Dietary and lifestyle characteristics of colorectal cancer in Jordan: A case-control study

OBJECTIVES:

We evaluated dietary pattern and lifestyle characteristics of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) in Jordan. DESIGN:

This case-control study included 220 recently diagnosed CRC cases and 220 age and gender matched healthy subjects as a control group, where dietary intake and biochemical assessment of folate and vitamin B12 were determined for all the study participants in addition to family history and physical activity. RESULTS:

The participating CRC cases had lower dietary intake of fibre, folate, vitamin B12, β-carotene, vitamin C and selenium as compared to controls (P<0.05). The frequency of consumption of fruits and vegetables was also lower among CRC cases, while the frequency of consumption of red meat and saturated fat was higher and positively associated with CRC risk. the mean serum levels of folate and vitamin B12 among CRC patients were significantly lower (P<0.05) than in the control groups.  It was found that serum folate and vitamin B12 were positively correlated with their dietary intake in both CRC patients and controls (r=0.11 and r=0.29, P<0.05, respectively).Furthermore, family history for CRC played a positive role and the majority of CRC cases and controls had a low physical activity level. CONCLUSIONS:

A sedentary lifestyle and a diet low in fruits and vegetables, and high in animal red meat and saturated fat, appeared associated with CRC among the studied Jordanian subjects.In addition to low dietary intake and serum level of Folate and Vit B12. This indicates global causal effects for this tumour type in developing nations.