Abstract
Metabolic acidosis can lead to inflammation, tissue damage, and cancer metastasis. Dietary acid load contributes to metabolic acidosis if endogenous acid–base balance is not properly regulated. Breast cancer survivors have reduced capacities to adjust their acid–base balance; yet, the associations between dietary acid load and inflammation and hyperglycemia have not been examined among them. We analyzed data collected from 3042 breast cancer survivors enrolled in the Women’s Healthy Eating and Living (WHEL) Study who had provided detailed dietary intakes and measurements of plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). Using a cross-sectional design, we found positive associations between dietary acid load and plasma CRP and HbA1c. In the multivariable-adjusted models, compared to women with the lowest quartile, the intakes of dietary acid load among women with the highest quartile showed 30–33% increases of CRP and 6–9% increases of HbA1c. Our study is the first to demonstrate positive associations between dietary acid load and CRP and HbA1c in breast cancer survivors. Our study identifies a novel dietary factor that may lead to inflammation and hyperglycemia, both of which are strong risk factors for breast cancer recurrence and comorbidities.
Highlights
Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women in the United States [1]
The objective of this study was to conduct a cross-sectional analysis to determine the associations between dietary acid load and C-reactive protein (CRP) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), using data from a large cohort study of breast cancer survivors, the Women’s Health Eating and Living (WHEL) study
Our study is the first study investigating the associations between dietary acid load and inflammation and hyperglycemia in breast cancer survivors
Summary
Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women in the United States [1]. Women who have had breast cancer are at an increased risk of cancer recurrence, and other comorbidities, such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and decreased bone mass, primarily due to the late effects of cancer treatment and the normal aging processes [2,3]. Lipscombe et al demonstrated that post-menopausal breast cancer survivors had higher rates of diabetes than women without breast cancer [4]. Lipscombe et al followed 24,976 breast cancer survivors and 124,880 age-matched women without breast cancer. After 10 years of follow-up, the risk of diabetes among breast cancer survivors compared to women without breast cancer increased by 20% (HR = 1.21; 95% CI 1.09–1.35) [4]. Multiple prospective cohort studies have shown that CRP is Nutrients 2019, 11, 1913; doi:10.3390/nu11081913 www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrients
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