Ultraprocessed foods linked to arthritis

Consuming ultraprocessed foods at high amounts contributes to increased risk of overall arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, according to a study.

Researchers used data from the 2001–2018 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data to examine the association of ultraprocessed food intake with arthritis in 2025. Nova classifications were applied to 24-h dietary recall data to identify ultraprocessed foods, which was expressed as a percentage of daily total energy intake.

Outcomes included self-reported physician’s diagnosis of arthritis, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis. Survey-weighted logistic regressions were conducted, with adjustments for potential confounders such as age, gender, race/ethnicity, smoking status, health insurance status, and poverty-to-income ratio.

Ultraprocessed foods accounted for 55.2 percent of the total daily caloric intake in the US population. Each 10-percentage point increase in daily total energy intake from ultraprocessed foods was associated with a 4-percent increase in the odds of self-reported arthritis (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.04, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.02–1.06).

Compared with the lowest quartile, the second, third, and fourth quartiles of ultraprocessed food intake were also associated with increased odds of arthritis. The corresponding aORs were 1.14 (95 percent CI, 1.04–1.25), 1.22 (95 percent CI, 1.10–1.35), and 1.27 (95 percent CI, 1.14–1.41) (p<0.001 for linear trend).

Ultraprocessed food intake showed a positive association with rheumatoid arthritis (aOR, 1.05, 95 percent CI, 1.02–1.09) but not with osteoarthritis.