Moderate egg consumption and all-cause and specific-cause mortality in the Spanish European Prospective into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Spain) study

• Published in: European journal of nutrition 2019-08, Vol.58 (5), p.2003-2010
• Main Authors: Zamora-Ros, Raul, Cayssials, Valerie, Cleries, Ramón, Redondo, María Luisa, Sánchez, Maria-Jose, Rodríguez-Barranco, Miguel, Sánchez-Cruz, Jose-Juan, Mokoroa, Olatz, Gil, Leire, Amiano, Pilar, Navarro, Carmen, Chirlaque, María Dolores, Huerta, José María, Barricarte, Aurelio, Ardanaz, Eva, Moreno-Iribas, Conchi, Agudo, Antonio
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Cancer; Cardiovascular diseases; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Cohort Studies; Diet; Eggs - statistics & numerical data; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Health Surveys - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Mortality; Neoplasms - mortality; Nervous system; Nutrition; Nutritional Status; Original Contribution; Proportional Hazards Models; Prospective Studies; Public health; Spain - epidemiology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Women
• ISSN: 1436-6207; 1436-6215
• DOI: 10.1007/s00394-018-1754-6

Purpose Dietary guidelines for egg consumption for general population differ among public health agencies. Our aim was to investigate the association between egg intake and both all-cause and specific-cause of mortality in a Mediterranean population. Methods The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Spain cohort included 40,621 men and women aged 29–69 years old in the nineties from 5 Spanish regions. After a mean of 18 years of follow-up, 3,561 deaths were recorded, of which 1,694 were from cancer, 761 from CVD, and 870 from other causes. Data on egg consumption was collected using a validated diet history at recruitment. Cox proportional hazards models, adjusted for confounders, were used in the analyses. Results The mean (standard deviation) egg consumption was 22.0 g/day (15.8) and 30.9 g/day (23.1) in women and men, respectively. No association was observed between egg consumption and all-cause mortality for the highest vs the lowest quartile (HR 1.01; 95% CI 0.91–1.11; P trend = 0.96). Likewise, no association was observed with cancer and cardiovascular diseases mortality. However, an inverse association was found between egg consumption and deaths for other causes (HR 0.76; 95% CI 0.63–0.93; P trend = 0.003), particularly for deaths from the nervous system (HR 0.59; 95% CI 0.35–1.00; P trend = 0.036). No interaction was detected with the adherence to Mediterranean diet. Conclusions This study shows no association between moderate egg consumption, up to 1 egg per day, and main causes of mortality in a large free-living Mediterranean population.