Fried
chicken and fried fish in particular seem to be associated with higher risk of
death
BMJ
Regularly
eating fried food is linked with a heightened risk of death from any cause and
heart-related death, among postmenopausal women, finds a US study in The
BMJ today.
Foods
such as fried chicken and fried fish/shellfish were associated with a higher risk
of heart-related death, particularly among younger women in the study (aged
50-65 years old).
The
researchers suggest that reducing consumption of fried foods, especially fried
chicken and fried fish/shellfish, could have a positive public health impact.
Up
to a third of North American adults have fast-food every day, and previous
studies have suggested that a greater intake of fried food is associated with a
higher risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
But evidence about the risk of death linked with eating fried foods is limited and subject to much debate.
So
to address this, US researchers investigated the association of eating fried
food with death from any cause, and in particular heart and cancer-related
death.
They
used questionnaire data to assess the diets of 106,966 women, aged 50 to 79,
who enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) between 1993-1998 and who
were followed up to February 2017.
During
this time, 31,588 deaths occurred, including 9,320 heart-related deaths 8,358
cancer deaths and 13,880 from other causes.
The
researchers looked at the women's total and specific consumption of different
fried foods, including: "fried chicken"; "fried fish, fish
sandwich and fried shellfish (shrimp and oysters)"; and other fried foods,
such as french fries, tortilla chips and tacos.
After
taking account of potentially influential factors such as lifestyle, overall
diet quality, education level and income, the researchers found that regularly
eating fried foods was associated with a heightened risk of death from any
cause and, specifically, heart-related death: those who ate one or more
servings a day had an 8% higher risk compared with those who did not eat fried
food.
One
or more servings of fried chicken a day was linked to a 13% higher risk of
death from any cause and a 12% higher risk of heart-related death compared with
no fried food.
Similarly,
one or more servings of fried fish/shellfish a day was linked to a 7% higher
risk of death from any cause and a 13% higher risk of heart-related death
compared with no fried food.
But
the researchers found no evidence that eating fried food was associated with
cancer-related death.
Women
who ate fried foods more regularly tended to be younger, non-white, with less
education and a lower income. They were also more likely to be smokers,
exercise less and have a lower quality diet.
This
is an observational study which only considers women in the US, so may not be
applicable more widely, emphasise the researchers.
And
they say that the presence of "unidentified confounders is still
possible," so no firm conclusions can be drawn about cause.
But
the authors highlight the large size and diversity of the study sample, and say
that "we have identified a risk factor for cardiovascular mortality that
is readily modifiable by lifestyle."
"Reducing
the consumption of fried foods, especially fried chicken and fried
fish/shellfish, may have clinically meaningful impact across the public health
spectrum," they conclude.
