Does dietary folate intake modify effect of alcohol consumption on breast cancer risk? Prospective cohort study

Title
Does dietary folate intake modify effect of alcohol consumption on breast cancer risk? Prospective cohort study
Publication type
Journal Article
Year of Publication
2005
Journal
British Medical Journal
Volume
331
Issue
7520
Pagination
807 - 810
Date published
2005
ISBN
09598146 (ISSN)
Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the effect of dietary folate intake on the relation between alcohol consumption and breast cancer risk. Design: Prospective cohort study. Setting: Melbourne, Australia. Participants: 17 447 Anglo-Australian women resident in Melbourne, aged 40-69 years at recruitment in 1990-4, and followed up until 31 December 2003. Main outcome measure: Invasive breast cancers diagnosed during follow-up and ascertained through the Victorian cancer registry. Results: 537 invasive breast cancers were diagnosed. Compared with lifetime abstainers, the hazard ratio for breast cancer in women who consumed an average of 40 g or more of alcohol daily at baseline was 1.41 (95% confidence interval 0.90 to 2.23). No direct association was found between dietary folate intake and risk of breast cancer, but a high folate intake mitigated the excess risk associated with alcohol. The estimated hazard ratio of an alcohol consumption of 40 g/day or more was 2.00 (1.14 to 3.49) for women with intakes of 200 μg/day of folate and 0.77 (0.33 to 1.80) for 400 μg/day of folate (P = 0.04 for interaction between alcohol and folate). Conclusions: An adequate dietary intake of folate might protect against the increased risk of breast cancer associated with alcohol consumption.