Consumption of ultra-processed foods and multiple health outcomes: An umbrella study of meta-analyses

Ziyi Wang; Cuncun Lu; Lu Cui; E Fenfen; Wenru Shang; Zhifei Wang; Guihang Song; Kehu Yang; Xiuxia Li

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.137460

Consumption of ultra-processed foods and multiple health outcomes: An umbrella study of meta-analyses

Food Chem. 2024 Feb 15:434:137460. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.137460. Epub 2023 Sep 12.

Authors

Ziyi Wang¹, Cuncun Lu², Lu Cui¹, E Fenfen¹, Wenru Shang¹, Zhifei Wang³, Guihang Song⁴, Kehu Yang⁵, Xiuxia Li⁶

Affiliations

¹ Health Technology Assessment Center, Evidence-Based Social Science Research Center, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China; Evidence Based Medicine Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China; Key Laboratory of Evidence Based Medicine and Knowledge Translation of Gansu Province, Lanzhou 730000, China.
² Institute of Basic Research in Clinical Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China. Electronic address: cuncunlu2017@163.com.
³ Institute of Basic Research in Clinical Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China.
⁴ Gansu Healthcare Security Administration, Lanzhou 730000, China.
⁵ Health Technology Assessment Center, Evidence-Based Social Science Research Center, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China; Evidence Based Medicine Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China; Key Laboratory of Evidence Based Medicine and Knowledge Translation of Gansu Province, Lanzhou 730000, China. Electronic address: yangkh-ebm@lzu.edu.cn.
⁶ Health Technology Assessment Center, Evidence-Based Social Science Research Center, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China; Evidence Based Medicine Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China; Key Laboratory of Evidence Based Medicine and Knowledge Translation of Gansu Province, Lanzhou 730000, China. Electronic address: lixiuxia@lzu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37722333
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.137460

Abstract

Consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) is associated with various adverse health outcomes, which significantly influence the global disease burden. This umbrella review aimed to fill the knowledge gap and guide public health practices by summarizing the association between UPFs and multiple health outcomes. A total of four databases were systematically searched from inception to December 2022, and 14 eligible systematic reviews (SRs) with meta-analyses (MAs) were identified. The SRs were published in 10 journals from 2020 to 2023, with 54,147-5,750,133 participants and 5-61 studies. The overall corrected covered area (CCA) was corresponded to a slight overlap. The results showed that an increased UPFs consumption is associated with multiple health outcomes (e.g., obesity, diabetes, hypertension, mortality). Only two SRs were "Moderate" regarding the overall methodological quality, while the other twelve were "Low" or "Critically low". Therefore, well-conducted SRs with high-quality prospective cohorts with a particular focus on special populations are needed to verify these findings further.

Keywords: AMSTAR-2; Health; Meta-research; Ultra-processed foods; Umbrella review.

Publication types

Systematic Review

MeSH terms

Databases, Factual
Food, Processed*
Humans
Hypertension*
Obesity
Prospective Studies