Title
Cohort studies of fat intake and the risk of breast cancer: A pooled analysis
Author
Hunter, D.J.
Spiegelman, D.
Adami, H.O.
Beeson, L.
van den Brandt, P.A.
Folsom, A.R.
Fraser, G.E.
Goldbohm, R.A.
Graham, S.
Howe, G.R.
Kushi, L.H.
Marshall, J.R.
Mcdermott, A.
Miller, A.B.
Speizer, F.E.
Wolk, A.
Yaun, S.S.
Willett, W.
Centraal Instituut voor Voedingsonderzoek TNO
Publication year
1996
Abstract
Background. Experiments in animals, international correlation comparisons, and case-control studies support an association between dietary fat intake and the incidence of breast cancer. Most cohort studies do not corroborate the association, but they have been criticized for involving small numbers of cases, homogeneous fat intake, and measurement errors in estimates of fat intake. Methods. We identified seven prospective studies in four countries that met specific criteria and analyzed the primary data in a standardized manner. Pooled estimates of the relation of fat intake to the risk of breast cancer were calculated, and data from study-specific validation studies were used to adjust the results for measurement error. Results. Information about 4980 cases from studies including 337,819 women was available. When women in the highest quintile of energy-adjusted total fat intake were compared with women in the lowest quintile, the multivariate pooled relative risk of breast cancer was 1.05 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.94 to 1.16). Relative risks for saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fat and for cholesterol, considered individually, were also close to unity. There was little overall association between the percentage of energy intake from fat and the risk of breast cancer, even among women whose energy intake from fat was less than 20 percent. Correcting for error in the measurement of nutrient intake did not materially alter these findings. Conclusions. We found no evidence of a positive association between total dietary fat intake and the risk of breast cancer. There was no reduction in risk even among women whose energy intake from tat was less than 20 percent of total energy intake. In the context of the Western lifestyle, lowering the total intake of fat in midlife is unlikely to reduce the risk of breast cancer substantially. Chemicals/CAS: Dietary Fats
Subject
Nutrition
Adult
Aged
Breast Neoplasms
Case-Control Studies
Cohort Studies
Developed Countries
Dietary Fats
Energy Intake
Female
Humans
Middle Aged
Multivariate Analysis
Proportional Hazards Models
Prospective Studies
Risk
Risk Factors
To reference this document use:
http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:a8845595-9427-4b15-a7ca-2643d271de4d
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1056/nejm199602083340603
TNO identifier
68395
ISSN
0028-4793
Source
New England Journal of Medicine, 334 (6), 356-361
Document type
article