Death by 1000 sausages

New research is claiming that 3% of all premature deaths can be attributed to the high consumption of processed meats such as sausage products, salami or ham.

In a huge study of half a million men and women, research in Biomed Central’s open access journal BMC Medicine has demonstrated an association between processed meat and cardiovascular disease and cancer.

The problem is that carcinogenic substances such as nitrosamines form through salting, pickling or smoking, and these might be the cause of the increase in cancer mortality. However, processed meats are also rich in cholesterol and saturated fats, which are linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

One of the difficulties in measuring the effect of eating meat on health is the confounding effect of lifestyle on health. Often vegetarians have healthier lifestyles than the general population, they are less likely to smoke, are less fat and are more likely to be physically active. Only within a very large study can the consequences of eating meat and processed meat be isolated from other lifestyle choices.

This EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) study involved 10 countries and 23 centres in Europe and 450,000 participants.

In general, a diet high in processed meat was linked to other unhealthy choices. Men and women who ate the most processed meat ate the least fruit and vegetables and were more likely to smoke. Men who ate a lot of meat also tended to have a high alcohol consumption.

A person’s risk of premature death (increased risk of ‘all cause’ mortality) increased with the amount of processed meat eaten. This is also true after correcting for confounding variables, although residual confounding cannot be excluded. However, a small amount of red meat appeared to be beneficial, which the researchers suggest is because meat is an important source of nutrients and vitamins.

Prof Sabine Rohrmann, from the University of Zurich, who led this analysis, explained, “Risks of dying earlier from cancer and cardiovascular disease also increased with the amount of processed meat eaten. Overall, we estimate that 3% of premature deaths each year could be prevented if people ate less than 20 g processed meat per day.”