Impact of cooking oil fume exposure and fume extractor use on lung cancer risk in non-smoking Han Chinese women

Chao A Hsiung,Yao-Hwei Fang,Chih-Liang Wang,Tzu-Yu Chen,Yi-Song Chen,Yuh-Min Chen,Ming-Shyan Huang,Chin-Fu Hsiao,Wu-Chou Su,Hsiao-Yu Wu,Hui-Ling Chen,Hsin Huang,Gee-Chen Chang,Kuo-Meng Liao,Chin-Hao Chang,Chien-Jen Chen,Ying-Huang Tsai,Pan-Chyr Yang

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-63656-7

Abstract

Smoking tobacco is the major risk factor for developing lung cancer. However, most Han Chinese women with lung cancer are nonsmokers. Chinese cooking methods usually generate various carcinogens in fumes that may inevitably be inhaled by those who cook the food, most of whom are female. We investigated the associations of cooking habits and exposure to cooking fumes with lung cancer among non-smoking Han Chinese women. This study was conducted on 1,302 lung cancer cases and 1,302 matched healthy controls in Taiwan during 2002–2010. Two indices, “cooking time-years” and “fume extractor use ratio,” were developed. The former was used to explore the relationship between cumulative exposure to cooking oil fumes and lung cancer; the latter was used to assess the impact of fume extractor use for different ratio-of-use groups. Using logistic models, we found a dose–response association between cooking fume exposure and lung cancer (odds ratios of 1, 1.63, 1.67, 2.14, and 3.17 across increasing levels of cooking time-years). However, long-term use of a fume extractor in cooking can reduce the risk of lung cancer by about 50%. Furthermore, we provide evidence that cooking habits, involving cooking methods and oil use, are associated with risk of lung cancer.

Highlights

Lung cancer has been the leading cause of cancer death for women worldwide, including in Taiwan[1,2]
A case-control study was conducted in Taiwan in 1993–1996 to explore the association of oil fumes with lung cancer in women, with 131 non-smoking female lung cancer cases and two sets of controls[14]; this study found that lung cancer risk increased with the number of meals per day to about threefold for women who cooked these meals each day
Our study presents evidence that, among non-smoking Han Chinese women, exposure to cooking oil fumes (COFs) increases the risk of developing lung cancer, but that using a fume extractor while cooking can reduce the risk

Summary

Introduction

Lung cancer has been the leading cause of cancer death for women worldwide, including in Taiwan[1,2]. A case-control study was conducted in Taiwan in 1993–1996 to explore the association of oil fumes with lung cancer in women, with 131 non-smoking female lung cancer cases and two sets of controls (hospital and community controls, with sample sizes of 252 and 262, respectively)[14]; this study found that lung cancer risk increased with the number of meals per day to about threefold for women who cooked these meals each day. We conducted a case-control study with a large sample size among non-smoking Han Chinese women to investigate the association between COFs and lung cancer risk by using a composite index that takes both lifetime cooking duration and cooking times into account. All these analyses were adjusted for more potential confounders, including age, education level, lung cancer in first-degree relatives, second-hand smoke (SHS), history of hormone-replacement therapy, history of oral contraceptive use, and person’s role as homemaker and/ or chef

Methods

Results

Conclusion