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Sep. 24, 2001 |
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Calcium intake linked to prostate cancer SEATTLE -- Sep. 24, 2001 (Cancer Digest) -- Got milk? Too much may boost the risk of prostate cancer according to a new study. Compared with the men who consumed small amounts of dairy products daily, men who consumed two or more servings a day had a one-third higher risk of developing prostate cancer. The research led by Dr. June Chan of the Department of Nutrition and Epidemiology at Harvard published the results of the new study in the upcoming October issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The authors conclude their study of 20,885 doctors saying, "These results support the hypothesis that dairy products and calcium are associated with a greater risk of prostate cancer." The study was drawn from the Physicians' Health Study a very large ongoing public health study looking at a variety of health risk factors. Between 1982 and 1995 each of the 20,885 male physicians completed questionnaires concerning diet and lifestyle. For this study, the investigators created a dairy score for each participant by summing up the daily calcium contributions from each of 5 common dairy foods. After following the men for 11 years a total of 1,012 incidents of prostate cancer were reported. When the investigators compared these cancer cases with those who didn't develop prostate cancer, they found that men who consumed 2.5 servings or more of dairy products (more than 600 mg of calcium) a day had a significant 34 percent greater risk of prostate cancer when compared to those who consumed less than half a serving (less than 150 mg. of calcium) a day. When overall calcium intake was examined apart from dairy product consumption, the risk ratio was 30 percent higher for advanced prostate cancer and 47 percent higher for early stage cases. Drinking low-fat skim milk was the only specific dairy product associated with prostate cancer risk, but the researchers note that it accounted for 48 percent of the total consumption of dairy foods. The researchers also examined the levels of vitamin D in the men's blood because it is associated with protecting against prostate cancer. When they measured the levels of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, the most active form of vitamin D, in the blood of the subset of men whose calcium consumption was greater than 600 mg/day, they found that these men had a 17 percent lower serum concentrations of the active vitamin D than those whose calcium consumption was less than 150 mg/day. That finding is similar to those of previous studies of calcium supplements, which showed similar increases in the risk of prostate cancer associated with high levels of calcium intake. The authors conclude that, "These findings may serve to interject a note of caution into the current enthusiastic promotion of a higher intake of calcium in the United States."
SOURCE: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 74, No. 4, 549-554, October 2001 |
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