Fiskekonsum og kreftrisiko blant norske kvinner - The Norwegian Women and Cancer Study (NOWAC)
Authors: Hjartåker Anette , Engeset Dagrun , Brustad Magritt , Lund Eiliv 
Published: July 2016

SAMMENDRAGVed Institutt for samfunnsmedisin, Universitetet i Tromsø, er det over mange år bygget opp en landsdekkendeprospektiv undersøkelse kalt ’Kvinner, livsstil og helse’/’Kvinner og kreft’. Studien er primærtdesignet for å undersøke risikofaktorer for kreft, og i særdeleshet brystkreft. Siden 1991 har drøyt 100 000tilfeldig utvalgte kvinner, født 1927-1965, blitt inkludert i studien. Svarprosenten er omlag 60. Deltakernehar fylt ut et spørreskjema med noe varierende innhold, men med en del felles kjernespørsmål. Detaljgradennår det gjelder kostholdsinformasjon varierer. Av de vel 100 000 kvinnene som deltar har omlag halvpartenfylt ut et oppfølgingsskjema. Vi er særlig interessert i å studere en eventuell effekt av et høyt fiskekonsum påkreftrisiko. Spørsmålene om konsum av fisk og fiskeprodukter er validert mot fettsyresammensetningen iserum fosfolipider. Studien inngår i multi-senter prosjektet EPIC – the European Prospective Investigationinto Cancer and Nutrition. For å kunne sammenlikne kostdata fra de ti deltakerlandene er det utarbeidet enintern kalibreringsmetode basert på et strengt standardisert dataprogram for 24-timers kostholdsintervju. INorge vil det bli gjennomført omlag 1800 kostholdsintervju over telefon.Hjartåker A, Engeset D, Brustad M, Lund E. Fish consumption and cancer risk among Norwegianwomen – The Norwegian Women and Cancer Study (NOWAC). Nor J Epidemiol 2000; 10 (1): 63-70.ENGLISH SUMMARYThe Norwegian Women and Cancer study, NOWAC (in Norwegian: ’Kvinner, livsstil og helse’/’Kvinner ogkreft’) is a large population-based cohort study primarily designed to examine factors related to cancer, otherillnesses, and mortality in a prospective manner. In particular, it is designed for investigation of breastcancer. Since the establishment in 1991, more than 100 000 Norwegian women born 1927-1965 have beenincluded in the cohort. The participants are randomly sampled, and the response rate is about 60%. Theparticipants have received a mailed letter of invitation requesting informed consent and a self-instructivequestionnaire. After sufficient follow-up time, events will be identified by linkage to the Cancer Registry ofNorway and to the registry of death certificates at Statistics Norway. Dietary data have been collectedthrough a food frequency approach. Some 70 000 women have given detailed information about their dietduring the last year, whereas more scarce dietary data are collected from the rest of the participants. A largenumber of the women have reported their dietary intake twice. Along with information on “usual” diet,special attention is given to the consumption of marine foods. Based on earlier findings we want to examinea potential protective effect of fish consumption on breast cancer risk. The questions on marine food consumptionhave been validated against serum phospholipid fatty acid composition. In addition to the nationalanalyses, NOWAC is part of the large multi-centre study EPIC – the European Prospective Investigationinto Cancer and Nutrition. To calibrate dietary data across centres a computer based 24-h recall program isdeveloped. A sub-sample of about 1800 of the NOWAC participants will be interviewed using this program.The interviews are performed by telephone. Building a biological bank is another important part of EPIC,and we are planning to collect blood samples via mail for a sub-sample of the Norwegian participants.