Abstract
The evidence for a role of diet on ovarian cancer prevention remains inconclusive. While many studies have evaluated individual foods and food groups, the evaluation of a comprehensive dietary quality index for predicting cancer risk has received little attention. This study investigates the association between the Healthy Eating Index (HEI), which reflects adherence to the current USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans and ovarian cancer risk in a population-based case–control study in New Jersey. A total of 205 cases and 390 controls completed the Block 98.2 food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) in addition to reporting on potential risk factors for ovarian cancer. FFQ data were then utilized to calculate the HEI score, and cup, ounce, gram, or caloric equivalents for the 12 different food groups comprising the index. In multivariate models, the OR for the highest tertile of the HEI score compared with the lowest (reflecting a better diet compared with a worse diet) was 0.90 (95% CI: 0.55–1.47). There was limited evidence for a statistically significant association between any of the 12 individual food components and ovarian cancer risk. Based on this study’s results, neither individual food groups nor dietary quality showed potential for preventing ovarian cancer.
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Abbreviations
- OR:
-
Odds Ratio
- CI:
-
Confidence Interval
- FFQ:
-
Food frequency questionnaire
- BMI:
-
Body mass index
- WHR:
-
Waist to hip ratio
- HRT:
-
Hormone replacement therapy
- E:
-
Estrogen
- OC:
-
Oral contraceptives
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Acknowledgments
We thank Thanusha Puvananayagam, the interviewers and students who were involved in this study, the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services personnel, as well as all the participants who generously donated their time to the study. This work was funded by NIH-K07 CA095666, R01CA83918, K22CA138563, and The Cancer Institute of New Jersey.
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Chandran, U., Bandera, E.V., Williams-King, M.G. et al. Healthy eating index and ovarian cancer risk. Cancer Causes Control 22, 563–571 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-011-9728-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-011-9728-5