Abstract
Sepsis remains a significant global health challenge due to its high incidence, mortality, and disability. While adherence to the EAT-Lancet diet has been shown to reduce the risk of various inflammatory and metabolic diseases, its impact on sepsis is not well understood. This study aimed to investigate the association between adherence to the EAT-Lancet diet and sepsis risk, considering genetic susceptibility and potential proteomic mechanisms. Data from 199,085 participants in the UK Biobank were analyzed, with sepsis cases identified using ICD-10 codes from hospital records. Higher adherence to the EAT-Lancet diet was linked to a significantly reduced risk of sepsis (HR 0.85, 95% CI: 0.78–0.93; P for trend <0.01). This protective effect was consistent across different genetic risk levels. Proteomic analysis revealed 43 plasma proteins that mediated this relationship, primarily involved in immune and inflammatory pathways. These findings suggest that greater adherence to the EAT-Lancet diet may lower sepsis risk, independent of genetic predisposition, through the modulation of immune-inflammatory proteins.
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Data availability
The UK Biobank data used in this study can be accessed through the UK Biobank website (https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/), following approval for access (Application: 617672). The code used for data analysis in this study is available upon request. Interested parties may contact the corresponding author via email, or the code can be provided as part of a collaborative arrangement.
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Data extraction and statistical analysis: W.B.N.; Writing paper: Q.H.; Conceptualization and supervision: B.M.H.; Reviewing and editing: Z.Y.P. and Y.L.L. All authors read and approved the final paper. Z.Y.P. was the guarantor of this work, had full access to and verified all the data in the study, and took responsibility for data integrity and the accuracy of the data analysis.
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Nan, W., Huang, Q., He, B. et al. Adherence to the EAT-Lancet Diet and Risk of Sepsis: A Prospective Cohort Study from the UK Biobank. npj Sci Food (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41538-026-00795-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41538-026-00795-7
