Dietary omega-3 fatty acids and endometrial cancer risk in the Epidemiology of Endometrial Cancer Consortium: An individual-participant meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Limited data from prospective studies suggest that higher dietary intake of long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCn3PUFA), which hold anti-inflammatory properties, may reduce endometrial cancer risk; particularly among certain subgroups characterized by body mass and tumor pathology. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data from 12 prospective cohort studies participating in the Epidemiology of Endometrial Cancer Consortium were harmonized as nested case-control studies, including 7268 endometrial cancer cases and 26,133 controls. Habitual diet was assessed by food frequency questionnaire, from which fatty acid intakes were estimated. Two-stage individual-participant data mixed effects meta-analysis estimated adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) through logistic regression for associations between study-specific energy-adjusted quartiles of LCn3PUFA and endometrial cancer risk. RESULTS: Women with the highest versus lowest estimated dietary intakes of docosahexaenoic acid, the most abundant LCn3PUFA in diet, had a 9% increased endometrial cancer risk (Quartile 4 vs. Quartile 1: OR 1.09, 95% CI: 1.01-1.19; P trend = 0.04). Similar elevated risks were observed for the summary measure of total LCn3PUFA (OR 1.07, 95% CI: 0.99-1.16; P trend = 0.06). Stratified by body mass index, higher intakes of LCn3PUFA were associated with 12-19% increased endometrial cancer risk among overweight/obese women and no increased risk among normal-weight women. Higher associations appeared restricted to White women. The results did not differ by cancer grade. CONCLUSION: Higher dietary intakes of LCn3PUFA are unlikely to reduce endometrial cancer incidence; rather, they may be associated with small to moderate increases in risk in some subgroups of women, particularly overweight/obese women.

Coffee consumption and cancer risk in African Americans from the Southern Community Cohort Study.

Coffee consumption has been associated with the risk of cancer at several anatomical sites, but the findings, mostly from studies of non-Hispanic whites and Asians, are inconsistent. The association between coffee consumption and the incidence of cancer has not been thoroughly examined in African Americans. We conducted a nested case-control study including 1801 cancer cases and 3337 controls among African Americans from the Southern Community Cohort Study (SCCS) to examine the association between coffee drinking, as assessed by a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire, and the risk of four common cancers (lung, prostate, breast, colorectal). We used logistic regression adjusted for age, sex and cancer-specific risk factors. Overall, only ≤ 9.5% of African American cases and controls from the SCCS drank regular or decaffeinated coffee ≥ 2 times/day. After adjustment for major cancer-specific risk factors, coffee consumption was not statistically significantly associated with the risk of lung, breast, colorectal, or prostate cancers (OR range 0.78-1.10; P ≥ 0.27 for ≥ 2 versus < 1 times/day) or overall cancer risk (OR 0.93; 95% CI 0.75-1.16; P = 0.52 for ≥ 2 versus < 1 times/day). Coffee consumption was not associated with the risk of cancer among African Americans in our study.

Religion, Spirituality, and Risk of End-Stage Kidney Disease Among Adults of Low Socioeconomic Status in the Southeastern United States.

BACKGROUND: Religiosity, encompassing spirituality and religious practices, is associated with reduced disease incidence among individuals of low socioeconomic status and who self-identify as Black. We hypothesized that religiosity associates with reduced end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) risk among Black but not White adults of low socioeconomic status. DESIGN: Cox models of religiosity and ESKD risk in 76,443 adults. RESULTS: Black adults reporting high spirituality had reduced ESKD risk after adjusting for demographic characteristics [Hazard Ratio (HR) .82 (95% Confidence Interval (CI)) (.69-.98)], depressive symptoms, social support, and tobacco use [HR .81 (CI .68-.96)]. When clinical covariates were added, associations between spirituality and ESKD were slightly attenuated and lost significance [HR .85 (CI .68-1.06)]. Associations were not demonstrated among White adults. CONCLUSIONS: Spirituality associates with reduced ESKD risk among Black adults of low socioeconomic status independent of demographic, psychosocial, and behavioral characteristics. Effect modification by race was not statistically significant.

Green tea intake and risk of incident kidney stones: Prospective cohort studies in middle-aged and elderly Chinese individuals.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the association between green tea intake and incident stones in two large prospective cohorts. METHODS: We examined self-reported incident kidney stone risk in the Shanghai Men's Health Study (n = 58 054; baseline age 40-74 years) and the Shanghai Women's Health Study (n = 69 166; baseline age 40-70 years). Information on the stone history and tea intake was collected by in-person surveys. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were adjusted for baseline demographic variables, medical history and dietary intakes including non-tea oxalate from a validated food frequency questionnaire. RESULTS: During 319 211 and 696 950 person-years of follow up, respectively, 1202 men and 1451 women reported incident stones. Approximately two-thirds of men and one-quarter of women were tea drinkers at baseline, of whom green tea was the primary type consumed (95% in men, 88% in women). Tea drinkers (men: hazard ratio 0.78, 95% confidence interval 0.69-0.88; women: hazard ratio 0.8, 95% confidence interval 0.77-0.98) and specifically green tea drinkers (men: hazard ratio 0.78, 95% confidence interval 0.69-0.88; women: hazard ratio 0.84, 95% confidence interval 0.74-0.95) had lower incident risk than never/former drinkers. Compared with never/former drinkers, a stronger dose-response trend was observed for the amount of dried tea leaf consumed/month by men (hazard ratiohighest category 0.67, 95% confidence interval 0.56-0.80, Ptrend  < 0.001) than by women (hazard ratiohighest category 0.87, 95% confidence interval 0.70-1.08, Ptrend  = 0.041). CONCLUSIONS: Green tea intake is associated with a lower risk of incident kidney stones, and the benefit is observed more strongly among men.

Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids and incidence of end-stage renal disease in the Southern Community Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Whether polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are associated with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in populations with a high burden of risk factors for kidney disease is unknown. We sought to determine whether PUFA intake is associated with ESRD. METHODS: We conducted a nested case-control study of ESRD within the Southern Community Cohort Study (SCCS), a prospective cohort of low-income blacks and whites in the southeastern US (2002-2009). Through 2012, 1,074 incident ESRD cases were identified by linkage with the United States Renal Data System and matched to 3,230 controls by age, sex and race. Dietary intake of total, n-3 or n-6 PUFA was assessed from a validated food frequency questionnaire administered at baseline. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) were computed from logistic regression models that included matching variables, body mass index, smoking, diabetes, hypertension, education, income, total energy intake and percent energy from protein and saturated fat. RESULTS: The mean (SD) age of participants was 55 (9) years. Most participants were women (55 %), black (87 %), with hypertension (67 %) and on average obtained 8 % of their energy from PUFA. Higher PUFA intake was marginally associated with a lower risk of ESRD in adjusted analyses. The adjusted odds ratios (95 % confidence intervals) for ESRD for the 5th vs. 1st quintile of PUFA were 0.79 (0.60-1.05; P trend = 0.06) for total PUFA, 0.81 (0.61-1.06; P trend = 0.04) for n-6 PUFA and 0.93 (0.71-1.21; P trend = 0.45) for n-3 PUFA. CONCLUSIONS: We observed a marginally significant inverse trend between dietary PUFA intake and ESRD incidence, mainly driven by n-6 fatty acid intake. Our findings require replication but suggest that a diet rich in n-6 PUFA may prevent ESRD development in a population with a high burden of kidney disease risk factors.

Olive oil and cancer risk: an update of epidemiological findings through 2010.

Consumption of olive oil has been related to reduced risk of several diseases, including various neoplasms. In this paper, we reviewed epidemiological studies on olive oil and cancer published up to 2010. We performed a systematic literature search in the Medline database and, after assessment of relevant papers, we included 25 studies providing original data on olive oil consumption and cancer risk. We also performed a meta-analysis of studies of breast cancer, calculating the pooled relative risk (RR), and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI), for high vs. low olive oil consumption. Several studies conducted in Southern Europe reported olive oil consumption as a favourable indicator of breast, digestive tract, and particularly upper aero-digestive tract cancers. For the latter, after adjustment for alcohol and tobacco use, the RRs between extreme levels of olive oil consumption were 0.3-0.4, and there was an over 5-fold difference in risk between subjects consuming mainly olive oil and those consuming mainly butter. The summary RR of breast cancer was 0.62 (95% CI, 0.44-0.88) for the highest vs. lowest level of olive oil consumption. Thus, preferring olive oil to other added lipids, particularly those rich in saturated fats, can decrease the risk of upper digestive and respiratory tract neoplasms, breast and, possibly, colorectal and other cancer sites.