High fat and alcohol intakes are risk factors of postmenopausal breast cancer: A prospective study from the Malmö diet and cancer cohort†

Associations between intakes of relative fat, total alcohol and alcoholic beverages and risk of breast cancer were examined in a subsample of 11,726 postmenopausal women from the MDC cohort. The MDC conducted baseline examinations from 1991 to 1996; the end of follow-up was 31 December 2001. Data were obtained by an interview-based diet history method, a structured questionnaire, anthropometric measurements and national and regional cancer registries. During 89,602 person-years of follow-up, 342 incident cases were documented. Cox regression analysis examined breast cancer risks adjusted for potential confounders. Two energy-adjustment approaches (i.e., adjusting for total energy vs. adjusting for nonalcohol energy) were used. High total alcohol intake was associated with a nonsignificantly elevated risk. High wine intake was associated with a significantly elevated breast cancer risk (relative risk = 2.12, 95% CI 1.24–3.60). There were significant trends of increased breast cancer risk across quintiles of relative fat intake. Mutual adjustment did not affect risk estimates for total alcohol or relative fat intakes. The specific energy-adjustment approach did not influence associations differentially. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.