Dietary Fat and Breast Cancer Risk
Author Information
Author(s): N.F. Boyd, L.J. Martin, M. Noffel, G.A. Lockwood, D.L. Tritchler
Primary Institution: Division of Epidemiology and Statistics, Ontario Cancer Institute, Toronto, Canada.
Hypothesis
Increased dietary fat intake increases the incidence of breast cancer.
Conclusion
Higher intake of dietary fat is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer.
Supporting Evidence
- The summary relative risk for total fat intake was 1.12 (95% CI 1.04-1.21).
- Cohort studies had a summary relative risk of 1.01 (95% CI 0.90-1.13).
- Case control studies had a relative risk of 1.21 (95% CI 1.10-1.34).
- Summary relative risks for specific types of fat showed an increased risk for saturated fat.
- European studies were more likely to show an increased relative risk associated with dietary fat.
Takeaway
Eating more fat might make you more likely to get breast cancer, according to this study.
Methodology
Meta-analysis of 23 studies examining the relationship between dietary fat intake and breast cancer risk.
Potential Biases
Recall bias may lead breast cancer cases to report dietary fat intake differently than healthy controls.
Limitations
The studies included varied in methodology and quality, which may affect the results.
Participant Demographics
The studies included a total of 9,838 cases of breast cancer and over 250,000 control subjects from various countries.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.05
Confidence Interval
95% CI 1.04-1.21
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
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