Dietary patterns and the risk of hematological malignancy in the California Teachers study cohort.

Abstract

10545 Background: Many studies show a correlation between diet and the risk of developing cancer, but most of these studies pertain to solid tumors and data linking certain diets to hematologic malignancies is scarce. This study aims to elucidate the effect of dietary patterns on the risk of developing hematologic malignancy. This study aims to elucidate dietary patterns and correlation with the risk of developing a hematologic malignancy. Methods: Data from 106,029 women in the California Teachers Study (CTS) cohort was analyzed, 476 participants were diagnosed with lymphocytic, monocytic, or other leukemia, 895 with Hodgkin’s or non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and 227 with multiple myeloma between 1995-2020. Results: Five major dietary patterns were identified as: 1) plant-based diet, characterized by a high consumption of fruit and vegetables, 2) high-protein, high-fat diet characterized by a high consumption of animal proteins animal protein (e.g., meat and eggs) and added fats (e.g., butter and mayonnaise), 3) high-carbohydrate diet characterized by a high consumption of convenience foods, pasta, and bread, 4) ethnic diet characterized by a high consumption of legumes, soy-based foods, rick and dark-green leafy vegetables and 5) the salad and wine diet characterized by high consumption of salad and low-fat dressing, fish, wine, coffee and tea, using principal factors analysis (PCFA). Relative risk and confidence intervals were analyzed for each dietary pattern and their correlation to a diagnosis of a hematologic malignancy. Models were adjusted for race-ethnicity/birthplace, living/working half a mile from a chemical plan, living/working half a mile from a powerplant, cigarette use, family history of leukemia and/or lymphoma, BMI (kg/m2), daily caloric intake (kcal/day), socioeconomic status, and moderate physical activity (h/wk). Overall, the high-carbohydrate diet was shown to be protective against hematologic malignancy risk with the lowest RR in all quintiles, but lowest in the 5th quintile (RR: 0.73; 95% CI: 0.59, 0.99, p=0.004). A high-carbohydrate diet was also shown to be associated with a reduction in multiple myeloma risk specifically with the lowest RR in all quintiles, but lowest in the 5th quintile (RR: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.63, 0.98, p=0.03). The ethnic diet was associated with a higher risk of multiple myeloma with the highest RR in all quintiles but highest in the 2nd quintile (RR:1.21; 95% CI 1.06, 1.39, p=0.006). Conclusions: The finding that the high-carbohydrate diet is associated with a reduced risk of a hematologic malignancy warrants further research to characterize the degree of risk reduction, what specific foods, if any, in the category offer protective effects, and if it is a potential approach for prevention.