Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and Long-Term Risk of Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Large-Scale Prospective Cohort Study

Mar 24, 2024Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology : the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association

Eating Highly Processed Foods and the Long-Term Risk of Developing Irritable Bowel Syndrome

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Abstract

An 8% higher risk of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is associated with every 10% increase in ultraprocessed food (UPF) consumption.

The mean consumption of UPF among participants was 21.0% of total dietary intake.
During a median follow-up of 11.3 years, 2,690 new cases of IBS were identified.
Individuals in the highest quartile of UPF consumption had a 19% increased risk of developing IBS compared to those in the lowest quartile.
Similar associations with increased IBS risk were observed across various subgroups, including age and sex, but not in the subgroup of never/previous drinkers.
Sensitivity analyses supported the positive association between higher UPF consumption and the risk of IBS.

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BACKGROUND & AIMS: The considerable disease burden of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) has coincided with the increase of ultraprocessed food (UPF) consumption over the past few decades. However, epidemiologic evidence for an association is lacking. We aimed to examine the long-term risk of IBS associated with UPF consumption in a large-scale prospective cohort.

METHODS: Participants who completed 24-hour dietary recalls during 2009 to 2012 from the UK Biobank, and free of IBS, celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and any cancer at baseline, were included (N = 178,711; 53.1% female). UPF consumption was defined according to the NOVA food classification system, expressed as a percentage of UPF content in the total diet intake (as grams per day). The primary outcome was incident IBS. A Cox proportional hazard model was performed to estimate associated risk.

RESULTS: The mean UPF consumption was 21.0% (SD, 11.0%) of the total diet. During a median of 11.3 years of follow-up, 2690 incident IBS cases were identified. An 8% higher risk of IBS (hazard ratio, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.04-1.12) was associated with every 10% increment of UPF consumption. Compared with the lowest quartile of UPF consumption, the highest quartile was associated with a significantly increased risk of incident IBS (hazard ratio, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.07-1.33; P< .001). Subgroup analyses by age, sex, body mass index, smoking, and alcohol drinking status also showed similar results, except for the never/previous drinking subgroup. Further sensitivity analyses confirmed the positive association with a higher UPF consumption. trend

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide evidence that a higher UPF consumption is associated with an increased risk of incident IBS, with a significant dose-response relationship.

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Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and Long-Term Risk of Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Large-Scale Prospective Cohort Study

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