Table 5.

Characteristics of case–control studies evaluating sugar consumption and ovarian cancer risk

Reference	Location	Cases/controls (n)	Dietary assessment	Time frame of dietary assessment	Sugar variables	Covariates	Effect modifiers	Results
Case–control studies: population-based
Kuper et al, 2000 [11]	MA, NH (United States)	549/516	FFQ plus open ended section for unlisted foods	1 year prior to index date	Caffeinated cola	Age, study center	Menopausal status, tumor histologic type	+ association: highest level of consumption of caffeinated cola No evidence of effect modification
McCann et al., 2003 [8]	NY (United States)	124/696	Interviewer-administered diet questionnaire (172 items)	12 month period 2yr before interview	Snacks	age, education, total months menstruating, difficulty becoming pregnant, OC use, menopausal status, energy intake	None	No association: Snacks
Pan et al., 2004 [9]	Canada	442/2,135	FFQ (69 items)	2 years prior to index date	Baked desserts	age, province of residence, education, alcohol consumption, pack-years smoked, BMI, total kcal, physical activity, # of live births, menstruation years, menopause status	None	No association: baked desserts
Kolahdooz et al, 2009 [6]	Australia	717/806	FFQ (123 items)	1 year prior to index date	“Meat and fat”1 category: High-energy drinks and sweetened food and sugar	age, age squared, OC use, parity, education, energy intake	Tumor stage	No association: high-energy drinks and sweetened food and sugar did not explain the relationship between “meat and fat” and ovarian cancer
Chandran et al., 2011 [17]	NJ (United States)	205/390	FFQ (110 items)	6 months prior to index date	SoFAAS: total calories from solid fat, alcoholic beverages, and added sugar	Age, education, race, age at menarche, menopausal status, parity, OC use, HRT use, tubal ligation, BMI, energy intake, physical activity, smoking status, pack-years smoked	None	No association: SoFAAS
Nagle et al., 2011 [35]	Australia	1,366/1,414	FFQ (136 items)	1 year or if diet changed in last 6-12 mo, their usual diet	Total sugar	age, OC use, education, parity, BMI, menopausal status, energy intake	BMI, HRT use, menopausal status	No association: total sugar + association: total sugars among overweight/obese women. No effect modification by HRT use and menopausal status
Case–control studies: hospital-based
Tzonou et al., 1993 [36]	Greece	189/200	FFQ (110 items)	1 year prior to index date	Sucrose	Age, education, parity, age at first birth, menopausal status, energy intake	None	No association: sucrose
Bosetti et al., 2001 [5]2	Italy	1,031/2,411	FFQ (78 items, plus range of courses and dishes)	2 year prior to index date	Desserts, Sugar	age, study center, year of interview, education, parity, OC use, energy intake	None	+ association: sugar, Borderline + association: desserts
Bidoli et al., 2002 [37]2	Italy	1,031/2,411	FFQ (78 items, plus range of courses and dishes)	2 year prior to index date	Sugar	age, study center, year of interview, education, parity, OC use, energy intake	Parity, menopausal status, energy intake, age, education, OC use	No association: sugar No evidence of effect modification
Salazar-Martinez et al, 2002 [10]	Mexico	84/629	FFQ (116 items)	1 year prior to index date	Sucrose, fructose, glucose, maltose, “bread and cereal”, “sweets and desserts”, “soda, coffee, and tea”, tortilla	age, energy intake, # of live births, recent changes in weight, physical activity, diabetes	None	No association: sucrose, fructose, glucose, maltose, bread and cereal, sweets and desserts, soda, coffee and tea, tortilla

Abbreviations: BMI- body mass index, DHQ- diet history questionnaire, ERT- unopposed estrogen replacement therapy, FFQ- food frequency questionnaire, HRT- hormone replacement therapy, OC- oral contraceptives, WHR- waist-to-hip ratio, “+ association” - positive association, “- association”- negative association ¹ “Meat and fat” category included processed and red meat, poultry, liver, high-energy drinks (Cola drinks, other soft drinks, and cordials) and sweetened foods (cake, tart or pie, pastry, pavlova (meringue dessert), cheesecake, sweet roll, bun, plain sweet biscuits, fancy biscuits (e.g. chocolate coated), chocolate, lollies (candies), jam, peanut butter, and sugar) ² Bidoli (2002) and Bosetti (2001) were from the same study.