title: Meat Consumption and Risk of Developing Type 2 Diabetes in the SUN Project: A Highly Educated Middle-Class Population.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Meat consumption has been consistently associated with the risk of diabetes in different populations. The aim of our study was to investigate the incidence of type 2 diabetes according to baseline total meat consumption in a longitudinal assessment of a middle-aged Mediterranean population.
  
  
  METHODS
  We followed 18,527 participants (mean age: 38 years, 61% women) in the SUN Project, an open-enrolment cohort of a highly educated population of middle-class Spanish graduate students. All participants were initially free of diabetes. Diet was assessed at baseline using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire of 136-items previously validated. Incident diabetes was defined according to the American Diabetes Association's criteria.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We identified 146 incident cases of diabetes after a maximum of 14 years of follow-up period (mean: 8.7 years). In the fully adjusted model, the consumption of ≥3 servings/day of all types of meat was significantly associated with a higher risk of diabetes (HR: 1.85; 95% CI: 1.03-3.31; p for trend = 0.031) in comparison with the reference category (<2 servings/day). When we separated processed from non-processed meat, we observed a non-significant higher risk associated with greater consumption of processed meat and a non-significant lower risk associated with non-processed meat consumption (p for trend = 0.123 and 0.487, respectively). No significant difference was found between the two types of meat (p = 0.594).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that meat consumption, especially processed meat, was associated with a higher risk of developing diabetes in our young Mediterranean cohort.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.|Nutrition Unit-Department of Endocrinology and Nutrition, Hospital de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mari-Sanchis
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.|CIBERobn, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.|IDISNA, Navarra's Research Health Institute, Pamplona, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gea
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.|IDISNA, Navarra's Research Health Institute, Pamplona, Spain.|Endocrinology Unit-Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Reina Sofia, Tudela, Spain.
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Basterra-Gortari
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.|CIBERobn, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.|IDISNA, Navarra's Research Health Institute, Pamplona, Spain.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Martinez-Gonzalez
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Sciences, School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Laureate International Universities, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Beunza
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.|CIBERobn, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.|IDISNA, Navarra's Research Health Institute, Pamplona, Spain.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bes-Rastrollo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D004032:Diet; D005223:Fats / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008460:Meat / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012923:Social Class; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D005223:Fats