The inflammatory potential of diet is associated with breast cancer risk in different contexts of urbanization: a multilevel analysis.

NICLIS CAMILA; TUMAS NATALIA; SHIVAPPA NITÍN; HEBERT JAMES; ABALLAY LAURA; BECARIA COQUET JULIA; REARTES GABRIELA; DÍAZ MARÍA DEL PILAR

Buenos Aires

Congreso; IUNS 21st International Congress of Nutrition.; 2017

International Union of Nutritional Sciences.

Background and objectives: Habitual dietary choices may influence chronic inflammation and several non-communicable diseases. The dietary inflammatory index (DII) was developed to assess the inflammatory potential of diet of diverse populations. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association between the DII and breast cancer risk in Córdoba, Argentina. Methods: A case-control study (317 women with BC and 526 controls) was conducted in Córdoba (Argentina) throughout 2008 to 2015. Dietary inflammatory index scores were computed based on dietary intake assessed by a validated food frequency questionnaire. Multi-level logistic regression models were fit to estimate the association between dietary inflammatory index scores and breast cancer. Age, Body Mass Index, age at menarche, number of children, socio-economic status and family history of BC were included as covariates at first level and level of urbanization (Capital city, cities with >30,000 inhabitants [except Capital city], and towns/rural populations with ≤30,000 inhabitants) as the second level variable. Results: Increasing DII score (as continuous variable) showed significant positive associations with BC risk (OR 1.15; 95%CI 1.11 to 1.19). When the DII was used as a categorical variable, women at the third tertile of DII showed a 58% higher risk of BC (1.58; 95%CI 1.42 to 1.75) compared to women at the first tertile. A median OR around 2 indicated that for persons with the same individual-level covariates but belonging to more urbanized contexts, the risk of breast cancer increases, in median, 2 times. Conclusions: Higher DII scores, were positively associated with breast cancer occurrence, suggesting that increasing intake of more anti-inflammatory dietary components, such as plant-based foods rich in fiber and phytochemicals, and reducing intake of pro-inflammatory factors, such as processed foods, or food rich in refined carbohydrates, saturated or trans fatty acids, may be a strategy for reducing BC risk in different contexts (or degree) of urbanization.