A high dietary cholesterol intake might increase lung cancer risk

Objectives:
Multiple epidemiologic studies have evaluated the relationship between dietary cholesterol and lung cancer risk, but the association is controversial and inconclusive. Therefore, this review article has been conducted.

Does consumption of dietary cholesterol increase risk of lung cancer?

Study design:
This review article included 10 case-control studies (6,894 lung cancer cases and 29,736 controls/persons with no lung cancer) and 6 cohort studies (1,769 lung cancer cases among 241,920 participants).

The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale scores for the included studies ranged from 6 to 9 and all studies were deemed to be of high quality (≥6).

There was no evidence of publication bias observed. Case-control studies: Egger’s test, p = 0.737, Begg’s test, p = 0.213 and cohort studies: Egger’s test, p = 0.459, Begg’s test, p = 1.000.

Results and conclusions:
The investigators found in case-control studies that a high dietary cholesterol intake significantly increased lung cancer risk with 70% [OR = 1.70, 95% CI = 1.43-2.03, I2 = 42.3%, p = 0.067]. No significant change in the result was found in the sensitivity analysis.

The investigators found in cohort studies no association between a high dietary cholesterol intake and lung cancer risk [RR = 1.08, 95% CI = 0.94-1.25, I2 = 0.0%, p = 0.833]. No significant change in the result was found in the sensitivity analysis.

The investigators found in 6 case-control studies that a high dietary total fat intake significantly increased lung cancer risk with 64% [OR = 1.64, 95% BI = 1.16-2.33, I2 = 68.7%, p = 0.004]. No significant change in the result was found in the sensitivity analysis.

The investigators concluded that a high dietary cholesterol intake might increase lung cancer risk. Might increase because the increased risk was not significant in cohort studies. Therefore, carefully designed and well-conducted cohort studies are needed to identify the association between dietary cholesterol and lung cancer risk.

Original title:
Dietary Cholesterol Intake and Risk of Lung Cancer: A Meta-Analysis by Lin X, Liu L, […], Lian X.

Link:
http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/10/2/185/htm

Additional information of El Mondo:
Find more information/studies on cohort studies/significant, cholesterol consumption and cancer right here.

A high dietary cholesterol intake is an intake of more than 200-300 mg cholesterol per day.

The result of a review article is only reliable when the result is also significant in cohort studies (thus not only significant in case-control studies).