Dietary Phytochemical Index and the Risk of Breast Cancer: A Case-Control Study

Abstract

High intakes of phytochemical-rich foods might have beneficial effects on reducing breast cancer risk. In this study, we assessed the association between the dietary phytochemical index (PI) and breast cancer risk in a sample of premenopausal Turkish women. This case-control study was conducted on 70 newly diagnosed breast cancer cases and matched 70 healthy controls. Dietary intake was assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire and dietary phytochemical indexes were calculated with two different methods. The mean PI score of participants was 19.9 ± 9.52 and 23.0 ± 8.95 in cases and controls, respectively (p = 0.046). After adjusting for energy intake, the risk of breast cancer significantly increased by 29.5% in the third quartile as compared to the fourth quartile of dietary PI (OR = 0.295, 95%CI = 0.106–0.822). Higher dietary PI was negatively associated with breast cancer risk; therefore, dietary PI may be suggested as an important contributor to dietary intake for breast cancer.

Acknowledgment

We would like to thank all the participants who devoted their time to participate in this study.

Authors’ Contributions

AAP and EY designed and conducted the research; AAP screened and extracted articles data; AAP executed statistical analysis; AAP wrote the paper. All authors had primary responsibility for the final content. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Declaration of Interest Statement

All authors read and approved the final manuscript and do not declare any conflict of interest or competing interest.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by Hacettepe University Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit.