Association between Diet-related Behaviour and Risk of Colorectal Cancer: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Individual dietary patterns may be influenced by diet-related behaviours, which may eventually play a significant role in contributing to colorectal cancer risk. As nearly half of colorectal cancer cases can be prevented through diet and lifestyle modification, in this study, we aimed to present an overview of the literature on diet-related behaviour and its effect on colorectal cancer risk among adults. Articles published from 2011 until July 2021 were selected. Out of the 1,198 articles retrieved, 25 were analyzed. There were 16 case-control studies, and nine of them were cohort studies. As a finding, the instruments used in this review were food frequency questionnaires (n = 23), followed by a semi-structured interview (n = 1), and diet records (n = 1). We demonstrated that unhealthy diet-related behaviours are linked to an increased risk of colorectal cancer in adults and those food frequency questionnaires or food records are common instruments used to collect diet-related behaviours. This article imparts the research trends and directions of colorectal cancer risk factors and shows that diet-related behaviour varies and changes over time.