International Journal of Epidemiology 2003;32:200-209
© International Epidemiological Association 2003
Special Theme: Cancer |
Assessment of risk associated with specific fatty acids and colorectal cancer among French-Canadians in Montreal: a case-control study
1 Département de nutrition, Faculté de médecine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
2 Centre de recherche, Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
3 Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy.
4 Unité de recherche épidémiologique, Centre de recherche, Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM)—Hôtel-Dieu, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
5 McLaughlin Centre for Population Health Risk Assessment, Institute of Population Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Correspondence: Dr Parviz Ghadirian, Epidemiology Research Unit, Research Centre, CHUM-Hôtel-Dieu, Masson Pavilon, 3850 St Urbain St, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H2W 1T7.
Background Discrepancies in findings on the association between dietary fats and colorectal cancer (CRC) persist, and it is hypothesized that fatty acids (FA) may modulate CRC risk because of their physiological functions.
Methods Between 1989 and 1993, a case-control study involving 402 cases and 668 population-based controls was conducted among French-Canadians. Dietary intake was assessed by a food frequency questionnaire.
Results Oleic acid was the major FA consumed by the study population. A significant inverse association was found among females between CRC and butyrate (OR = 0.57; 95% CI: 0.34–0.96; P = 0.006), alpha-linoleic acid (ALA) (OR = 0.78; 95% CI: 0.46–1.32; P = 0.016), and w-3 FA (OR = 0.84; 95% CI: 0.50–1.41; P = 0.028), comparing the upper to the lower quartiles of intake. An increased risk was associated with arachidonic acid (AA) (OR = 2.03; 95% CI: 1.16–3.54; P = 0.001) among males, and with the w6/w3 ratio (OR = 1.47; 95% CI: 0.86–2.50; P = 0.001) among females. Arachidonic acid was linked with up to fivefold increased risk (OR = 5.33; 95% CI: 2.04–13.95; P = 0.0004 for trend) among men with high vitamin C intake. Females with low carotenoids intake were at elevated risk associated with AA (OR = 4.07; 95% CI: 1.84–8.99; P = 0.003); eicosapentaenoic acid (OR = 3.50; 95% CI: 1.59–7.71; P = 0.015), and docosahexaenoic acid (OR = 5.77; 95% CI: 2.50–13.33; P = 0.002), comparing the upper with the lower quartiles of intake.
Conclusion The results of this study suggest that independently of total energy intake, substituting AA by butyrate, ALA, or 
-3 FA may reduce CRC risk. The role of interactions between vitamin C, total carotenoids, and polyunsaturated FA requires further investigation.
Keywords Colorectal cancer, case-control, fatty acid, prevention, French-Canadian, data collection, study population, food intake, food grouping, statistical analysis
Accepted 10 July 2002
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