Dietary circadian rhythms and cardiovascular disease risk in the prospective NutriNet-Santé cohort.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Prospective cohort study without randomized intervention
PubMed 38097547 · doi:10.1038/s41467-023-43444-3
What was done
Data from 103,389 adult participants in the prospective NutriNet-Santé cohort were analyzed to assess associations between daily meal/fasting timing and cardiovascular disease risk. Meal timing and number of eating occasions were estimated from repeated 24-hour dietary records. Multivariable Cox proportional-hazards models were used to examine associations with risk of overall cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, and cerebrovascular disease.
What was found
Having a first meal later than 9:00 AM (compared to earlier than 8:00 AM) and a last meal later than 9:00 PM (compared to earlier than 8:00 PM) were associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular outcomes, particularly among women. The abstract notes these directional associations but does not report exact numerical effect estimates or confidence intervals.
Why it matters
This study provides prospective population-level evidence suggesting that earlier meal timing and aligning food intake with circadian rhythms may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Limits
Observational design prevents causal inference and leaves room for residual confounding. Key numerical metrics such as hazard ratios, confidence intervals, and duration of follow-up are omitted from the abstract. Dietary intake and timing relied on self-reported 24-hour records, which are subject to misreporting.