Abstract
Previous studies have indicated a correlation between nut intake and cancer risk in humans. This meta-analysis aimed to determine the relationship between nut consumption and the risks of cancer incidence and mortality. The PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases were searched up to August 2019. Relative risks and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using random-effects and fixed-effects models. We included 38 studies on nut consumption and cancer risk and 9 studies on cancer-specific mortality. Compared with no nut intake, nut intake was associated with a lower cancer risk (Relative Risk=0.90; 95% confidence interval, 0.86–0.94). Inverse associations were observed with colorectal cancer, gastric cancer, pancreatic cancer, and lung cancer in subgroup analyses. Tree nut consumption was found to reduce cancer risk (Relative Risk=0.88; 95% confidence interval, 0.79–0.99). Dose-response curves suggested that protective benefits against cancer increased with increased nut intake (P=0.005, P-nonlinearity=0.0414). An inverse correlation with cancer-specific mortality (Odd Ratio=0.90; 95% confidence interval, 0.88–0.92) was observed. In conclusion, nut consumption is inversely associated with the risks of cancer incidence and mortality; a higher intake is significantly associated with a lower cancer risk.
Highlights
Cancer is a major public health challenge worldwide
Nine studies were selected for the analysis of the association between nut consumption and cancer-specific mortality
We analyzed the effect of nut type on cancer risk, and the results suggested that tree nut consumption was associated with a reduced cancer risk (8 studies, Relative risks (RR) = 0.88; 95% Confidence intervals (CI), 0.79–0.99; P = 0.03; I2 = 57.5%)
Summary
Cancer is a major public health challenge worldwide. Because of the rapid growth and aging of the world population, cancer is predicted to be the leading cause of death globally in the 21st century. Cancer is expected to be the predominant challenge to an increasing life expectancy. Global Cancer Statistics 2018 estimated that 18.1 million new cancer cases and. 9.6 million cancer deaths occurred globally in 2018 [1]. An estimated 606,880 cancer deaths and 1,762,450 cancer diagnoses occurred in the US in 2019 [2]. Given the rapid growth of global cancer morbidity and mortality rates, cancer prevention has significant implications for reducing the global health burden
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