Dietary and lifestyle determinants associated with the risk of colorectal cancer

Identifier:  TDX:3350

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TDX3350

Authors:  Barrubés Piñol, Laura

Abstract:
Worldwide, colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most incident cancer and the second in terms of mortality for both sexes combined. Besides an ageing population and the acquisition of westernized dietary habits of high-income countries, other modifiable risk factors such as obesity, physical inactivity and smoking increase the risk of CRC development. The general objective of this thesis was to evaluate dietary and lifestyle determinants of CRC incidence. Thus, the potential associations between dairy product consumption with the risk of CRC within the frame of the PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea (PREDIMED) cohort were investigated. On the other hand, in order to support our results regarding dairy product intake and CRC incidence, we carried out a systematic review and metanalysis of the available evidence coming from prospective cohort and case-control studies in adults, to examine the associations between the consumption of specific types of dairy products and CRC risk. Furthermore, the associations between the adherence to the 2018 WCRF/AICR (cancer-specific recommendations) and the low-risk lifestyle (LRL) (this index comprises smoking status, alcohol consumption, physical activity, diet and body mass index) scores, and the incidence of CRC in the PREDIMED population were also assessed. Consuming dairy products such as low-fat milk might decreased CRC risk in elderly individuals with high cardiovascular disease risk. Moreover, our systematic review and meta-analyses conducted in adults showed inverse associations with CRC for the consumption of total milk and cheese. The associations between different subtypes of dairy products and CRC risk differed by colon cancer location and subsite. Besides, following cancer-specific recommendations and healthier dietary and lifestyle patterns contributed to decrease CRC risk in elderly individuals who are at high cardiovascular risk.