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Higher poultry intake during adolescence reduced colorectal adenoma risk in women
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Women in a recent study who had greater dietary intake of poultry during their adolescence were less likely to develop colorectal adenomas in adulthood.
Researchers evaluated reported meat and fish intake during adolescence among 19,771 participants in the Nurses’ Health Study II, an ongoing prospective cohort study of 116,671 female nurses aged 25 to 42 years upon initiation in 1989. All participants completed a food frequency questionnaire during 1998 about their dietary intake during high school, and also underwent one or more lower-bowel endoscopies between 1998 and 2007.
The 124-item questionnaire required participants to indicate how often they consumed specific foods, with responses ranging from “never or less than once per month” to “six or more per day.” Investigators calculated a median red meat intake of 124.4 g/day, poultry intake of 32 g/day and fish intake of 22 g/day during participants’ high school years.
One or more colorectal adenomas were detected in 1,494 participants. Diagnosed adenomas were proximal in 714 cases, distal in 675 and rectal in 249 cases. No significant associations were observed between adenoma risk and red meat consumption (OR=1.04; 95% CI, 0.81-1.35 for highest vs. lowest intake category) or fish (OR=0.96; 95% CI, 0.78-1.17).
Participants who reported consuming larger amounts of poultry were found to be at significantly reduced risk for colorectal adenomas, overall (OR=0.8; 95% CI, 0.64-0.99) and specifically for rectal (OR=0.51; 95% CI, 0.29-0.9), distal (OR=0.71; 95% CI, 0.51-0.99) and advanced adenomas (OR=0.6; 95% CI, 0.38-0.93). The replacement of a single daily serving of red meat with one poultry or fish serving during adolescence significantly reduced the risk for rectal (OR=0.59; 95% CI, 0.37-0.94) and advanced adenomas (OR=0.65; 95% CI, 0.45-0.95).
“Our findings do not suggest that intake of red meat during adolescence is associated with the risk of colorectal adenoma later in life,” the researchers concluded, “but adolescent poultry intake was associated with a lower risk of distal, rectal and advanced adenomas. Substitution of fish or poultry for red meat during high school may reduce the risk of rectal and advanced adenomas.”
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