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. 2021 Jul 22;114(5):1612–1624. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqab235

TABLE 4.

Joint associations of self-reported unrestrained eating and BMI with digestive system cancer risk1

No and low BMI2 No and high BMI2 Yes and low BMI2 Yes and high BMI2 P-interaction3
Joint associations according to eating anything at any time and BMI
 All digestive system cancers
  Cases 694 731 221 296
  Multivariable4 1 [Reference] 1.16 (1.04, 1.30) 1.25 (1.07, 1.46) 1.46 (1.26, 1.69) 0.96
 Gastrointestinal tract cancers
  Cases 477 483 167 211
  Multivariable4 1 1.15 (1.00, 1.31) 1.39 (1.16, 1.67) 1.55 (1.30, 1.85) 0.82
 Colorectal cancer
  Cases 381 371 110 167
  Multivariable4 1 1.12 (0.96, 1.30) 1.19 (0.95, 1.47) 1.56 (1.28, 1.90) 0.25
Joint associations according to no concern with figure change and BMI
 All digestive system cancers
  Cases 682 512 282 480
  Multivariable4 1 1.16 (1.03, 1.31) 1.13 (0.98, 1.30) 1.21 (1.07, 1.38) 0.41
 Gastrointestinal tract cancers
  Cases 489 350 200 324
  Multivariable4 1 1.15 (0.99, 1.32) 1.12 (0.95, 1.33) 1.18 (1.01, 1.37) 0.45
 Colorectal cancer
  Cases 378 269 157 255
  Multivariable4 1 1.15 (0.98, 1.36) 1.16 (0.96, 1.40) 1.23 (1.03, 1.46) 0.54
Joint associations according to eating anything at any time + no concern with figure change and BMI
 All digestive system cancers
  Cases 511 407 106 167
  Multivariable4 1 1.23 (1.07, 1.42) 1.38 (1.12, 1.72) 1.50 (1.24, 1.81) 0.36
 Gastrointestinal tract cancers
  Cases 358 277 83 124
  Multivariable4 1 1.22 (1.03, 1.44) 1.62 (1.26, 2.07) 1.64 (1.31, 2.04) 0.27
 Colorectal cancer
  Cases 280 212 57 99
  Multivariable4 1 1.22 (1.00, 1.47) 1.51 (1.13, 2.03) 1.76 (1.37, 2.26) 0.81
1

Data are expressed as HRs and 95% CIs or numbers of cases unless otherwise indicated. NHS, Nurses’ Health Study.

2

Self-reported behavior of unrestrained eating was dichotomized into “no” category compared with “yes” category, cumulative average BMI was dichotomized into a “low” category (20 to <25 kg/m2) compared with a “high” category (≥25 kg/m2), resulting in 4categories (no and low, no and high, yes and low, and yes and high, i.e., not having this behavior and with low BMI, not having this behavior and with high BMI, having this behavior and with low BMI, and having this behavior and with high BMI).

3

P value for interaction was calculated using the multiplication of status of having this behavior (0 for “no” and 1 for “yes”) and cumulative average BMI (0 for “low” and 1 for “high”).

4

HRs and 95% CIs were generated by Cox proportional hazards analyses adjusted for the same sets of covariates as denoted in Table 2.