Glycemic index, glycemic load and cancer risk
Annals of Oncology, 08/10/2012
Hu J et al. – Our findings suggest that a diet high in GI and GL is associated with increased risk of selected cancers.
Methods- Mailed questionnaires were completed between 1994 and 1997 in eight Canadian provinces for incident, histologically confirmed cases of the stomach (n = 1182), colon (n = 1727), rectum (n = 1447), liver (n = 309), pancreas (n = 628), lung (n = 3341), breast (n = 2362), ovary (n = 442), prostate (n = 1799), testis (n = 686), kidney (n = 1345), bladder (n = 1029), brain (n = 1009), non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL, n = 1666), leukemias (n = 1069), multiple myelomas (n = 343), and 5039 population controls.
- Dietary information on eating habits 2 years before participants' enrollment in the study was obtained using a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were derived by unconditional logistic regression including recognized confounding factors.
- Dietary GI was positively associated with the risk of prostate cancer (OR, 1.26 for the highest versus the lowest quartile).
- A higher dietary GL significantly increased the risk of colorectal (OR, 1.28), rectal (OR, 1.44) and pancreatic (OR, 1.41) cancers.
- No other significant associations were found.
