Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Nov 17;12(22):4164.
doi: 10.3390/foods12224164.

Red Meat Consumption and Cancer Risk: A Systematic Analysis of Global Data

Hongyue Ma  1   2 , Xiangming Qi  1   3   4   5
Affiliations

Red Meat Consumption and Cancer Risk: A Systematic Analysis of Global Data

Hongyue Ma et al. Foods. .

Abstract

The association between red meat consumption and cancer risk remains a controversy. In this study, we systematically collected and analyzed global data (from Our World in Data and Global Cancer Observatory) to investigate this association for the first time. Our results confirmed significant positive associations between red meat consumption (RMC) and overall cancer incidence (0.798, p < 0.001), or colorectal cancer incidence (0.625, p < 0.001). Several previously unreported cancer types linked to RMC were also unveiled. Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita were found to have an impact on this association. However, even after controlling it, RMC remained significantly associated with cancer incidence (0.463, p < 0.001; 0.592, p < 0.001). Meanwhile, after controlling GDP per capita, the correlation coefficients between white meat consumption and overall cancer incidence were found to be much lower and insignificant, at 0.089 (p = 0.288) for poultry consumption and at -0.055 (p = 0.514) for seafood and fish consumption. Notably, an interesting comparison was performed between changes of colorectal cancer incidence and RMC in many countries and regions. A lag of 15-20 years was found, implying causality between RMC and cancer risk. Our findings will contribute to the development of more rational meat consumption concept.

Keywords: cancer incidence; cancer risk; global data; red meat consumption; white meat consumption.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Associations between RMC and OCI or CRC incidence: (a) the association between RMC and OCI, RMC and OCI are averages from 1992 to 2017, including 159 countries and regions; and the (b) association between RMC and CRC incidence; bubble colors represent the different continents and bubble size represents the GDP per capita. RMC and CRI are averages from 1999 to 2010, including 40 countries and regions. The results of the dose–response analysis is shown in Figure S1.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Associations between RMC and specific cancer incidences: cluster analysis of 36 cancer types; cancer incidence is for the year 2020, including 153 countries and regions. The average RMC from 1992 to 2017 is used to assess the level of RMC in these areas, with 0–20 kg per year defined as low, 20–40 kg per year defined as middle, and more than 40 kg per year defined as high.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Distribution of RMC, OCI and GDP per capita: (a) the distribution of RMC; (b) the distribution of OCI; (c) the distribution of GDP per capita. The averaged data from 1992 to 2017 are used to assess the level of local RMC, OCI and GDP per capita, including 144 countries and regions. The gray areas in the maps indicate no data.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Changes in RMC and CRC incidence, 1961~2017; (a), United States of America. (b), Costa Rica. (c), New Zealand. (d), Republic of Korea. The area indicated by the arrows and line segments is the basis for determining similarity.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Changes in RMC and CRC incidence, 1961~2017; (a), United States of America. (b), Costa Rica. (c), New Zealand. (d), Republic of Korea. The area indicated by the arrows and line segments is the basis for determining similarity.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Association between white meat consumption and cancer incidences: (a) association between PMC and OCI; and (b) association between SFC and OCI. PMC, SFC and OCI are averages from 1992 to 2017, including 159 countries and regions. (c) Association between PMC and CRC incidence. (d) Association between PMC and CRC incidence. PMC, SFC and OCI are averages from 1999 to 2010, including 40 countries and regions.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Association between white meat consumption and cancer incidences: (a) association between PMC and OCI; and (b) association between SFC and OCI. PMC, SFC and OCI are averages from 1992 to 2017, including 159 countries and regions. (c) Association between PMC and CRC incidence. (d) Association between PMC and CRC incidence. PMC, SFC and OCI are averages from 1999 to 2010, including 40 countries and regions.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Godfray H.C.J., Aveyard P., Garnett T., Hall J.W., Key T.J., Lorimer J., Pierrehumbert R.T., Scarborough P., Springmann M., Jebb S.A. Meat consumption, health, and the environment. Science. 2018;361:eaam5324. doi: 10.1126/science.aam5324. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Oostindjer M., Alexander J., Amdam G.V., Andersen G., Bryan N.S., Chen D., Corpet D.E., De Smet S., Dragsted L.O., Haug A., et al. The role of red and processed meat in colorectal cancer development: A perspective. Meat Sci. 2014;97:583–596. doi: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2014.02.011. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Gonera A., Svanes E., Bugge A.B., Hatlebakk M.M., Prexl K.-M., Ueland Ø. Moving Consumers along the Innovation Adoption Curve: A New Approach to Accelerate the Shift toward a More Sustainable Diet. Sustainability. 2021;13:4477. doi: 10.3390/su13084477. - DOI
    1. McAfee A.J., McSorley E.M., Cuskelly G.J., Moss B.W., Wallace J.M., Bonham M.P., Fearon A.M. Red meat consumption: An overview of the risks and benefits. Meat Sci. 2010;84:1–13. doi: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2009.08.029. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Latvala T., Niva M., Mäkelä J., Pouta E., Heikkilä J., Kotro J., Forsman-Hugg S. Diversifying meat consumption patterns: Consumers’ self-reported past behaviour and intentions for change. Meat Sci. 2012;92:71–77. doi: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2012.04.014. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources