| Summary: | 碩士 === 國防醫學院 === 公共衛生學研究所 === 93 === During the past two decades the incidence of breast cancer in women of Taiwan has been increasing gradually, along with a decreasing trend in the age of the patients. Many studies explored the relationship between diet and breast cancer, but the relationship between folate and breast cancer still is not conclusive. In the present case-control study, the association between folate intake (both diet and supplement), erythrocyte folate, and breast cancer were studied, with a consideration of alcohol intake. The subjects studied were 151 women with incident breast cancer, 231 women with benign breast tumors as benign controls, and 298 women with no breast tumors of any kind. Controls matched with case with age within 5 years. A personal-interviewed risk questionnaire was adminsitered to participants to assess factors postulated to be linked to breast cancer. The waist to hip ratio and BMI were found to be significantly associated to the risk of breast cancer in both the comparisons between cases and benign controls, and between cases and normal controls (p for trend <0.05). On the other hand, alcohol intake and the risk of breast cancer was inversely related (OR = 0.55, p<0.01). After controlling age, education, BMI, age at menarche, age of menopause, child-bearing number, hormone replacement therapy, dietary vitamin C and total carolic, enerage-adjusted total folate intake between cases and normal controls, the OR was 0.23 of Q3 vs. Q1 (95%CI = 0.11-0.49). All other ORs were less than 0.63, and shows a signifcant linear trend. All ORs and trend test of folate supplement were significant. The erythrocyte folate level was not assocaited with the risk of breast cancer. For those who drink alcohol, , the higher the folate intake, the lower is the OR (cases versus normal controls, low intake as reference), with a linear trend. These findings show that total folate and breast cancer risk was inversely related, with the protective effects of folate especially prominent in women who drink alcoholic beverages on a regular basis. The protective effect is not that obvious when contrasted to benign controls. In conclusion, the protective function of folate is evident in women without breast tumors who ingest alcohol.
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