Frequency of Egg Intake Associated with Mortality in Chinese Adults: An 8-Year Nationwide Cohort Study

Whether egg consumption plays a beneficial/detrimental role in affecting human health and longevity has been debated for decades. Large-scale cohort evidence from low- and middle-income populations are scarce. In this study, we aimed to assess the association of egg consumption with mortality in Chinese adults. A nationwide cohort of 30,835 participants ages 16-110 years were enrolled from 25 provincial regions in China's mainland. Dietary intake (e.g., egg, meat, vegetable) was assessed by a food-frequency questionnaire. Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine associations between egg consumption and mortality, adjusting for demographic characteristics, dietary factors and health status. Dose-response relationships were investigated using the smoothing function of restricted cubic splines. Several subgroup analyses were performed. A total of 1651 all-cause deaths occurred during a median follow-up of 8.1 years. Egg consumption was associated with lower risks of mortality, with the lowest risk occurring in the group of moderate egg intake (3-6 times/week). Compared with non-consumers, the hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) for mortality were 0.84 (0.72-0.97) for 3-6 times/week and 0.82 (0.69-0.98) for ≥7 times/week, whereas no significant associations were observed among the lower egg intake group (1-2/week). An approximately inverted J-shaped association was observed in three models, while restricting our analysis in the multivariable model (model 3) did not identify a significant violation for the linear relationship (p for nonlinear = 0.122). There were no statistically significant effect modifications in the subgroup analyses. Egg consumption may be associated with lower risks of mortality in Chinese adults. Our findings found moderate-to-high egg consumption might be beneficial for improving long-term health and longevity.