Consumption of industrial processed foods and risk of premenopausal breast cancer among Latin American women: the PRECAMA study.

Isabelle Romieu, Neha Khandpur, Aikaterini Katsikari, Carine Biessy, Gabriela Torres-Mejía, Angélica Ángeles-Llerenas, Isabel Alvarado-Cabrero, Gloria Inés Sánchez, Maria Elena Maldonado, Carolina Porras, Ana Cecilia Rodriguez, Maria Luisa Garmendia, Vèronique Chajés, Elom K Aglago, Peggy L Porter, MingGang Lin, Mathilde His, Marc J Gunter, Inge Huybrechts, Sabina Rinaldi

Journal: BMJ nutrition, prevention & health 2022;5(1):1-9

PMID: 35814719

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Plain Language Summary

Ultra-processed food intake has been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer in Western populations. This is the first study on ultra-processed food and breast cancer in young women from Latin America. In Latin America around 27% of breast cancers occur between 20 and 45 years and this is increasing. This population is currently undergoing rapid lifestyle and nutritional changes switching from a varied traditional diet (including corn tortillas, corn flour cakes, beans and other legumes, soup, homemade stew, vegetable, whole fruit) towards a more homogenous diet rich in industrial ultra-processed foods. In this case control study, the association of ultra-processed food intake to breast cancer risk was evaluated. 525 cases were included (women aged 20–45 years) and 525 matched population-based controls from Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica and Mexico. The degree of processing of foods was classified according to the NOVA classification. The results show an adverse effect of ultra-processed food intake on the risk of breast cancer in young Latin American women. Further studies are needed to confirm the results. Given the already proven chronic adverse health effects of ultra-processed foods, a decrease in these types of foods should be encouraged.

Abstract

Ultra-processed food intake has been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer in Western populations. No data are available in the Latin American population although the consumption of ultra-processed foods is increasing rapidly in this region. We evaluated the association of ultra-processed food intake to breast cancer risk in a case-control study including 525 cases (women aged 20-45 years) and 525 matched population-based controls from Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica and Mexico. The degree of processing of foods was classified according to the NOVA classification. Overall, the major contributors to ultra-processed food intake were ready-to-eat/heat foods (18.2%), cakes and desserts (16.7%), carbonated and industrial fruit juice beverages (16.7%), breakfast cereals (12.9%), sausages and reconstituted meat products (12.1%), industrial bread (6.1%), dairy products and derivatives (7.6%) and package savoury snacks (6.1%). Ultra-processed food intake was positively associated with the risk of breast cancer in adjusted models (OR =1.93; 95% CI=1.11 to 3.35). Specifically, a higher risk was observed with oestrogen receptor positive breast cancer (OR=2.44, (95% CI=1.01 to 5.90, P-trend=0.049), while no significant association was observed with oestrogen receptor negative breast cancer (OR=1.87, 95% CI=0.43 to 8.13, P-trend=0.36). Our findings suggest that the consumption of ultra-processed foods might increase the risk of breast cancer in young women in Latin America. Further studies should confirm these findings and disentangle specific mechanisms relating ultra-processed food intake and carcinogenic processes in the breast.

Address: Centre for Population Health Research, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico.; Hubert Department of Global Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.; Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Public Health, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.; Harvard University T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.; Nutrition and Metabolism Branch, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC/WHO), Lyon, France.; Centre for Population Health Research, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico.; Servicio de Patología del Hospital de Oncología, Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico.; Group Infection and Cancer, School of Medicine, University of Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia.; Grupo Impacto de los Componentes Alimentarios en la Salud, School of Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia.; Agencia Costarricense de Investigaciones Biomédicas (ACIB) - Fundación INCIENSA, San Jose, Costa Rica.; Instituto de Nutrición y de Tecnología de los Alimentos, Universidad de Chile, Santiago de Chile, Chile.; Division of Human Biology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, USA.

DOI: 10.1136/bmjnph-2021-000335