Hi Anoop - this is quite possibly due to confounding. The effect is small, it appears to prevent everything (ie non-specific) and as eating 'too much red meat' has long been considered 'unhealthy', the more healthy-conscious participants in this cohort are more likely to light-to-moderate red meat eaters.
This cohort (or parts of it) have a history of reporting confounded associations. The most well-known being the association between HRT and CVD although their more recent paper on the associations between consumption of various foods and weight change (NEJM 2011;364:2392-404) was another good example of likely confounding. The foods we associate with fatness like potato chips and sugar sweetened beverages were associated with weight gain while the 'good foods' like nuts, yogurt, veges, fruit, wholes etc were all associated with weight loss. While it all makes sense, it is impossible to adjust fully for confounding.
regards
Rod Jackson
University of Auckland
On 25/03/2012, at 4:17, "Anoop Balachandran" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Hi everyone,
>
> I am curious to know if anyone has an opinion on the strength and limitations of this recent observational study in 2012: Red Meat Consumption and Mortality.
>
> http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/archinternmed.2011.2287
>
> Thanks!
> Anoop
|