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Dietary glycemic index, glycemic load, insulin index, fiber and whole-grain intake in relation to risk of prostate cancer

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Abstract

Objective

Insulin may play a role in prostate cancer tumorigenesis. Postprandial blood glucose and insulin responses of foods depend importantly on the carbohydrate quality and quantity, represented by glycemic index (GI), glycemic load (GL), fiber and whole-grain content, but are also influenced by intake of protein and other characteristics. The recently developed insulin index (II) quantifies the postprandial insulin secretion, also taking into account these additional characteristics.

Methods

We investigated the association between dietary GI, GL, II, fiber, and whole grains and risk of total prostate cancer (n = 5,112) and subgroups of prostate cancer as defined by stage or grade in 49,934 male participants of the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Multivariate adjusted hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression.

Results

Dietary GI, GL, II, or fiber was not associated with risk of total or subgroups of prostate cancer. We observed a positive association between dietary intake of whole grains and total prostate cancer (HR highest versus lowest quintile 1.13, 95% CI 1.03–1.24), which was attenuated after restriction to PSA-screened participants (HR 1.03, 95% CI 0.91–1.17).

Conclusions

These results suggest that long-term exposure to a diet with a high insulin response does not affect prostate cancer incidence.

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Acknowledgments

The work in this manuscript was supported by grants CA55075 and CA133891 from the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health. Katharina Nimptsch is recipient of a scholarship within the Postdoc-Programme of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Building 2, Room 304, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    K. Nimptsch, M. K. Jensen, M. J. Stampfer, M. Franz, L. Sampson, W. C. Willett & E. Giovannucci

  2. Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    S. Kenfield, M. J. Stampfer, W. C. Willett & E. Giovannucci

  3. Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    S. Kenfield & M. J. Stampfer

  4. Institute of Obesity, Nutrition, and Exercise, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    J. C. Brand-Miller

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  1. K. Nimptsch
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  2. S. Kenfield
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  3. M. K. Jensen
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  4. M. J. Stampfer
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  5. M. Franz
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  7. J. C. Brand-Miller
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  8. W. C. Willett
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  9. E. Giovannucci
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Correspondence to K. Nimptsch.

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Nimptsch, K., Kenfield, S., Jensen, M.K. et al. Dietary glycemic index, glycemic load, insulin index, fiber and whole-grain intake in relation to risk of prostate cancer. Cancer Causes Control 22, 51–61 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-010-9671-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-010-9671-x

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