ArticleArthritis care & research2025
Ultraprocessed Food Intake and Risk of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Among Women Observed in the Nurses' Health Study Cohorts.
Article in Arthritis care & research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- Consumption of ultra-processed foods among patients with rheumatic diseases: a cross-sectional study and validation of the short screening questionnaire of highly processed food consumption (sQ-HPF) in the Greek language.Rheumatology international · 2026Article
- Metabolic determinants of autoimmune kidney diseases.Nature reviews. Nephrology · 2026Review
- Degree of Food Processing and the Risk of Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Diseases: A Prospective Analysis of the SUN Cohort.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Association between social determinants of health and systemic lupus erythematosus: a nationally representative analysis of 2017-2021 data.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Environmental Risk Factors for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Through the Lens of Social Determinants of Health.Arthritis care & research · 2025Review
- Ultra-Processed Foods and the Impact on Cardiometabolic Health: The Role of Diet Quality.Diabetes & metabolism journal · 2024Review
- Environment and systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases: an overview and future directions.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Review
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8 authors.
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Abstract
objectiveWe assessed ultraprocessed food (UPF) intake and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) incidence within the prospective Nurses' Health Study (NHS) cohorts.
methodsA total of 204,175 women were observed (NHS 1984-2016; NHSII 1991-2017). Semiquantitative food frequency questionnaires were completed every two to four years. UPF intake was determined as per the Nova classification. Nurses self-reported new doctor-diagnosed SLE, confirmed by medical records. Time-varying Cox regressions estimated hazard ratios (HRs; 95% confidence intervals [CIs]) for patients with incident SLE and SLE by anti-double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) antibody at diagnosis, according to cumulatively updated daily (a) UPF servings, (b) total intake (in grams and milliliters), and (c) percentage of total intake. Analyses adjusted for age, race, cohort, caloric and alcohol intakes, household income, smoking, body mass index (BMI), physical activity, menarchal age, and oral contraceptive use. We tested for interaction with BMI and examined UPF categories.
resultsMean baseline age was ~50 years (NHS) and ~36 years (NHSII); 93% self-reported White race. A total of 212 patients with incident SLE were identified. SLE risk was higher in the third versus first UPF tertile (servings per day pooled multivariable [MV] HR 1.56, 95% CI 1.04-2.32; P = 0.03). Results were stronger for dsDNA antibody in patients with SLE (servings per day pooled MV HR 2.05, 95% CI 1.15-3.65; P = 0.01) and for absolute (servings or total) than percentage of total intake. Sugar-sweetened/artificially sweetened beverages were associated with SLE risk (third vs first tertile MV HR 1.45, 95% CI 1.01-2.09). No BMI interactions were observed.
conclusionHigher cumulative average daily UPF intake was associated with >50% increased SLE risk and with doubled risk for anti-dsDNA antibody in patients with SLE. Many deleterious effects on systemic inflammation and immunity are postulated.
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