Cohort studyindependent cross-checkabstract checked I-UPF-112 standard review
No link found in a short French study
Dietary Patterns, Ultra-processed Food, and the Risk of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases in the NutriNet-Santé Cohort.
Overview
Vasseur P et al.. Inflamm Bowel Dis 2021 · PMID 32055825 · DOI 10.1093/ibd/izaa018
In a French cohort followed for about two years, ultra-processed food was not linked to IBD, but only 75 people developed the disease.
Does the study support the specific claim? No · Methodological quality: low
Plain-language summary
Study explained simply
- What did the researchers want to find out?
To link diet with IBD.
- How was the study done?
Cohort study.
- How many people, animals or samples were studied?
105,832 adults; 75 cases.
- What was actually found?
No association.
- How large was the observed effect?
Not given.
- What do the results mean in everyday life?
Too small to rule out a link.
- What are the study's limitations?
Low power; short.
- What does it say about Elawady's specific claim?
Weakly contradicts C-UPF-05.
- Do the results apply to Germany and Europe?
High.
- What can explicitly not be concluded from this study?
Cannot show there is no link.
Scientific in-depth review
1. Full reference
- Authors
- Vasseur P et al.
- Journal
- Inflamm Bowel Dis
- Year
- 2021
- Identifier
- PMID 32055825 DOI 10.1093/ibd/izaa018
- Verification
- verified – PubMed efetch 2026-10-26; Crossref works API 2026-10-26
- Retracted
- no
- Corrections
- none
- Extent checked
- abstract only
- Conflicts of interest and funding
No COI statement in PubMed record
2. Research question
Are dietary patterns and UPF associated with incident IBD?
3. Study design and population
- Study design
- Cohort study – Prospective cohort (NutriNet-Sante)
- Population
French adults
- Country
France
- Period
Mean follow-up 2.3 years
- Sample size
105,832; 75 incident IBD
- Inclusion and exclusion criteria
>=3 24-h records
4. Methods and endpoints
- Exposure / intervention
Dietary patterns; UPF proportion
- Comparator
Lower quintiles
- Endpoints
Incident IBD (confirmed)
- Statistical methods
Multivariable Poisson models
5. Actual results
- Results
No significant association of dietary patterns or UPF proportion with incident IBD after adjustment (estimates not in abstract).
- Absolute risks
IBD incidence about 31 per 100,000 person-years (stats/C-UPF-05_ibd.py)
- Authors' conclusion
Neither dietary patterns nor UPF proportion were significantly associated with incident IBD.
6. Strengths
- Detailed 24-h records
7. Weaknesses
- Only 75 cases; short follow-up; low power (minimum detectable HR about 1.9)
8. Risk of bias
- Orienting tool
- ROBINS-E
- Type of assessment
- simplified assessment (abstract only)
- Full formal assessment
- no
- Overall risk of bias
- some concerns
- Rationale
Low power.
9. Assessment of the statistical interpretation
Null result uninformative given power.
10. Relevance to the specific claim
Null study; weak evidence against because of low power.
11. Independent contrary findings
Larger cohorts positive for CD.
12. Transferability to Germany and Europe
High (France).
13. Overall methodological judgement
Does not materially weaken the CD association.
| Multidimensional assessment | |
|---|---|
| Authenticity of the source | verified |
| Methodological quality | low |
| Risk of bias | some concerns |
| Precision of results | low |
| Directness | direct |
| Reproducibility | not replicated |
| Consistency with the overall evidence | inconsistent |
| Regional transferability | high |
| Adequacy of the interpretation (by the archive) | not applicable |
14. Open questions
Longer follow-up.
15. Linked fact checks
- Higher ultra-processed food intake raises the risk of inflammatory bowel disease (PURE study: HR 1.82 for >=5 servings/day). – Studies contradicting or limiting the claim