title: Inverse association between dietary vitamin D and risk of cutaneous melanoma in a northern Italy population.
abstract: The possibility of an inverse association between vitamin D and risk of cancer and, in particular, of cutaneous malignant melanoma has been suggested, but results of epidemiologic studies are still conflicting. We examined the relation between dietary vitamin D intake and melanoma risk through a population-based case-control study (380 cases, 719 controls) in a northern region of Italy, a country with an average vitamin D intake lower than that in northern Europe or the United States. We assessed average daily intake of vitamin D from foodstuffs using the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire. In this population, levels of vitamin D intake were considerably lower than those observed in recent U.S. studies. We found an inverse relation between dietary vitamin D and melanoma risk in the sample as a whole, in both crude and adjusted analyses. In sex- and age-specific analyses, this association appeared to be stronger among males and among older subjects. These findings suggest that, at the relatively low levels of intake observed in this sample, an inverse relation between dietary vitamin D and risk of cutaneous malignant melanoma may exist.
authors.affiliation: Center for Environmental, Genetic, and Nutritional Epidemiology CREAGEN, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy. marco.vinceti@unimore.it
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vinceti
authors.forename: Carlotta
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Malagoli
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fiorentini
authors.forename: Caterina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Longo
authors.forename: Catherine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Crespi
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Albertini
authors.forename: Cinzia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ricci
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lanzoni
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reggiani
authors.forename: Annarosa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Virgili
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Osti
authors.forename: Mara
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lombardi
authors.forename: Marcello
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Santini
authors.forename: Pier Alessandro
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Fanti
authors.forename: Emi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dika
authors.forename: Sabina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sieri
authors.forename: Vittorio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Krogh
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Seidenari
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pellacani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D008875:Middle Aged; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014807:Vitamin D