ArticleBMC public health2017
Is vegetarian diet associated with a lower risk of breast cancer in Taiwanese women?
Article in BMC public health, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 63 citations in OpenAlex.
- Dietary factors associated with breast cancer among women in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of case-control studies.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Pooled it
- Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Lifestyle and Reproductive Factors Associated with Risk of Breast Cancer in Asian Women.Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2024Pooled it
- Isoflavone Consumption and Risk of Breast Cancer: An Updated Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies.Nutrients · 2023Pooled it
- Dietary patterns and breast cancer risk, prognosis, and quality of life: A systematic review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Pooled it
- Data-Driven Discovery of Plant-Based Dietary Subtypes and Their Association With Cancer, Cardiovascular Diseases, and Type 2 Diabetes in Postmenopausal Women: Insights From the Women's Health Initiative.Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics · 2026Observational
- Review
- Studying the Role of Vegetarianism as a Potential Strategy for Cancer Prevention and Treatment, a Bibliometric Analysis.Epidemiologia (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Article
- Triangulated evidence from the UK and China reveals the health impact of vegetarianism.BMJ nutrition, prevention & health · 2025Article
- Prevalence of breast cancer in rural population of Jaipur: a survey-based observational study.Scientific reports · 2024Observational
- Dietary patterns in association with the expression of pro-metastatic genes in primary breast cancer.European journal of nutrition · 2022Article
- Plant-Based Diets and Cancer Risk: What is the Evidence?Current nutrition reports · 2022Review
- Observational
- Global Increase in Breast Cancer Incidence: Risk Factors and Preventive Measures.BioMed research international · 2022Review
- A Scoping Review on the Status of Female Breast Cancer in Asia with a Special Focus on Nepal.Breast cancer (Dove Medical Press) · 2022Article
- Adherence to plant-based dietary pattern and risk of breast cancer among Iranian women.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2021Article
- Treatment and long-term outcome of breast cancer in very young women: nationwide population-based study.BJS open · 2021Article
- The Lack of Association between Plant-Based Dietary Pattern and Breast Cancer: a Hospital-Based Case-Control Study.Clinical nutrition research · 2021Article
- Nutrition as a Key Modifiable Factor for Periodontitis and Main Chronic Diseases.Journal of clinical medicine · 2021Article
- Risk Factors Associated with Breast Cancer among Women in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Unmatched Case-Control Study.International journal of women's health · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundStudies on the relationship between vegetarian diet and breast cancer in Asian populations are limited. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between vegetarian diet, dietary patterns, and breast cancer in Taiwanese women.
methodsThis case-control study compared the dietary patterns of 233 breast cancer patients and 236 age-matched controls. A questionnaire about vegetarian diets and 28 frequently-consumed food items was administered to these 469 patients in the surgical department of Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital. Serum biochemical status was also examined.
resultsThere were no significant differences between the two groups for age, education, family history, oral contraceptive usage, or regular exercise. However, the cancer group presented with both a higher body mass index and an older age of primiparity (P < 0.05). Two food items (shellfish and seafood) were highly correlated (correlation coefficient = 0.77), so shellfish was excluded to avoid multicollinearity. A factor analysis of 27 food items produced five dietary patterns: meat, processed meat, fruit/vegetable/soybean, dessert/sugar, and fermented food. Multivariate logistic regression showed that meat/fat and processed meat dietary patterns were associated with breast cancer risk (odds ratio (OR): 2.22, 95% CI 1.67-2.94, P < 0.001; OR: 1.49, 95% CI 1.09-2.04, P = 0.013, respectively). Vegetarian diet, high isoflavone intake, and high albumin levels were inversely associated with breast cancer risk (P < 0.05). Vegetarians had a higher daily soy isoflavone intake than non-vegetarians (25.9 ± 25.6 mg vs. 18.1 ± 15.6 mg, P < 0.001).
conclusionsVegetarian diets show as protective role against breast cancer risk, while meat and processed meat dietary patterns are associated with a higher breast cancer risk.
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