Dietary Patterns and Risk of Colorectal Cancer: A Systematic Review of Cohort Studies (2000-2011)

Objectives: This systematic review of cohort studies aimed to identify any association between specific dietarypatterns and risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). Dietary patterns involve complex interactions of food and nutrientssummarizing the total diet or key aspects of the diet for a population under study. Methods and materials: Thisreview involves 6 cohort studies of dietary patterns and their association with colorectal cancer. An exploratoryor a posteriori approach and a hypothesis-oriented or a priori approach were employed to identify dietarypatterns.
Results: The dietary pattern identified to be protective against CRC was healthy, prudent, fruits andvegetables, fat reduced/diet foods, vegetables/fish/poultry, fruit/wholegrain/dairy, healthy eating index 2005,alternate healthy eating index, Mediterranean score and recommended food score. An elevated risk of CRC wasassociated with Western diet, pork processed meat, potatoes, traditional meat eating, and refined grain pattern.
Conclusion: The Western dietary pattern which mainly consists of red and processed meat and refined grainsis associated with an elevated risk of development of CRC. Protective factors against CRC include a healthy orprudent diet, consisting of vegetables, fruits, fish and poultry.