Non-adherence to Mediterranean diet and synergy with lifestyle habits in the occurrence of breast cancer: a case-control study in Italy.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

The aim of this study was to assess the synergistic effect of non-adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (MD) and lifestyle habits on the occurrence of breast cancer (BC).

PATIENTS AND METHODS:

A case-control study was carried out from September 2018 to February 2019 at the Teaching Hospital "Umberto I" in Rome. A Food Frequency Questionnaire was used for assessing the level of adherence to MD, the IPAQ Questionnaire to measure physical activity, and AUDIT-C to estimate alcohol consumption. The possible interaction between risk factors was tested using the synergism index.

RESULTS:

A total of 94 cases and 88 controls were enrolled (median age 55.8 for cases and 57.9 for controls). The MD Score over 6 was associated with low odds of having breast cancer (OR = 0.29; 95% CI: 0.12-0.69). There is a clear indication for the additivity and synergism between non-adherence to MD and many risk factors on the occurrence of BC: current smoker (S = 2.02; 95% CI 0.62-8.07), physical inactivity (S = 2.14; 95% CI 0.71 2-8.28) and alcohol consumption (S = 3.02; 95% CI 0.91-12.95).

CONCLUSIONS:

Primary prevention of BC can benefit from intervention targeting nutritional and lifestyle factors that act synergistically.

• Authors: G La Torre, I De Carlo, C Sestili, R A Cocchiara, L Lia, O Di Bella, S Cianfanelli, V D'Egidio, M Mancino, V Palmeri, A De Luca, F Frusone, V Aceti, M I Amabile, M Cardi, I Backhaus, A Mannocci, M Monti
• Journal: European review for medical and pharmacological sciences (Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci) Vol. 25 Issue 13 Pg. 4535-4539 (Jul 2021) ISSN: 2284-0729 [Electronic] Italy
• PMID: 34286496 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Observational Study)

Topics

• Aged
• Breast Neoplasms (epidemiology, prevention & control)
• Case-Control Studies
• Diet, Mediterranean (statistics & numerical data)
• Female
• Habits
• Humans
• Italy (epidemiology)
• Life Style
• Middle Aged
• Patient Compliance (statistics & numerical data)