Association Between Habitual Consumption of Meal Replacement Products And Cardiac Mortality Risk in US Adults: A Prospective Study

Introduction : Little is known about the long-term association between Habitual Consumption of Meal Replacement Products and the risk of cardiac mortality. Methods: Analyses were performed using data from NHANES 2003 to 2006 and linked mortality data, consisting of 5292 participants aged 20 to 84 years old. The frequency of MR consumption was categorized into 3 groups according to the food frequency questionnaire: seldom, often and almost every day. Linked cardiac mortality records from the National Death Index were documented till Dec 31, 2019. Cox regression models were fitted controlled for demographic characteristics, social-economic factors, disease histories, and lifestyle factors. Results: At baseline, the overall percentage of American adults consuming MR products often and almost every day were 10.39% and 3.34%. During a median follow-up of 10.75 years, 98 death events due to heart diseases were recorded. Compared to respondents who seldom consumed MR products, respondents consuming MR products almost every day were associated with higher cardiac mortality risk (Adjusted HR and 95% confidence intervals: 2.51, 1.07 to 5.91, P value=0.035). Conclusion: Habitual consumption of MR products might be associated with higher cardiac mortality risk.