(P17-023-25) Association of Eating Window With Mortality Among US Adults: Insights From a Nationally Representative Study

Objectives: To determine the associations of eating window with all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality among US adults.

Methods: Cohort analysis of 33,052 participants aged >19 from NHANES (2003-2018) with available mortality data from NCHS. Dietary data were collected via 24-hour food recalls, which enabled us to determine eating window as the time elapsed between the first and last consumption of any food/beverage containing more than 0 calories. We employed survey-weighted Cox regression with Restricted Cubic Spline (RCS) to model the relationship between eating window and mortality. Our models were adjusted for various demographic, lifestyle, and health factors.

Results: Over 8 years, all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer deaths occurred in 4,158 (8.9%), 1,277 (2.6%), and 989 (2.2%) participants, respectively. Our fully adjusted RCS model showed a non-linear U-shaped relationship between eating window and mortality, with moderate eating windows (~11-12 hours) linked to the lowest risks (p=0.004). In contrast, shorter eating windows of ≤8 hours/day were associated with a significantly higher risk of all-cause mortality, with hazard ratios (HR) of 1.3 or higher in the fully adjusted RCS model, especially evident in older adults. Shorter eating windows were associated with over a 50% higher cardiovascular mortality among older adults, men, and White individuals. Extended eating windows (≥15 hours/day) were associated with greater risk of all-cause mortality across the study population (HR: 1.25; 95% CI:1.01-1.55). This risk was particularly greater among Whites and was primarily driven by higher cardiovascular mortality.

Conclusions: Our study highlights the complexity of dietary timing and its association with mortality, with a moderate eating window of ~11-12 hours/day being associated with the lowest mortality risks, suggesting that deviations from this range may have potential health implications. The observed variations in associations between eating windows and mortality across different population subgroups suggest the need for more personalized dietary recommendations. Further long-term evidence from intervention studies in large, diverse populations is essential to establish causal relationships and elucidate underlying mechanisms.

Funding Sources: National Institute on Aging (K01 AG071855)