Cured Meats Called Factor in COPD Etiology -

Cured Meats Called Factor in COPD Etiology - CME Teaching Brief® - MedPage Today: "Cured Meats Called Factor in COPD Etiology

By Michael Smith, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today
Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
April 23, 2007

NEW YORK, April 23 -- Eating too much bacon and sausage may increase the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, found researchers here. Action Points

Explain that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S., and the only known modifiable risk factor is smoking.

Note that this study suggests that cured meats, such as bacon or sausages, may contribute to an increased risk of COPD.


Caution that the study was unable to demonstrate cause and effect and that more research is needed.
In a large population-based study, those who ate cured meats 14 or more times a month were nearly 80% more likely to develop COPD than those who ate none, reported Rui Jiang, M.D., Dr.P.H., of Columbia, and colleagues in the second April issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
The nitrites used in meats such as bacon, lunch meats, and sausage generate reactive nitrogen species that can cause damage to the lung, at least in animal models, they wrote. But no human studies had explored the possible link between cured meat and obstructive lung damage. "