Higher intakes of vegetables and vegetable-related nutrients are associated with lower endometrial cancer risks

Abstract

A limited number of studies have investigated diet in association with endometrial cancer (EC). We examined the association between intakes of selected food groups and nutrients with EC risk among 541 women with histologically confirmed EC and 541 women with an intact uterus and noncancer diagnoses seen at Roswell Park Cancer Institute between 1982 and 1998. Self-reported dietary and other epidemiologic data were collected by questionnaire. Unconditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% Cl, adjusting for age, BMI, hormone replacement therapy use, cigarette smoking, lifetime duration of menstruation, and total energy intake. We observed significant inverse associations for women in the highest vs. lowest quartiles of intake of total vegetables (OR, 0.51; 95% Cl, 0.34-0.75), vitamin E (OR, 0.44; 95% Cl, 0.27-0.70), dietary fiber (OR, 0.60; 95% Cl, 0.39-0.94), β-carotene (OR, 0.55; 95% Cl, 0.37-0.82), lutein (OR, 0.52; 95% Cl, 0.34-0.78), and folate (OR, 0.57; 95% Cl, 0.36-0.91). Our results support that vegetables and related nutrients are associated with decreased risk of EC. © 2009 American Society for Nutrition.