Vegetable and fruit intakes and risk of Barrett's esophagus in men and women.
BACKGROUND
Barrett's esophagus (BE) is a risk factor for esophageal adenocarcinoma. Modifiable risk factors for BE are largely unknown.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to determine whether vegetable and fruit intakes are associated with BE risk.


METHODS
In a case-control study based in western Washington State, we compared the vegetable and fruit intakes of 170 patients with newly diagnosed BE with those of 182 controls from the general population. Relations between vegetable and fruit intakes and BE were examined by using unconditional logistic regression to compute odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% CIs.


RESULTS
Participants in the second (adjusted OR: 0.40; 95% CI: 0.23, 0.71) and third (adjusted OR: 0.33; 95% CI: 0.17, 0.63) tertiles of vegetable intake appeared to have a lower risk of BE (P for trend = 0.048) than did participants in the first tertile of vegetable intake. Similarly, participants in the second (adjusted OR: 0.49; 95% CI: 0.28, 0.86) and third (adjusted OR: 0.39; 95% CI: 0.21, 0.75) tertiles of combined vegetable and fruit intakes had a lower risk of BE (P for trend = 0.047) than did participants in the first tertile of vegetable and fruit intakes. Similar results were obtained in subanalyses limited to patients with visible and with long-segment BE.


CONCLUSIONS
The results support previous findings that increased intakes of vegetables and of vegetables and fruit are associated with a lower risk of BE in men and women. Prospective data that examine relations between diet and BE are needed.
Thompson
Olivia M
OM
Nutritional Sciences Program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. thompsonom@mail.nih.gov
Beresford
Shirley A A
SA
Kirk
Elizabeth A
EA
Vaughan
Thomas L
TL
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001471:Barrett Esophagus / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004435:Eating; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014675:Vegetables; D055815:Young Adult