Higher ultra-processed food intake is associated with higher DNA damage in healthy adolescents

Abstract

Ultra-processed food is one of the main contributors to energy supply and consumption in food systems worldwide, and evidence of their detrimental health outcomes in humans is emerging. This study aimed to assess ultra-processed food intake and its association with urinary levels of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), a biomarker of DNA oxidative damage, in 139 healthy adolescents in Karaj city in Iran. Usual dietary intake was measured using a 168-item validated food frequency questionnaire. The daily intake of ultra-processed food consumption was determined through the classification of NOVA and general linear models were used to compare the urinary levels of 8-OHdG/creatinine (ng/mg crn) within tertiles of ultra-processed food intake. Adolescents in the higher tertile of ultra-processed food consumption had a significantly higher mean level of urinary 8-OHdG/ creatinine in comparison to the lower tertiles in the crude model (P for trend: 0.003) and after adjustment for confounding variables, including total energy intake, sex, age, body mass index (BMI) for age Z-score, obesity, and physical activity (P for trend:0.004). This association was still significant after adjusting for dietary intake of whole grains, nuts, legumes, the ratio of monosaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) to saturated fatty acids (SFAs) (g/day), and Mediterranean dietary score (P for trend: 0.002). More studies are needed to explore the determinants of ultra-processed food supply, demand, consumption, and health effects; such studies should be applied to develop evidence-informed policies and regulatory mechanisms to improve children’s and adolescents’ food environment policy-making and legislation with special attention to ultra-processed food.

Ultraprocessed food and chronic noncommunicable diseases: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of 43 observational studies

“…Preclinical animal and cell models also report the implication of sodium nitrate (used as a preservative to increase shelf life) and titanium dioxide (used as white food pigment) in carcinogenesis 115,116 . Relatedly, a recent observational study in adolescents reported that higher versus lower consumption of ultraprocessed food was associated with higher DNA oxidative damage as measured by urinary concentrations of 8‐hydroxy‐2′‐deoxyguanosine 117 . Indeed, the initiation and development of cancer have been associated with oxidative stress via DNA mutation and damage 118 .…”

Ultra-processed food consumption and its correlates among Italian children, adolescents and adults from the Italian Nutrition & Health Survey (INHES) cohort study

“…More recently, a study on 139 adolescents in Iran showed a significant urinary biomarker of DNA oxidative damage associated with higher intake of UPF (45) .…”

Nutrition, Epigenetics, and Major Depressive Disorder: Understanding the Connection

“…Landecker reviewed and argued that some genomes immersed in food molecules might be more susceptible to epigenetic lability than others predisposing them to a determined susceptibility to disease ( 108 ). On the one hand, some bioactive food compounds are able to exert protective properties, and in contrast, recently, it has been studied that some components from western-type diets, ultraprocessed food, and their lack of essential nutrients also modulates negatively epigenetics machinery ( 109 , 110 ).…”