Diet and ovarian cancer risk: a case–control study in China
2002

Diet and Ovarian Cancer Risk in China

Sample size: 906 publication 10 minutes Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): M Zhang, Z Y Yang, C W Binns, A H Lee

Primary Institution: Curtin University of Technology

Hypothesis

Does dietary intake influence the risk of ovarian cancer?

Conclusion

A diet rich in vegetables and fruits, but low in animal fat and salted vegetables, is associated with a lower risk of ovarian cancer.

Supporting Evidence

  • The risk of ovarian cancer declined with increasing consumption of vegetables and fruits.
  • High intakes of animal fat and salted vegetables were associated with increased ovarian cancer risk.
  • The study used a validated food frequency questionnaire to assess dietary habits.

Takeaway

Eating lots of fruits and vegetables can help keep you safe from ovarian cancer, while eating too much animal fat and salted foods can increase your risk.

Methodology

A case-control study with 254 ovarian cancer patients and 652 controls, using a food frequency questionnaire to assess dietary intake.

Potential Biases

Minimal selection bias due to low refusal rates; recall bias was minimized by using habitual diet reporting.

Limitations

The study may have selection and recall biases, and the small number of community controls consumed less salted vegetables and animal fat than hospital controls.

Participant Demographics

Women under 75 years of age, residents of Zhejiang province, with 254 cases and 652 controls matched by age and geographical area.

Statistical Information

P-Value

0.24 for vegetables, 0.36 for fruits, 4.6 for animal fat, 3.4 for preserved vegetables

Confidence Interval

(0.1–0.5) for vegetables, (0.2–0.7) for fruits, (2.2–9.3) for animal fat, (2.0–5.8) for preserved vegetables

Statistical Significance

p<0.05

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1038/sj/bjc/6600085

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