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Open Access 01-01-2020 | Colorectal Cancer | CANCER

Mediterranean diet adherence and risk of colorectal cancer: the prospective Netherlands Cohort Study

Authors: Maya Schulpen, Piet A. van den Brandt

Published in: European Journal of Epidemiology | Issue 1/2020

Abstract

Mediterranean diet (MD) adherence has been associated with a large variety of health benefits. However, prospective studies investigating the relation between MD adherence and colorectal cancer risk had inconsistent results. In this analysis of the Netherlands Cohort Study (NLCS), we evaluated sex- and subsite-specific associations of MD adherence with colorectal cancer risk. In 1986, 120,852 subjects filled out the NLCS baseline questionnaire, which incorporated a 150-item food frequency questionnaire. MD adherence was estimated through alternate Mediterranean diet scores including and excluding alcohol (aMED and aMEDr, respectively). Using 20.3 year follow-up data, 1993 male and 1574 female colorectal cancer cases could be included in multivariable case-cohort analyses. aMEDr was not significantly associated with colorectal cancer risk, regardless of sex. Hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) per two-point increment were 1.04 (0.95–1.13) for men and 0.97 (0.88–1.07) for women. Additionally, there was no evidence of an inverse association with any of the colorectal cancer subsites (colon, proximal colon, distal colon, and rectum). In women, the association between aMEDr and colorectal cancer risk was significantly modified by smoking status (P_interaction = 0.015). Comparable results were obtained for the original aMED including alcohol. In conclusion, higher MD adherence was not associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer or anatomical subsites in the context of a Dutch population.

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Title: Mediterranean diet adherence and risk of colorectal cancer: the prospective Netherlands Cohort Study
Authors: Maya Schulpen
Piet A. van den Brandt
Publication date: 01-01-2020
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Keywords: Colorectal Cancer
Colorectal Cancer
Published in: European Journal of Epidemiology / Issue 1/2020
Print ISSN: 0393-2990
Electronic ISSN: 1573-7284
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-019-00549-8

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Mediterranean diet adherence and risk of colorectal cancer: the prospective Netherlands Cohort Study

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