Cabbage and Sauerkraut Consumption in Adolescence and Adulthood and Breast Cancer Risk among US-Resident Polish Migrant Women

Dorothy Rybaczyk Pathak, Aryeh D. Stein, Jian-Ping He, Mary M. Noel, Larry Hembroff, Dorothy A. Nelson, Fawn Vigneau, Tiefu Shen, Laura J. Scott, Jadwiga Charzewska, Bożena Wajszczyk, Karen Clark, Leszek A. Rybaczyk, Bogdan A. Pathak, Dorota Błaszczyk, Ann Bankowski and Walter C. Willett
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Dorothy Rybaczyk Pathak: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
Aryeh D. Stein: Hubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
Jian-Ping He: Department of Epidemiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
Mary M. Noel: Department of Family Medicine, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
Larry Hembroff: Office for Survey Research, Institute for Public Policy and Social Research, Michigan State University, East Lansing 48824, USA
Dorothy A. Nelson: Department of Sociology, Anthropology, Social Work and Criminal Justice, Oakland University, Rochester, MI 48309, USA
Fawn Vigneau: Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48201, USA
Tiefu Shen: Office of Policy, Planning and Statistics, Illinois Department of Public Health, Springfield, IL 62761, USA
Laura J. Scott: Department of Biostatistics, Center for Statistical Genetics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
Jadwiga Charzewska: National Institute of Public Health NIH—National Research Institute, 00-791 Warsaw, Poland
Bożena Wajszczyk: National Institute of Public Health NIH—National Research Institute, 00-791 Warsaw, Poland
Karen Clark: Office for Survey Research, Institute for Public Policy and Social Research, Michigan State University, East Lansing 48824, USA
Leszek A. Rybaczyk: Center for Molecular and Human Genetics, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH 43205, USA
Bogdan A. Pathak: Department of Epidemiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
Dorota Błaszczyk: Department of Epidemiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
Ann Bankowski: Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48201, USA
Walter C. Willett: Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 20, 1-17

Abstract: Background: Breast cancer (BC) incidence and mortality are lower in Poland than in the United States (US). However, Polish-born migrant women to US approach the higher BC mortality rates of US women. We evaluated the association between consumption of cabbage/sauerkraut foods and BC risk in Polish-born migrants to US. Methods: We conducted a case–control study of BC among Polish-born migrants in Cook County and the Detroit Metropolitan Area. Cases ( n = 131) were 20–79 years old with histological/cytological confirmation of invasive BC. Population-based controls ( n = 284) were frequency matched to cases on age and residence. Food frequency questionnaires assessed diet during adulthood and age 12–13 years. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were estimated with conditional logistic regression. Consumption of total, raw/short-cooked, and long-cooked cabbage/sauerkraut foods was categorized as low, medium, or high (frequency of servings/week). Results: Higher consumption of total and raw/short-cooked cabbage/sauerkraut foods, during both adolescence and adulthood, was associated with a significantly lower BC risk. Consumption of long-cooked cabbage/sauerkraut foods was low and not significantly associated with risk. The multivariate OR for total cabbage/sauerkraut consumption, high vs. low (>4 vs. ?2 servings/week) during adolescence was 0.36 (95% CI = 0.18–0.71, p trend < 0.01) and 0.50 (95% CI = 0.23–1.06, p trend = 0.08) during adulthood. For raw/short-cooked cabbage/sauerkraut (>3 vs. ?1.5 servings/week), the ORs were 0.35 (95% CI = 0.16–0.72, p trend < 0.01) during adolescence and 0.37 (95% CI = 0.17–0.78, p trend < 0.01) during adulthood. For joint adolescent/adult consumption of raw/short-cooked cabbage/sauerkraut foods, (high, high) vs. (low, low), the OR was 0.23 (95% CI = 0.07–0.65). The significant association for high adolescent consumption of raw/short-cooked cabbage/sauerkraut foods and reduced BC risk was consistent across all levels of consumption in adulthood. Conclusion: Greater consumption of total and raw/short-cooked cabbage/sauerkraut foods either during adolescence or adulthood was associated with significantly reduced BC risk among Polish migrant women. These findings contribute to the growing literature suggesting a protective effect of a potentially modifiable factor, cruciferous vegetable intake, on breast cancer risk.

Keywords: breast cancer; cruciferous vegetables; cabbage; sauerkraut; diet; adolescent diet; adulthood; migrant population (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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