The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) is a multicentre prospective study conducted in 23 centres in 10 European countries. Here we review the findings from EPIC on the relationship between diet-related exposures and incidence or mortality from the four most frequent cancers in the European population: colorectal, breast, lung, and prostate cancer. We conducted a systematic review following PRISMA guidelines and identified 110 high-quality studies based on the EPIC cohort. Fruit and vegetable consumption had a protective effect against colorectal, breast, and lung cancer, whereas only fruit had a protective effect against prostate cancer. A higher consumption of fish and lower consumption of red and processed meat were related with a lower risk of colorectal cancer; and higher consumption of fatty fish with lower risk of breast cancer. Calcium and yogurt intake were found to protect against colorectal and prostate cancer. Alcohol consumption increased the risk for colorectal and breast cancer. Finally, adherence to the Mediterranean diet emerged as a protective factor for colorectal and breast cancer. The EPIC study results are in agreement with the latest evidence from leading authorities on cancer prevention and help to inform public prevention policies and strategies.
BackgroundDepression and obesity are highly prevalent, and major impacts on public
health frequently co-occur. Recently, we reported that having depression
moderates the effect of the FTO gene, suggesting its
implication in the association between depression and obesity.AimsTo confirm these findings by investigating the FTO
polymorphism rs9939609 in new cohorts, and subsequently in a meta-analysis.MethodThe sample consists of 6902 individuals with depression and 6799 controls
from three replication cohorts and two original discovery cohorts. Linear
regression models were performed to test for association between rs9939609 and
body mass index (BMI), and for the interaction between rs9939609 and depression
status for an effect on BMI. Fixed and random effects meta-analyses were
performed using METASOFT.ResultsIn the replication cohorts, we observed a significant interaction between
FTO, BMI and depression with fixed effects meta-analysis
(β = 0.12, P = 2.7 × 10−4)
and with the Han/Eskin random effects method (P = 1.4 ×
10−7) but not with traditional random effects (β
= 0.1, P = 0.35). When combined with the discovery cohorts,
random effects meta-analysis also supports the interaction (β = 0.12,
P = 0.027) being highly significant based on the Han/Eskin
model (P = 6.9 × 10−8). On average,
carriers of the risk allele who have depression have a 2.2% higher BMI for each
risk allele, over and above the main effect of FTO.ConclusionsThis meta-analysis provides additional support for a significant
interaction between FTO, depression and BMI, indicating that
depression increases the effect of FTO on BMI. The findings
provide a useful starting point in understanding the biological mechanism
involved in the association between obesity and depression.
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