Studies Showing a Positive Association of Red Meat Consumption
with the Incidence of Stroke
Red meat consumption, besides increasing the incidence of CVD, is also
associated with an increased incidence of stroke. Several reviews
demonstrating this association are listed in table 2 and they will be
briefly, discussed here. In a review of 5 cohort studies involving
239,251 subjects, Chen et al [30] analyzed the association of red
meat consumption with the incidence of stroke. After a mean follow-up of
10 to 26 years, the pooled analysis of results showed an increased risk
for total stroke in the subjects with a higher consumption of total red
meat vs with a lower consumption of total red meat (unprocessed +
processed), summary RR (sRR) 1.15 (95% CI 1.05-1.25). In a
dose-response analysis, the incidence of ischemic stroke increased by
10% for each 100 g/day increase in the consumption of total red meat
and by 13% increase in consumption of unprocessed red meat. In
addition, for each 50 g increase in the consumption of processed meat
the incidence of stroke increased by 11%. In another review and
meta-analysis of 7 prospective studies involving 2,o79,236 subjects ages
30-33 years, Yang et al [31], analyzed the effects of unprocessed
red on the incidence of stroke. After a mean follow-up of 10 to 26 years
(by different studies), the risk of ischemic stroke between the highest
and lowest consumption of unprocessed red meat was 15%, RR 1.15 *95%
CI 1.03-1.29) and with consumption of total red meat, RR 1.22 (95% CI
1.01-1.28). In addition, the consumption of unprocessed red meat was
associated with a 13% higher incidence of cerebral infarction, RR
1.13(95% CI 1.01-1.28). In contrast, the consumption of total meat was
associated with22% higher incidence of ischemic stroke, RR 1.22 (95%
CI 1.01-1.46). In a dose-response analysis of results, there was not a
risk of stroke if the consumption of total red meat was lower than 50
g/day, but higher if the consumption was greater than 50 g/day. The
review and meta-analysis by Kim et al [32], included 15 studies
involving 254,742 subjects ages 30-83 on the effects of red meat on the
incidence of stroke. After a mean follow-up of 5.5 to 26 years by the
different studies, the pooled RR (pRR) for the incidence of total stroke
with consumption of unprocessed, processed, an total red meat was, 1.11
(95% CI 1.03- 1.20), 1.17 (95% CI 1.08-1.25), and 1.18 (95% CI
1.09-1.28), respectively. In contrast, the pRR for white meat
consumption was 0.87 (95% CI 0.78- 0.97). This study demonstrated that
white meat consumption was not associated with an increased incidence of
stroke compared to red meat consumption.