Dietary Fiber and Human Papillomavirus Infection among US Women: The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2003–2016

Abstract

The impact of dietary fiber on human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is still underway. The aim of our study was to investigate the association between intake of dietary fiber and HPV infection. Overall, 14,151 eligible women, aged 18–59 years old, who submitted an adequate sample for HPV test, were collected from an ongoing, large scale population-based survey for seven cycles. The association of dietary fiber intake and HPV infection was assessed in multivariate logistic models. For sensitivity analysis, generalized additive model (GAM) and smooth curve fitting were employed to verify the robustness of the results. Among 14,151 eligible participants, intake of dietary fiber was negatively associated with HPV infection. Each additional increase in log₁₀ dietary fiber consumption was associated with a 57% lower risk of HPV infection (OR, 0.43; 95% CI 0.38–0.48). The result is stable in minimally and fully adjusted model. The possibility of nonlinear association of dietary fiber and HPV infection has been excluded by GAM and smooth curve fitting. There was an inverse linear correlation between intake of dietary fiber and HPV infection. Our findings obtained from NHANES dataset suggested that increasing dietary fiber consumption may be associated with the prevalence of HPV infection.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank CDC for publicizing the NHANES database. We also thank Lingnan Medical Research Center of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine for giving research support. In addition, the authors sincerely thanks Dr. Changzhong Chen, Xinlin Chen (EmpowerStats X&Y Solutions, Inc., Boston, MA) and their team for giving support of statistical methodology consultation.

Disclosure Statement

The authors report no conflict of interest.

Author Contributions

Designed the study: Jie Gao, Gaopi Deng, Chi Chen;

Organized the NHANES database: Yingxuan Zhang, Fangfang Zhu, Si Chen, Xian Huang, Yanxi Wang, Pin Qiu;

Analyzed the data: Yingxuan Zhang, Fangfang Zhu, Chi Chen;

Wrote the manuscript: Yingxuan Zhang, Chi Chen, Jie Gao, Gaopi Deng.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81774358) and Deng Gao-Pi Chinese Medicine Heritage Clinic of Guangdong Province (Letter of Guangdong Traditional Chinese Medicine [2019] No. 5). The study was also funded by Post Project of Pearl River Scholar in Guangdong Province (No. A1-AFD018191Z0103), First-class university and first-class discipline construction project of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine (XK2019016) and Clinical Research Project of The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine (2019IIT33).