Relationship between dietary vitamin B12 and folate, and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma
Relationship between dietary vitamin B12 and folate, and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma
Fateme Valipour Baboly,1,*Zeinab Sadat Moosavifard,2
1. BSc in Nursing, Department of Nursing, Bandar Abbas Branch, Islamic Azad University, Bandar Abbas, Iran. 2. Department of Nursing, faculty of nursing, Bandar Abbas Branch, Islamic Azad University, Bandar Abbas, Iran.
Introduction: Esophageal cancer is the second and third most common cancers in Iranian men and women after gastric cancer, respectively. It is estimated that about 5,800 Iranians die each year from esophageal cancer. In Iran, SCC cancer still accounts for more than 90% of gastric cancers, but adenocarcinoma-type esophageal cancer is gradually increasing. This study was performed to investigate the relationship between folate intake, vitamin B12 and the risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus (SCCE).
Methods: In this case-control study, the case group included 80 patients with SCCE in the main hospitals of Hormozgan province and the control group (which were matched with the case group in terms of age and sex) included 80 patients with acute diseases. And non-cancerous were in the same centers. Background data and physical activity were assessed by a written questionnaire. Nutrition data were collected with a feed frequency questionnaire, then folate and vitamin B12 levels were calculated using Nutritionist IV (N4).
Results: 38% of the subjects in the case group and 40% of the subjects in the control group were male. The mean age of the case group was 58 ± 18 years and the control group was 58 ± 17 years. The mean folate intake in the case group was 1.153 micrograms per day less than the control group. After adjusting for confounding variables, it was inversely associated with SCCE (odds ratio 0.03 and 95% confidence interval: 0.008 to 0.12). The relationship between B12 consumption and SCCE was not significant (P = 0.46).
Conclusion: Folate intake has a significant inverse relationship with the risk of SCCE. No relationship was found between B12 and SCCE. Therefore, people's diet should be planned to contain folate in the diet.