Breast Cancer Primary Prevention and Diet: An Umbrella Review

Alessandra Buja, Marco Pierbon, Laura Lago, Giulia Grotto and Vincenzo Baldo
Additional contact information
Alessandra Buja: Department of Cardiological, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences, University of Padova, Via Loredan 18, 35127 Padova, Italy
Marco Pierbon: Masters Course in Sciences for the Public Health and Prevention Professions, University of Padova, Via Giustiniani 2, 35127 Padova, Italy
Laura Lago: Masters Course in Sciences for the Public Health and Prevention Professions, University of Padova, Via Giustiniani 2, 35127 Padova, Italy
Giulia Grotto: Department of Cardiological, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences, University of Padova, Via Loredan 18, 35127 Padova, Italy
Vincenzo Baldo: Department of Cardiological, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences, University of Padova, Via Loredan 18, 35127 Padova, Italy

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 13, 1-54

Abstract: Introduction: Many studies have been published, but none have pooled the useful evidence available in the literature to produce guidelines and health policies promoting healthy eating styles to prevent breast cancer (BC). The present study aimed to summarize the evidence produced to date, taking a judicious, critical approach to the quality of the studies analyzed. Methods: An umbrella review method was adopted, which is a systematic review of second-level studies, meta-analyses and literature reviews. Results: In all, 48 studies were considered: 32 meta-analyses, 4 pooled analyses, 5 systematic reviews, and 7 qualitative reviews. A higher intake of total meat, or red or processed meats, or foods with a high glycemic index, or eggs would seem to be associated with a higher risk of BC. Some foods, such as vegetables, would seem instead to have an inverse association with BC risk. One meta-analysis revealed an inverse association between citrus fruit and mushroom consumption and BC. Some nutrients, such as calcium, folate, vitamin D, lignans and carotenoids, also seem to be inversely associated with BC risk. The evidence is still conflicting as concerns exposure to other dietary elements (e.g., polyunsaturated fatty acids, dairy foods). Conclusion: Nutrition is one of the most modifiable aspects of people’s lifestyles and dietary choices can affect health and the risk of cancer. Overall, adhering to a healthy eating style may be associated with a significant reduction in the risk of BC.

Keywords: diet; cancer risk; breast cancer; cancer prevention; dietary intervention (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/13/4731/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/13/4731/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:13:p:4731-:d:378938

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().