Socio-demographic indices and frequency of consumption of vegetables and red meat in Nigerian women with breast cancer

Abstract

Olulope O. Ajayi, Mabel A. Charles-Davies, John I. Anetor, Adeyinka F. Ademola, Ayodeji M. Adebayo

Aim: Breast cancer is a chronic disease with diverse risk factors. Studies on the involvement of socio-demography and diet in breast cancer etiology are inconclusive. The contribution of socio-demography and selected diets to breast carcinogenesis was thus determined in this study. Methods: A comparative cross-sectional design was used among 169 non-pregnant women. This comprised 85 drug-naive women with breast cancer and 84 apparently healthy women without breast cancer (controls). The cases and controls were matched for age and menstrual status. Semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain information on socio-demography, diet, and reproductive history. Data were analyzed using Chi-square and binary logistic regression. p-values less than 0.05 were considered as statistically significant. Results: Daily consumers of red meat were more likely to have breast cancer compared with weekly consumers [odds ratio (OR) = 27.728, 95% confidence interval (CI), 8.874– 86.638]. Daily and weekly consumers of vegetables were less likely to have breast cancer compared with occasional consumers (OR = 0.263, 95% CI, 0.081–0.859; OR = 0.268, 95% CI, 0.081–0.885, respectively). Moreover, weekly consumers of dairy products were less likely to have breast cancer compared with non-consumers (OR = 0.080, 95% CI, 0.020–0.324). Conclusion: Red meat consumption was a predictor of breast cancer. However, regular consumption of vegetables, fruits, and dairy products protects against breast cancer.