DIETARY FATS AND LUNG-CANCER RISK AMONG WOMEN - THE MISSOURI WOMENS HEALTH STUDY (UNITED-STATES)

In a population-based case-control study of women in Missouri (United States), most of whom were smokers, we obtained information on adult d iet to evaluate the effects of dietary fats in relation to lung cancer risk. All newly diagnosed, primary lung cancer cases among women 35 t o 84 years of age reported to the Missouri Cancer Registry from 1 Janu ary 1993 to 31 January 1994 were invited to participate, as were popul ation-based controls. The analysis focused on interviews obtained from 624 controls and 587 cases. In-person interviews were obtained from 9 9.0 percent of controls and 60.6 percent of cases. Age and energy-adju sted relative risks suggested a direct relation between risk of lung c ancer and intake of dietary fats (e.g., total fat, saturated fat) and frequency of meat consumption. After adjusting for confounders, dietar y fats were no longer associated with risk, but the adverse effect of frequent consumption of meat persisted. Risk was elevated about 90 per cent (95 percent confidence interval = 1.2-3.0) among women in the hig hest quintile of red meat intake compared with those in the lowest qui ntile. Risk estimates associated with red meat consumption, however, w ere dependent on interview status; the effect was restricted to cases whose dietary information was provided by proxy. In summary, after adj usting for potential confounders and removing data obtained from proxy respondents, dietary fats and consumption of red meat were not associ ated with lung cancer risk among women in Missouri.