ArticleBMJ (Clinical research ed.)2022
Association of ultra-processed food consumption with colorectal cancer risk among men and women: results from three prospective US cohort studies.
Article in BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 83 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
83 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Ultra-processed food consumption and risk of multiple chronic diseases among 8,819,894 adults from 51 prospective cohorts: a dose-response meta-analysis.Family medicine and community health · 2026Pooled it
- Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and Cancer Risk: An Umbrella Review of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses.Journal of food science · 2026Pooled it
- Ultra-processed food intake and risk of digestive system cancers: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Overweight and obesity significantly increase colorectal cancer risk: a meta-analysis of 66 studies revealing a 25-57% elevation in risk.GeroScience · 2025Pooled it
- Eating cognitions, emotions and behaviour under treatment with second generation antipsychotics: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of psychiatric research · 2023Pooled it
- Association between ultra-processed food consumption and risk of breast cancer: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of observational studies.Frontiers in nutrition · 2023Pooled it
- Association between ultra-processed foods and risk of cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2023Pooled it
- "Warning: ultra-processed": an online experiment examining the impact of ultra-processed warning labels on consumers' product perceptions and behavioral intentions.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2024Trial
- Associations of food processing and dietary risk factors with colorectal cancer incidence in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study: A cohort study.PLoS medicine · 2026Article
- Ultra-processed foods and continuous glucose monitoring metrics in adults with type 2 diabetes.Diabetes research and clinical practice · 2026Article
- Fast Food and Full-Service Restaurant Consumption Show Different Associations with Systemic Inflammation Among U.S. Adults: Dietary Fiber as the Primary Mediator in NHANES 2015-2018.American journal of lifestyle medicine · 2026Article
- Ultra-processed Foods and Gastrointestinal Cancer: Epidemiologic Evidence, Mechanistic Pathways, and Clinical Implications.Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2026Review
- Metabolomic Pattern of Ultra-Processed Food Intake and Risk of Colorectal Cancer Precursors.Gastroenterology · 2026Article
- Preserving Tradition, Preventing Cancer: A Narrative Review of the Traditional Mexican Diet as a Framework for Cancer Risk Reduction.Plant foods for human nutrition (Dordrecht, Netherlands) · 2026Review
- Ultraprocessed Food Versus Diet Quality in Relation to Cardiometabolic Health and All-Cause Mortality: NHANES 1999-2018.American journal of public health · 2026Article
- Sugar sweetened and artificially sweetened beverages, fruit and vegetable juices and cancer risk: a World Cancer Research Fund International Global Cancer Update Programme (CUP Global) systematic literature review and meta-analysis.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- From Counseling to Capacity: Patient-Care-Team Perspectives on Healthy Eating Support in Underserved Community Clinics.Research square · 2026Article
- Why Is Colorectal Cancer Occurring Earlier? Metabolic Dysfunction, Underrecognized Carcinogens, and Emerging Controversies.Current obesity reports · 2026Review
- Artificial intelligence applications for assessing ultra-processed food consumption: a scoping review.The British journal of nutrition · 2026Article
- Article
23 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo examine the association between consumption of ultra-processed foods and risk of colorectal cancer among men and women from three large prospective cohorts.
designProspective cohort study with dietary intake assessed every four years using food frequency questionnaires.
settingThree large US cohorts.
participantsMen (n= 46 341) from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1986-2014) and women (n=159 907) from the Nurses' Health Study (1986-2014; n=67 425) and the Nurses' Health Study II (1991-2015; n=92 482) with valid dietary intake measurement and no cancer diagnosis at baseline.
main outcome measureAssociation between ultra-processed food consumption and risk of colorectal cancer, estimated using time varying Cox proportional hazards regression models adjusted for potential confounding factors.
results3216 cases of colorectal cancer (men, n=1294; women, n=1922) were documented during the 24-28 years of follow-up. Compared with those in the lowest fifth of ultra-processed food consumption, men in the highest fifth of consumption had a 29% higher risk of developing colorectal cancer (hazard ratio for highest versus lowest fifth 1.29, 95% confidence interval 1.08 to 1.53; P for trend=0.01), and the positive association was limited to distal colon cancer (72% increased risk; hazard ratio 1.72, 1.24 to 2.37; P for trend<0.001). These associations remained significant after further adjustment for body mass index or indicators of nutritional quality of the diet (that is, western dietary pattern or dietary quality score). No association was observed between overall ultra-processed food consumption and risk of colorectal cancer among women. Among subgroups of ultra-processed foods, higher consumption of meat/poultry/seafood based ready-to-eat products (hazard ratio for highest versus lowest fifth 1.44, 1.20 to 1.73; P for trend<0.001) and sugar sweetened beverages (1.21, 1.01 to 1.44; P for trend=0.013) among men and ready-to-eat/heat mixed dishes among women (1.17, 1.01 to 1.36; P for trend=0.02) was associated with increased risk of colorectal cancer; yogurt and dairy based desserts were negatively associated with the risk of colorectal cancer among women (hazard ratio 0.83, 0.71 to 0.97; P for trend=0.002).
conclusionsIn the three large prospective cohorts, high consumption of total ultra-processed foods in men and certain subgroups of ultra-processed foods in men and women was associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer. Further studies are needed to better understand the potential attributes of ultra-processed foods that contribute to colorectal carcinogenesis.
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