Inverse Association between Organic Food Purchase and Diabetes Mellitus in US Adults.

Yangbo Sun, Buyun Liu, Yang Du, Linda G Snetselaar, Qi Sun, Frank B Hu, Wei Bao

Journal: Nutrients 2019;10(12):1877

PMID: 30513866

Plain Language Summary

In recent years, accumulating evidence has highlighted the importance of modifiable risk factors, including diet and environmental factors, in the prevention of diabetes. The aim of this study was to examine the association of organic food purchases, as a proxy of organic food consumption, and the frequency of purchasing total and individual organic foods with diabetes prevalence in U.S. adults. The study population consisted of 8199 participants from the 2007–2008 and 2009–2010 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Results indicate an inverse association between the purchase of organic foods and diabetes in U.S. adults; more frequent purchase of organic foods was associated with lower odds of diabetes. Moreover, in terms of individual organic food items, the associations were more pronounced for organic milk, eggs, and meats than for organic fruits or vegetables. Authors conclude the further investigation is needed to comprehensively evaluate the long-term effects of organic food consumption on chronic diseases, including diabetes.

Abstract

BACKGROUND

The organic food market has grown rapidly worldwide in the past 15 years. However, evidence concerning the health effects of organic foods is scarce. We evaluated the cross-sectional association of organic food purchase, as a proxy of organic food consumption, with diabetes in a nationally representative population.

METHODS

We included 8199 participants aged ≥20 years from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2007⁻2008 and 2009⁻2010. Organic food purchase and frequency were ascertained by questionnaires. Diabetes was defined as a self-reported physician diagnosis or a hemoglobin A1c level ≥6.5% or both. We used logistic regression with sample weights to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

RESULTS

Individuals who reported purchasing organic foods were less likely to have diabetes compared to those who did not report organic food purchase. After adjustment for age, gender, race/ethnicity, family history of diabetes, socioeconomic status, and dietary and lifestyle factors, the OR of diabetes associated with organic food purchase was 0.80 (95% CI 0.68⁻0.93). The association remained significant after additional adjustment for BMI with OR of 0.80 (0.69⁻0.94).

CONCLUSIONS

In a nationally representative population, frequent organic food purchase was inversely associated with diabetes prevalence in adults in the United States.

Address: Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. [email protected].; Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. [email protected].; Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. [email protected].; Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. [email protected].; Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA. [email protected].; Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA. [email protected].; Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA. [email protected].; Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA. [email protected].; Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA. [email protected].; Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. [email protected].; Obesity Research and Education Initiative, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. [email protected].; Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. [email protected].

DOI: 10.3390/nu10121877