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TOPLINE:

Adults with a higher intake of commonly used preservative food additives had higher risks for hypertension and cardiovascular disease (CVD) than those with a lower intake.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers analyzed data from the NutriNet-Santé prospective cohort in France (2009-2024) and examined whether the intake of preservative food additives was linked to the risk for new-onset hypertension and CVD.
• They included 112,395 adults who completed at least two web-based 24-hour dietary records in their first 2 years of participation in the cohort and had no prior history of hypertension or CVD. Adults had a mean age of 42.8 years, and 78.7% were women.
• Adults completed repeated brand-specific web-based 24-hour dietary records on nonconsecutive days. The records were used to quantify their daily food and nutrient intake.
• Preservative intake was estimated using laboratory assays and brand-matched linking to three composition databases. Fifty-eight preservatives were analyzed. Participants were grouped into sex-specific tertiles of total, nonantioxidant, and antioxidant exposure.
• Researchers assessed new-onset hypertension and CVD in relevant populations over a median follow-up of 7.6 years and 7.9 years, respectively.

TAKEAWAY:

• During follow-up, 5544 adults developed hypertension. Those in the highest vs lowest tertiles of nonantioxidant, total, and antioxidant preservative intake had 29%, 24%, and 22% higher risks for hypertension, respectively (P < .001 for all).
• CVD occurred in 2450 adults during follow-up. Those in the highest tertile of nonantioxidant preservative intake had a 16% higher risk for CVD than those in the lowest tertile (P = .004).
• Several preservative food additives, including potassium sorbate, sodium nitrite, and citric acid, were associated with a higher risk for hypertension (P < .05 for all).
• Hypertension mediated 16.2% of the association between the intake of nonantioxidant preservatives and CVD. 

IN PRACTICE:

“This study provides new insights for revisiting the evaluation of the safety of these food additives, which should consider the benefit/risk balance between food preservation with these additives and their potential impact on cardiovascular health,” the researchers wrote.

SOURCE:

This study was led by Anaïs Hasenböhler of Université Sorbonne Paris Nord and Université Paris Cité in Paris, France. It was published online on May 20 in the European Heart Journal.

LIMITATIONS:

The observational design of this study did not establish any cause-effect relationship. The cohort included mostly women with higher education and saw about 12% dropout. Some exposures may have been misclassified.

DISCLOSURES:

The NutriNet-Santé study received support from multiple public institutions, including Ministère de la Santé, Santé Publique France, and Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), and received additional grants from sources such as the European Research Council, the French National Cancer Institute, the French Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, IdEx Université de Paris, and the Bettencourt-Schueller Foundation. One author reported receiving a PhD grant from Sorbonne Paris Nord University.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.