TY - JOUR
T1 - Dietary fiber and the risk of colorectal cancer and adenoma in women
AU - Fuchs, Charles S.
AU - Giovannucci, Edward L.
AU - Colditz, Graham A.
AU - Hunter, David J.
AU - Stampfer, Meir J.
AU - Rosner, Bernard
AU - Speizer, Frank E.
AU - Willett, Walter C.
PY - 1999/1/21
Y1 - 1999/1/21
N2 - Background: A high intake of dietary fiber has been thought to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer and adenoma. Methods: We conducted a prospective study of 88,757 women, who were 34 to 59 years old and had no history of cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, or familial polyposis, who completed a dietary questionnaire in 1980. During a 16-year follow-up period, 787 cases of colorectal cancer were documented. In addition, 1012 patients with adenomas of the distal colon and rectum were found among 27,530 participants who underwent endoscopy during the follow-up period. Results: After adjustment for age, established risk factors, and total energy intake, we found no association between the intake of dietary fiber and the risk of colorectal cancer; the relative risk for the highest as compared with the lowest quintile group with respect to fiber intake was 0.95 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.73 to 1.25). No protective effect of dietary fiber was observed when we omitted adjustment for total energy intake, when events during the first six years of follow-up were excluded, or when we excluded women who altered their fiber intake during the follow-up period. No significant association between fiber intake and the risk of colorectal adenoma was found. Conclusions: Our data do not support the existence of an important protective effect of dietary fiber against colorectal cancer or adenoma.
AB - Background: A high intake of dietary fiber has been thought to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer and adenoma. Methods: We conducted a prospective study of 88,757 women, who were 34 to 59 years old and had no history of cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, or familial polyposis, who completed a dietary questionnaire in 1980. During a 16-year follow-up period, 787 cases of colorectal cancer were documented. In addition, 1012 patients with adenomas of the distal colon and rectum were found among 27,530 participants who underwent endoscopy during the follow-up period. Results: After adjustment for age, established risk factors, and total energy intake, we found no association between the intake of dietary fiber and the risk of colorectal cancer; the relative risk for the highest as compared with the lowest quintile group with respect to fiber intake was 0.95 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.73 to 1.25). No protective effect of dietary fiber was observed when we omitted adjustment for total energy intake, when events during the first six years of follow-up were excluded, or when we excluded women who altered their fiber intake during the follow-up period. No significant association between fiber intake and the risk of colorectal adenoma was found. Conclusions: Our data do not support the existence of an important protective effect of dietary fiber against colorectal cancer or adenoma.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0033590525&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1056/NEJM199901213400301
DO - 10.1056/NEJM199901213400301
M3 - Article
C2 - 9895396
AN - SCOPUS:0033590525
VL - 340
SP - 169
EP - 176
JO - New England Journal of Medicine
JF - New England Journal of Medicine
SN - 0028-4793
IS - 3
ER -