Consumption of meat is associated with higher fasting glucose and insulin concentrations regardless of glucose and insulin genetic risk scores: a meta-analysis of 50,345 Caucasians.
BACKGROUND
Recent studies suggest that meat intake is associated with diabetes-related phenotypes. However, whether the associations of meat intake and glucose and insulin homeostasis are modified by genes related to glucose and insulin is unknown.


OBJECTIVE
We investigated the associations of meat intake and the interaction of meat with genotype on fasting glucose and insulin concentrations in Caucasians free of diabetes mellitus.


METHODS
Fourteen studies that are part of the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology consortium participated in the analysis. Data were provided for up to 50,345 participants. Using linear regression within studies and a fixed-effects meta-analysis across studies, we examined 1) the associations of processed meat and unprocessed red meat intake with fasting glucose and insulin concentrations; and 2) the interactions of processed meat and unprocessed red meat with genetic risk score related to fasting glucose or insulin resistance on fasting glucose and insulin concentrations.


RESULTS
Processed meat was associated with higher fasting glucose, and unprocessed red meat was associated with both higher fasting glucose and fasting insulin concentrations after adjustment for potential confounders [not including body mass index (BMI)]. For every additional 50-g serving of processed meat per day, fasting glucose was 0.021 mmol/L (95% CI: 0.011, 0.030 mmol/L) higher. Every additional 100-g serving of unprocessed red meat per day was associated with a 0.037-mmol/L (95% CI: 0.023, 0.051-mmol/L) higher fasting glucose concentration and a 0.049-ln-pmol/L (95% CI: 0.035, 0.063-ln-pmol/L) higher fasting insulin concentration. After additional adjustment for BMI, observed associations were attenuated and no longer statistically significant. The association of processed meat and fasting insulin did not reach statistical significance after correction for multiple comparisons. Observed associations were not modified by genetic loci known to influence fasting glucose or insulin resistance.


CONCLUSIONS
The association of higher fasting glucose and insulin concentrations with meat consumption was not modified by an index of glucose- and insulin-related single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Six of the participating studies are registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT0000513 (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities), NCT00149435 (Cardiovascular Health Study), NCT00005136 (Family Heart Study), NCT00005121 (Framingham Heart Study), NCT00083369 (Genetics of Lipid Lowering Drugs and Diet Network), and NCT00005487 (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis).
Departments of Epidemiology, Cardiovascular Health Research Unit, University of Washington, Seattle, WA; amfretts@uw.edu.
Amanda M
AM
Fretts
Department of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Cooperative Engineering, University of St. Thomas, Houston, TX;
Jack L
JL
Follis
Division of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas Health Sciences Center, Houston, TX;
Jennifer A
JA
Nettleton
Medicine, Cardiovascular Health Research Unit, University of Washington, Seattle, WA;
Rozenn N
RN
Lemaitre
Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA;
Julius S
JS
Ngwa
Department of Genetics, Division of Statistical Genomics, School of Medicine, Washington University, St. Louis, MO;
Mary K
MK
Wojczynski
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Harokopio University of Athens, Athens, Greece;
Ioanna Panagiota
IP
Kalafati
Department of Clinical Sciences Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology Unit and.
Tibor V
TV
Varga
USDA/Agricultural Research Service Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX;
Alexis C
AC
Frazier-Wood
Department of Internal Medicine and.
Denise K
DK
Houston
Institute of Behavioral Sciences.
Jari
J
Lahti
Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden;
Ulrika
U
Ericson
Department of Epidemiology and.
Edith H
EH
van den Hooven
Department of Food and Environmental Sciences, and Research Centre of Applied and Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland;
Vera
V
Mikkilä
Department of Epidemiology and.
Jessica C
JC
Kiefte-de Jong
Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy, Tufts University, Boston, MA;
Dariush
D
Mozaffarian
Biostatistics, and Cardiovascular Health Research Unit, University of Washington, Seattle, WA;
Kenneth
K
Rice
Department of Clinical Sciences Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology Unit and Department of Biobank Research.
Frida
F
Renström
Department of Epidemiology, Carolina Center for Genome Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC;
Kari E
KE
North
Nutritional Epidemiology Program, Jean Mayer-USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, and.
Nicola M
NM
McKeown
Department of Genetics, Division of Statistical Genomics, School of Medicine, Washington University, St. Louis, MO;
Mary F
MF
Feitosa
William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom;
Stavroula
S
Kanoni
Nutrition and Genomics Laboratory, Tufts University, Boston, MA;
Caren E
CE
Smith
Laboratory of Epidemiology and Population Sciences and.
Melissa E
ME
Garcia
Department of Chronic Disease Prevention, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland;
Anna-Maija
AM
Tiainen
Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden;
Emily
E
Sonestedt
Center for Public Health Genomics, Department of Public Health Sciences, Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA;
Ani
A
Manichaikul
Department of Epidemiology and Netherlands Genomics Initiative, Leiden, Netherlands;
Frank J A
FJ
van Rooij
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Harokopio University of Athens, Athens, Greece;
Maria
M
Dimitriou
Research Centre of Applied and Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Department of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland;
Olli
O
Raitakari
Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN;
James S
JS
Pankow
Department of Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston MA and.
Luc
L
Djoussé
Department of Genetics, Division of Statistical Genomics, School of Medicine, Washington University, St. Louis, MO;
Michael A
MA
Province
Department of Epidemiology and Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA;
Frank B
FB
Hu
Jean Mayer-USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, and Nutrition and Genomics Laboratory, Tufts University, Boston, MA;
Chao-Qiang
CQ
Lai
Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute of Aging, Bethesda, MD; Department of Clinical Physiology.
Margaux F
MF
Keller
Department of Chronic Disease Prevention, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland;
Mia-Maria
MM
Perälä
Institute for Translational Genomics and Population Sciences, Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA;
Jerome I
JI
Rotter
Department of Epidemiology and.
Albert
A
Hofman
Department of Epidemiology.
Misa
M
Graff
School of Medicine, and Tampere University Hospital, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland;
Mika
M
Kähönen
Division of General Medicine and Primary Care, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA;
Kenneth
K
Mukamal
Department of Odontology, and.
Ingegerd
I
Johansson
Jean Mayer-USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, and Nutrition and Genomics Laboratory, Tufts University, Boston, MA; Department of Epidemiology and Population Genetics, Cardiovascular Research Center, Madrid, Spain; IMDEA Food Institute, Madrid, Spain;
Jose M
JM
Ordovas
Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Division of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC;
Yongmei
Y
Liu
Department of Chronic Disease Prevention, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland;
Satu
S
Männistö
Department of Epidemiology and Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands;
André G
AG
Uitterlinden
William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom; Princess Al-Jawhara Al-Brahim Centre of Excellence in Research of Hereditary Disorders, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia;
Panos
P
Deloukas
Department of Clinical Chemistry, Fimlab Laboratories, School of Medicine, and.
Ilkka
I
Seppälä
Departments of Epidemiology, Medicine, Health Services and Cardiovascular Health Research Unit, University of Washington, Seattle, WA; Group Health Research Institute, Group Health Cooperative, Seattle, WA.
Bruce M
BM
Psaty
Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA; Framingham Heart Study, Framingham, MA;
L Adrienne
LA
Cupples
Department of Genetics, Division of Statistical Genomics, School of Medicine, Washington University, St. Louis, MO;
Ingrid B
IB
Borecki
Department of Clinical Sciences Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology Unit and Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden; Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA;
Paul W
PW
Franks
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL;
Donna K
DK
Arnett
Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute of Aging, Bethesda, MD;
Mike A
MA
Nalls
Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; Department of Chronic Disease Prevention, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland; General Practice Unit, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland; Folkhälsan Research Center, Helsinki, Finland;
Johan G
JG
Eriksson
Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden;
Marju
M
Orho-Melander
Department of Epidemiology and.
Oscar H
OH
Franco
Department of Clinical Chemistry, Fimlab Laboratories, School of Medicine, and.
Terho
T
Lehtimäki
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Harokopio University of Athens, Athens, Greece;
George V
GV
Dedoussis
Clinical Epidemiology Unit and Diabetes Research Unit, General Medicine Division, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA; and.
James B
JB
Meigs
Departments of Epidemiology, Medicine, Cardiovascular Health Research Unit, University of Washington, Seattle, WA; New York Academy of Medicine, New York, NY.
David S
DS
Siscovick
D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D015331:Cohort Studies; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study; D006801:Humans; D006943:Hyperglycemia / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006946:Hyperinsulinism / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D000078790:Insulin Secretion; D050417:Insulin-Secreting Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D008460:Meat / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008461:Meat Products / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008875:Middle Aged; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D012307:Risk Factors
D001786:Blood Glucose; D007328:Insulin
diet; gene–diet interaction; glucose; insulin; meat intake; meta-analysis