Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Dietary intake of trans fatty acids and breast cancer risk in 9 European countries

Matta, Michèle ; Huybrechts, Inge ; Biessy, Carine ; Casagrande, Corinne ; Yammine, Sahar ; Fournier, Agnès ; Olsen, Karina Standahl ; Lukic, Marco ; Gram, Inger Torhild and Ardanaz, Eva LU , et al. (2021) In BMC Medicine 19(1).
Abstract

Background: Trans fatty acids (TFAs) have been hypothesised to influence breast cancer risk. However, relatively few prospective studies have examined this relationship, and well-powered analyses according to hormone receptor-defined molecular subtypes, menopausal status, and body size have rarely been conducted. Methods: In the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), we investigated the associations between dietary intakes of TFAs (industrial trans fatty acids [ITFAs] and ruminant trans fatty acids [RTFAs]) and breast cancer risk among 318,607 women. Multivariable hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models, adjusted for other breast cancer... (More)

Background: Trans fatty acids (TFAs) have been hypothesised to influence breast cancer risk. However, relatively few prospective studies have examined this relationship, and well-powered analyses according to hormone receptor-defined molecular subtypes, menopausal status, and body size have rarely been conducted. Methods: In the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), we investigated the associations between dietary intakes of TFAs (industrial trans fatty acids [ITFAs] and ruminant trans fatty acids [RTFAs]) and breast cancer risk among 318,607 women. Multivariable hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models, adjusted for other breast cancer risk factors. Results: After a median follow-up of 8.1 years, 13,241 breast cancer cases occurred. In the multivariable-adjusted model, higher total ITFA intake was associated with elevated breast cancer risk (HR for highest vs lowest quintile, 1.14, 95% CI 1.06–1.23; P trend = 0.001). A similar positive association was found between intake of elaidic acid, the predominant ITFA, and breast cancer risk (HR for highest vs lowest quintile, 1.14, 95% CI 1.06–1.23; P trend = 0.001). Intake of total RTFAs was also associated with higher breast cancer risk (HR for highest vs lowest quintile, 1.09, 95% CI 1.01–1.17; P trend = 0.015). For individual RTFAs, we found positive associations with breast cancer risk for dietary intakes of two strongly correlated fatty acids (Spearman correlation r = 0.77), conjugated linoleic acid (HR for highest vs lowest quintile, 1.11, 95% CI 1.03–1.20; P trend = 0.001) and palmitelaidic acid (HR for highest vs lowest quintile, 1.08, 95% CI 1.01–1.16; P trend = 0.028). Similar associations were found for total ITFAs and RTFAs with breast cancer risk according to menopausal status, body mass index, and breast cancer subtypes. Conclusions: These results support the hypothesis that higher dietary intakes of ITFAs, in particular elaidic acid, are associated with elevated breast cancer risk. Due to the high correlation between conjugated linoleic acid and palmitelaidic acid, we were unable to disentangle the positive associations found for these fatty acids with breast cancer risk. Further mechanistic studies are needed to identify biological pathways that may underlie these associations.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and , et al. (More)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and (Less)
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Breast cancer, Diet, Industrial trans fatty acids, Ruminant trans fatty acids
in
BMC Medicine
volume
19
issue
1
article number
81
publisher
BioMed Central (BMC)
external identifiers
  • scopus:85103556333
  • pmid:33781249
ISSN
1741-7015
DOI
10.1186/s12916-021-01952-3
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
450720ba-f637-4a66-92c5-ffd1e22ef7e9
date added to LUP
2021-04-12 08:42:04
date last changed
2024-05-18 08:03:14
@article{450720ba-f637-4a66-92c5-ffd1e22ef7e9,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background: Trans fatty acids (TFAs) have been hypothesised to influence breast cancer risk. However, relatively few prospective studies have examined this relationship, and well-powered analyses according to hormone receptor-defined molecular subtypes, menopausal status, and body size have rarely been conducted. Methods: In the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), we investigated the associations between dietary intakes of TFAs (industrial trans fatty acids [ITFAs] and ruminant trans fatty acids [RTFAs]) and breast cancer risk among 318,607 women. Multivariable hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models, adjusted for other breast cancer risk factors. Results: After a median follow-up of 8.1 years, 13,241 breast cancer cases occurred. In the multivariable-adjusted model, higher total ITFA intake was associated with elevated breast cancer risk (HR for highest vs lowest quintile, 1.14, 95% CI 1.06–1.23; P trend = 0.001). A similar positive association was found between intake of elaidic acid, the predominant ITFA, and breast cancer risk (HR for highest vs lowest quintile, 1.14, 95% CI 1.06–1.23; P trend = 0.001). Intake of total RTFAs was also associated with higher breast cancer risk (HR for highest vs lowest quintile, 1.09, 95% CI 1.01–1.17; P trend = 0.015). For individual RTFAs, we found positive associations with breast cancer risk for dietary intakes of two strongly correlated fatty acids (Spearman correlation r = 0.77), conjugated linoleic acid (HR for highest vs lowest quintile, 1.11, 95% CI 1.03–1.20; P trend = 0.001) and palmitelaidic acid (HR for highest vs lowest quintile, 1.08, 95% CI 1.01–1.16; P trend = 0.028). Similar associations were found for total ITFAs and RTFAs with breast cancer risk according to menopausal status, body mass index, and breast cancer subtypes. Conclusions: These results support the hypothesis that higher dietary intakes of ITFAs, in particular elaidic acid, are associated with elevated breast cancer risk. Due to the high correlation between conjugated linoleic acid and palmitelaidic acid, we were unable to disentangle the positive associations found for these fatty acids with breast cancer risk. Further mechanistic studies are needed to identify biological pathways that may underlie these associations.</p>}},
  author       = {{Matta, Michèle and Huybrechts, Inge and Biessy, Carine and Casagrande, Corinne and Yammine, Sahar and Fournier, Agnès and Olsen, Karina Standahl and Lukic, Marco and Gram, Inger Torhild and Ardanaz, Eva and Sánchez, Maria José and Dossus, Laure and Fortner, Renée T. and Srour, Bernard and Jannasch, Franziska and Schulze, Matthias B. and Amiano, Pilar and Agudo, Antonio and Colorado-Yohar, Sandra and Quirós, J. Ramón and Tumino, Rosario and Panico, Salvatore and Masala, Giovanna and Pala, Valeria and Sacerdote, Carlotta and Tjønneland, Anne and Olsen, Anja and Dahm, Christina C. and Rosendahl, Ann H. and Borgquist, Signe and Wennberg, Maria and Heath, Alicia K. and Aune, Dagfinn and Schmidt, Julie and Weiderpass, Elisabete and Chajes, Veronique and Gunter, Marc J. and Murphy, Neil}},
  issn         = {{1741-7015}},
  keywords     = {{Breast cancer; Diet; Industrial trans fatty acids; Ruminant trans fatty acids}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}},
  series       = {{BMC Medicine}},
  title        = {{Dietary intake of trans fatty acids and breast cancer risk in 9 European countries}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12916-021-01952-3}},
  doi          = {{10.1186/s12916-021-01952-3}},
  volume       = {{19}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}