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.