Food Consumption Timing Impacts Mortality Among Patients With Diabetes

The time of day and type of food eaten is associated with cardiovascular mortality in patients with diabetes, according to a survey data analysis.

Researchers analyzed data from 4642 patients with diabetes who participated in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2003 to 2014. Researchers divided food consumption into quantiles based on its time of consumption (ie, morning, afternoon, or evening) and used Cox proportional hazards regression models to analyze the survival association.

They found that participants in the highest quantile of potato and starchy vegetable consumption in the morning had a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease (CVD) than those in the lowest quantile (hazard ratio [HR]=0.46, 95% CI, 0.24 to 0.89 for potato consumption; HR=0.32, 95% CI, 0.15 to 0.72 for starchy vegetable consumption).

Similarly, participants in the highest quantile of whole grain consumption in the afternoon had one-third lower risk of death from CVD than those in the lowest quantile (HR=0.67, 95% CI, 0.48 to 0.95).

Participants in the highest quantile of dark vegetable and milk consumption in the evening had roughly one-half the risk of death from CVD of those in the lowest quantile (HR=0.55, 95% CI, 0.35 to 0.87 for dark vegetable consumption; HR=0.56, 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.88 for milk consumption) as well as lower risk of all-cause death (HR=0.71, 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.92 for milk consumption).

In contrast, participants in the highest quantile of processed meat consumption in the evening were more likely to die from CVD than those in the lowest quantile (HR=1.74, 95% CI, 1.07 to 2.82).

Switching 0.1 serving of potato or starchy vegetable eaten later in the day to the morning reduced risk of death from CVD, as did switching 0.1 serving of dark vegetable eaten in the afternoon to the evening or switching 0.1 serving of whole grain eaten in the morning to the afternoon.

“[L]ower intake of processed meat in the evening was associated with better long-term survival in people with diabetes,” researchers concluded.

—Ellen Kurek

Reference:

Jiang W, Song Q, Zhang J, et al. The association of consumption time for food with cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality among diabetic patients. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. Published online March 15, 2022. Accessed March 23, 2022. doi:10.1210/clinem/dgac069