Emergency appendicectomy and meat consumption in the UK

Abstract

Study objective - To compare the rates of reported emergency appendicectomies in a cohort study of vegetarians and nonvegetarians by participants' history of meat consumption Design - This was a prospective cohort study in which participants were asked about their lifetime history of meat consumption/avoidance and, separately, whether they had had an appendicectomy. Appendicectomy was described as either "emergency" or "non-emergency" according to details supplied by the participant. Setting-The United Kingdom. Participants - These comprised more than 11000 people, of whom 4852 (44%) completed both an appendicectomy form and a dietary questionnaire giving details of their lifetime history of meat consumption. Main results - The percentage who reported an emergency appendicectomy was higher among lifelong meat eaters (10.7%) than either lifelong non-meat eaters (7-8%) or those who had stopped eating meat (8-0%); and the operations were performed at an earlier age in this first group (mean values 18-9, 26X0, and 19-6 years respectively). The overall age adjusted emergency appendicectomy rate ratio comparing participants who did not eat meat with those who ate meat was 0-47 (95% confidence interval 0 35, 0.65). Conclusions - The results suggest that people who do not eat meat have a 50% lower risk of requiring an emergency appendicectomy than those who do. The data do not, however, allow the reliable testing of other hypotheses, so meat consumption may simply be a marker for another dietary, lifestyle, or socioeconomic factor.