DIETARY-SUPPLEMENT USE BY WOMEN AT RISK FOR BREAST-CANCER RECURRENCE

Objective To develop a method of collecting, organizing, and analyzing information on nutrient and nonnutrient dietary supplement use by wom en at risk for breast cancer recurrence as a component of nutrition as sessment and monitoring, and to describe the characteristics associate d with dietary supplement use in this population at enrollment in a cl inical trial to prevent breast cancer recurrence. Design Cross-section al descriptive study design. Subjects Women diagnosed with breast canc er within the previous 4 years (n=435). Analysis Dietary supplements r eported in four 24-hour dietary recalls were categorized according to primary nutrient and nonnutrient contents. Prevalence of dietary suppl ement use is described. Associations between supplement use and demogr aphic and participant characteristics were examined using chi(2) analy sis and logistic regression. Results Dietary supplement use was report ed by 80.9% of the women. Increased likelihood of supplement use was a ssociated with demographic (eg, older age, higher level of education, white race vs other ethnic groups) and personal (eg, lower body mass i ndex, moderate alcohol consumption) characteristics. Use of vitamin C and related compounds, other nutrients (eg, n-3 fatty acids, evening p rimrose oil), and herbal products was inversely associated with months since diagnosis; use of miscellaneous supplements (eg, shark cartilag e) was directly associated with more advanced stage at diagnosis. Appl ications Monitoring dietary supplement use is an important aspect of n utrition assessment, especially in populations with chronic health con ditions or medical diagnoses. Demographic and personal characteristics , time passed since diagnosis, and stage of cancer at diagnosis are pr edictive of dietary supplement use by women at risk for breast cancer recurrence. Associations in this population may be present in other gr oups that are the object of nutrition intervention efforts.