Observational studyThe British journal of nutrition2016
Vegetarian dietary patterns and the risk of breast cancer in a low-risk population.
Observational study in The British journal of nutrition, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Vegetarian and vegan diets and cancer incidence: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies.European journal of epidemiology · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Healthy dietary patterns and risk and survival of breast cancer: a meta-analysis of cohort studies.Cancer causes & control : CCC · 2019Pooled it
- Associations between dietary patterns and the risk of breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.Breast cancer research : BCR · 2019Pooled it
- Plant-based dietary patterns and risk of breast cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2026Review
- Vegetarian diets and cancer risk: pooled analysis of 1.8 million women and men in nine prospective studies on three continents.British journal of cancer · 2026Article
- Longitudinal associations between vegetarian dietary habits and site-specific cancers in the Adventist Health Study-2 North American cohort.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2025Article
- Vegetarianísh-How "Flexitarian" Eating Patterns Are Defined and Their Role in Global Food-Based Dietary Guidance.Nutrients · 2025Review
- Mammalian Species-Specific Resistance to Mammary Cancer.Journal of mammary gland biology and neoplasia · 2025Review
- Nutrition Intervention and Microbiome Modulation in the Management of Breast Cancer.Nutrients · 2024Review
- Review
- Pro-vegetarian dietary pattern and risk of breast cancer: a case-control study.Breast cancer research and treatment · 2024Article
- Vegetarian and vegan diets: benefits and drawbacks.European heart journal · 2023Article
- Lower Compliance with Cervical Cancer Screening Guidelines Among Vegetarians in North America.Journal of prevention (2022) · 2022Article
- Breast Cancer and Spirituality Among Women in Poland: A Case-Control Study.Journal of religion and health · 2022Article
- Dairy foods, calcium intakes, and risk of incident prostate cancer in Adventist Health Study-2.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2022Article
- Ultra-processed food intake and animal-based food intake and mortality in the Adventist Health Study-2.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2022Observational
- Dietary Fat Intake: Associations with Dietary Patterns and Postmenopausal Breast Cancer-A Case-Control Study.Cancers · 2022Article
- Risk of cancer in regular and low meat-eaters, fish-eaters, and vegetarians: a prospective analysis of UK Biobank participants.BMC medicine · 2022Article
- The Safe and Effective Use of Plant-Based Diets with Guidelines for Health Professionals.Nutrients · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Among cancers in American women, breast cancer (BC) has the second highest incidence and mortality. The association of BC with diet has been inconsistent. Studies that evaluate associations with dietary patterns are less common and reflect an individual's whole diet. We associated dietary patterns with the risk of BC in American women of the Adventist Health Study-2 (AHS-2), a prospective cohort of 96 001 subjects recruited between 2002 and 2007. Answers to a previously validated FFQ were used to classify subjects to vegan, lacto-ovo-vegetarian, pesco-vegetarian, semi-vegetarian and non-vegetarian dietary patterns. Incident BC were identified by matching AHS-2 subjects to data from forty-eight state cancer registries. Statistical analyses used proportional hazard regression analyses with covariates that were chosen a priori. From 50 404 female participants (26 193 vegetarians), we identified 892 incident BC cases, with 478 cases among vegetarians. As compared with non-vegetarians, all vegetarians combined did not have a significantly lower risk (hazard ratio (HR) 0·97; CI 0·84, 1·11; P=0·64). However, vegans showed consistently lower (but non-significant) point estimates when compared with non-vegetarians (all cases: HR 0·78; CI 0·58, 1·05; P=0·09). In summary, participants in this cohort who follow a vegetarian dietary pattern did not experience a lower risk of BC as compared with non-vegetarians, although lower risk in vegans is possible. These findings add to the very limited literature associating vegetarian diets with BC risk and can assist nutritionists when evaluating the impact of these diets. The findings will also motivate further evaluation of vegan diets and their special characteristics.
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