Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Interactions and Breast Cancer Incidence: A Population-Based Case-Control Study on Long Island, New York

Citation

Khankari, Nikhil K.; Bradshaw, Patrick T.; Steck, Susan E.; He, Ka; Olshan, Andrew F.; Shen, Jing; Ahn, Jiyoung; Chen, Yu; Ahsan, Habibul; & Terry, Mary Beth, et al. (2015). Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Interactions and Breast Cancer Incidence: A Population-Based Case-Control Study on Long Island, New York. Annals of Epidemiology, 25(12), 929-935. PMCID: PMC4688221

Abstract

PURPOSE: Experimental studies demonstrate that omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) inhibit inflammatory eicosanoids generated by omega-6 PUFAs. Epidemiologic studies on dietary omega-3 PUFA intake show consistent inverse associations with breast cancer incidence among Asian populations, where omega-3, relative to omega-6, intake is high. In contrast, associations are inconsistent among Western populations, where intake of omega-3, relative to omega-6, is low. We hypothesized that examining interactions between omega-3 and omega-6 would help elucidate the PUFA-breast cancer association in the United States.
METHODS: In a Long Island, New York, population-based study of 1463 breast cancer cases and 1500 controls, we estimated multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using unconditional logistic regression to examine interactions between omega-3 and omega-6 intake.
RESULTS: We observed a super-additive interaction (relative excess risk due to interaction = 0.41; 95% confidence interval = 0.06-0.76) between omega-3 and omega-6 intake in association with breast cancer incidence, although the CIs for the joint exposure of low omega-3/high omega-6 compared to high omega-3/low omega-6 intake were wide (odds ratio = 1.20; 95% confidence interval = 0.85-1.69).
CONCLUSIONS: Breast cancer risk reduction may be possible for U.S. women with dietary consumption of higher omega-3, which has anti-inflammatory properties, in concert with lower omega-6, which induces inflammation. Replication from future U.S.-based investigations is needed.

URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.annepidem.2015.09.003

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year Published

2015

Journal Title

Annals of Epidemiology

Author(s)

Khankari, Nikhil K.
Bradshaw, Patrick T.
Steck, Susan E.
He, Ka
Olshan, Andrew F.
Shen, Jing
Ahn, Jiyoung
Chen, Yu
Ahsan, Habibul
Terry, Mary Beth
Teitelbaum, Susan L.
Neugut, Alfred I.
Santella, Regina M.
Gammon, Marilie D.

PMCID

PMC4688221

ORCiD

Olshan - 0000-0001-9115-5128