Cooking Methods for Red Meats and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: A Prospective Study of U.S. Women

OBJECTIVE This study examined different cooking methods for red meats in relation to type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk among U.S. women who consumed red meats regularly (≥2 servings/week). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We monitored 59,033 women (1986–2012) aged 30–55 years and free of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer at baseline when information on frequency of different cooking methods for red meats, including broiling, barbequing, roasting, pan-frying, and stewing/boiling, was collected. RESULTS During 1.24 million person-years of follow-up, we documented 6,206 incident cases of T2D. After multivariate adjustment including red meat cooking methods, total red meat and processed red meat intake were both associated with a monotonically increased T2D risk (both P trend <0.05). After multivariate adjustment including total red meat intake, a higher frequency of broiling, barbequing, and roasting red meats was each independently associated with a higher T2D risk. When comparing ≥2 times/week with <1 time/month, the hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CI of T2D were 1.29 (1.19, 1.40; P trend <0.001) for broiling, 1.23 (1.11, 1.38; P trend <0.001) for barbequing, and 1.11 (1.01, 1.23; P trend = 0.14) for roasting. In contrast, the frequency of stewing/boiling red meats was not associated with T2D risk, and an inverse association was observed for pan-frying frequency and T2D risk. The results remained similar after cooking methods were further mutually adjusted. CONCLUSIONS Independent of total red meat consumption, high-temperature and/or open-flame cooking methods for red meats, especially broiling and barbequing, may further increase diabetes risk among regular meat eaters.