Plant-based diet may help prevent cancer in women
01 Nov 2022
To get the most vitaminas and minerals from the healthiest foods - vegetables - use healthy methods of cookingA plant-forward diet called EAT-Lancet appears to confer protective benefits against cancer only among females and shows no association with cardiovascular disease (CVD), a recent study has shown.
Participants of the NutriNet-Santé cohort (2009–2021) were included in the present study, with endpoints including the incident outcomes (cancer and CVDs and mortality from these diseases), combined and separately.
The authors estimated adherence to the EAT-Lancet diet using the EAT-Lancet Diet Index (ELD-I) modeled as quintiles (Qs). They then estimated hazard ratios (HRs) and 95 percent confidence intervals (CIs) using multivariable Cox proportional hazard models, adjusted for potential confounders and moderators.
A total of 62,382 individuals (mean age at inclusion 51.0 years, 76 percent female) participated in the study, which recorded 2,475 cases of cancer and 786 cardiovascular events during a median 8.1 years of follow-up. The ELD-I range was ‒162 to 332 points, with a mean score of 45.4 points.
Multivariable models showed that the EAT-Lancet diet did not significantly correlate with the risk of cancer and CVD, combined or separately. Alcohol consumption facilitated the effect of the association, with a significant correlation seen among low drinkers (Q5 vs Q1: HR, 0.86, 95 percent CI, 0.73‒1.02; ptrend=0.02).
Of note, a higher ELD-I showed a significant association with a lower risk of overall cancer among females only (Q5 vs Q1: HR, 0.89, 95 percent CI, 0.75‒1.05; ptrend=0.03). Body mass index attenuated both associations.
“The EAT-Lancet commission proposed, in 2019, a planetary, healthy, and universal dietary pattern,” the authors said.