Association of Empirically Derived Food-Based Inflammatory Potential of the Diet and Breast Cancer: A Hospital-Based Case-Control Study.

BACKGROUND

Diet may be a modifiable factor in the prevention of breast cancer (BC) by modulating inflammation. We used a food-based empirical dietary inflammatory index (FDII) to evaluate the association between FDII and odds of breast cancer in Iranian women.

METHODS

The present case-control study carried out on 150 age-matched women with newly diagnosed breast cancer and controls. Data for dietary intake and anthropometric measures were collected. FDII score was developed according to participants dietary intakes of 27 pre-defined food groups. Multivariate odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to investigate the association of empirically derived food-based inflammatory potential of the diet and breast cancer.

RESULTS

The odds ratios of BC according to quartiles of FDII score by multivariate logistic regression models indicated the FDII score was significantly associated with BC risk (OR: 2.38; 95% CI: 1.23-4.59, P = .04). After controlling confounders, multivariate logistic regressions remained significant which revealed in participants at the fourth quartile of FDII score chance of breast cancer was 2.8 times higher than participants in the first quartile.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of our study suggested that more pro-inflammatory diet (higher FDII scores) was associated with increased BC risk. These findings suggest that developing an effective dietary modification based on FDII may reduce risk of BC.