The association of meat consumption and breast cancer risk: A case control study in a population of Iranian women

Objective: Epidemiologic data do not provide consistent evidence for an association between consumption of meat and breast cancer risk. We conducted a hospital-based case-control study during April and July 2010 among Iranian women to investigate associations between dietary meat intake, its types and breast cancer risk. Methods: One-hundred consecutively recruited cases with newly diagnosed breast cancer were frequency matched to 175 controls by age. Dietary intake was assessed by using a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Odds ratios and 95% confidence interval were obtained by using multiple logistic regression models adjusted for various potentially confounding variables. Results: The mean age of participant was 46.2±8.9 and 45.9±9.4 y in cases and controls, respectively. After adjustment of potential confounders, no association was found between total meat intake and the odds of breast cancer, but the risk of breast cancer in the forth quartile of red meat intake, compared with first quartile, significantly increased (OR=2.43, 95% CI=1.115.32). Consumption of poultry > 212 g/week significantly decreased the risk of breast cancer. Higher intake of fish meat decreased the odds of breast cancer (P for trend<0.05), whereas higher intake of processed meat was accompanied with increased the risk of breast cancer (P for trend<0.05). Conclusion: We found a positive association between dietary intake of red meat and processed meat products with the odds of breast cancer, as well as protective effects of fish and poultry intake with breast cancer.