Talaei M, et al. – This study assessed the risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) in relation to consumption of red meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, as well as heme iron. Researchers reported an association of red meat and poultry consumption with a higher risk of T2D. These links were mediated completely for poultry and partially for red meat by heme iron intake.

Methods

• A population-based cohort study, the Singapore Chinese Health Study, recruited 63,257 Chinese adults aged 45–74 years from 1993 to 1998.
• A validated 165-item semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire was performed at recruitment to assess usual diet.  
• Physician-diagnosed T2D was self-reported during 2 follow-up interviews in 1999–2004 and 2006–2010.

Results

• As per data, 5,207 incident cases of T2D were reported during a mean follow-up of 10.9 years.
• Findings demonstrated that on comparing persons in the highest intake quartiles with those in the lowest, the multivariate-adjusted hazard ratio for T2D was 1.23 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.14, 1.33) for red meat intake (P for trend < 0.001), 1.15 (95% CI: 1.06, 1.24) for poultry intake (P for trend = 0.004), and 1.07 (95% CI: 0.99, 1.16) for fish/shellfish intake (P for trend = 0.12).
• Researchers noted that following additional adjustment for heme iron, only red meat intake remained significantly associated with T2D risk (multivariate-adjusted hazard ratio = 1.13, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.25; P for trend = 0.02).
• Data also revealed an association of heme iron with a higher risk of T2D even after additional adjustment for red meat intake (multivariate-adjusted hazard ratio = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.28; P for trend = 0.03).