Intake of Vitamins D and A and Calcium and Risk of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: San Francisco Bay Area Population-Based Case-Control Study

Abstract

Several nutrients identified as potentially cancer protective have been inconsistently associated with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) risk. Dietary history data, including use of vitamin supplements, were collected using a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire administered during in-person interviews with 4,133 participants (2,052 cases, 2,081 controls) in a San Francisco Bay Area population-based case-control study. Data were used to determine the association of intake levels of vitamins D and A and calcium with risk of NHL and NHL subtypes. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were computed as estimates of relative risk using adjusted unconditional logistic regression. Increasing vitamin D intake from food and supplements was positively associated with NHL risk in men (5th quintile: OR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.0–2.4, P _trend = 0.07) and with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in women and men (5th quintile: OR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.0–2.5, P _trend = 0.02); that was largely due to the effect in men (P _trend = 0.03). These results do not support a strong role for vitamin D intake with NHL risk, with the exception of a potential association for DLBCL risk in men. Our results should be interpreted conservatively until further investigation in larger pooled studies can be conducted to better assess the role of vitamin D intake in lymphomagenesis.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Funding was provided by grants CA087014 and CA143947 from the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health. The collection of cancer incidence data was supported by the California Department of Public Health as part of the statewide cancer reporting program; the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program under contract N01-PC-35136 awarded to the Northern California Cancer Center; and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Program of Cancer Registries, under agreement #U55/CCR921930–02 awarded to the Public Health Institute.

Bahar Mikhak and Paige M. Bracci contributed equally to this work.