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Publications

Journal Article Ahead of print 2 citations

PubMed: 42409074 DOI: 10.1080/10408398.2026.2629025

Circulating metabolites and fatty acids associated with ultra-processed food consumption: results from the EPIC study.

Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr

Authors: Jessica Blanco-Lopez, Sahar Yammine, Joseph A Rothwell, Mathilde His, Carine Biessy, Pekka Keski-Rahkonen, Bernadette Chimera, Inarie Jacobs, Aline Al Nahas, Emine Koc Cakmak, Oliver Robinson, Fernanda Morales Berstein, Manon Cairat, Kiara Chang, Eszter P Vamos, Christopher Millet, Renata Bertazzi Levy, Fernanda Rauber, Sabina Rinaldi, Paolo Vineis, Rhea Harewood, Maria-Jose Sánchez, Marcela Guevara, Jose Maria Huerta, Marta Crous-Bou, Daniel Borch Ibsen, Christina C Dahm, Anja Olsen, Cecilie Kyrø, Benedetta Bendinelli, Giuliana Gargano, Rosario Tumino, Carlotta Sacerdote, Fabrizio Pasanisi, Yvonne van der Schouw, Francesca Mancini, Pauline Frenoy, Chloé Marques, Guri Skeie, Magritt Brustad, Genevieve Nicolas, Nikos Papadimitriou, Diana Wu, Esther M Gonzalez-Gil, Marc J Gunter, Pietro Ferrari, Nathalie Kliemann, Inge Huybrechts

Affiliations

  • Nutrition and Metabolism Branch, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC/WHO), Lyon Cedex 07, France.
  • School of Medicine, Universidad Francisco Marroquín, Guatemala City, Guatemala.
  • INSERM, INRAE, CNAM, Center of Research in Epidemiology and Statistics (CRESS), Université Sorbonne Paris Nord and Université Paris Cité, Nutritional, Villetaneuse, France.
  • UVSQ, Inserm, Gustave Roussy, CESP, Université Paris-Saclay, Villejuif, France.
  • Prevention Cancer Environment Department, Centre Leon Bérard, Lyon/Inserm, U1296 Unit, "Radiation: Defense, Health and Environment", Lyon, France.
  • MRC Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College, London, London, UK.
  • MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
  • Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
  • Public Health Policy Evaluation Unit, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK.
  • NOVA National School of Public Health, Public Health Research Centre, Comprehensive Health Research Center (CHRC), NOVA University Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal.
  • Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
  • Centre for Epidemiological Studies in Nutrition and Health, School of Public Health, University of São Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
  • Institute of Biomedical Research of Salamanca (IBSAL), University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain.
  • Cancer Screening and Prevention Research Group, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London, UK.
  • Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública (EASP), Granada, Spain.
  • Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs. GRANADA, Granada, Spain.
  • Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain.
  • Instituto de Salud Pública y Laboral de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.
  • Navarra Institute for Health Research (IdiSNA), Pamplona, Spain.
  • Department of Epidemiology, Murcia Regional Health Council-IMIB, Murcia, Spain.
  • Unit of Nutrition and Cancer, Cancer Epidemiology Research Program, Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) - Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL). L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.
  • Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
  • Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
  • Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
  • Danish Cancer Instituten, Copenhagen, Denmark.
  • Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Institute for Cancer Research, Prevention and Clinical Network (ISPRO), Florence, Italy.
  • Epidemiology and Prevention Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy.
  • Hyblean Association for Epidemiology Research, AIRE ONLUS Ragusa, Ragusa, Italy.
  • Unit of Cancer Epidemiology, Città della Salute e della Scienza University-Hospital and Centre for Cancer Prevention (CPO), Turin, Italy.
  • Dipartimento di Medicina Clinica e Chirurgia Federico II, University of Naples, Naples, Italy.
  • Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
  • UVSQ, Inserm, Gustave Roussy, CESP, Paris-Saclay University, Villejuif, France.
  • Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT the Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
  • The Public Dental Health Service Competence Centre of Northern, Tromsø, Norway.
  • Grupo de estilos de vida, microbiota y salud (GESMUD). Unidad predepartamental de Enfermería. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de La Rioja, Logroño, Spain.
  • Faculty of Medicine, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK.
  • Centro de Pesquisas Oncológicas (CEPON), Florianópolis, Brazil.
  • Division of Genetics and Epidemiology, Institute of Cancer and Research, London, UK.

Abstract

Emerging evidence links consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPF) to higher risks of non-communicable diseases and mortality, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This study aimed to identify molecular signatures of UPF intake in participants from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. Foods were classified into four groups using the Nova system, including UPF. The analysis included 6,177 participants with data on 129 endogenous metabolites and 9,029 with data on 37 plasma fatty acids (FAs) from EPIC nested case-control studies. Concentrations were normalized across batches and centers. UPF intake (grams/day) was linked to metabolite and FA profiles using linear and LASSO regression models, adjusted for demographic, lifestyle, and dietary factors. UPF intake was associated with 22 circulating metabolites and eight plasma FAs. Most metabolite associations were inverse, particularly for compounds involved in energy (e.g., asparagine) and lipid metabolism (e.g., propionyl carnitine, glycerophospholipids, and sphingomyelins). FA profiles showed positive associations with industrial trans fats (e.g., elaidic acid), long-chain saturated FAs (e.g., stearic acid), and n-6 polyunsaturated FAs (e.g., dihomo-γ-linolenic acid). UPF consumption is associated with distinct metabolic and fatty acid profiles, providing insights into potential biological pathways linking UPF to adverse health outcomes.

MeSH

Food, Plasma, Fatty Acids, Food, Processed