Abstract P192: Association Between Time-Restricted Eating and All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality

Introduction: Time-restricted eating (TRE) has gained popularity as a dietary intervention that limits daily food consumption to a 4- to 12-hour window. Most short-term randomized controlled trials reported that TRE improved cardiometabolic risk profiles. However, whether TRE is associated with long-term hard endpoints remains unknown. Hypothesis: We assessed the hypothesis that TRE is associated with a reduced risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality. Methods: Participants aged at least 20 years who completed two valid 24-hour dietary recalls and reported usual intake in both recalls were included from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2003-2018. Mortality status as of December 2019 was obtained through linkage to the National Death Index. An eating occasion required consuming more than 5 kcal of foods or beverages. Eating duration between the last and first eating occasion was calculated for each day. The average duration of two recall days defined typical eating duration which was then categorized as <8, 8-<10, 10-<12, 12-16 (reference group; mean duration in US adults), and >16 hours. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were employed to estimate the association of eating duration with all-cause and cause-specific mortality in the overall sample and among adults with cardiovascular disease or cancer. Adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were derived. Results: Among 20,078 adults included, the weighted mean (SE) age was 48.5 (0.3) years, 50.0% were men, and 73.3% were non-Hispanic White. During a median follow-up of 8.0 years (IQR, 4.2-11.8), 2797 all-cause deaths occurred, including 840 cardiovascular deaths and 643 cancer deaths. Compared with eating duration of 12-16 hours, eating duration <8 hours was significantly associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular mortality (HR, 1.96 [95% CI, 1.23-3.13]); this association was also observed in adults with cardiovascular disease (HR, 2.06 [95% CI, 1.12-3.81]) and adults with cancer (HR, 2.72 [95% CI, 1.28-5.80]). Other eating durations were not associated with cardiovascular mortality, except for eating duration of 8-<10 hours in people with cardiovascular disease (HR, 1.64 [95% CI, 1.02-2.63]). No significant associations were found between eating duration and all-cause or cancer mortality in the overall sample and diseased subsamples, except that eating duration >16 hours was associated with a lower risk of cancer mortality in people with cancer (HR, 0.46; [95% CI, 0.22-0.95]). Conclusions: In US adults, TRE with eating duration <8 hours was significantly associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular mortality in the general population as well as in people with cardiovascular disease or cancer. These findings do not support long-term use of 16:8 TRE for preventing cardiovascular death.