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

SHIVAPPA, NITIN; BECARIA COQUET, JULIA; TUMAS, NATALIA; ABALLAY, LAURA R.; DÍAZ, MARÍA DEL PILAR; NICLIS, CAMILA; HEBERT, JAMES; REARTES, GABRIELA

Buenos Aires

Congreso; IUNS 21st International Congress of Nutrition; 2017

International Union of Nutritional Sciences

Background and objectives: Habitual dietary choices mayinfluence chronic inflammation and several non-communicablediseases. The dietary inflammatory index (DII) was developed toassess the inflammatory potential of diet of diverse populations.The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association betweenthe DII and breast cancer risk in Córdoba, Argentina.Methods: A case-control study (317 women with BC and 526controls) was conducted in Córdoba (Argentina) throughout 2008to 2015. Dietary inflammatory index scores were computed basedon dietary intake assessed by a validated food frequency questionnaire.Multi-level logistic regression models were fit to estimatethe association between dietary inflammatory index scores andbreast cancer. Age, Body Mass Index, age at menarche, numberof children, socio-economic status and family history of BC wereincluded as covariates at first level and level of urbanization (Capitalcity, cities with >30,000 inhabitants [except Capital city], andtowns/rural populations with ≤30,000 inhabitants) as the secondlevel 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 riskof BC (1.58; 95%CI 1.42 to 1.75) compared to women at the firsttertile. A median OR around 2 indicated that for persons withthe same individual-level covariates but belonging to more urbanizedcontexts, the risk of breast cancer increases, in median,2 times.Conclusions: Higher DII scores, were positively associatedwith breast cancer occurrence, suggesting that increasing intake ofmore anti-inflammatory dietary components, such as plant-basedfoods rich in fiber and phytochemicals, and reducing intake ofpro-inflammatory factors, such as processed foods, or food richin refined carbohydrates, saturated or trans fatty acids, may be astrategy for reducing BC risk in different contexts (or degree) ofurbanization.