Abstract LB-369: Dietary patterns and cancer mortality among African Americans and Whites in the REGARDS cohort
Authors: Akinyemiju Tomi , Moore Justin X. , Judd Suzanne E. , Pisu Maria , Lakoski Susan 
Published: July 2016

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether dietary patterns measured at baseline among a large cohort of racially diverse, community-dwelling adults were associated with overall cancer mortality, and to examine whether there were differences by race.

METHODS: We performed a prospective cohort analysis among 22,041participants from the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) cohort. Dietary patterns were the primary exposures of interest and were determined via factor analysis among REGARDS participants: “Convenience” (Chinese and Mexican foods, pasta, pizza, other mixed dishes), “Plant-based” (fruits, vegetables), “Southern” (added fats, fried foods, organ meats, sugar-sweetened beverages), “Sweets/Fats” (sugary foods) and “Alcohol/Salads” (alcohol, green-leafy vegetables, salad dressing). Using Cox regression, we examined the association between quartiles of dietary pattern and cancer mortality, adjusted for sociodemographics, health behaviors, and comorbidities. We then performed analysis stratified by race.

RESULTS: Among eligible REGARDS participants there were 14,724 White (66.8%) and 7,317 African American (33.2%) participants. There were a total of 873 cancer deaths over the 10-year observation period: 582 (66.7%) among Whites and 291 (33.3%) among African Americans. Among all participants, and after adjustment for sociodemographics, health behaviors, and comorbidities both the “Convenience” (HR: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.64 - 0.98) and “Plant-based” (HR: 0.80; 95% CI: 0.65 - 0.99) dietary patterns were associated with reduced risk of cancer mortality, while the “Southern” (HR: 1.75; 95% CI: 1.38 - 2.23) dietary pattern was associated with a nearly with a 2-fold increased risk of cancer mortality. Among African American participants alone, the “Southern” dietary pattern was associated with cancer mortality in unadjusted analysis (HR: 2.07; 95% CI: 1.18 - 3.65), however this association attenuated after adjustment for confounders. Among White participants, and after adjustment for confounders, greater adherence to the “Southern” (HR: 1.69; 95% CI: 1.28 - 2.23) dietary pattern increased risk of cancer mortality, while the “Convenience” (HR: 0.73; 95% CI: 0.56 - 0.94) and “Plant-based” (HR: 0.72; 95% CI: 0.55 - 0.93) dietary patterns were associated with up to a 28% reduced risk of cancer mortality.

CONCLUSION: In the REGARDS cohort, and specifically among White participants, the “Southern” diet increased the risk of cancer mortality, while the “Convenience” and “Plant-based” diets reduced the risk of cancer mortality.

Citation Format: Tomi Akinyemiju, Justin X. Moore, Suzanne E. Judd, Maria Pisu, Susan Lakoski. Dietary patterns and cancer mortality among African Americans and Whites in the REGARDS cohort. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-369.