AUTHOR=Shu Long , Zhang Xiaoyan , Zhu Qin , Lv Xiaoling , Si Caijuan 

TITLE=Association between ultra-processed food consumption and risk of breast cancer: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of observational studies

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Nutrition

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2023.1250361

DOI=10.3389/fnut.2023.1250361

ISSN=2296-861X

ABSTRACT=<sec id="sec1"><title>Background</title><p>Some epidemiological studies have examined the association between consumption of ultra-processed food (UPF) and the risk of breast cancer. However, the results were inconsistent. Therefore, we carried out a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis to examine whether an association exists between high consumption of UPF and breast cancer risk.</p></sec><sec id="sec2"><title>Methods</title><p>PubMed/MEDLINE, ISI Web of Science, EBSCO and CNKI databases were systematically searched from inception to May 2023. The summary relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) associated with UPF consumption and breast cancer were calculated using a random-effects model (DerSimonian-Laird method). Heterogeneity between included studies was examined using the Cochran’s <italic>Q</italic> test and I-square (<italic>I</italic><sup>2</sup>) statistics. Publication bias was studied by visual inspection of funnel plot asymmetry and Begg’s and Egger’s tests.</p></sec><sec id="sec3"><title>Results</title><p>Overall, six articles involving 462,292 participants, were eligible to be included in this study. Compared to the lowest consumption, highest consumption of UPF was related to a higher risk of breast cancer (RR = 1.10; 95%CI: 1.00–1.22, <italic>p</italic> = 0.056). Besides, the linear dose–response analysis showed that each 10% increment in UPF consumption was related to a 5% higher risk of breast cancer (RR = 1.05; 95%CI: 1.00–1.10, <italic>p</italic> = 0.048). Subgroup analyses suggested that UPF consumption was positively associated with breast cancer risk in case-control studies (RR = 1.13; 95%CI: 1.01–1.26, <italic>p</italic> = 0.028). Additionally, there was also a significant positive association between UPF consumption and breast cancer risk in the subgroup with sample size&lt;5,000(RR = 1.17; 95%CI: 1.02–1.35, <italic>p</italic> = 0.028).</p></sec><sec id="sec4"><title>Conclusion</title><p>Our results indicate that higher consumption of UPF is slightly related to a higher risk of breast cancer. Further studies in particular of large prospective cohort studies are warranted to confirm these results.</p></sec>