Following a healthy diet and lifestyle decreases the risk of developing CRC in elderly individuals

The results of the PREDIMED (PREvención con Dieta MEDiterránea) study suggest that following the latest recommendations of the International organization "World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research" (WCRF/AICR) and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, protect against the risk of developing colorectal cancer in elderly people at high cardiovascular risk. The results of the study have been published in the prestigious Scientific Journal Journal of Clinical Medicine.

Colorectal cancer is a major global public health problem,as it is the second most common cancer in women and the third most common in men. In 2018, there were more than 1.8 million cases of colorectal cancer and its prevalence is expected to increase due to the growth of the elderly population, as well as the adoption of Westernized habits and lifestyles.In fact, robust scientific evidences have linked the consumption of foods such as red and processed meats, and the excess intake of alcoholic beverages to the development of colorectal cancer. However, in addition to the quality of the diet there are other lifestyle factors that could also play an important role in the development of chronic diseases such as cancer.

In order to deepen this issue, researchers from the Human Nutrition Unit,in collaboration with other research groups in the PREDIMED study,investigated the association between two lifestyle rates and the risk of developing colorectal cancer in individuals with high cardiovascular risk. . The first evaluated the adherence to the last recommendations of the WCRF/AICR for the prevention of cancer: maintaining a healthy weight; engaging in physical activity; following a diet rich in whole foods, vegetables, fruits and legumes; limiting the consumption of fast food and other processed foods high in fats and sugars; limiting the consumption of red and processed meats; limiting the intake of sugary drinks;andlimiting alcohol intake.The second index, proposed by researchers at HarvardUniversity (USA)in 2018, was called the "Low Risk Lifestyle Index" and served as a tool to measure the adherence to 5 healthy lifestyle factors: no smoking;do not ingest alcohol; to perform regular physical activity; to maintain an adequate body mass index andto follow a healthy diet.

After analyzing data from 7216 participants aged 55 to 80 who were studied for 6 years, it was observed that individuals who had greater adherence to specific recommendations for cancer prevention (following at least5 recommendations of the 7 considered), had a 48% lower risk of developing colorectal cancer compared to those with lower adherence. On the other hand, of all cancer prevention recommendations, the one that showed a greater association with the risk of colorectal cancer was the consumption of sugary drinks. Thus, it was observed that those participants with a higher consumption of these beverages (>250 ml/day, equivalent to more than one glass a day) showed a 58% increased risk of colorectal cancer compared to those who did not consume them. It was also noted that a higher adherenceto a healthy lifestyle, assessed by the low-risk lifestyle index (meeting more than 3 of the 5 recommendations), was associated with a 52% lower risk of developing this cancer.

The study coordinated by the Human Nutrition Unit of the URV-IISPV of the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology of the URV has been carried out by the predoctoral researcher Laura Barrubés and led by Dr. Nancy Babio, Associate Professor of the Human Nutrition Unit of the University Rovira i Virgiliand researcher attached to the Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de la Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn), Full Professor Jordi Salas, Director of the Human Nutrition Unit of the University Rovira i Virgili, Clinical Director of Nutrition at the Internal Medicine Service of the University Hospital of Sant Joan in Reus, principal investigator at the Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de la Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn), and Dr. Pablo Hernández-Alonso, active collaborator of the Nutrition Unit and postdoctoral researcher Juan de la Cierva-Formation of the Cell and Molecular Endocrinology Group of the Institute of Biomedical Research of Malaga (IBIMA-FIMABIS). All are members of the Pere Virgili Institute for Health Research (IISPV).

Reference: Barrubés, L.; Babio, N.; Hernandez-Alonso, P.; Toledo, E.; Ramirez Sabio, J.B.; Struch, R.; Ros, E.; Fitó, M.; Alonso-Gómez, A.M.; Fiol, M.; Lapetra, J.; Serra-Majem, L.; He painted, X.; Ruiz-Canela, M.; Corella, D.; Castañer, O.; Macías-González, M.; Salas-Salvadó, J. Association between the 2018 WCRF/AICR and the Low-Risk Lifestyle Scores with Colorectal Cancer Risk in the Predimed Study. J. Clin. Med.2020, 9(4), 1215.https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9041215

Link: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/9/4/1215