Fruit and vegetable consumptions in relation to frequent mental distress in breast cancer survivors.

purposeEvidence suggests that fruit and vegetable consumptions may improve mental health among general population. However, their associations among breast cancer survivors are unclear. We planned to investigate this association via a nationwide survey in the USA.

methodsWe identified 7988 breast cancer survivors from 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Fruit juice, fruit, and vegetable consumptions were categorized as ordinal variables to approximate tertiles. Survivors who were mentally unhealthy for at least 14 days in the past 30 days were defined as having frequent mental distress (FMD). Multivariable logistic regression treating FMD as the outcome was used to calculate adjusted odd ratios (aORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for exposures. Quadratic model was used to depict the dose-response pattern in primary analysis. Subgroup analyses by adverse lifestyle behaviors were conducted; Wald tests were used to examine if there were interactions between these factors and exposures in relation to FMD.

resultsOverall, 825 (10.3%) survivors had FMD. Mean age was 67.2 years, and 89.7% of survivors were white. Juice showed non-significant associations with FMD. Moderate (aOR = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.68-0.98) and high (aOR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.63-0.98) fruit consumptions, as well as moderate vegetable consumption (aOR = 0.78, 95% CI = 0.64-0.94), were significantly and inversely associated with FMD. The dose-response curves were consistent with results in primary analysis. No interaction was identified for adverse lifestyle behaviors.

conclusionFruit and vegetable, but not fruit juice, show potential preventive effects against FMD among breast cancer survivors. The conclusion should be verified by studies with clear temporality in future.