Summary
This prospective cohort study of 112,395 French participants investigated whether dietary exposure to preservative food additives increases risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Total non-antioxidant preservatives were associated with 29% higher hypertension incidence and 16% higher CVD incidence; antioxidant preservatives were associated with 22% higher hypertension incidence. Eight of seventeen commonly consumed individual additives showed associations with hypertension, and one with CVD. The findings suggest that preservative additives widely used in industrial foods may warrant regulatory re-evaluation.
Regional applicability
The study was conducted in France and may have direct relevance to European and UK food regulatory contexts, as the EU/UK share similar food additive approval frameworks and permitted substance lists. However, dietary patterns and food additive exposure profiles may differ between France and the UK, requiring confirmation in UK-specific cohorts before informing UK-specific policy adjustments.
Key measures
Hazard ratios for hypertension and CVD incidence associated with total non-antioxidant preservatives, total antioxidant preservatives, and individual preservative additives; cumulative time-dependent exposure quantified through repeated 24-hour dietary records and food composition databases.
Outcomes reported
The study measured associations between cumulative dietary exposure to preservative food additives (non-antioxidant and antioxidant preservatives, and 17 individual additives) and incidence of hypertension and cardiovascular disease over a median 7.9-year follow-up period.
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