SUGAR, MEAT, AND FAT INTAKE, AND NONDIETARY RISK-FACTORS FOR COLON-CANCER INCIDENCE IN IOWA WOMEN (UNITED-STATES)

To investigate the relation of dietary intakes of sucrose, meat, and f at, and anthropometric, lifestyle, hormonal, and reproductive factors to colon cancer incidence, data were analyzed from a prospective cohor t study of 35,215 Iowa (United States) women, aged 55-69 years and wit hout a history of cancer, who completed mailed dietary and other quest ionnaires in 1986. Through 1990, 212 incident cases of colon cancer we re documented. proportional hazards regression was used to adjust for age and other risk factors. Risk factors found to be associated signif icantly with colon cancer included: (i) sucrose-containing foods and b everages other than ice cream/milk; relative risks (RR) across the qui ntiles = 1.00, 1.73, 1.56, 1.54, and 2.00 (95% confidence intervals [C I] for quintiles two and five exclude 1.0);(ii) sucrose; RR across the quintiles = 1.00, 1.70, 1.81, 1.82, and 1.45 (CI for quintiles two th rough four exclude 1.0); (iii) height; RR = 1.23 for highest to lowest quintile (P for trend = 0.02); (iv) body mass index; RR = 1.41 for hi ghest to lowest quintile(P for trend = 0.03); and (v) number of livebi rths, RR = 1.59 for having had one to two livebirths and 1.80 for havi ng had three or more livebirths compared with having had none (P for t rend = 0.04). These data support hypotheses that sucrose intake or bei ng tall or obese increases colon cancer risk; run contrary to the hypo thesis that increased parity decreases risk; support previous findings of no association with demographic factors other than age, cigarette smoking, or use of oral contraceptives or estrogen replacement therapy ; and raise questions regarding previous associations with meat, fat, protein, and physical activity.