Publications

Scholarly Journals--Published

• Tantamango-Bartley Y, Jaceldo-Siegl K, Fan J, & Fraser G. (2013). Vegetarian Diets and the Incidence of Cancer in a Low-risk Population. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, 22(2), 286-294. Background: Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. Dietary factors account for at least 30% of all cancers in Western countries. As people do not consume individual foods but rather combinations of them, the assessment of dietary patterns may offer valuable information when determining associations between diet and cancer risk. Methods: We examined the association between dietary patterns (non-vegetarians, lacto, pesco, vegan, and semi-vegetarian) and the overall cancer incidence among 69,120 participants of the Adventist Health Study-2. Cancer cases were identified by matching to cancer registries. Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was conducted to estimate hazard ratios, with "attained age" as the time variable. Results: A total of 2,939 incident cancer cases were identified. The multivariate HR of overall cancer risk among vegetarians compared with non-vegetarians was statistically significant [HR, 0.92; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.85-0.99] for both genders combined. Also, a statistically significant association was found between vegetarian diet and cancers of the gastrointestinal tract (HR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.63-0.90). When analyzing the association of specific vegetarian dietary patterns, vegan diets showed statistically significant protection for overall cancer incidence (HR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.72-0.99) in both genders combined and for female-specific cancers (HR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.47-0.92). Lacto-ovo-vegetarians appeared to be associated with decreased risk of cancers of the gastrointestinal system (HR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.60-0.92). Conclusion: Vegetarian diets seem to confer protection against cancer. Impact: Vegan diet seems to confer lower risk for overall and female-specific cancer than other dietary patterns. The lacto-ovo-vegetarian diets seem to confer protection from cancers of the gastrointestinal tract. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 22(2); 286-94. (c) 2012 AACR. (02/2013) (link)
• Tantamango Y M, Knutsen S F, Beeson W L, Fraser G, & Sabate J. (2011). Foods and Food Groups Associated With the Incidence of Colorectal Polyps: The Adventist Health Study. Nutrition and Cancer-an International Journal, 63(4), 565-572. Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cause of cancer death in the United States. The majority of CRC arise in adenomatous polyps and 25-35% of colon adenoma risk could be avoidable by modifying diet and lifestyle habits. We assessed the association between diet and the risk of self-reported physician-diagnosed colorectal polyps among 2,818 subjects who had undergone colonoscopy. Subjects participated in 2 cohort studies: the AHS-1 in 1976 and the AHS-2 from 2002-2005. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the period risk of incident cases of polyps; 441 cases of colorectal polyps were identified. Multivariate analysis adjusted by age, sex, body mass index, and education showed a protective association with higher frequency of consumption of cooked green vegetables (OR 1 time/d vs. 5/wk = 0.76, 95% CI= 0.59-0.97) and dried fruit (OR 3+ times/wk vs. 1 time/wk= 0.76, 95%CI = 0.58-0.99). Consumption of legumes at least 3 times/wk reduced the risk by 33% after adjusting for meat intake. Consumption of brown rice at least 1 time/wk reduced the risk by 40%. These associations showed a dose-response effect. High frequency of consumption of cooked green vegetables, dried fruit, legumes, and brown rice was associated with a decreased risk of colorectal polyps. (2011) (link)

Abstract

• Tantamango Y M, Knutsen S F, Beeson W L, Fraser G E, & Sabate J. (2010). LEGUMES - CAN THEY PREVENT COLON POLYPS?. American Journal of Epidemiology, 171, S61-S61. (06/2010)
• Tantamango Y, Knutsen S, & Sabate J. (2009). Fiber as protective factor for colon polyps. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, 15(12), S28-S28. (12/2009)