Flavonoid intake and breast cancer risk: a case–control study in Greece
2003

Flavonoid Intake and Breast Cancer Risk in Greece

Sample size: 2368 publication 10 minutes Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Peterson J, Lagiou P, Samoli E, Lagiou A, Katsouyanni K, La Vecchia C, Dwyer J, Trichopoulos D

Primary Institution: University of Athens

Hypothesis

Is there an association between flavonoid intake and breast cancer risk?

Conclusion

The study found evidence that higher intake of flavones may be inversely related to breast cancer risk.

Supporting Evidence

  • Flavones were found to be inversely related to breast cancer risk.
  • Inverse associations were also noted for flavonols, flavan-3-ols, and anthocyanidins, but these became nonsignificant when controlling for other factors.
  • The study included a large sample size of women with breast cancer and controls.
  • Data were collected using a validated food frequency questionnaire.

Takeaway

Eating more flavones, which are found in certain plants, might help lower the risk of getting breast cancer.

Methodology

A case-control study was conducted with interviews and a food frequency questionnaire to assess dietary intake.

Potential Biases

Confounding by unmeasured dietary factors could not be controlled for.

Limitations

The study lacked a flavone-specific prior hypothesis and relied on food composition data that may not fully apply to Greek foods.

Participant Demographics

820 women with breast cancer and 1548 control women, with an average age of 56.4 years for cases and 54.4 years for controls.

Statistical Information

P-Value

0.001

Confidence Interval

0.75–0.93

Statistical Significance

p<0.05

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1038/sj.bjc.6601271

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