Protein and Legume Intake and Prostate Cancer Mortality in Puerto Rican Men

Abstract

Prostate cancer is the number 1 cancer killer among Puerto Rican (PR) men. Plant foods have been inversely associated with prostate cancer. Legumes play a significant role in the PR diet; consumption of legumes in PR (14 lb/capita) was double that of the United States (7 lb/capita). We examined dietary protein consumption (from baseline 24-h dietary recalls) and prostate cancer mortality in the PR Heart Health Program, a cohort study of 9,824 men aged 35–79 years at baseline (1964) with follow-up until 2005. Total protein intake in the cohort was 85 g/day, and sources of protein were 30% vegetable, 30% dairy, 31% animal, and 8% seafood protein. Legume intake was 2.3 servings/day (1/4 cup each). Legume intake was not associated with prostate cancer mortality [comparing highest quartile to lowest quartile—odds ratio (OR) 1.40 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.91–2.18], P trend 0.17]—nor were total protein, animal, seafood, dairy, or vegetable protein intakes. Consuming 1–2 servings of fruit was inversely associated (OR 0.50, 95% CI 0.32–0.77), whereas consuming more than 2 servings of fruit was not associated with prostate cancer mortality. Thus, we find no association between legumes or protein intake and prostate cancer mortality in this longitudinal cohort study of PR men.

Acknowledgments and Notes

This study was partially supported by grants from the Department of Defense (DAMD17-02-1-0252) and the National Institutes of Health (1P20CA96256-01A1 and 1R03 CA103475-01).

Notes

^a Abbreviation is as follows: BMI, body mass index.

^a Adjusted for age and education.

^a Adjusted for age and education.

^b Dairy is the sum of milk (4 oz), cheese (1 oz), and ice cream (4 oz).

^c Seafood is the sum of fish, cod, and shellfish.

^d Meats is the sum of beef, pork, ham, lunch meats, sausage, and pigs' feet.

^e Vegetables is the sum of legumes, starchy vegetables, other cooked, and other raw vegetables.

^a Abbreviations are as follows: OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval. Adjusted for age (35–44, 45–54, 55–64, 65+ yr), education (no formal schooling, Grades 1–4, Grades 5–8, attended/completed high school, more than high school).

^b Adjusted for age, education, body mass index (underweight, normal weight, overweight, obese), living (urban, rural), physical activity (quartiles), smoking (never smoker, current smoker, past smoker) and residual energy intake. Calories not adjusted for energy intake.