Ultraprocessed food intake ups death risk in people with cancer history

Regular consumption of ultraprocessed food (UPF) among individuals with a history of cancer appears to increase the risk of mortality, suggests a study.

A total of 13,640 participants with a cancer history from the UK Biobank were identified and included in this prospective cohort analysis, which sought to examine the association of UPF intake with deaths in this population. Consumption of UPF, defined using the Nova classification, was calculated as the weight proportion of UPFs in the total food consumption.

The investigators explored the relationship between UPF intake and mortality among participants with a history of cancer using Cox proportional hazard models.

The median UPF consumption was 29.25 percent and 25.81 percent for males and females, respectively, in the total diet among participants with a history of cancer.

Overall, 1,611 deaths were recorded over a median follow-up of 10.77 years. The multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios among participants in the highest versus lowest quartile of UPF intake were 1.17 (95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.02–1.35) for all-cause mortality and 1.22 (95 percent CI, 1.03–1.44) for cancer-related deaths.

“Higher UPF consumption after the diagnosis among participants with a history of cancer is associated with higher risk of mortality,” the investigators said.