Processed meat consumption, dietary nitrosamines and stomach cancer risk in a cohort of Swedish women

Abstract

Processed meat consumption has been associated with an increased risk of stomach cancer in some epidemiological studies (mainly case-control). Nitrosamines may be responsible for this association, but few studies have directly examined nitrosamine intake in relation to stomach cancer risk. We prospectively investigated the associations between intakes of processed meat, other meats and N-nitrosodimethylamine (the most frequently occurring nitrosamine in foods) with risk of stomach cancer among 61,433 women who were enrolled in the population-based Swedish Mammography Cohort. Information on diet was collected at baseline (between 1987 and 1990) and updated in 1997. During 18 years of follow-up, 156 incident cases of stomach cancer were ascertained. High consumption of processed meat, but not of other meats (i.e., red meat, fish and poultry), was associated with a statistically significant increased risk of stomach cancer. After adjustment for potential confounders, the hazard ratios for the highest compared with the lowest category of intake were 1.66 (95% CI 5 1.13-2.45) for all processed meats, 1.55 (95% CI 5 1.00-2.41) for bacon or side pork, 1.50 (95% CI 5 0.93-2.41) for sausage or hotdogs and 1.48 (95% CI5 0.99-2.22) for ham or salami. Stomach cancer risk was 2-fold higher among women in the top quintile of N-nitrosodimethylamine intake when compared with those in the bottom quintile (hazard ratio 5 1.96; 95% CI 5 1.08-3.58). Our findings suggest that high consumption of processed meat may increase the risk of stomach cancer. Dietary nitrosamines might be responsible for the positive association. ' 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.Key words: cohort studies; diet; gastric cancer; meat; nitrosamines; poultry; prospective studies; stomach cancer Diet is a potentially modifiable exposure that is assumed to play a major role in the etiology of stomach cancer, 1 the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide.2 Among dietary factors, high intake of processed meat, which includes meats preserved by salting, smoking or the addition of nitrites or nitrates, might be associated with elevated risk of stomach cancer. In 1997, the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research 1 stated that diets high in processed meat may increase the risk of stomach cancer, but that the evidence was yet insufficient. However, that conclusion was based mainly on casecontrol studies, which are more susceptible to systematic bias than prospective cohort studies, and recent prospective studies have been inconsistent. [3][4][5][6] Besides much salt and nitrites or nitrates, processed meat products like bacon, sausage and ham often contains carcinogenic nitrosamines.7-9 N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) is the most frequently occurring nitrosamine in foods.10 Nitrosamines can also be formed endogenously in the stomach through nitrosation of nitrite with amines.7 To date, 5 case-control studies [11][12][13][14][15] and only 1 prospective cohort study 3 with a small number of cases (n 5 68) have investigated the associat...

Evaluation the Antimicrobial Activity of Artemisia and Portulaca Plant Extracts in Beef Burger

“…Nitrite may react with secondary amines naturally present in the meat to form N-nitrosamines, which are carcinogenic (IARC, 1998). There is an association between consumption of processed meat and increase risk of different cancers (Santarelli et al, 2008;Larsson et al, 2006;Larsson & Wolk, 2012), which cause death (Rohrmann et al, 2013). Unlike synthetic compounds, natural extracts obtained from plants are rich in phenolic compounds which can enhance the overall quality of food by decreasing lipid oxidation and microbial growth (Zhang et al, 2016).…”

Isoflavones from Phytoestrogens and Gastric Cancer Risk: A Nested Case-Control Study within the Korean Multicenter Cancer Cohort

“…High intake of salty foods and N-nitroso compounds has been suggested to increase gastric cancer risk (1)(2)(3). In contrast, high consumption of fresh vegetables, fruits, and soy products may lower the risk of gastric cancer (4)(5)(6)(7).…”

A Historical Review of the Benefits and Hypothetical Risks of Disinfecting Drinking Water by Chlorination

“…Larsson et al (2006) published their findings after 18 years of tracking the direct nitrosamine intake and cancer development of 61,433 Swedish women (enrolled in the Swedish Mammography Cohort). The study examined only processed meats, including bacon or side pork, sausages or hotdogs, ham or salami.…”

“…This is a very high incidence rate. Larsson et al (2006) commented on these results, "High consumption of processed meat, but not of other meats (i.e., red meat, fish and poultry), was associated with a statistically significant increased risk of stomach cancer" and that "Stomach cancer risk was two-fold higher among women in the top quintile of N-nitrosodimethylamine intake when compared with those in the bottom quintile. Our findings suggest that high consumption of processed meat may increase the risk of stomach cancer.…”