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Association between dietary phytochemical index and breast cancer: a case–control study

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Abstract

Background

Dietary intake of isoflavones has been positively associated with risk of breast cancer (BC) in some earlier studies. In addition, most studies on diet–disease associations came from western countries and limited data are available in the Middle-East.

Methods

This case–control study was performed on 350 women with BC aged over 30 years who were recruited from hospitals or private clinics in Isfahan, Iran. All patients were diagnosed with BC during the maximum of the last 6 months using physical examination and mammography findings. Using cluster method sampling, 700 apparently healthy age- and socioeconomic status-matched controls were randomly selected from healthy women who had no relationship with BC patients and had no familial history of BC. Data on dietary intakes were collected using a validated food-frequency questionnaire. The DPI was calculated based on dietary energy derived from foods rich in phytochemicals (kcal) divided by total daily energy intake (kcal) of each participant.

Results

Mean ± SD age and BMI in the study participants were 62.4 ± 10.8 years and 24.3 ± 5.2 kg/m2, respectively. In the crude model, participants in the highest quartile of DPI had 63% lower odds of breast cancer compared to those in the lowest quartile (95% CI 0.26, 0.54; P-trend < 0.001). After adjustment for potential confounders, this inverse association became strengthened (95% CI 0.22, 0.49; P-trend < 0.001). Further adjustment for BMI did not change the association (OR for the highest quartile vs. the lowest quartile = 0.40, 95% CI 0.26, 0.60; P-trend < 0.001).

Conclusion

In conclusion, a protective association was observed between DPI and BC in this case–control study. Therefore, high consumption of foods rich in phytochemicals such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains might help reducing the odds of BC among women.

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Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

This study was financially supported by a grant from School of Nutrition Sciences and Dietetics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), Tehran, Iran.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Students’ Scientific Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Seyed Mojtaba Ghoreishy

  2. Department of Clinical Nutrition, School of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Seyed Mojtaba Ghoreishy

  3. Research Center for Biochemistry and Nutrition in Metabolic Diseases, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran

    Azadeh Aminianfar

  4. Department of Community Nutrition, School of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 14155-6117, Tehran, Iran

    Sanaz Benisi-Kohansal, Leila Azadbakht & Ahmad Esmaillzadeh

  5. Obesity and Eating Habits Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Molecular -Cellular Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Ahmad Esmaillzadeh

  6. Department of Community Nutrition, School of Nutrition and Food Science, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

    Ahmad Esmaillzadeh

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  1. Seyed Mojtaba Ghoreishy
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  2. Azadeh Aminianfar
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  3. Sanaz Benisi-Kohansal
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  4. Leila Azadbakht
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  5. Ahmad Esmaillzadeh
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Contributions

SMG, AA, and AE contributed to study concept, search, data analysis, and drafting of the manuscript. SBK and LA contributed to data processing, data analysis, and drafting of the manuscript. AE supervised the research. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ahmad Esmaillzadeh.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The research project was approved by Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran Ethics Committee. The purpose of the study was fully explained.

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Participants were provided a study overview and verbal consent was attained.

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Ghoreishy, S.M., Aminianfar, A., Benisi-Kohansal, S. et al. Association between dietary phytochemical index and breast cancer: a case–control study. Breast Cancer 28, 1283–1291 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12282-021-01265-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12282-021-01265-6

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