Markers of ultra-processed food and incident arterial hypertension in the UK Biobank
Authors' conclusion
Only some MUP categories, i.e. flavour, colouring agent, sweetener, and varieties of sugar, are positively linked to incident arterial hypertension.
Study context
- Population
- Non-hypertensive UK Biobank participants with at least one 24-h dietary recall (Oxford WebQ)7,633 hypertension cases
- Participants
- 101,560 participants
- Exposure
- Intake of foods containing markers of ultra-processing (MUP categories and specific markers of ultra-processing (MUPs)), as %TFI, relative to the HR nadir
- Outcome
- Incident arterial hypertension
- Follow-up
- Median 10.5 years
Methodological detailsexploratory
- Exploratory
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Incident hypertension by MUP category
Hazard ratio (95% CI)
Flavour 40%TFI vs 8%TFI (HR nadir)flavour
1.37(1.22–1.54)
Colouring agent 20%TFI vs 0%TFI (HR nadir)colouring agent
1.55(1.36–1.77)
Sweetener 20%TFI vs 0%TFI (HR nadir)sweetener
1.42(1.31–1.55)
Varieties of sugar 10%TFI vs 0%TFI (HR nadir)varieties of sugar
1.19(1.11–1.27)
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Incident hypertension by specific MUP
- Significant positive association: acesulfame, aspartame, erythritol, saccharin, sucralose, xylitol, bulking agent, dextrose, fructose, hydrolysed protein, whey protein
- Negative correlation: firming agent, foaming agent, glazing agent
Original publication
Markers of ultra-processed food and incident arterial hypertension in the UK Biobank. Eur Heart J. Published 3 August 2026. doi:10.
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it