Principal component analysis of dietary and lifestyle patterns in relation to risk of subtypes of esophageal and gastric cancer

Ann Epidemiol. 2011 Jul;21(7):543-50. doi: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2010.11.019. Epub 2011 Mar 23.

Abstract

Purpose: To carry out pattern analyses of dietary and lifestyle factors in relation to risk of esophageal and gastric cancers.

Methods: We evaluated risk factors for esophageal adenocarcinoma (EA), esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (GCA), and other gastric cancers (OGA) using data from a population-based case-control study conducted in Connecticut, New Jersey, and western Washington state. Dietary/lifestyle patterns were created using principal component analysis (PCA). Impact of the resultant scores on cancer risk was estimated through logistic regression.

Results: PCA identified six patterns: meat/nitrite, fruit/vegetable, smoking/alcohol, legume/meat alternate, GERD/BMI, and fish/vitamin C. Risk of each cancer under study increased with rising meat/nitrite score. Risk of EA increased with increasing GERD/BMI score, and risk of ESCC rose with increasing smoking/alcohol score and decreasing gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)/body mass index (BMI) score. Fruit/vegetable scores were inversely associated with EA, ESCC, and GCA.

Conclusions: PCA may provide a useful approach for summarizing extensive dietary/lifestyle data into fewer interpretable combinations that discriminate between cancer cases and controls. The analyses suggest that meat/nitrite intake is associated with elevated risk of each cancer under study, whereas fruit/vegetable intake reduces risk of EA, ESCC, and GCA. GERD/obesity were confirmed as risk factors for EA and smoking/alcohol as risk factors for ESCC.

Publication types

  • Multicenter Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adenocarcinoma
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Body Mass Index
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Connecticut / epidemiology
  • Diet*
  • Esophageal Neoplasms / epidemiology*
  • Esophageal Neoplasms / etiology*
  • Esophageal Neoplasms / pathology
  • Female
  • Gastroesophageal Reflux / complications
  • Health Behavior*
  • Humans
  • Life Style
  • Logistic Models
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Neoplasms, Squamous Cell
  • New Jersey / epidemiology
  • Principal Component Analysis
  • Registries
  • Risk Factors
  • Stomach Neoplasms / epidemiology*
  • Stomach Neoplasms / etiology*
  • Stomach Neoplasms / pathology
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Washington / epidemiology