title: Meat intake and risk of diverticulitis among men.
abstract: Diverticulitis is a common disease with a substantial clinical and economic burden. Besides dietary fibre, the role of other foods in the prevention of diverticulitis is underexplored.
  
  
  
  We prospectively examined the association between consumption of meat (total red meat, red unprocessed meat, red processed meat, poultry and fish) with risk of incident diverticulitis among 46 461 men enrolled in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (1986-2012). Cox proportional hazards models were used to compute relative risks (RRs) and 95% CIs.
  
  
  
  During 651 970 person-years of follow-up, we documented 764 cases of incident diverticulitis. Compared with men in the lowest quintile (Q1) of total red meat consumption, men in the highest quintile (Q5) had a multivariable RR of 1.58 (95% CI 1.19 to 2.11; p for trend=0.01). The increase in risk was non-linear, plateauing after six servings per week (p for non-linearity=0.002). The association was stronger for unprocessed red meat (RR for Q5 vs Q1: 1.51; 95% CI 1.12 to 2.03; p for trend=0.03) than for processed red meat (RR for Q5 vs Q1: 1.03; 95% CI 0.78 to 1.35; p for trend=0.26). Higher consumption of poultry or fish was not associated with risk of diverticulitis. However, the substitution of poultry or fish for one serving of unprocessed red meat per day was associated with a decrease in risk of diverticulitis (multivariable RR 0.80; 95% CI 0.63 to 0.99).
  
  
  
  Red meat intake, particularly unprocessed red meat, was associated with an increased risk of diverticulitis. The findings provide practical dietary guidance for patients at risk of diverticulitis.
authors.affiliation: Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.|Division of Gastroenterology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.|Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Yin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, Washington, USA.
authors.forename: Lisa L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Strate
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Brieze R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Keeley
authors.affiliation: Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Idy
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Tam
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Kana
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.|Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.|Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Edward L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Giovannucci
authors.affiliation: Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.|Division of Gastroenterology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.|Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.|Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D004032:Diet; D004239:Diverticulitis, Colonic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D005396:Fish Products; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008460:Meat / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011202:Poultry Products; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D000069466:Red Meat / Q000009:adverse effects; D012307:Risk Factors
keywords: DIETARY FACTORS; DIVERTICULAR DISEASE; EPIDEMIOLOGY