Women who consumed at least 102 g of red meat a day had a 42% higher risk of cerebral infarction than those who ate 25 g or less daily in a new analysis [1].

Women who consumed at least 102 g of red meat a day had a 42% higher risk of cerebral infarction than those who ate 25 g or less daily in a new analysis [1].

The findings "suggest that consumption of red and processed meats may increase risk of cerebral infarction," the authors, led by Dr Susanna C Larsson, (National Institute of Environmental Medicine, Stockholm, Sweden), conclude.

"These findings merit confirmation in additional large, prospective studies and in experimental studies on possible biological mechanisms," they add.

The study was published online December 16, 2010 in Stroke.

The prospective population-based study included 34 670 Swedish women aged 49 to 83 years who were part of the Swedish Mammography Cohort study and completed a diet and lifestyle questionnaire in 1997.

In addition to providing information on education, weight, height, smoking, physical activity, aspirin use, medical history, family history of MI, and alcohol consumption, study subjects also reported how often they consumed various food items, including meat.

For the study, researchers grouped meats into red meat, fresh meat, and processed meat such as sausage, hot dog, salami, ham, and liver pâté. Red meat was the sum of fresh and processed meat.

Over a mean follow-up of 10.4 years, there were 1680 incident strokes: 1310 cerebral infarctions, 154 intracerebral hemorrhages, 79 subarachnoid hemorrhages, and 137 unspecified strokes.

Compared with women in the lowest quintile of red-meat consumption, the multivariable relative risk (RR) of cerebral infarction for women in the highest quintile was 1.22 (95% CI 1.01-1.46; p=0.04). The association between red meat and cerebral infarction was stronger when the first three years of follow-up were excluded (RR 1.35, 95% CI, 1.10-1.66; p=0.005)

Among those who had never smoked and who did not have diabetes, there was a 68% increased risk of cerebral infarction among the biggest meat eaters compared with those who ate the least.

The researchers found no significant association between fresh meat consumption and the risk of intracerebral hemorrhage or subarachnoid hemorrhage. Poultry was not associated with risk of any stroke subtype or total stroke.