Eating Frequency and Risk of Colorectal Cancer

• Published in: Nutrition and cancer Vol. 36; no. 2; pp. 170 - 176
• Main Authors: Tseng, Marilyn, Ingram, Deborah D., Darden, Rebecca, Ziegler, Regina G., Longnecker, Matthew P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia, PA Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc 01.01.2000; Taylor& Francis
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; alcoholic beverages; Biological and medical sciences; Case-Control Studies; colorectal neoplasms; Colorectal Neoplasms - etiology; Colorectal Neoplasms - prevention & control; dietary fat; dietary fiber; dietary surveys; Eating; eating habits; energy intake; Epidemiology; feeding frequency; Female; gender differences; Humans; Hyperinsulinism - complications; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; nationalities and ethnic groups; nutrient intake; Nutrition Surveys; Proportional Hazards Models; Prospective Studies; red meat; risk; Risk Factors; snacks; Tumors; vegetables; Human; Rectal disease; Food habit; Meal; Malignant tumor; Epidemiology; Colonic disease; Risk rate; Risk factor; Rectum; Digestive diseases; Intestinal disease; Frequency; Colon
• ISSN: 0163-5581; 1532-7914
• DOI: 10.1207/S15327914NC3602_5

Case-control studies have found elevated risk of colorectal cancer with higher eating frequency. The present analyses, the first to examine this association using prospectively collected information, utilized nationally representative data from the Epidemiologic Follow-Up Study of the First National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHEFS). The study population included 9,978 subjects followed from 1982-84 to 1992. Colorectal cancer cases (n = 141) were identified by self-report, hospital records, and death certificates. Interviews conducted in 1982-84 provided information on meal and snack frequencies and covariates of interest. Relative risk (RR) of colorectal cancer and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for age, gender, and race and energy, alcohol, total fat, and fiber intake. Compared with those eating <3 times/day, those eating 3-4 times/day had an RR of 0.66 (95% CI = 0.42-1.03) and those eating >4 times/day had an RR of 0.74 (95% CI = 0.41-1.32). The association was due to decreased risk with more meals rather than more snacks per day. Given limitations of previous studies as well as the possibility of a protective effect of higher eating frequency through improved glycemic control, the present findings suggest that the influence of eating frequency on colorectal cancer risk is more complex than has been previously supposed and merits additional study.