Ultra-processed food intake, genetic polymorphisms, and the risk of dyslipidemia in the adult Korean population.

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to examine the association between ultra-processed food intake and dyslipidemia risk, and whether this association varied by the polygenic score for dyslipidemia in the adult Korean population.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Ultra-processed foods were identified under the NOVA classification. Participants were categorized into <5, 5 to <10, 10 to <15, 15 to <20, and ≥20%E/d of ultra-processed food intake. The polygenic scores for dyslipidemia were calculated from 53,950 single nucleotide polymorphisms. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using multivariate logistic regression models.

Participants: 20,044 Korean adults aged ≥40 years in the Health Examinees (HEXA) study, the Cardiovascular Disease Association Study (CAVAS), and the Korea Association Resource (KARE) study.

Results: During median follow-ups of 4.09, 8.67, and 15.67 years in the HEXA, CAVAS, and KARE studies, respectively, there were a total of 7,331, 786, and 1,732 incident dyslipidemia events. Ultra-processed food intake was not significantly associated with dyslipidemia risk. Compared with <5%E/d, the pooled OR (95% CI) of ≥20%E/d of ultra-processed food intake for dyslipidemia incidence was 1.01 (0.90, 1.13; p for trend=0.83). There was no interaction by dyslipidemia-related genetic variations; ORs (95% CIs) were 1.04 (0.89, 1.22; p for trend=0.91) and 0.98 (0.84, 1.15; p for trend=0.72) for individuals with high and low polygenic scores, respectively (p for interaction=0.90).

Conclusions: No significant association was observed between ultra-processed food intake and the overall risk of dyslipidemia, nor in subgroups of polygenic scores for dyslipidemia among Korean adults with low ultra-processed food intake.