Breast cancer and dietary factors in Taiwanese women.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the effect of the consumption of dietary factors on the risk of breast cancer in a case-control study in Taiwan.


METHODS
Two-hundred-and-fifty cases and 219 age-matched controls between the ages of 25 and 74 were interviewed in person between 1996 and 1999. Usual consumption of dietary habits including 100 foods was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire and a nutrient database developed and validated in Taiwanese populations.


RESULTS
Cases consumed significantly more fat than controls. Cases also consumed statistically significant less supplements such as vitamins and mineral than controls. Food group analyses showed that highest quartile of beef and pork intake significantly increased risk in younger women (OR = 2.5, 95% CI = 1.0-6.0) and all women (OR = 2.5, 95% CI = 1.1-3.3). The age- education- and total calorie-adjusted odds ratio (OR) of breast cancer risk comparing the highest and second highest quartile of fat intake to the lowest quartile was 5.1, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.1-13 and 3.5, 95% CI: 1.4-8.7 among those younger cases (< or =40). A multiple regression model indicates a protective effect of supplements (OR: 0.40, 95% CI: 0.3-07) and a harmful effect of dietary fat (OR: 2.6, 95% CI: 1.4-5.0) for the highest versus lowest quartile in all women.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results indicate a strong protective effect of dietary supplements and a harmful effect of dietary fats on the risk of breast cancer among women in Taiwan. These findings should be confirmed in future follow-up studies. Specific amount of dietary supplements and dietary fats should be quantified for a more accurate evaluation on the risk for breast cancer in this population.
Lee
Marion M
MM
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California at San Francisco, MU 420 West, San Francisco, CA 94143-0560, USA. mmlee@itsa.ucsf.edu
Chang
Ilona Yuan Hui
IY
Horng
Cheng Fang
CF
Chang
Jeffrey S
JS
Cheng
Skye Hongiun
SH
Huang
Andrew
A
D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004032:Diet; D004041:Dietary Fats; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D002149:Energy Intake; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D016015:Logistic Models; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012307:Risk Factors; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology
D004041:Dietary Fats