Chinese adults, aged 45 to 74 years, from 1993 to 1998. Participants completed a validated 165-item semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire at baseline and reported physician-diagnosed type 2 diabetes status during 2 follow-up interviews conducted from 1999 through 2004 and 2006 through 2010.
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During the mean 10.9 years of follow-up, 5207 participants reported that they were diagnosed with diabetes.

The multivariate-adjusted hazard ratios (HR) for persons who consumed the most red meat, poultry, and fish/shellfish for diabetes were 1.23, 1.15, and 1.07, respectively, compared with those with the lowest intake. 

After the researchers adjusted for heme iron levels, they found only red meat consumption remained significantly associated with type 2 diabetes risk (HR 1.13). In addition, heme iron was associated with a higher risk for diabetes even after further adjustment for red meat intake (HR 1.14)

“In conclusion, red meat and poultry intakes were associated with a higher risk of T2D,” the researchers concluded. “These associations were mediated completely for poultry and partially for red meat by heme iron intake.”

—Melissa Weiss

Reference:

Talaei M, Wang YL, Yuan JM, Pan A, Koh WP. Meat, dietary heme Iron, and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus: the Singapore Chinese Health Study [published online August 22, 2017]. Am J Epidemiol. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwx156.