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Contribution of diet and physical activity to metabolic parameters among survivors of childhood leukemia

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Abstract

Purpose

Determine the relationship between diet and metabolic abnormalities among adult survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

Methods

We surveyed 117 adult survivors of childhood ALL using the Harvard Food Frequency Questionnaire. Physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE) was measured with the SenseWear Pro2 Armband. Insulin resistance was estimated using the Homeostasis Model for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR). Visceral and subcutaneous adiposity were measured by abdominal CT. Adherence to a Mediterranean diet pattern was calculated using the index developed by Trichopoulou. Subjects were compared using multivariate analysis adjusted for age and gender.

Results

Greater adherence to a Mediterranean diet pattern was associated with lower visceral adiposity (p = 0.07), subcutaneous adiposity (p < 0.001), waist circumference (p = 0.005), and body mass index (p = 0.04). For each point higher on the Mediterranean Diet Score, the odds of having the metabolic syndrome fell by 31 % (OR 0.69; 95 % CI 0.50, 0.94; p = 0.019). Higher dairy intake was associated with higher HOMA-IR (p = 0.014), but other individual components of the Mediterranean diet, such as low intake of meat or high intake of fruits and vegetables, were not significant. PAEE was not independently associated with metabolic outcomes, although higher PAEE was associated with lower body mass index.

Conclusions

Adherence to a Mediterranean diet pattern was associated with better metabolic and anthropometric parameters in this cross-sectional study of ALL survivors.

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Abbreviations

ALL:

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia

BMI:

Body mass index

CRT:

Cranial radiotherapy

FFQ:

Food frequency questionnaire

HOMA-IR:

Homeostasis model for insulin resistance

PAEE:

Physical activity energy expenditure

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by research grants from the National Institutes of Health (R01-CA 100474 and K05-CA165702), the Howard J. and Dorothy Adleta Foundation, and the Donald W. Reynolds Cardiovascular Research Center at Dallas, the General Clinical Research Center (Grant M01-RR-00633 and CTSA UL1-RR-024982), and an American Cancer Society Cancer Control Career Development Award.

Conflict of interest

None of the authors has a possible conflict of interest to declare.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 300 East 66th Street, New York, NY, 10065, USA

    Emily S. Tonorezos & Kevin C. Oeffinger

  2. Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA

    Emily S. Tonorezos

  3. Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Kim Robien

  4. Cancer Detection, Treatment and Survivorship Program, Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Kim Robien

  5. Division of Hematology Oncology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, 45229, USA

    Debra Eshelman-Kent

  6. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 300 East 66th Street, New York, NY, 10065, USA

    Chaya S. Moskowitz

  7. Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

    Timothy S. Church

  8. Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada

    Robert Ross

  9. Department of Pediatrics, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 300 East 66th Street, New York, NY, 10065, USA

    Kevin C. Oeffinger

Authors
  1. Emily S. Tonorezos
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  2. Kim Robien
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  3. Debra Eshelman-Kent
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  4. Chaya S. Moskowitz
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  5. Timothy S. Church
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  6. Robert Ross
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  7. Kevin C. Oeffinger
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kevin C. Oeffinger.

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Tonorezos, E.S., Robien, K., Eshelman-Kent, D. et al. Contribution of diet and physical activity to metabolic parameters among survivors of childhood leukemia. Cancer Causes Control 24, 313–321 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-012-0116-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-012-0116-6

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