Relation of meat, fat, and fiber intake to the risk of colon cancer in a prospective study among women

Article Abstract:

Dietary factors have been thought to be associated with colon cancer because higher colon cancer rates have been observed in countries with a greater consumption of meat. Populations that eat less meat also are likely to eat more grain, and thus it is difficult to ascribe the cause of colon cancer to any particular dietary element. Research can shed more light on the suspected associations between diet and colon cancer by investigating individual differences in diet and colon cancer among individuals enjoying a similar lifestyle within the same society. This was the approach taken in an investigation involving data from the Nurse's Health Study Cohort, a group of 121,700 female registered nurses who first filled out a health questionnaire in 1976. Additional questionnaires were mailed out every two years, and in 1980 the questionnaire was expanded to include dietary information. A total of 88,751 women without a history of bowel disease or familial polyposis were followed-up until 1986; a total of 512,488 person-years of follow-up were achieved. During this time, 150 cases of colon cancer were documented. Tabulation of the data revealed that the consumption of red meat was significantly correlated with the risk of colon cancer, and that the relative risk of women who ate beef, lamb, or pork every day was 2.49 times that of the population as a whole. The daily consumption of fish and chicken without skin carried a decreased risk of colon cancer. Low intake of fiber from fruit was statistically correlated with increased colon cancer, but this correlation was not independent from eating red meat. An interesting sidelight to the study was the lack of any correlation between the dietary factors associated with the occurrence of colon cancer and the occurrence of breast cancer. While there is some suggestion that breast cancer may also be related to dietary fat intake, the absence of a correlation in the present study suggests that if such an association exists it is different from the association of dietary fat with colon cancer. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Meat, Risk factors, Fat, Fats

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Multivitamin use, folate, and colon cancer in women in the Nurses' Health Study

Article Abstract:

Women who take a multivitamin tablet that contains folic acid may reduce their risk of colon cancer. Researchers analyzed the incidence of colon cancer over a 15-year period in the 88,756 women participating in the Nurses' Health Study. Although women who took multivitamins had no lower risk of colon cancer in the short term, after 15 years of vitamin use their risk was 75% lower than that in women who did not take vitamins. This benefit is most likely due to the folic acid in the supplements.

Folic acid

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Dietary fiber and the risk of colorectal cancer and adenoma in women

Article Abstract:

Dietary fiber does not appear to protect against the development of colorectal cancer. Researchers followed 88,757 women between the age of 34 and 59 with no history of cancer for 16 years. During this time, 787 women developed colorectal cancer. Endoscopy on 27, 530 women revealed that 1,012 developed colorectal adenomas, which is a benign tumor. Women who ate the most dietary fiber had the same risk of developing colorectal cancer or adenoma as women who ate the least dietery fiber.

United States

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