Abstract 11437: Cooking Methods for Red Meat and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in U.S. Women

Background: Red meat intake is an established risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes (T2D), although the role of cooking methods in the associations of red meat intake with T2D is largely unknown. This study aimed to examine red meat cooking methods in relation to risk of T2D among U.S. women who were regular meat-consumers (≥2 servings of red meat intake per week). Methods: We prospectively followed 59,032 women in the Nurses’ Health Study through 2012, who were free of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer at baseline in 1986. Diet was assessed by validated food-frequency questionnaires. Weekly frequency of cooking methods for red meat, including roasting, broiling, barbequing, pan-frying, and stewing or boiling, were collected at baseline. Results: During 1.24 million person-years of follow-up, we documented 6,205 incident T2D cases. After multivariate adjustment for demographics, lifestyle factors, and cooking methods, comparing extreme quintiles, the HR (95% CI) of T2D was 1.18 (1.07, 1.30) for total red meat intake and 1.31 (1.20, 1.43) for processed red meat intake (both P trend<0.001). Higher frequency of broiling and barbequing for red meat were associated with greater weight gain over 8 years (all P <0.05). After multivariate adjustment including total red meat intake, and comparing with cooking red meat <1 time/month, participants cooking red meat ≥ 2 times/week had an HR (95% CI) of T2D that was 1.28 (1.18, 1.39) for broiling ( P trend<0.001), 1.22 (1.10, 1.36) for barbequing ( P trend<0.001), 1.10 (1.00, 1.22) for roasting ( P trend=0.17), 0.84 (0.76, 0.93) for pan-frying ( P trend=0.01), and 0.97 (0.85, 1.09) for stewing or boiling ( P trend=0.97). When cooking methods were further mutually adjusted, the results remained similar. Conclusion: These findings suggested that, beyond the risk of red meat intake, high-temperature open-flame cooking methods for red meat, especially broiling and barbequing, are independently associated with a higher risk of T2D.