Table 5.

Multivariate^a Relative Risk of Estrogen Receptor-Negative Breast Cancer, by Quintile of Plant Food Intake, Nurses’ Health Study, 1980–2006

Type of Food	Quintile 1	Quintile 2	95% CI	Quintile 3	95% CI	Quintile 4	95% CI	Quintile 5	95% CI	P Trend
Total fruit
Median intake, servings/day	0.9	1.8		2.9		4.2		7.1
No. of cases of breast cancer	155	148		190		202		132
Multivariate relative risk	1	0.84	0.66, 1.05	1.00	0.80, 1.25	1.02	0.82, 1.28	0.71	0.55, 0.92	0.01
Juices
Median intake, servings/day	0.1	0.3		0.7		1.8		2.9
No. of cases of breast cancer	161	150		177		168		171
Multivariate relative risk	1	0.90	0.72, 1.12	0.95	0.76, 1.18	0.93	0.75, 1.17	0.95	0.76, 1.19	0.43
Low-protein vegetablesb
Median intake, servings/day	1.2	2.0		2.7		3.7		6.5
No. of cases of breast cancer	168	168		166		158		167
Multivariate relative risk	1	0.86	0.69, 1.07	0.79	0.64, 0.99	0.70	0.55, 0.88	0.76	0.60, 0.95	0.048
Total fruits and low-protein vegetables
Median intake, servings/day	2.6	4.5		6.4		8.6		13.4
No. of cases of breast cancer	166	146		188		178		149
Multivariate relative risk	1	0.75	0.60, 0.94	0.92	0.74, 1.14	0.85	0.68, 1.07	0.71	0.55, 0.90	0.005
Nuts
Median intake, servings/day	0.04	0.1		0.2		0.4		0.9
No. of cases of breast cancer	164	153		180		183		147
Multivariate relative risk	1	0.92	0.73, 1.14	1.01	0.81, 1.25	0.99	0.79, 1.23	0.78	0.62, 0.99	0.11
Legumes
Median intake, servings/day	0.1	0.1		0.2		0.2		0.4
No. of cases of breast cancer	149	184		154		170		170
Multivariate relative risk	1	1.11	0.89, 1.38	0.99	0.78, 1.24	0.98	0.78, 1.23	1.00	0.79, 1.26	0.38
Whole grainsc
Median intake, g/day	4.5	10.1		15.1		21.3		32.8
No. of cases of breast cancer	138	123		138		140		161
Multivariate relative risk	1	0.82	0.64, 1.05	0.88	0.69, 1.12	0.85	0.67, 1.09	0.96	0.75, 1.23	0.83
Nongrain plant foodsd
Median intake, servings/day	3.0	5.1		7.1		9.4		14.4
No. of cases of breast cancer	173	150		183		171		150
Multivariate relative risk	1	0.73	0.58, 0.91	0.85	0.68, 1.06	0.77	0.61, 0.97	0.66	0.52, 0.85	0.003

^aAdjusted for age, energy intake, multivitamin use, smoking, body mass index, height, weight at 18 years of age, weight change since 18 years of age, family history of breast cancer, benign breast disease, physical activity level, alcohol intake, and menopausal hormone use.

^bIncludes all vegetables except legumes and potatoes.

^cFollow-up between 1984 and 2006 because the 1980 food frequency questionnaire did not provide adequate information on these foods.

^dTotal fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes.