Page 97 - EJMO-9-2

Eurasian Journal of Medicine and
Oncology
Dietary links between dairy, meat, and egg intake and pancreatic cancer risk

stand upright and without shoes while having their height used. The Pearson Chi-square test was used to determine
measured with a SECA stadiometer (Seca GmbH & Co. whether categorical variables differed. Two techniques
KG, Germany), adjusted to the closest 0.1 cm. The body were employed to calculate how much dairy and meat
mass index (BMI) was then determined by dividing the were consumed: (i) depending on how frequently they are
weight (in kg) by the square of height (in m). 21 consumed, dairy products and meats were divided into
four categories: daily, weekly, monthly, and infrequently;
2.3. Physical activity questionnaire (ii) grouping them based on number of servings consumed
Data on participants’ physical activity levels was gathered per week: ≤1 serving per week, 2 – 3 servings per week,
using a validated 7-day physical activity recall (PAR). 22,23 4 – 6 servings per week, and ≥1 serving per day.
Each participant was requested to complete this form to The median (25 – 75 percentile) was calculated
th
th
assess their activity levels. The 7-day PAR is a structured to represent the weekly consumption of dairy products
questionnaire that asks participants to recollect how much and meats. The Mann–Whitney U test was performed to
time they spend exercising each day for a week, as well identify variations in the consumption of particular dairy
as the quantity, degree, and duration of physical exercise. and meat products between pancreatic cancer patients and
The total amount of physical activity was then computed controls.
by taking the number of hours spent at different levels of
physical activity intensity and converting it into metabolic The odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95%
equivalents (METs) per minute per week. confidence intervals (CIs) for various categories of dairy
and meat intake over a week were calculated using a
2.4. Dietary intake assessment multinomial logistic regression. The category with the
lowest intake of consumption (<1 serving per week)
A validated Arabic quantitative food frequency
questionnaire (FFQ) was employed to assess the intake served as the reference group. Based on the previously
of food over the past 12 months. The FFQ includes indicated risk variables for pancreatic cancer, prospective
24
110 food items categorized according to food types: 21 confounders, such as age, gender, marital status, education
vegetable items; 16 meat items, including red meat (lamb level, BMI, smoking, smoking duration, family history of
and beef), chicken, eggs, fish, and processed meats; 21 pancreatic cancer, and physical activity (MET-min/week),
25
fruit and juice items; eight milk and dairy products; eight were chosen. The p-value for the trend was calculated
cereal items; four types of beans; four soups and sauces; using linear logistic regression.
five beverages; nine snacks and sweets; and 14 herbs and 3. Results
spices. Participants were requested to recall how often,
24
on average, they consumed one standard serving of each Table 1 presents the distribution of sociodemographic
food item from 10 frequency categories (ranging from 1 and health characteristics of the study participants based
to 6 times per year to two or more times per day). Portion on their frequency of dairy and meat consumption. There
sizes for each food item were classified into three categories were no significant differences noted in age, gender, body
(small, medium, or large) based on commonly used sizes. weight status, marital status, education level, occupational
To accurately estimate the portion sizes of dairy products, status, smoking habits, personal history of chronic diseases,
meats, fish, and eggs, food models and standard measuring or family history when pancreatic cancer patients were
tools, such as cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, and glasses, categorized by the number of servings of dairy products and
were utilized. meats consumed. Most pancreatic cancer patients (89 out
of 101) consumed dairy products daily, and half of them
2.5. Statistical analysis consumed meat weekly. Previous BMI was significantly
The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 29 lower among weekly consumers of dairy products than
2
2
(IBM Corporation, United States of America [USA]) daily (26.5 ± 1.5 kg/m vs. 30.7 ± 0.80 kg/m ; p = 0.045).
was employed for statistical analysis, and a p < 0.05 was The caloric intake was significantly higher among
regarded as statistically significant. To identify variations pancreatic cancer patients who consumed meat daily
among participants based on their consumption compared to a weekly basis (3371.3 ± 141.0 kcal/day vs.
frequencies, descriptive analyses were performed. Mean 2938.0 ± 108.5 kcal/day; p = 0.045).
and standard error of the mean were used to represent There were no significant differences in
normally distributed continuous data, while frequency sociodemographic and health characteristics of controls
and percentage were used to report normally distributed by frequency of dairy products, except daily total caloric
categorical variables. To compare variations in the means intake, physical activity, and gender. Significant differences
of continuous variables, a one-way analysis of variance was were found in age, total caloric intake, marital status, and

Volume 9 Issue 2 (2025) 89 doi: 10.36922/ejmo.6637