The Association of Empirical Dietary Index for Hyperinsulinemia with the Risk of Cancer and Cancer Mortality: A Meta-analysis of Observational Studies

Abstract

This meta-analysis aimed to assess the association between the empirical dietary index for hyperinsulinemia (EDIH) and cancer mortality risk. We performed a comprehensive search across the online literature up to November 2022 databases. Then, hazard ratio (H.R.) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were extracted. A total of 14 and seven cohort studies that reported H.R. for the risk of cancer incidence and cancer mortality respectively were included. The pooled H.R. (95% CI) of the association between EDIH and cancer incidence was 1.13 (1.05–1.23) in overall meta-analyses, 1.15 (1.08–1.22) in female subgroups, 1.27 (1.14–1.41) in digestive cancer subgroups, and 1.15 (1.07–1.24) in breast cancer subgroups. Also, the pooled H.R. (95% CI) of the association between EDIH and incidence of cancer mortality was 1.19 (1.13–1.26) in overall meta-analyses, 1.23 (1.13–1.34) in males, 1.18(1.10–1.28) in females, and 1.20 (1.13–1.27) in studies conducted on all cancers as an outcome. Our findings revealed that a higher EDIH was significantly associated with an increased risk of cancer incidence, particularly in females, digestive cancers, and breast cancer. Also, a higher EDIH score was related to a higher risk of cancer mortality overall in both male and female subgroups and with all cancers.

Acknowledgments

We thank all study participants and members of the study teams of the included studies.

Author Contributions

H.A. and F.T. had full access to all of the study data and took responsibility for the data analysis accuracy. H.A. and F.T. contributed to conception, design, and search; R.N. and A.S.H. contributed to screening and data extraction; H.A. and F.T. provided the article’s first draft and contributed to statistical analysis. F.T. and P.M. contributed to the data interpretation and supervised the article. All authors contributed to the study design and drafting of the article.

Disclosure Statement

The authors report that there are no competing interests to declare.

Data Availability Statement

The article’s data will be shared with the corresponding author at a reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Research Institute of Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.