Adolescent dairy product and calcium intake in relation to later prostate cancer risk and mortality in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study

Abstract

Purpose-Although a growing body of evidence supports an early-life contribution to prostate cancer (PCa) development, few studies have investigated early-life diet, and only three have examined early-life dairy product intake, a promising candidate risk factor because of its known/ suspected influence on insulin-like growth factor levels and height.Methods-We used recalled dietary data from 162,816 participants in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study to investigate associations for milk, cheese, ice cream, total dairy, and calcium intake at ages 12-13 years with incident total (n=17,729), advanced (n=2,348), and fatal PCa (n=827) over 14 years of follow-up. We calculated relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) by Cox proportional hazards regression.Results-We observed suggestive positive trends for milk, dairy, and calcium intake with total and/or advanced PCa (p-trends=0.016-0.148). These trends attenuated after adjustment for additional components of adolescent diet, particularly red meat and vegetables/potatoes. In contrast, suggestive inverse trends were observed for cheese and ice cream intake with total and/or Terms of use and reuse: academic research for non-commercial purposes, see here for full terms. https://www.springer.com/aamterms-v1 *

Adolescent animal product intake in relation to later prostate cancer risk and mortality in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study

“…intakes of cheese and ice cream, two food items correlated with adolescent red meat intake, and PCa risk [37], as well as inverse findings for adolescent red meat intake and postmenopausal breast cancer risk in the AARP Study (unpublished data). Compared to the previous literature, our analysis brings several methodologic strengths to the study of adolescent diet and PCa.…”

“…To inform the possible role of adolescent diet in prostate carcinogenesis, we previously took advantage of data collected in the large, ongoing NIH-AARP Diet and Health (AARP) Study to investigate recalled adolescent dairy product and calcium intake in relation to subsequent PCa risk and mortality [37]. In that study, we observed positive associations for adolescent dairy product and calcium intake, but these associations attenuated after controlling for red meat intake, suggesting that adolescent red meat intake might be related to PCa risk or mortality.…”

Milk Intake in Early Life and Later Cancer Risk: A Meta-Analysis

“…A total of four studies were included in this meta-analysis [ 2 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. The summary RR of prostate cancer for the highest vs. lowest milk intake in childhood and adolescence was 0.98 (95% CI = 0.72–1.32), with moderate heterogeneity (I 2 = 51%) ( Figure 3 A).…”

“…To identify additional papers, the reference lists of selected articles and previous systematic reviews were reviewed. After a series of screening, a total of 15 studies (9 studies for breast cancer, 3 studies for prostate cancer, 2 studies for colorectal cancer, 1 study for breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer) were eligible for this meta-analysis [ 2 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ]. This study selection process is summarized in Figure 1 .…”

“…This premise is corroborated by observations that established risk factors of cancers, such as tallness and early age at menarche, are affected by childhood and adolescent diet [ 11 ]. In fact, calcium and IGF-1 in dairy products play critical roles in development and growth during childhood and adolescence [ 12 ], and several studies have investigated how dairy intake in early life relates to cancer risk [ 2 , 11 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ]. However, the results are inconsistent, and no meta-analysis has been conducted yet.…”