TUESDAY, Feb. 11, 2003 (HealthDayNews) -- Women who eat a lot of red meat, fats and refined grains could be increasing their risk of colon cancer.
A new study, led by the Harvard School of Public Health, examined the associations between dietary patterns and colon and rectal cancer risk in women.
The researchers examined dietary information from 76,402 women, aged 38 to 63 years old, who had no history of cancer in 1984. The information about the women, who were part of the Nurses' Health Study, was collected in 1984, 1986, 1990 and 1994.
The researchers identified two major dietary patterns in the women -- prudent and Western. The prudent eaters ate more fruit vegetables, legumes, fish, poultry and whole grains. The Western eaters ate more processed and red meats, sweets and desserts, french fries and refined grains.
During 12 years of follow-up on the women, the researchers identified 445 cases of colon cancer and 101 cases of rectal cancer.
The study, published in this week's issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, found a much greater colon cancer risk for women ranked in the highest category of Western dietary pattern.
There was no association between diet and rectal cancer, the study found.
More information
Here's where you can learn more about colon and rectal cancer.
