Roundup: Largest Study Yet on Risk of Diabetes Linked to Red, Processed Meats; and More News

Global Study: Regular Consumption of Red Meat and Processed Meats Raises Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

The largest study of its kind has found a link between the regular consumption of processed meat or unprocessed red meat and a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, according to an analysis of data from nearly two million participants.

A team led by researchers at the University of Cambridge in the U.K. focused on the global InterConnect project to analyze data from 31 studies covering 20 countries. Their research took into account factors such as age, gender, health-related behaviors, energy intake and body mass index.

According to a news release from the University of Cambridge, the researchers found that the “habitual consumption of 50 grams of processed meat a day - equivalent to 2 slices of ham - is associated with a 15 percent higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the next 10 years. The consumption of 100 grams of unprocessed red meat a day - equivalent to a small steak - was associated with a 10 percent higher risk of type 2 diabetes.”

Unprocessed red meats included beef, pork, lamb, and veal. Processed meats included bacon, ham, sausages, and hot dogs. 

“However, due to missing data in the studies, the authors were not able to account for the effect of family history, insulin resistance or waist circumference which are more strongly associated with the risk of developing diabetes than many of the risk factors which were accounted for,” stated Duane Mellor, M.D., dietitian and spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association, in a news release. Dr. Mellor was not involved in the study.

The study, published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, was observational, meaning that the researchers cannot conclude that the consumption of meat was the direct cause of the diabetes. However, Nita Forouhi, profession at the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge, and a senior author of the study, said in a statement: “Our research provides the most comprehensive evidence to date of an association …”

The InterConnect project allows researchers to analyze individual participant data from diverse studies, rather than being limited to published results, said the news release on the study. “This enabled the authors to include as many as 31 studies in this analysis, 18 of which had not previously published findings on the link between meat consumption and type 2 diabetes.”

The U.S. government’s dietary guidelines, also known as My Plate, focuses on plant-based options. The guidelines recommend “relatively lower consumption of red and processed meats”

NIH-Funded Study: This is How Long COVID Affects School-Age Kids (6-11) and Adolescents

Scientists focusing on long COVID in youth have found “similar but distinguishable patterns” between school-age children (ages 6-11 years) and adolescents (ages 12-17 years), according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Long COVID, a condition marked by symptoms and health problems that linger long after initial infection with COVID-19, also afflicts children and adolescents in almost every organ system -- with most having symptoms affecting more than one system, the NIH states.

The observational study, funded by the NIH and published in JAMA, included 3,860 children and adolescents with a COVID infection history at more than 60 sites across the United States between March 2022 and December 2023. A comparison group of 1,516 children and adolescents with no history of a COVID infection were also included to “disentangle whether prolonged symptoms of those who had experienced COVID-19 were related to COVID itself or more broadly related to the effects of the pandemic,” states the NIH in a news release.

Researchers identified 18 prolonged symptoms that were more common in school-age children, including headache (57 percent), followed by trouble with memory or focusing (44 percent), trouble sleeping (44 percent), and stomach pain (43 percent), states the NIH. Other common symptoms in school-age children not included in the research included body, muscle, and joint pain; daytime tiredness/sleepiness or low energy; and feeling anxious.

In adolescents, 17 symptoms were more common, including daytime tiredness/sleepiness or low energy (80 percent); body, muscle, or joint pain (60 percent); headaches (55 percent); and trouble with memory or focusing (47 percent). Feeling anxious and trouble sleeping were other commonly reported symptoms that were not included in the research .

“Most research characterizing long COVID symptoms is focused on adults, which can lead to the misperception that long COVID in children is rare or that their symptoms are like those of adults,” said David Goff, M.D., Ph.D., division director for the Division of Cardiovascular Sciences at the NIH’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, in a statement. “Because the symptoms can vary from child to child or present in different patterns, without a proper characterization of symptoms across the life span, it’s difficult to know how to optimize care for affected children and adolescents.”

Bodies Age the Most During Bursts of Changes In Our mid-40s, Early 60s, Researchers Find

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found that people age the most during two major bursts – around age 44 and age 60.

They assessed thousands of different molecules in people from age 25 to 75, as well as their microbiomes — the bacteria, viruses and fungi that live inside the body and on the skin. They found that the abundance of most molecules and microbes do not shift in a gradual, chronological fashion.

“Rather, we undergo two periods of rapid change during our life span, averaging around age 44 and age 60,” states a Stanford news release on the study published in the journal Nature Aging.

The researcher said they analyzed participants who donated blood and other biological samples every few months over the span of several years. They tracked many different kinds of molecules in these samples, including RNA, proteins and metabolites, as well as shifts in the participants’ microbiomes. The researchers said they “tracked age-related changes in more than 135,000 different molecules and microbes, for a total of nearly 250 billion distinct data points.” RNA refers to “ribonucleic acid” which is present in all living cells and has structural similarities to DNA.

Among participants in their 40s, significant changes were seen in the number of molecules related to “alcohol, caffeine and lipid metabolism; cardiovascular disease; and skin and muscle.” In those in their 60s, changes were related to “carbohydrate and caffeine metabolism, immune regulation, kidney function, cardiovascular disease, and skin and muscle.”

It’s possible some of these changes could be tied to lifestyle or behavioral factors that cluster at these age groups, rather than being driven by biological factors, the researchers concede. “For example, dysfunction in alcohol metabolism could result from an uptick in alcohol consumption in people’s mid-40s, often a stressful period of life,” states the Stanford news release

“The team plans to explore the drivers of these clusters of change,” concludes the Stanford news release on the study. “But whatever their causes, the existence of these clusters points to the need for people to pay attention to their health, especially in their 40s and 60s.”