Meat, fish and egg intake and risk of breast cancer

Intakes of animal protein, meat, and eggs have been associated with breast cancer incidence and mortality in ecological studies, but data from long‐term prospective studies are limited. We therefore examined these relationships in the Nurses' Health Study. We followed 88,647 women for 18 years,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of cancer 2003-03, Vol.104 (2), p.221-227
Main Authors: Holmes, Michelle D., Colditz, Graham A., Hunter, David J., Hankinson, Susan E., Rosner, Bernard, Speizer, Frank E., Willett, Walter C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Age Factors
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
breast cancer
Breast Neoplasms - epidemiology
Diet - statistics & numerical data
egg intake
Eggs - adverse effects
Female
fish intake
Fishes
Gynecology. Andrology. Obstetrics
Humans
Incidence
Mammary gland diseases
Meat - adverse effects
meat intake
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
observational study
Risk Factors
Surveys and Questionnaires
Time Factors
Tumors
women
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Summary:Intakes of animal protein, meat, and eggs have been associated with breast cancer incidence and mortality in ecological studies, but data from long‐term prospective studies are limited. We therefore examined these relationships in the Nurses' Health Study. We followed 88,647 women for 18 years, with 5 assessments of diet by food frequency questionnaire, cumulatively averaged and updated over time. We calculated the relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for risk of developing invasive breast cancer, over categories of nutrient and food intake. During follow‐up, 4,107 women developed invasive breast cancer. Compared to the lowest quintile of intake, the RR and 95% CI for the highest quintile of intake were 1.02 (0.92–1.14) for animal protein, 0.93 (0.83–1.05) for red meat and 0.89 (0.79–1.00) for all meat. Results did not differ by menopausal status or family history of breast cancer. We found no evidence that intake of meat or fish during mid‐life and later was associated with risk of breast cancer. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
ISSN:0020-7136
1097-0215
DOI:10.1002/ijc.10910