Published online May 7, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i17.5025
Revised: January 12, 2014
Accepted: February 17, 2014
Published online: May 7, 2014
AIM: To compare the dietary habits between colorectal neoplasia patients, their first-degree relatives, and unrelated controls.
METHODS: From July 2008 to April 2011, we collected epidemiological data relevant to colorectal cancer from patients with colorectal neoplasias, their first-degree relatives, and also from a control group consisting of people referred for colonoscopy with a negative family history of colorectal cancer and without evidence of neoplasia after colonoscopic examination. The first-degree relatives were divided into two groups following the colonoscopic examination: (1) patients with neoplasia or (2) patients without neoplasia. Dietary habits of all groups were compared. A χ2 test was used to assess the association between two dichotomous categorical variables.
RESULTS: The study groups consisted of 242 patients with colorectal neoplasias (143 men, 99 women; mean age: 64 ± 12 years) and 160 first-degree relatives (66 men, 94 women; mean age: 48 ± 11 years). Fifty-five of the first-degree relatives were found to have a neoplastic lesion upon colonoscopy, while the remaining 105 were without neoplasia. The control group contained 123 individuals with a negative family history for neoplastic lesions (66 men, 57 women; mean age: 54 ± 12 years). Two hypotheses were tested. In the first, the dietary habits of first-degree relatives with neoplasia were more similar to those of patients with neoplasia, while the dietary habits of first-degree relatives without neoplasia were similar to those of the control group. In the second, no sex-related differences in dietary habits were expected between the particular groups. Indeed, no significant differences were observed in the dietary habits between the groups of patients, controls and first-degree relatives with/without neoplastic lesions. Nevertheless, statistically significant sex-related differences were observed in all groups, wherein women had healthier dietary habits than men.
CONCLUSION: In all groups examined, women had healthier dietary habits than men. Modification of screening guidelines according to sex may improve the efficiency of screening programs.
Core tip: We compared the dietary habits of patients with neoplasia (patients and their first-degree relatives with neoplasia) and without neoplasia (first-degree relatives without neoplasia and an unrelated control group). We did not identify significant differences in dietary habits between the groups; however, we did identify statistically significant differences between the dietary habits of men and women in all groups. In all groups, women had healthier dietary habits. Modification of screening guidelines according to sex may improve the efficiency of screening programs, although further studies are needed to support this hypothesis.