alpha-carotene and Breast-Diseases

To evaluate the validity of fruit and vegetable intakes as it relates to plasma carotenoid and vitamin C concentrations in Chinese women, using three classification schemes.. Intakes were calculated using an interviewer-administered FFQ. Fruits and vegetables, botanical groups and high-nutrient groups were evaluated. These three classification schemes were compared with plasma carotenoid and vitamin C concentrations from blood samples collected within 1 week of questionnaire completion.. Shanghai, China.. Participants (n 2031) comprised women who had participated in a case-control study of diet and breast-related diseases nested within a randomized trial of breast self-examination among textile workers (n 266 064). Fruit intake was significantly (P < 0·05) and positively associated with plasma concentrations of α-tocopherol, β-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, α-carotene, β-carotene, retinyl palmitate and vitamin C. Fruit intake was inversely associated with γ-tocopherol and lutein + zeaxanthin concentrations. Vegetable consumption was significantly and positively associated with γ-tocopherol and β-cryptoxanthin concentrations. Each botanical and high-nutrient group was also significantly associated with particular plasma nutrient concentrations. Fruit and vegetable intakes and most plasma nutrient concentrations were significantly associated with season of interview.. These results suggest that the manner in which fruits and vegetables are grouped leads to different plasma nutrient exposure information, which may be an important consideration when testing and generating hypotheses regarding disease risk in relation to diet. Interview season should be considered when evaluating the associations of reported intake and plasma nutrients with disease outcomes.

Topics: Adult; alpha-Tocopherol; Ascorbic Acid; beta Carotene; Biomarkers; Breast Diseases; Carotenoids; Case-Control Studies; China; Cryptoxanthins; Diet; Energy Intake; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Fruit; gamma-Tocopherol; Humans; Linear Models; Lutein; Lycopene; Micronutrients; Middle Aged; Surveys and Questionnaires; Textile Industry; Vegetables; Vitamins; Workforce; Xanthophylls; Zeaxanthins

We investigated the relationship between serum levels of retinol, beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, lycopene, alpha-tocopherol, and gamma-tocopherol as well as intakes of retinol, carotene, and vitamin E and the risks of breast cancer and proliferative benign breast disease (BBD) in a case-control study of postmenopausal women in the Boston, MA (United States) area. Serum nutrient data were available for 377 women with newly diagnosed stage I or II breast cancer and 173 women with proliferative BBD. Controls were 403 women who were evaluated at the same institutions but did not require a breast biopsy or whose biopsy revealed nonproliferative BBD. We observed no significant associations between serum levels of these micronutrients and risk of proliferative BBD or breast cancer. The risk of breast cancer was decreased among women in the highest quintile of intake of vitamin E from food sources only (odds ratio [OR] for the highest quintile = 0.4, 95 percent confidence interval [CI] = 0.2-0.9; P, trend across quintiles = 0.02) but less so for total vitamin E intake including supplements (OR = 0.7, CI = 0.4-1.3; P, trend = 0.07).

Topics: Aged; beta Carotene; Boston; Breast Diseases; Breast Neoplasms; Carotenoids; Case-Control Studies; Dietary Fats; Energy Intake; Feeding Behavior; Female; Food; Humans; Lycopene; Middle Aged; Risk Factors; Vitamin A; Vitamin E