Fruits and vegetables consumption and risk of non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma: A meta‐analysis of observational studies

• Published in: International journal of cancer 2013-07, Vol.133 (1), p.190-200
• Main Authors: Chen, Guo‐Chong, Lv, Da‐Bing, Pang, Zhi, Liu, Qing‐Fang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Biological and medical sciences; Cancer; Case-Control Studies; Cohort Studies; diet; Europe - epidemiology; Feeding Behavior; Female; Fruit; Fruits; Hematologic and hematopoietic diseases; Humans; Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell - epidemiology; Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell - prevention & control; Leukemias. Malignant lymphomas. Malignant reticulosis. Myelofibrosis; Lymphoma; Lymphoma, Follicular - epidemiology; Lymphoma, Follicular - prevention & control; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse - epidemiology; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse - prevention & control; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin - epidemiology; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin - prevention & control; Male; Medical sciences; Meta-analysis; Middle Aged; non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma; North America - epidemiology; Odds Ratio; Risk Assessment; Risk Factors; Surveys and Questionnaires; Tumors; Vegetables
• ISSN: 0020-7136; 1097-0215
• DOI: 10.1002/ijc.27992

Epidemiologic evidence suggests that intakes of fruits and/or vegetables may play a role in the etiology of non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), but the findings are inconsistent. We aimed to assess fruits and/or vegetables intakes in relation to risk of NHL by a meta‐analytic approach. We searched on PubMed database from January 1966 to September 2012 to indentify case‐control and cohort studies. We used a random‐effects model to compute summary risk estimates. For vegetables, the summary relative risks (RRs) of NHL for high versus low intake for case‐control, cohort and all studies were 0.75 (95% CI, 0.60–0.94; N = 8), 0.90 (95% CI, 0.81–1.00; N = 5) and 0.81 (95%CI, 0.71–0.92; N = 13) ; and the corresponding RRs for intake of 1 serving per day were 0.88 (95% CI, 0.80–0.96; N = 8), 0.96 (95% CI, 0.92–1.00; N = 5) and 0.92 (95%CI, 0.87–0.96; N = 13). For fruits and vegetables combined, the summary RR for high versus low intake was 0.78 (95%CI, 0.66–0.92; N = 4), and for intake of 1 serving per day was 0.95 (95%CI, 0.91–1.00; N = 4). Regarding histological subtypes, vegetables intake was significantly inversely associated with diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma and follicular lymphoma, but not small lymphocytic lymphoma/chronic lymphocytic leukemia (high vs. low intake, RR = 0.70, 0.70 and 1.01, respectively; N = 7, 7 and 10, respectively). Fruits intake was generally not associated with total NHL, or any histological subtypes. Our findings suggest that intakes of vegetables, and fruits and vegetables combined, but not fruits alone, significantly reduce risk of NHL. What's new? Eating fruits and vegetables surely affects one's risk of developing non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma, but findings reported over the years have not produced a clear picture of how diet affects risk. This study aimed to clear up the confusion by collating the findings from various reports. The authors looked at 14 different papers dealing with the association between non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma and consumption of either fruits, vegetables, or both. They found that eating vegetables, or fruits and vegetables, but not fruits alone, reduces risk of NHL.