September 7, 2006 (慕尼黑) — 研究团队于第16届欧洲呼吸学会年会中发表的研究发现，吃太多腌渍肉类的人很可能和“肺功能不全”此一慢性阻塞性肺疾病(COPD)特征有关。
负责发表研究的Robert Graham Barr医师在简报时表示，虽然抽烟是COPD的主要原因，但也只有15%到40%的抽烟者发生；Barr医师是哥伦比亚大学医学中心的肺脏医学讲师。
研究团队对腌渍肉类感到兴趣是因为亚硝酸盐类产生活性氮原子而导致肺脏硝化伤害，在动物实验中会造成肺气肿；Barr医师表示，因为腌渍肉类如培根、香肠、和处理过的包装肉都含许多当作防腐剂使用的亚硝酸盐，研究者认为会对肺脏组织产生某一程度的影响。
因此，研究团队使用“国家健康与营养检测调查(National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey /NHANES) III”选出代表族群进行一个大型的研究，研究者分析7581位年纪45岁上者食用腌渍肉类的量，同时针对他们进行饮食频率问卷以及肺量测定。
该问卷将他们的腌渍肉类食用量分成未曾食用、每个用少于3次、每个月3到4次、每个月5到13次，和每个月14次以上，然后校正年纪、性别、种族、身高、抽烟习惯和每年抽烟包数等变项，进行统计加权分析。
这些样本之中，每个月食用腌渍肉类14次以上者，一秒吐气量(FEV1)平均是115 mL，比未曾食用腌渍肉类者低(P < .001)；高食用量者的FEV1对最大肺活量(FVC) 比值是平均2.11%，比少量食用者低(P < .001)；不过，高食用量者的FVC的差异是60 mL，此差异并不显著；当研究者校正教育、收入、身体质量指数、腰围、体力、整体摄取能量后，仍有差异，这些差异和抽烟状态无关。
Jorgen Vestbo医师在评论中表示，这是一个非常有趣的研究，且效果如此明显颇令我感到惊讶；Vestbo医师是Wythenshawe医院西北肺脏中心的呼吸医学教授，同时也是Barr医师发表当时的会议主席。
Vestbo医师向Medscape表示，该研究对未来的研究和健康政策都将产生冲击，但还是有一些议题该被讨论；例如当一个人吃某一特定食物较多时，其他种类就会吃比较少；吃腌渍肉类较多时，是不是吃较少的蔬菜、水果和鱼，这些可能会产生某些曲解，但无法全然解释NHANES的发现；他表示，在采取确定行动之前，将进一步找找看是否有其他研究也是如此。
该研究受国家健康研究中心赞助。
ERS 16届年会：摘要1710。发表于September 5, 2006。
Heavy Consumption of Cured Meat Linked to Impaired Lung Function
By Paula Moyer, MA
Medscape Medical News
September 7, 2006 (Munich) — People who eat high amounts of cured meat are more likely to have impairments of lung function that are the hallmarks of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a team of investigators who presented their findings here at the 16th annual meeting of the European Respiratory Society.
"Although smoking is the major cause of COPD, only 15% to 40% of smokers develop it," said presenting investigator Robert Graham Barr, MD, during a press briefing. Dr. Barr is an instructor in medicine in the pulmonary division at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City.
The investigative team was interested in a potential role for cured meats because "nitrite generates reactive nitrogen species that cause nitrosative or nitrative damage to the lung, as well as emphysematous changes, in animal models," Dr. Barr said. Because cured meats such as bacon, sausage, and processed meats are high in nitrite, which is used as a preservative, the investigators were concerned that it may also have a deleterious effect on human lung tissue.
Therefore, the investigators examined the large, representative population sample used in the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES) III. The investigators assessed the cured meat consumption of the 7581 respondents who were aged 45 years or older and for whom they had adequate diet and spirometry data by their response to a food frequency questionnaire.
The questionnaire categorized respondents' cured meat consumption as never, fewer than 3 times per month, 3 to 4 times per month, 5 to 13 times per month, and 14 or more times per month. The investigators then conducted statistical weighting analyses to adjust for age, sex, race or ethnicity, height, smoking status, and number of pack-years.
Of these respondents, those who ate cured meats 14 or more times per month had a forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) that was an average of 115 mL lower than participants who never ate cured meats (P < .001). Heavy consumption was also associated with a ratio of FEV1 to forced vital capacity (FVC) that was an average of 2.11% lower than lighter consumption (P < .001). However, the difference in FVC was 60 mL lower in the heavy consumption group, a difference that was not statistically significant. When the investigators adjusted for education, income, body mass index, waist circumference, physical activity, and total energy intake, the differences remained. The differences were independent of respondents' smoking status.
"This was a very interesting study and I was surprised that the effects seen were so large," said Jorgen Vestbo, MD, in an independent comment. Dr. Vestbo, a professor of respiratory medicine at North West Lung Centre at Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester, United Kingdom, chaired the session during which Dr. Barr made his presentation.
"The study could have implications for future research and for health policy as well, but there seems to be a few issues that need to be addressed," Dr. Vestbo told Medscape. "Subjects who eat more of a particular food item usually eat less of others; for cured meat it is likely that subjects who eat a lot will also eat less vegetables, fruit, and fish. This may distort the picture, but may not at all explain the findings in NHANES. I will look forward to seeing if other studies can replicate these findings before taking firm action here."
The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
ERS 16th Annual Meeting: Abstract 1710. Presented September 5, 2006.
作者：
Paula Moyer, MA 2007-6-20