Dietary Factors Differ Between Young-Onset and Older-Onset Colorectal Cancer Patients

Abstract

We aimed to evaluate differences in dietary factors between young-onset (diagnosed at ages <50) and older-onset colorectal cancer (CRC). CRC patients diagnosed from 1998 to 2018 reported to the Puget Sound Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registry were recruited using mail and telephone. Consented patients completed questionnaires assessing demographics, medical history, and CRC risk factors, including dietary factors. We used multi-variable logistic regression to calculate adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) comparing dietary intake in young-onset vs. older-onset CRC. Analyses included 1,087 young- and 2,554 older-onset CRC patients. Compared to older-onset CRC, young-onset CRC patients had lower intake of vegetables (OR for highest intake vs. lowest = 0.59 CI: 0.55, 0.64) and fruit (OR for highest intake vs. lowest = 0.94 CI: 0.88, 0.99) and higher intake of processed meat (OR for highest intake vs. lowest = 1.82 CI: 1.11, 2.99) and spicy food (OR for highest intake vs. lowest = 1.69 CI: 1.09, 2.61). There was no statistically significant difference between young- and older-onset CRC patients for red meat consumption. Dietary patterns differed between young- and older-onset CRC; young-onset CRC patients had lower intake of vegetables and fruit and higher intakes of processed meat and spicy food.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the generous study participants and research staff for their contributions.

Ethics statement

This study was conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional review board at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments. All participants provided informed consent to participate.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

A subset of participants in this study are from the Colon Cancer Family Registry (Colon CFR). In compliance with Colon CFR participant consent and data sharing agreements, access to the subset of participants’ data from the Colon CFR can be requested through: https://www.coloncfr.org/. The remaining participant data is publicly accessible to qualified investigators upon request to AIP.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute under award numbers: R01 CA196337, U01 CA167551, K05 CA152715, and T32 CA094880. This research was also supported by the Cancer Surveillance System of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, which is funded by Contract Numbers: N01-CN-67009; N01-PC-35142; N01-PC-2010-00029; HHSN261201300012I; N01 PC-2013-00012; HHSN261201800004I; and N01 PC-2018-00004 from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program of the National Cancer Institute with additional support from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and the State of Washington.