Nut consumption and risk of pancreatic cancer in women

Abstract

Background:Increasing nut intake has been associated with reduced risk of diabetes mellitus, which is a risk factor for pancreatic cancer.Methods:We prospectively followed 75 680 women in the Nurses' Health Study, and examined the association between nut consumption and pancreatic cancer risk. Participants with a previous history of cancer were excluded. Nut consumption was assessed at baseline and updated every 2 to 4 years. Relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models.Results:We documented 466 incident cases of pancreatic cancer. After adjusting for age, height, smoking, physical activity, and total energy intake, women who consumed a 28-g (1 oz) serving size of nuts ⩾2 times per week experienced a significantly lower risk of pancreatic cancer (RR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.47–0.92; P for trend=0.007) when compared with those who largely abstained from nuts. The results did not appreciably change after further adjustment for body mass index (BMI) and history of diabetes mellitus (RR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.48–0.95; P for trend=0.01). The inverse association persisted within strata defined by BMI, physical activity, smoking, and intakes of red meat, fruits, and vegetables.Conclusion:Frequent nut consumption is inversely associated with risk of pancreatic cancer in this large prospective cohort of women, independent of other potential risk factors for pancreatic cancer.

Nut consumption on all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis of epidemiologic studies

“…A number of studies reported that nut consumption was associated with decreased incidences of pancreatic cancer (35) and colorectal cancer (36,37), whereas some case-control studies reported a decreased association with endometrial cancer (38) and prostate cancer (39), which suggested a logical substrate for the marginally significant decreased risk of cancer mortality observed in this study. It has been hypothesized that nuts provide beneficial protection against cancer through their anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, for instance, by reducing lipid peroxidation or oxidative DNA damage (40).…”

Dietary Protein Sources and Incidence of Breast Cancer: A Dose-Response Meta-Analysis of Prospective Studies

“…Third, different studies used different units (such as servings and times). Although we converted these units into grams per day according to standard conversions from the Food Standards Agency [13] and other documents [14,15,16], this could still influence the association.…”

“…Then, we performed a dose-response analysis with the method proposed by Greenland and Longnecker [12] to compute linear trends and 95% CIs from the natural logs of the RRs and CIs across categories of each source of protein intake. When the included studies used different units (such as servings and times), we converted them into grams per day according to standard conversions from the Food Standards Agency [13] and other documents [14,15,16] (for fresh red meat, poultry, and fish, one serving was equivalent to 120 g; for egg and processed meat, one serving was equal to 50 g; for dairy products, the weight of one serving was 200 g; for nuts, it was 28 g). For soy foods and nuts, we used serving/day as units, because most studies used servings as units.…”

Epidemiology of pancreatic cancer

“…But, some studies have not supported these findings[64], or have provided support for the association among men only[65]. On the other hand, frequent nut consumption is inversely associated with risk of pancreatic cancer in women[66,67]. A recent large nested case-control study in 2010 showed increased risk even at consumption of 60 g/d or more of liquor (spirits), and found no association with beer or wine[68].…”