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Micronutrient intake and risk of prostate cancer in a cohort of middle-aged, Danish men

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Abstract

Purpose

Micronutrients may protect against prostate cancer. However, few studies have had high-quality assessment of both dietary and supplemental consumption of micronutrients, rendering possible different source-specific effects difficult to discern. This study evaluates associations between intake of vitamin C, E, folate, and beta-carotene and prostate cancer risk, focusing on possible different effects of dietary, supplemental, or total intake and on potential effect modification by alcohol intake and BMI.

Methods

Danish prospective cohort study of 26,856 men aged 50–64 years with questionnaire-based information on diet, supplements, and lifestyle. Hazard ratios (HRs) for prostate cancer associated with micronutrient intake were calculated using Cox proportional hazard analyses.

Results

During follow-up (1993–2010), 1,571 prostate cancer cases were identified. Supplemental folic acid was inversely associated with prostate cancer risk, notably on a continuous scale [HR 0.88 (95 % CI 0.79–0.98) per 100 μg increase/day]. The risk reduction was largely confined to non-aggressive tumors [HR 0.71 (0.55–0.93) per 100 μg increase/day]. No influence on prostate cancer risk was observed for dietary folate or for the other studied micronutrients, regardless of source. We found no significant effect modification by alcohol intake and BMI in relation to any micronutrient.

Conclusion

Our study may indicate an inverse association between folic acid and prostate cancer; however, the inverse association was confined to supplemental folic acid and non-aggressive prostate cancer and may thus be a chance finding. Further studies are warranted to evaluate our findings.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by grants from The Danish Cancer Society. They played no role in preparation of or decision to submit this manuscript.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Strandboulevarden 49, 2100, Copenhagen Ø, Denmark

    Nina Roswall, Signe B. Larsen, Søren Friis, Malene Outzen, Anja Olsen, Jane Christensen & Anne Tjønneland

  2. Department of Human Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 30, 1958, Frederiksberg C, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Lars O. Dragsted

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  1. Nina Roswall
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  2. Signe B. Larsen
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Correspondence to Nina Roswall.

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Roswall, N., Larsen, S.B., Friis, S. et al. Micronutrient intake and risk of prostate cancer in a cohort of middle-aged, Danish men. Cancer Causes Control 24, 1129–1135 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-013-0190-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-013-0190-4

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