Fruit and Vegetables Consumption: A Pointer for Cholangiocarcinoma Prevention in Northeast Thailand, the Highest Incidence Area in the World

ABSTRACT

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) caused by opisthorchiasis is a specific public health problem in the Greater Mekong subregional countries. The Northeast Thailand is considered a world's prime area of CCA. Many epidemiological studies found the association between fruit and vegetables consumption and CCA, but their results were inconclusive. Therefore, this meta-analysis aimed to investigate the relationship between fruit and vegetables consumption and CCA prevention in the Northeast Thailand. The authors conducted a comprehensive search of scholarships on MEDLINE, EMBASE, and SCOPUS published during 1990 and 2015. Selected studies about fruit and vegetables consumption and CCA were analyzed. The fixed-effect model was used to estimate pool odds ratios for the consumption vs. nonconsumption. Based on a meta-analysis, consumption of mixed fruit [odds ratio (OR) = 0.79; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.65–0.96], mixed vegetables (OR = 0.61; 95% CI: 0.50–0.75), and combined fruit and vegetables (OR = 0.68; 95% CI: 0.57–0.80) was associated with the reduction of CCA risk statistically. These findings support that fruit and vegetables consumption is associated with CCA risk reduction. If implemented in a larger geographical area, the study will shed light on possibilities to future reduction of CCA. Educators can replicate the study to solve CCA or other types of cancer and discover the best practice.

Conflict of interest

No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by Ubon Ratchathani Rajabhat University; N. Songserm was granted under the research grant for potential development. The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Asst. Prof. Preeyaporn Charoenbutra for her comments and the English revision of the manuscript.