April 16/Arlington, Va./Archives of Internal Medicine -- Eating red meat is associated with a greater risk of developing such chronic diseases as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some types of cancer, but is it also associated with a higher mortality rate?
This study analyzed data on 121,342 adults, most in their late 40s to early 50s, who were free of cardiovascular disease and cancer at the start of the study. During a span of more than two decades, 23,926 of them died, including 5,910 from cardiovascular disease and 9,464 from cancer. Chances of dying during this time were greater for those who ate the most unprocessed red meat (such as beef, pork and lamb) and processed red meat (bacon, hot dogs, sausage, bologna). For each additional 3oz. serving daily of unprocessed red meat, overall chances of dying increased by 13%, and risk for death from cardiovascular disease rose by 18% and from cancer by 10%.