Partial substitution of red meat or processed meat with plant-based foods and the risk of colorectal cancer
Tammi R, Kaartinen NE, Harald K, Maukonen M, Tapanainen H, Smith-Warner SA, Albanes D, Eriksson JG, Jousilahti P, Koskinen S, Laaksonen MA, Heikkinen S, Pitkäniemi J, Pajari AM, Männistö S
European journal of epidemiology · 17 citations
Review labels
Neutral facts our review recorded about how this study was done. They describe method, never whether we like the result.
How it was studied
- Design
- Cohort study (indexed by PubMed)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- Clinical events such as disease or death
- Intake measured by
- Food frequency questionnaire
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Independent funding
- Nonprofit
- Yrjö Jahnssonin Säätiö
- Nonprofit
- Juho Vainion Säätiö
- Government
- Strategic Research Council
- Government
- Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare
- Grants
- Yrjö Jahnssonin Säätiö (20227585); Strategic Research Council (327698); Strategic Research Council (352483); Strategic Research Council (327699)
Based on 4 listed funder(s) and full-text disclosure statement.
Publication
- Published
- 2024-01-23 · Eur J Epidemiol · vol. 39 · issue 4 · pp. 419–428
- Publisher
- Springer Science+Business Media
- Cited
- 29 citations · more than 98% of similar papers · 8.9× the field average
- Impact
- Top 10% most cited in its field
- References
- 40 works
- Access
- Open access (hybrid journal) · CC-BY
- Research areas
- Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact · Nutritional Studies and Diet · Consumer Attitudes and Food Labeling
- Keywords
- Medicine, Colorectal cancer, Red meat, Substitution (logic), Epidemiology, Food science, Environmental health, Cancer, Internal medicine, Pathology
- MeSH
- animals, humans, fruit, vegetables, colorectal neoplasms, diet, incidence, risk factors, cohort studies, diet, vegetarian, meat products, adult, aged, middle aged, finland, female, male, whole grains, red meat
15 authors
From FI, US, SG, AU
- Rilla Tammi · correspondingFinnish Institute for Health and Welfare
- Niina E. KaartinenFinnish Institute for Health and Welfare
- Kennet HaraldFinnish Institute for Health and Welfare
- Mirkka MaukonenFinnish Institute for Health and Welfare
- Heli TapanainenFinnish Institute for Health and Welfare
- Stephanie A. Smith‐WarnerHarvard University
Abstract
Objectives
Shifting from animal-based to plant-based diets could reduce colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence. Currently, the impacts of these dietary shifts on CRC risk are ill-defined. Therefore, we examined partial substitutions of red or processed meat with whole grains, vegetables, fruits or a combination of these in relation to CRC risk in Finnish adults.
Methods
We pooled five Finnish cohorts, resulting in 43 788 participants aged ≥ 25 years (79% men). Diet was assessed by validated food frequency questionnaires at study enrolment. We modelled partial substitutions of red (100 g/week) or processed meat (50 g/week) with corresponding amounts of plant-based foods. Cohort-specific hazard ratios (HR) for CRC were calculated using Cox proportional hazards models and pooled together using random-effects models. Adjustments included age, sex, energy intake and other relevant confounders.
Results
During the median follow-up of 28.8 years, 1124 CRCs were diagnosed. We observed small risk reductions when red meat was substituted with vegetables (HR 0.97, 95% CI 0.95 - 0.99), fruits (0.97, 0.94 - 0.99), or whole grains, vegetables and fruits combined (0.97, 0.95 - 0.99). For processed meat, these substitutions yielded 1% risk reductions. Substituting red or processed meat with whole grains was associated with a decreased CRC risk only in participants with interaction=0.001).
Conclusions
Even small, easily implemented substitutions of red or processed meat with whole grains, vegetables or fruits could lower CRC risk in a population with high meat consumption. These findings broaden our insight into dietary modifications that could foster CRC primary prevention.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher (CC BY).
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