Glycemic Load, Glycemic Index, and the Risk of Breast Cancer Among Mexican Women

Abstract

The amount and composition of dietary carbohydrates is a major determinant of postprandial blood glucose and insulin, and risk of breast cancer has been positively associated with plasma levels of insulin and insulin-like growth factor 1. We sought to evaluate dietary glycemic load (GL) and overall glycemic index (GI) in relation to breast cancer risk in Mexican women. We examined dietary GL and overall GI and breast cancer risk among 475 women with histologically-confirmed breast cancer and a random sample of 1391 women from Mexico City households. Diet was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire adapted to the Mexican population. The multivariate adjusted or for all women comparing the highest quartile of dietary GL with the lowest quartile was 1.62 (95% CI 1.13-2.32; p-test for trend = 0.02) with a significant trend. In postmenopausal women, the multivariate adjusted or comparing the extreme quartiles was 2.18 (95% CI 1.34-3.55; p-test for trend=0.005). Overall GI was not significantly associated with risk of breast cancer. High intake of rapidly absorbed carbohydrate appears to play an important role in the risk of breast cancer in Mexican women.