Dietary exposure to nitrites may increase risk of type 2 diabetes, study says

A group of researchers from the Sorbonne Paris Nord University, in collaboration with the Nutrition And Cancer Research Network, has recently published a study in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS Medicine, which suggests an association between dietary exposure to nitrites and risk of type 2 diabetes. No association was found with the consumption of nitrates.

Nitrites and nitrates are naturally present in the environment and are commonly ingested via food and drinking water. They are also used as food additives to increase shelf life of some food products, such as processed meats.

These preservatives have drawn attention recently because of potential health risks, and some public health authorities have advocated for limiting the use of nitrites and nitrates as food additives. It is still unclear the full risks associated with the consumption of nitrates and nitrites, and the scientific community is working to understand how these additives relate to different health disorders, such as – in this case study – type 2 diabetes.

In order to investigate the relationship between dietary exposure to nitrites/nitrates type 2 diabetes risk, the researchers examined data collected between 2009 and 2021 from 104 168 participants in the prospective cohort NutriNet-Santé, an ongoing web-based study initiated in 2009.    

The researchers used detailed nitrite/nitrate exposure, and then developed statistical models to analyze self-reported diet information with health outcomes.    

The results of the analysis showed that participants had a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes if they reported consuming more nitrites. No association was found between nitrates and type 2 diabetes risk. Furthermore, the findings did not support any potential benefits from dietary nitrites and nitrates intake.    

The authors admitted that further investigations are needed, as their study had several limitations. The data were self-reported and the researchers could not confirm specific nitrite/nitrate exposure using biomarkers due to the underlying biological challenges. Additionally, the cohort included people with demographics and behaviors that may not be generalizable to the rest of the population. Moreover, residual confounding may also have impacted the outcomes because of the observational design of the study.    

The authors concluded: "These results provide a new piece of evidence in the context of current discussions regarding the need for a reduction of nitrite additives' use in processed meats by the food industry and could support the need for better regulation of soil contamination by fertilizers".            

Source:  

https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1004149