Affiliation:
1. Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
2. Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
3. International Agency for Research on Cancer, Nutrition and Metabolism Section, Lyon, France
Abstract
Abstract
Context
Apart from ruminant fat, trans-fatty acids are produced during the partial hydrogenation of vegetable oils, (eg, in the production of ultraprocessed foods). Harmful cardiovascular effects of trans-fatty acids are already proven, but the link with cancer risk has not yet been summarized.
Objective
A systematic review (following PRISMA guidelines) – including observational studies on the association of trans-fatty acid intake with any cancer risk – was conducted, with no limitations on population types.
Data Sources
The electronic databases PubMed and Embase were searched to identify relevant studies.
Data Extraction
This systematic review included 46 articles. Quality was assessed via the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Meta-analyses were conducted if at least 4 articles exploring the same transfat-cancer pairings were found.
Data analysis
Nineteen cancer types have been researched in cohort and case-control studies on trans-fatty acids, with breast cancer (n = 17), prostate cancer (n = 11), and colorectal cancer (n = 9) as the most researched. The meta-analyses on total trans-fat showed a significant positive association for prostate cancer (odds ratio [OR] 1.49; 95%CI, 1.13–1.95) and colorectal cancer (OR 1.26; 95%CI, 1.08–1.46) but not for breast cancer (OR 1.12; 95%CI, 0.99–1.26), ovarian cancer (OR 1.10; 95%CI, 0.94–1.28), or non-Hodgkin lymphoma (OR 1.32; 95%CI, 0.99–1.76). Results were dependent on the fatty acid subtype, with even cancer-protective associations for some partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. Enhancing moderators in the positive transfat-cancer relation were gender (direction was cancer-site specific), European ancestry, menopause, older age, and overweight.
Conclusion
Despite heterogeneity, higher risk of prostate and colorectal cancer by high consumption of trans-fatty acids was found. Future studies need methodological improvements (eg, using long-term follow-up cancer data and intake biomarkers). Owing to the lack of studies testing trans-fatty acid subtypes in standardized ways, it is not clear which subtypes (eg, ruminant sources) are more carcinogenic.
Systematic Review Registration
PROSPERO registration no. CRD42018105899
Funder
International Agency for Research on Cancer
World Health Organization
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Subject
Nutrition and Dietetics,Medicine (miscellaneous)
Cited by
40 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献