Abstract Background This study identified metabolomic and proteomic profiles linked to each NOVA food group, which is a classification of foods according to their level of processing, and assessed their associations with the risk of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), Crohn’s disease (CD), and Ulcerative Colitis (UC). Methods The UK Biobank recruited adults aged 40–69 years across the UK between 2006-2010. Dietary data from 24-hour recalls were classified into four NOVA groups: unprocessed/minimally processed foods, processed culinary ingredients, processed foods (PFs), and ultra-processed foods (UPFs). Energy intakes from each NOVA group were calculated and adjusted using the residual method. Regularised linear regression was applied to identify blood metabolomic (n = 112,343) and proteomic (n = 22,195) signatures associated with each NOVA group. Associations between these molecular profiles of NOVA and incident IBD, UC, and CD were assessed using Cox proportional hazards models. All analyses were adjusted for age, sex, ethnicity, Townsend deprivation index, university degree, smoking status, physical activity, and body mass index. Results Metabolomics analysis identified 27 metabolites for UPFs, 70 for PFs, 20 for processed culinary ingredients, and 23 for unprocessed foods. Among these, omega-3 fatty and docosahexaenoic acids were the primary markers positively associated with unprocessed food and inversely associated with UPFs intakes. A metabolomic score for the UPFs group was significantly associated with an increased IBD risk (HR = 1.90, 95% CI: 1.15–3.15), whereas a metabolomic score for the PFs group was associated with a reduced IBD risk (HR = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.50–0.93) (Figure 1). Proteomics analysis identified 68 proteins for unprocessed, 22 for processed culinary ingredients, 66 for PFs, and 98 for UPFs. Selenoprotein P and EPCAM were the main proteins positively associated with the unprocessed foods group but showed a strong negative association with the UPFs group. A proteomic score for the unprocessed foods group was significantly associated with reduced IBD risk (HR = 0.53, 95% CI: 0.36–0.77), with consistent results for both UC and CD, while proteomic scores for UPFs and PFs were not associated with IBD risk (Figure 2). Conclusion Each NOVA food group showed distinct metabolomic and proteomic signatures. The unprocessed food group was linked to favorable lipid metabolites and proteins involved in antioxidant defense and gut barrier integrity, and these molecular profiles were associated with a reduced IBD risk, whereas UPF showed opposite molecular patterns and was associated with increased IBD risk at the metabolomic level. Food processing–related pathways may thus shape IBD susceptibility. Conflict of interest: Ayten, Serife: No conflict of interest Ottosson, Filip: None Jess, Tine: Personal Fees: Consultancy for Ferring, Pfizer, Johnson&Johnson Brusco De Freitas, Maiara: I have no conflict of interest
Ayten et al. (Thu,) studied this question.