Fruit and vegetable intake and bladder cancer risk: the Multiethnic Cohort Study

Abstract

Fruits and vegetables have been examined for their possible effects on the risk of bladder cancer, as they contain numerous nutrients and phytochemicals with anticarcinogenic properties. We examined whether the consumption of fruits and vegetables, or of nutrients concentrated in fruits and vegetables, was associated with bladder cancer risk among 185,885 older adults in the Multiethnic Cohort Study. A total of 581 invasive bladder cancer cases were diagnosed over a mean follow‐up period of 12.5 years. In women, total fruits and vegetables (HR for the highest vs. lowest quartile = 0.35; 95% CI: 0.22, 0.56), total vegetables, the specific vegetable subgroups of yellow‐orange vegetables and cruciferous vegetables, total fruits, and citrus fruits were inversely associated with the risk of bladder cancer. In addition, women with the highest intakes of vitamins A, C, and E; the carotenoids ¥á‐carotene, ¥â‐carotene, ¥â‐cryptoxanthin, and lutein; folate; and dietary fiber had a lower risk of bladder cancer. For men, no associations were detected overall, although inverse associations were seen for vegetable intake among current smokers, and in ethnic‐specific analyses, for fruit and vegetable intake among Latinos specifically. Our findings suggest that greater consumption of fruits and vegetables may lower the risk of bladder cancer among women and highlight the need for specific subgroup analyses in future studies.