A historical cohort study with 27,754 individuals on the association between meat consumption and gastrointestinal tract and colorectal cancer incidence

• Published in: International journal of cancer 2024-12, Vol.155 (11), p.2009-2020
• Main Authors: Dankner, Rachel, Chetrit, Angela, Avraham, Sivan Ben, Agay, Nirit, Kalter‐Leibovici, Ofra, Goldbourt, Uri, Saliba, Walid, Keinan‐Boker, Lital, Shahar, Danit, Freedman, Laurence S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Animals; Beef; Cancer; Cohort analysis; Cohort Studies; collaborative analysis; Colorectal cancer; colorectal cancer risk; Colorectal carcinoma; Colorectal Neoplasms - epidemiology; Colorectal Neoplasms - etiology; Diet - adverse effects; Energy intake; Feeding Behavior; Female; Food consumption; Gastrointestinal cancer; gastrointestinal cancer risk; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms - epidemiology; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms - etiology; Gastrointestinal tract; Humans; Incidence; Israel - epidemiology; Male; Meat; Meat - adverse effects; meta‐analysis; Middle Aged; population attributable fraction; Population studies; Poultry; processed meat; Proportional Hazards Models; red meat; Risk Factors
• ISSN: 0020-7136; 1097-0215; 1097-0215
• DOI: 10.1002/ijc.35084

In order to explore the association between meat consumption and gastrointestinal/colorectal cancer (CRC) risk and to estimate the Israeli population attributable fraction (PAF), we conducted a collaborative historical cohort study using the individual participant data of seven nutritional studies from the past 6 decades. We included healthy adult men and women who underwent a nutritional interview. Dietary assessment data, using food‐frequency or 24‐h recall questionnaires, were harmonized. The study file was linked to the National Cancer and death registries. Among 27,754 participants, 1216 (4.4%) were diagnosed with gastrointestinal cancers and 839 (3.0%) with CRC by the end of 2016. Using meta‐analysis methods applied to Cox proportional hazard models (adjusted for daily energy intake, sex, age, ethnic origin, education and smoking),100 g/day increments in beef, red meat and poultry consumption, and 50 g/day increment in processed meat consumption were associated with hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals of 1.46 (1.06–2.02), 1.15 (0.87–1.52), 1.06 (0.89–1.26), and 0.93 (0.76–1.12), respectively, for CRC. Similar results were obtained for gastrointestinal cancer, although red meat consumption reached statistical significance (HR = 1.27; 95%CI: 1.02–1.58). The PAFs associated with a reduction to a maximum of 50 g/day in the consumption of red meat were 2.7% (95%CI: −1.9 to 12.0) and 5.2% (0.3–13.9) for CRC and gastrointestinal cancers, respectively. Reduction of beef consumption to a maximum of 50 g/day will result in a CRC PAF reduction of 7.5% (0.7%–24.3%). While beef consumption was associated with gastrointestinal/CRC excess risk, poultry consumption was not. A substantial part of processed meat consumption in Israel is processed poultry, perhaps explaining the lack of association with CRC. What's new? Red and processed meat consumption in Israel has more than doubled since 1990. Adaptation to religious diet laws and factors such as high poultry consumption in Israel potentially influence relationships between diet and cancer. Here, the influence of meat consumption on gastrointestinal cancer and colorectal cancer (CRC) risk was investigated using data from historical nutritional studies conducted in Israel. Analyses found that red meat intake is associated with increased gastrointestinal cancer but not CRC risk. Risk of both cancers is specifically associated with beef consumption. Gastrointestinal cancer incidence in Israel's population