Macronutrients Not Micronutrients Are Associated With the Risk of Pancreatic Cancer: A Jordanian Case-Control Study

Pancreatic cancer (PC) has been related directly to many risk factors; however, diet is considered one of the most modifiable risk factors. This study is designed to observe the associations between the intake of macromicronutrients and the risk of pancreatic cancer in a Jordanian population.

A case-control study included 100 patients with the incident and histologically confirmed PC and 309 control subjects frequency-matched on age, educational level, occupation, and marital status. Face-to-face interview was used to collect the study's sociodemographic, physical activity, and dietary information. Intakes of macronutrients and micronutrients were assessed by a validated food-frequency questionnaire. Multinomial logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios and confidence intervals.

The patients reported higher consumption of almost all the macromicronutrients and micronutrients as compared with control subjects. The highest tertile of dietary intake of carbohydrates, sugars, fats, saturated fats, monounsaturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, and vitamin B3 was positively associated with PC risk (Ptrend < 0.05). However, dietary intakes of polyunsaturated fats, omega-3, and some vitamins and minerals were not associated (Ptrend > 0.05) with the risk of PC.

Our findings support the positive role of proteins, carbohydrates, sugars, fats, saturated fats, monounsaturated fats, trans fats, and cholesterol on pancreatic carcinogenesis.