Worldwide burden attributable to diet high in red meat from 1990 to 2019

Red meat overconsumption is an unhealthy behavior, while its attributed burden and epidemiological pattern remain unclear. This study aimed to describe the status and trend of how the diet high in red meat burdens the world.

We accessed the data of summary exposure values (SEVs), deaths, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) with their age-standardized rates in each country from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Collaborative Network from 1990 to 2019. We calculated estimated annual percentage changes (EAPCs) to evaluate the trends of the disease burden.

The age-standardized SEV rates increased in most of the 21 GBD regions, mainly in the low-middle and middle socio-demographic index (SDI) quantiles from 1990 to 2019, while East Asia increased the most rapidly. In 2019, a diet high in red meat was responsible for 0.9 million (95% uncertainty interval (UI) 0.5 to 1.3 million) deaths and 23.9 million (95% UI 15.6 to 32.0 million) DALYs worldwide. From 1990 to 2019, the total deaths and DALYs attributable to a diet high in red meat increased by over 50%. However, the age-standardized death and DALY rates decreased by 30.3% and 23.5%, respectively, during the study period. The age-standardized death and DALY rates in the middle SDI regions surpassed those in the high SDI regions from 2002. Ischemic heart disease, diabetes mellitus, and colorectal cancer were the main causes of diet high in red meat-related deaths and DALYs.

Increasing consumption of red meat remains a global challenge, especially in the low-middle and middle SDI countries.