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. 2018 Dec 1;178(12):1597-1606.
doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2018.4357.

Association of Frequency of Organic Food Consumption With Cancer Risk: Findings From the NutriNet-Santé Prospective Cohort Study

Julia Baudry  1 , Karen E Assmann  1 , Mathilde Touvier  1 , Benjamin Allès  1 , Louise Seconda  1 , Paule Latino-Martel  1 , Khaled Ezzedine  1   2 , Pilar Galan  1 , Serge Hercberg  1   3 , Denis Lairon  4 , Emmanuelle Kesse-Guyot  1
Affiliations

Association of Frequency of Organic Food Consumption With Cancer Risk: Findings From the NutriNet-Santé Prospective Cohort Study

Julia Baudry et al. JAMA Intern Med. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Importance: Although organic foods are less likely to contain pesticide residues than conventional foods, few studies have examined the association of organic food consumption with cancer risk.

Objective: To prospectively investigate the association between organic food consumption and the risk of cancer in a large cohort of French adults.

Design, setting, and participants: In this population-based prospective cohort study among French adult volunteers, data were included from participants with available information on organic food consumption frequency and dietary intake. For 16 products, participants reported their consumption frequency of labeled organic foods (never, occasionally, or most of the time). An organic food score was then computed (range, 0-32 points). The follow-up dates were May 10, 2009, to November 30, 2016.

Main outcomes and measures: This study estimated the risk of cancer in association with the organic food score (modeled as quartiles) using Cox proportional hazards regression models adjusted for potential cancer risk factors.

Results: Among 68 946 participants (78.0% female; mean [SD] age at baseline, 44.2 [14.5] years), 1340 first incident cancer cases were identified during follow-up, with the most prevalent being 459 breast cancers, 180 prostate cancers, 135 skin cancers, 99 colorectal cancers, 47 non-Hodgkin lymphomas, and 15 other lymphomas. High organic food scores were inversely associated with the overall risk of cancer (hazard ratio for quartile 4 vs quartile 1, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.63-0.88; P for trend = .001; absolute risk reduction, 0.6%; hazard ratio for a 5-point increase, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.88-0.96).

Conclusions and relevance: A higher frequency of organic food consumption was associated with a reduced risk of cancer. If these findings are confirmed, further research is necessary to determine the underlying factors involved in this association.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Lairon reported serving since 2018 as a scientific expert, with no honoraria or personal funding, in 2 nonprofit foundations recently funded in France (“Fondation Bjorg, Bonneterre et Citoyens” and “Fond de Dotation Institut de l’Alimentation Bio”). No other disclosures were reported.

Figures

Figure.
Figure.. Association Between Quartiles of the Organic Food Score (Quartile 4 vs Quartile 1) and Overall Cancer Risk Stratified by Different Factors, NutriNet-Santé Cohort, France, 2009 to 2016
BMI indicates body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared); HR, hazard ratio; and mPNNS-GS, Programme National Nutrition Santé Guideline Score without the physical activity component.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

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