Abstract
Dietary fiber and phytonutrients can protect against colorectal cancer, yet their consumption is low in the US. Avocados are a potential source of these beneficial nutrients. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the relationship between avocados/guacamole consumption and colorectal cancer risk in the Multiethnic Cohort Study. We assessed avocados/guacamole consumption by using a food frequency questionnaire. We classified participants into three consumer groups: <1 serving/month, 1–3 servings/month, and ≥1 serving/week with one serving defined as ½ avocado or ½ cup. Colorectal cancer cases were ascertained through the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program cancer registries. Cox proportional hazards models of colorectal cancer were used to calculate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals across avocados/guacamole intake groups in each sex overall and by anatomic subsite (i.e., right colon, left colon, and rectum) and race and ethnicity. Of 192,651 eligible participants, 62.8% reported consuming <1 serving/month avocados/guacamole, 26.7% reported 1–3 servings/month, and 10.5% reported ≥1 serving/week. When adjusted for relevant covariates, there was no significant association with incident colorectal cancer overall, for subsites, or within racial and ethnic subgroups (all p for trend ≥ 0.06). In this large prospective cohort study, we did not find that consumption of avocados/guacamole was associated with colorectal cancer risk.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Author Contributions
FWC, SYP, CAH, LRW, LLM, NAF: conception and design; FWC, SYP, NAF: analysis and interpretation of the data; FWC, SYP, NAF: the drafting of the paper; FWC, SYP, CAH, LRW, LLM, NAF: revising it critically for intellectual content; FWC, SYP, CAH, LRW, LLM, NAF: final approval of the version to be published; and all authors agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work. FWC and NAF are employees of the Avocado Nutrition Center.