Study: Red Meat, Low Vegetable Diet Tied to Colorectal Cancer in Chinese

A diet high red meat and low in vegetables appears linked to a significantly increased risk of colorectal cancer in Chinese people living in Singapore, according to researchers.

Reporting in the journal Cancer, Dr. Adeline Seon of the National University of Singapore said her study suggests that the risk of colorectal cancer is slightly reduced when a high red meat diet also includes a diet high in vegetables.

The risk of colorectal cancer was not significantly affected by meats like pork or chicken or by seafood, she reported.

The researchers compared the dietary habits of 121 Chinese patients with colorectal cancer with those of 222 healthy Chinese who served as a control group..

Those who reported eating 117 portions or more of red meat per year were 2.2 times more likely to develop colorectal cancer than those who reported eating fewer than 39 portions. And those who ate fewer than 78 vegetable portions per year were 40 percent more likely to develop colorectal cancer than those who ate more.

"Our results among Chinese...were consistent with previous studies in other populations showing that high red meat intake and low vegetable intake confer a significantly elevated risk of colorectal carcinoma," the investigators reported.

"Further studies on the impact of specific changes in dietary patterns in these groups are important to prevent the continued increase in the incidence of colorectal carcinoma in Asian populations," they added.

Other Sources: Cancer