In this population, intake of vegetables appears to decrease premenopausal breast cancer risk. This effect may be related, in part, to beta-carotene and lutein + zeaxanthin in vegetables. It appears, however, that, of the nutrients and food components examined, no single dietary factor explains the effect. Evaluated components found together in vegetables may have a synergistic effect on breast cancer risk; alternatively, other unmeasured factors in these foods may also influence risk.

This paper presents the results of a retrospective study that examines the association of cancer with a history of asthma, hay fever, hives, and other allergy-related diseases. This study is based on interview data collected from 13,665 cancer cases and 4,079 nonneoplastic controls who were admitted to Roswell Park Memorial Institute from 1957 to 1965. Although there is a general tendency for the age- and cigarette smoking-adjusted odds ratios associated with a history of asthma and hay fever to be less than 1, for both males and females, there is stronger evidence for a decreased risk of cancer associated with a history of hives and other allergy-related diseases. Decreased risks associated with a history of hives and other allergies are seen in males for oral cancer, cancers of the lung, larynx, digestive system, urinary system, and cancers of all sites combined and in females for cancers of the digestive system, reproductive system, in particular, cancer of the cervix, and cancers of all sites combined. None of the few odds ratios over 1 associated with a history of any allergy-related condition are statistically significant (alpha = 0.05). These findings suggest that individuals with allergy-related disorders may be at decreased risk of cancer, although reasons for cautious interpretation of the findings are emphasized. Prospective studies of carefully defined allergic disease cohorts are needed.

The authors interviewed 428 pathologically confirmed cases of colon cancer and controls matched on age, sex, race, and neighborhood in the New York counties containing the cities of Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and Rochester. Risk of colon cancer in both males and females, studied separately, appeared to increase with the amount of total fats and total calories ingested. In addition, we found the risk to increase with increases in the Quetelet index of relative weight (weight (kg)/height (m)2). Dietary fiber was only equivocally associated with risk. Fats and Quetelet index were associated with increased risk in a regression analysis adjusting each factor for the other, as well as for fiber, age, and socioeconomic status. The same was true for calories and Quetelet index. Future efforts to clarify a possible protective role for fiber and to disentangle the effects of fats and calories need to be undertaken. The fact that calories ingested and obesity are each associated with increased risk suggests the importance of studying calorie expenditure.

Interview and dental examination data were gathered on 584 males with cancer of the oral cavity and on 1,222 control patients with nonneoplastic diseases at Roswell Park Memorial Institute, Buffalo, New York. No dietary characteristics distinguished cancer patients from controls. However, a higher risk of developing oral cancer was associated with heavy smoking, heavy drinking, and poor dentition. When controlled for the other factors, each factor carried a higher risk. Moreover, heavy smokers and heavy drinkers with poor dentition and males with all three traits had a substantially higher risk than would have been expected, if the traits were considered additively. The risk for males with all three traits was 7.7 times that of men with none of these traits.

Background Vitamin D has anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties that, together with its influence on bone health, may confer periodontal benefit. Methods We investigated cross-sectional associations (1997–2000) between plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations [25(OH)D] and periodontal measure among 920 postmenopausal women. Chronic measures of disease were defined based on: 1) alveolar crestal height (ACH) measures from intraoral radiographs and tooth loss, and the 2) Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)/American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) criteria using measures of clinical attachment level (CAL) and probing pocket depth (PD). Acute oral inflammation was assessed by the % of gingival sites that bled upon assessment with a probe. Logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for periodontal disease among participants with adequate ([25(OH)D]≥50 nmol/L) compared to deficient/inadequate ([25(OH)D]<50 nmol/L) vitamin D status adjusted for age, dental visit frequency, and body mass index. Results No association was observed between vitamin D status and periodontal disease defined by ACH and tooth loss (adjusted OR=0.96, 95% CI: 0.68–1.35). In contrast, women with adequate compared to deficient/inadequate vitamin D status had a 33% lower odds (95% CI: 5%–53%) of periodontal disease defined using the CDC/AAP definition and a 42% lower odds (95% CI: 21%-58%) of having ≥50% of gingival sites that bled. Conclusion Vitamin D status was inversely associated with gingival bleeding, an acute measure of oral health and inflammation and inversely associated with clinical categories of chronic periodontal disease that incorporated PD, an indicator of oral inflammation. However, vitamin D was not associated with chronic periodontal disease based on measures of ACH in combination with tooth loss.