Table 3.
Post-diagnostic intake of whole grains and mortality among colorectal cancer patients (n=1,575)
| Quartile 1 | Quartile 2 | Quartile 3 | Quartile 4 | HR (95% CI) per 20 g/day† |
P for trend | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRC-specific mortality (n=174) | ||||||
| Median intake (interquartile range), g/day | 9.3 (5.8 to 11.7) | 21.5 (18.5 to 24.5) | 33.7 (30.2 to 37.0) | 52.7 (46.9 to 62.9) | ||
| No. of events | 55 | 45 | 44 | 30 | ||
| HR (95% CI)‡ | 1 (referent) | 0.76 (0.54-1.07) | 0.67 (0.46-0.99) | 0.50 (0.32-0.77) | 0.72 (0.59-0.88) | 0.002 |
| HR (95% CI), adjusted for fiber intake | 1 (referent) | 0.80 (0.56-1.13) | 0.74 (0.49-1.11) | 0.57 (0.35-0.92) | 0.77 (0.62-0.96) | 0.02 |
| All-cause mortality (n=773) | ||||||
| No. of events | 237 | 193 | 180 | 163 | ||
| HR (95% CI)‡ | 1 (referent) | 0.86 (0.73-1.02) | 0.87 (0.72-1.05) | 0.75 (0.61-0.92) | 0.88 (0.80-0.97) | 0.008 |
| HR (95% CI), adjusted for fiber intake | 1 (referent) | 0.89 (0.75-1.06) | 0.91 (0.75-1.11) | 0.81 (0.65-1.01) | 0.91 (0.83-1.01) | 0.08 |
Abbreviation: CI, confidence interval; HR, hazard ratio.
Post-diagnostic intake was assessed at least 6 months but no more than 4 years after diagnosis to minimize the influence of active treatment.
The unit of increment is approximately one standard deviation.
Cox proportional hazards regression model stratified by age groups at diagnosis (<60, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74, and ≥75 years), sex, and cancer stage (I, II, III, and unspecified), with additional adjustment for age at diagnosis (continuous), year of diagnosis (continuous), tumor grade of differentiation (1-3 and unspecified), subsite (proximal colon, distal colon, rectum and unspecified), pre-diagnostic intake of the food under examination (in quartiles), post-diagnostic alcohol consumption (<0.15, 0.15-1.9, 2.0-7.4, ≥7.5 g/d), pack-years of smoking (0, 1-15, 16-25, 26-45, >45), BMI (<23, 23-24.9, 25-27.4, 27.5-29.9, ≥30 kg/m2), physical activity (women: <5, 5-11.4, 11.5-21.9, ≥22 MET-hours/week; men: <7, 7-14.9, 15-24.9, ≥25 MET-hours/week), regular use of aspirin (≥2 tablets per week), glycemic load, and consumption of total fat, folate, calcium, and vitamin D (in quartiles).