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Associations of specialty herbal supplements with lung and colorectal cancer risk
Author(s) -
Satia Jessie A,
Littman Alyson,
Slatore Christopher,
Galanko Joseph,
White Emily
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.23.1_supplement.222.3
Subject(s) - medicine , lung cancer , colorectal cancer , hazard ratio , pill , lower risk , cancer , cohort study , proportional hazards model , relative risk , cohort , cancer prevention , environmental health , confidence interval , pharmacology
Aim Millions of Americans use dietary supplements with little knowledge about their benefits or risks. We examined associations of various specialty herbal supplements with lung and colorectal cancer (CRC) risk. Methods Eligible men and women, 50‐76 y, in the VITAL (VITamins And Lifestyle) cohort Study (n=77,126) completed a 24‐page baseline questionnaire. Duration (years) and frequency (days/week) of use over the previous 10 years was collected on 20 specialty herbal supplements. Dose was not assessed due to lack of accurate potency information. Supplement exposure was categorized as "no use" or "any use" over the previous 10 years. Hazard ratios (HR) were estimated from Cox regression models, with control for covariates. Incident lung (n=665) and CRC cancers (n=428) were obtained from the SEER cancer registry. Results Any use of glucosamine and chondroitin over the previous 10 years was associated with significantly lower lung cancer risk: HR: 0.74 (95% CI: 0.58, 0.94) and HR: 0.72 (95% CI: 0.54, 0.96), respectively. There were statistically significantly inverse associations of fish oil, glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM, and St. John's Wort (HR: 0.35, 95% CI: 0.14, 0.85) with CRC risk; garlic pills were associated with a significant 35% elevated risk. Conclusions Glucosamine and chondroitin were associated with reduced risk for both cancers, whereas use of garlic pills correlated with higher CRC risk. Given the popularity of herbal supplements, studies examining their effects on risk for cancer and other diseases are urgently needed.