![Sample our Environment & Agriculture journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5934/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Environment-Agriculture.jpg"})
ABSTRACT
Background: Observational studies suggest an association between dietary fiber intake and risk of Barrett's esophagus and esophageal cancer. However, the results are inconsistent. Objective: To conduct a meta-analysis of observational studies to assess this association. Design: All eligible studies were identified by electronic searches in PubMed and Embase through February 2015. Dose–response, subgroup, sensitivity, and publication bias analyses were performed. Results: A total of 15 studies involving 16,885 subjects were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled odds ratio for the highest compared with the lowest dietary fiber intake was 0.52 (95% CI, 0.43–0.64). Stratified analyses for tumor subtype, study design, geographic location, fiber type, publication year, total sample size, and quality score yielded consistent results. Dose–response analysis indicated that a 10-g/d increment in dietary fiber intake was associated with a 31% reduction in Barrett's esophagus and esophageal cancer risk. Sensitivity analysis restricted to studies with control for conventional risk factors produced similar results, and omission of any single study had little effect on the overall risk estimate. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that dietary fiber intake is inversely associated with risk of Barrett's esophagus and esophageal cancer. Further large prospective studies are warranted.
Acknowledgments
Authors’ responsibilities: Lingli Sun and Zhizhong Zhang conducted the literature search and extracted the data. They also conducted the statistical analysis. Lingli Sun prepared the first draft of the paper. Lingli Sun, Zhizhong Zhang, Jian Xu, Gelin Xu, and Xinfeng Liu contributed to the writing, editing, and proofreading of the paper's final version. The authors thank Benjamin Kidder for editing the paper for English grammar.
Statement of interest
No conflicts of interest are declared.