Table 2. Pooled hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) of hypertension for different types of flesh consumption in Nurses' Health Study I, Nurses' Health Study II and Health Professionals Follow-up Study.
| Consumption Levels (per serving) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <1 per month | 1-3 per month | 1-3 per week | 4-6 per week | ≥ 1 per day | Linear P Trend | |
| Processed Meat | ||||||
| Nurses' Health Study I: §* | 4353/140195 | 12142/358903 | 13630/373559 | 5105/152720 | 547/18564 | |
| Adjusted hazard ratio† | 1.00 (reference) | 1.04(1.00-1.08) | 1.08(1.04-1.12) | 1.08(1.03-1.13) | 1.03(0.94-1.13) | 0.35 |
| Nurses' Health Study II: ¶* | 3584/248867 | 9852/546000 | 8889/434223 | 3173/151478 | 345/15494 | |
| Adjusted hazard ratio† | 1.00 | 1.08(1.04-1.12) | 1.11(1.06-1.16) | 1.12(1.07-1.19) | 1.18(1.05-1.33) | <0.001 |
| Health Professional's Follow-Up Study: ¥ * | 2348/90046 | 4799/160764 | 5505/173013 | 3475/114060 | 728/26364 | |
| Adjusted hazard ratio† | 1.00 | 1.04(0.99-1.10) | 1.03(0.98-1.09) | 1.02(0.96-1.08) | 0.97(0.88-1.06) | 0.06 |
| Pooled results‡ | 1.00 | 1.05(1.03-1.08) | 1.08(1.05-1.11) | 1.07(1.04-1.11) | 1.04(0.98-1.10) | <0.001 |
| Unprocessed Red Meat | ||||||
| Nurses' Health Study I: § * | 481/19003 | 2527/77228 | 12133/334851 | 17464/507974 | 3172/104884 | |
| Adjusted hazard ratio† | 1.00 | 1.18(1.07-1.31) | 1.23(1.12-1.35) | 1.25(1.14-1.37) | 1.28(1.15-1.41) | <0.001 |
| Nurses' Health Study II: ¶* | 632/58952 | 2416/169968 | 8138/460520 | 11934/575484 | 2723/131137 | |
| Adjusted hazard ratio† | 1.00 | 1.22(1.11-1.33) | 1.26(1.16-1.37) | 1.41(1.29-1.53) | 1.40(1.28-1.54) | <0.001 |
| Health Professional's Follow-Up Study: ¥* | 584/24224 | 1802/64504 | 5008/159933 | 7024/229076 | 2437/86509 | |
| Adjusted hazard ratio† | 1.00 | 1.04(0.95-1.14) | 1.08(0.99-1.18) | 1.05(0.96-1.15) | 1.05(0.96-1.16) | 0.66 |
| Pooled results‡ | 1.00 | 1.15(1.09-1.21) | 1.19(1.13-1.25) | 1.23(1.14-1.30) | 1.24(1.17-1.31) | <0.001 |
| Total Meat (processed and unprocessed red meat) | ||||||
| Nurses' Health Study I: §* | 329/13976 | 1395/45059 | 7442/212583 | 17461/496837 | 9150/275486 | |
| Adjusted hazard ratio† | 1.00 | 1.20(1.06-1.35) | 1.26(1.13-1.41) | 1.29(1.15-1.44) | 1.33(1.18-1.49) | <0.001 |
| Nurses' Health Study II: ¶* | 434/45731 | 1413/106097 | 5586/341382 | 11888/603807 | 6522/299046 | |
| Adjusted hazard ratio† | 1.00 | 1.26(1.12-1.40) | 1.32(1.19-1.46) | 1.44(1.30-1.59) | 1.52(1.37-1.69) | <0.001 |
| Health Professional's Follow-Up Study: ¥* | 420/18817 | 1092/41427 | 3279/109548 | 6340/204696 | 5724/189758 | |
| Adjusted hazard ratio† | 1.00 | 1.07(0.95-1.19) | 1.11(0.99-1.23) | 1.09(0.99-1.21) | 1.09(0.98-1.21) | 0.9 |
| Pooled results‡ | 1.00 | 1.17(1.10-1.25) | 1.23(1.15-1.30) | 1.27(1.19-1.35) | 1.30(1.23-1.39) | <0.001 |
| Poultry | ||||||
| Nurses' Health Study I: §* | 397/14653 | 4294/130577 | 22104/655822 | 8708/234440 | 274/8449 | |
| Adjusted hazard ratio† | 1.00 | 1.14(1.03-1.26) | 1.15(1.04-1.27) | 1.15(1.03-1.27) | 1.05(0.90-1.23) | 0.89 |
| Nurses' Health Study II: ¶* | 287/24853 | 2033/126043 | 11463/621612 | 11304/584475 | 756/39079 | |
| Adjusted hazard ratio† | 1.00 | 1.23(1.08-1.39) | 1.29(1.14-1.45) | 1.32(1.17-1.48) | 1.35(1.17-1.56) | <0.001 |
| Health Professional's Follow-Up Study: ¥* | 338/13905 | 1954/65248 | 9033/312347 | 5229/163424 | 301/9322 | |
| Adjusted hazard ratio† | 1.00 | 1.12(0.99-1.26) | 1.13(1.00-1.26) | 1.18(1.05-1.32) | 1.26(1.07-1.48) | 0.001 |
| Pooled results‡ | 1.00 | 1.15(1.08-1.23) | 1.18(1.11-1.26) | 1.20(1.13-1.28) | 1.22(1.12-1.34) | <0.001 |
| Seafood | ||||||
| Nurses' Health Study I: §* | 1472/43922 | 10343/312274 | 17464/501282 | 6139/173810 | 6139/12653 | |
| Adjusted hazard ratio† | 1.00 | 0.99(0.93-1.04) | 0.99(0.93-1.04) | 1.04(0.98-1.10) | 0.91(0.81-1.02) | 0.05 |
| Nurses' Health Study II: ¶* | 2173/120436 | 10288/571193 | 10481/547269 | 2706/145855 | 195/11310 | |
| Adjusted hazard ratio† | 1.00 | 0.99(0.95-1.04) | 1.04(0.99-1.09) | 1.07(1.00-1.13) | 1.13(0.97-1.31) | 0.003 |
| Health Professional's Follow-Up Study: ¥* | 653/23849 | 4322/151055 | 7325/241332 | 4005/129626 | 550/18384 | |
| Adjusted hazard ratio† | 1.00 | 1.01(0.93-1.10) | 1.04(0.96-1.13) | 1.12(1.03-1.22) | 1.16(1.03-1.31) | <0.001 |
| Pooled results‡ | 1.00 | 0.99(0.96-1.03) | 1.03(0.99-1.06) | 1.06(1.02-1.10) | 1.05(0.98-1.13) | <0.001 |
| Animal Flesh$ | ||||||
| Nurses' Health Study I: §* | 92/4020 | 57/2769 | 651/21519 | 8853/265062 | 26124/750572 | |
| Adjusted hazard ratio† | 1.00 | 0.96(0.69-1.34) | 1.32(1.05-1.64) | 1.32(1.07-1.63) | 1.38(1.12-1.70) | <0.001 |
| Nurses' Health Study II: ¶* | 34/4748 | 67/7323 | 480/42580 | 4741/306896 | 20521/1034516 | |
| Adjusted hazard ratio† | 1.00 | 0.92(0.68-1.24) | 1.11(0.89-1.38) | 1.31(1.06-1.60) | 1.46(1.19-1.79) | <0.001 |
| Health Professional's Follow-Up Study: ¥* | 104/4696 | 42/2039 | 294/11646 | 3287/116429 | 13128/429437 | |
| Adjusted hazard ratio† | 1.00 | 0.91(0.63-1.31) | 1.03(0.82-1.29) | 1.06(0.87-1.30) | 1.11(0.90-1.35) | 0.04 |
| Pooled results‡ | 1.00 | 0.93(0.77-1.13) | 1.15(1.01-1.30) | 1.22(1.08-1.37) | 1.30(1.16-1.47) | <0.001 |
§
Follow-up in Nurses' Health Study I was from 1984 to 2010.
¶
Follow-up in Nurses' Health Study II was from 1991-2011.
¥
Follow-up in Health Professionals Follow-up study was from 1986 to 2010.
*
Cases/person-years observation.
†
Adjusted for age (years), race/ethnicity (white, African-American, Asian/Hispanic), body mass index, current smoking status, physical activity, weight change per Food Frequency Questionnaire cycle, post-menopausal (yes or no), alcohol intake, current oral contraceptive use (yes or no, for Nurses' Health Study II), family history of hypertension (yes or no), total energy intake (kcal/day), total fruits, vegetables and whole grains (quintiles), sugar-sweetened beverage intake (per day), artificially-sweetened diet beverage intake (per day) and analgesic use.
‡
Pooled hazard ratios of the three cohorts using a fixed effects model.
$
Animal flesh is a combination of unprocessed and processed red meat, poultry and seafood.