Association of ultra-processed food consumption with cardiovascular mortality in the US population: long-term results from a large prospective multicenter study

Table 3 Subgroup analyses on the association between energy-adjusted ultra-processed food consumption (daily serving) and cardiovascular mortality

Subgroup variable	Overall cardiovascular mortality		Heart disease mortality		Cerebrovascular disease mortality
Subgroup variable	HR_{quintile 5 vs. 1} (95% CI) ^a	P_interaction	HR_{quintile 5 vs. 1} (95% CI) ^a	P_interaction	HR_{quintile 5 vs. 1} (95% CI) ^a	P_interaction
Age (years)
≥ 60	1.47 (1.33, 1.61)	0.066	1.64 (1.47, 1.84)	0.182	0.90 (0.72, 1.13)	0.486
< 60	1.81 (1.28, 2.56)	0.066	1.89 (1.30, 2.77)	0.182	1.81 (0.70, 4.68)	0.486
Sex
Male	1.23 (1.08, 1.40)	< 0.001	1.39 (1.20, 1.61)	0.001	0.75 (0.56, 1.02)	0.140
Female	1.93 (1.68, 2.21)	< 0.001	2.17 (1.84, 2.55)	0.001	1.15 (0.85, 1.58)	0.140
Body mass index (kg/m²)
≥ 25	1.53 (1.36, 1.72)	0.814	1.68 (1.47, 1.91)	0.935	1.09 (0.83, 1.43)	0.357
< 25	1.45 (1.23, 1.70)	0.814	1.72 (1.42, 2.09)	0.935	0.69 (0.47, 1.03)	0.357
Smoking status
Current or former	1.44 (1.28, 1.63)	0.260	1.61 (1.40, 1.86)	0.315	0.94 (0.71, 1.24)	0.532
Never	1.61 (1.39, 1.85)	0.260	1.79 (1.52, 2.12)	0.315	0.96 (0.69, 1.34)	0.532
Alcohol consumption (g/day) ^b
No, light or moderate	1.58 (1.43, 1.75)	0.144	1.75 (1.55, 1.97)	0.417	1.03 (0.82, 1.30)	0.484
Heavy	1.11 (0.86, 1.42)	0.144	1.32 (0.99, 1.76)	0.417	0.60 (0.33, 1.11)	0.484

^a Adjusted for age (years), sex (male, female), race (non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, Hispanic, others), educational level (college below, college graduate, postgraduate), marital status (married, widowed, divorced, separated, never married), study center (10 categories), aspirin use (yes, no), history of hypertension (yes, no), history of diabetes (yes, no), smoking status (current, former, never), alcohol consumption (g/day), body mass index (< 18.5, 18.5–24.9, 25.0–30.0, > 30.0 kg/m²), physical activity (min/week), and energy intake from diet (kcal/day). In subgroup analyses stratified by sex and smoking status, hazard ratios were not adjusted for the stratification factor
^b Light, moderate, and heavy alcohol consumption are defined as ≤6 g/day, > 6–28 g/day for male and > 6–14 g/day for female, and > 28 g/day for male and > 14 g/day for female, respectively

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