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FRIDAY, June 15, 2018 (HealthDay News) — High-quality diets are associated with decreased risks of overall and cancer-specific mortality among cancer survivors, according to a study published online June 5 in JNCI Cancer Spectrum<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Ashish A. Deshmukh, Ph.D., M.P.H., from the University of Florida in Gainesville, and colleagues examined the relationship between quality of diet and overall and cancer-specific mortality among 1,191 cancer survivors participating in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Higher Healthy Eating Index (HEI) scores indicated better adherence to dietary recommendations. <\/p>\n
The researchers found that 607 cancer-specific deaths occurred over the median follow-up period of 17.2 years. Scores in the highest HEI quartile, indicating a high-quality diet, were associated with decreased risk of overall (hazard ratio, 0.59) and cancer-specific (hazard ratio, 0.35) mortality versus the lowest HEI quartile (poor-quality diet). Among individual dietary components, the highest-quartile score for saturated fat intake was associated with lower cancer-specific mortality (hazard ratio, 0.55).<\/p>\n
“Our results highlight the importance of a ‘total diet’ approach to improving survival among cancer patients,” the authors write.<\/p>\n
One author disclosed financial ties to Gilead and Merck.<\/p>\n