. 2024 Aug 2;24(1):2095.

doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-19209-y.

Methods and participant characteristics in the Cancer Risk in Vegetarians Consortium: a cross-sectional analysis across 11 prospective studies

Yashvee Dunneram^{1

2}, Jia Yi Lee³, Cody Z Watling³, Gary E Fraser⁴, Fayth Miles⁴, Dorairaj Prabhakaran^{5

6

7

8}, Krithiga Shridhar^{5

9}, Dimple Kondal⁵, Viswanathan Mohan¹⁰, Mohammed K Ali^{7

11

12

13}, Kabayam M Venkat Narayan^{7

12}, Nikhil Tandon¹⁴, Tammy Y N Tong³, Tina H T Chiu¹⁵, Ming-Nan Lin^{16

17}, Chin-Lon Lin¹⁸, Hsin-Chou Yang¹⁹, Yu-Jen Liang¹⁹, Darren C Greenwood²⁰, Huaidong Du^{21

22}, Zhengming Chen^{21

22}, Canqing Yu^{23

24}, Maria G Kakkoura²¹, Gillian K Reeves³, Keren Papier³, Sarah Floud³, Rashmi Sinha²⁵, Linda M Liao²⁵, Erikka Loftfield²⁵, Janet E Cade²⁶, Timothy J Key²⁷, Aurora Perez-Cornago³

Affiliations

¹ Cancer Epidemiology Unit,Nuffield, Department of Population Health , University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7LF, UK. yashvee.dunneram@newcastle.ac.uk.
² Human Nutrition Research Centre, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE2 4HH, UK. yashvee.dunneram@newcastle.ac.uk.
³ Cancer Epidemiology Unit,Nuffield, Department of Population Health , University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7LF, UK.
⁴ Centre for Nutrition, Healthy Lifestyle, and Disease Prevention, School of Public Health, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, USA.
⁵ Centre for Chronic Disease Control, New Delhi, India.
⁶ Public Health Foundation of India, Gurugram, Haryana, India.
⁷ Emory Global Diabetes Research Center, Woodruff Health Sciences Centerand, Emory University , Atlanta, GA, USA.
⁸ London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
⁹ Centre for Health Analytics, Trivedi School of Bioscience, Ashoka University, Research, and Trends, Sonipat, Haryana, India.
¹⁰ Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (ICMR Center for Advanced Research On Diabetes) and Dr. Mohan's Diabetes Specialities Centre, Chennai, India.
¹¹ Hubert Department of Global Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
¹² Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
¹³ Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Endocrinology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
¹⁵ Department of Nutritional Science, Fu-Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan.
¹⁶ Department of Family Medicine, Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Chiayi, 622, Taiwan.
¹⁷ Department of Family Medicine, College of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, 970, Taiwan.
¹⁸ Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Hualien City, Taiwan.
¹⁹ Institute of Statistical Science, Academia Sinica, Taipei City, Taiwan.
²⁰ School of Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
²¹ Clinical Trial Service Unit & Epidemiological Studies Unit, Nuffield, Department of Population Health , University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
²² Medical Research Council Population Health Research Unit, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
²³ Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China.
²⁴ Center for Public Health and Epidemic Preparedness and Response, Peking University, Beijing, China.
²⁵ Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA.
²⁶ Nutritional Epidemiology Group, School of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
²⁷ Cancer Epidemiology Unit,Nuffield, Department of Population Health , University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7LF, UK. tim.key@ndph.ox.ac.uk.

PMID: 39095780
PMCID: PMC11296327
DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-19209-y

Methods and participant characteristics in the Cancer Risk in Vegetarians Consortium: a cross-sectional analysis across 11 prospective studies

Yashvee Dunneram et al. BMC Public Health. 2024.

. 2024 Aug 2;24(1):2095.

doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-19209-y.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Cancer Epidemiology Unit,Nuffield, Department of Population Health , University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7LF, UK. yashvee.dunneram@newcastle.ac.uk.
² Human Nutrition Research Centre, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE2 4HH, UK. yashvee.dunneram@newcastle.ac.uk.
³ Cancer Epidemiology Unit,Nuffield, Department of Population Health , University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7LF, UK.
⁴ Centre for Nutrition, Healthy Lifestyle, and Disease Prevention, School of Public Health, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, USA.
⁵ Centre for Chronic Disease Control, New Delhi, India.
⁶ Public Health Foundation of India, Gurugram, Haryana, India.
⁷ Emory Global Diabetes Research Center, Woodruff Health Sciences Centerand, Emory University , Atlanta, GA, USA.
⁸ London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
⁹ Centre for Health Analytics, Trivedi School of Bioscience, Ashoka University, Research, and Trends, Sonipat, Haryana, India.
¹⁰ Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (ICMR Center for Advanced Research On Diabetes) and Dr. Mohan's Diabetes Specialities Centre, Chennai, India.
¹¹ Hubert Department of Global Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
¹² Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
¹³ Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Endocrinology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
¹⁵ Department of Nutritional Science, Fu-Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan.
¹⁶ Department of Family Medicine, Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Chiayi, 622, Taiwan.
¹⁷ Department of Family Medicine, College of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, 970, Taiwan.
¹⁸ Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Hualien City, Taiwan.
¹⁹ Institute of Statistical Science, Academia Sinica, Taipei City, Taiwan.
²⁰ School of Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
²¹ Clinical Trial Service Unit & Epidemiological Studies Unit, Nuffield, Department of Population Health , University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
²² Medical Research Council Population Health Research Unit, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
²³ Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China.
²⁴ Center for Public Health and Epidemic Preparedness and Response, Peking University, Beijing, China.
²⁵ Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA.
²⁶ Nutritional Epidemiology Group, School of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
²⁷ Cancer Epidemiology Unit,Nuffield, Department of Population Health , University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7LF, UK. tim.key@ndph.ox.ac.uk.

PMID: 39095780
PMCID: PMC11296327
DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-19209-y

Erratum in

Correction to: Methods and participant characteristics in the Cancer risk in vegetarians consortium: a cross-sectional analysis across 11 prospective studies.
Dunneram Y, Lee JY, Watling CZ, Fraser GE, Miles F, Prabhakaran D, Shridhar K, Kondal D, Mohan V, Ali MK, Venkat Narayan KM, Tandon N, Tong TYN, Chiu THT, Lin MN, Lin CL, Yang HC, Liang YJ, Greenwood DC, Du H, Chen Z, Yu C, Kakkoura MG, Reeves GK, Papier K, Floud S, Sinha R, Liao LM, Loftfield E, Cade JE, Key TJ, Perez-Cornago A. Dunneram Y, et al. BMC Public Health. 2025 Jun 11;25(1):2164. doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-22844-8. BMC Public Health. 2025. PMID: 40500740 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

Abstract

Background: The associations of vegetarian diets with risks for site-specific cancers have not been estimated reliably due to the low number of vegetarians in previous studies. Therefore, the Cancer Risk in Vegetarians Consortium was established. The aim is to describe and compare the baseline characteristics between non-vegetarian and vegetarian diet groups and between the collaborating studies.

Methods: We harmonised individual-level data from 11 prospective cohort studies from Western Europe, North America, South Asia and East Asia. Comparisons of food intakes, sociodemographic and lifestyle factors were made between diet groups and between cohorts using descriptive statistics.

Results: 2.3 million participants were included; 66% women and 34% men, with mean ages at recruitment of 57 (SD: 7.8) and 57 (8.6) years, respectively. There were 2.1 million meat eaters, 60,903 poultry eaters, 44,780 pescatarians, 81,165 vegetarians, and 14,167 vegans. Food intake differences between the diet groups varied across the cohorts; for example, fruit and vegetable intakes were generally higher in vegetarians than in meat eaters in all the cohorts except in China. BMI was generally lower in vegetarians, particularly vegans, except for the cohorts in India and China. In general, but with some exceptions, vegetarians were also more likely to be highly educated and physically active and less likely to smoke. In the available resurveys, stability of diet groups was high in all the cohorts except in China.

Conclusions: Food intakes and lifestyle factors of both non-vegetarians and vegetarians varied markedly across the individual cohorts, which may be due to differences in both culture and socioeconomic status, as well as differences in questionnaire design. Therefore, care is needed in the interpretation of the impacts of vegetarian diets on cancer risk.

Keywords: Consortium; Meat eaters; Pescatarians; Poultry eaters; Vegans; Vegetarians.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

**Fig. 1**
Mean (95% CI) total red and processed meat intake among meat eaters by cohort. Abbreviations: CARRS, Centre for cArdiometabolic Risk Reduction in South Asia; EPIC, European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition; NIH-AARP, National Institutes of Health-American Association of Retired Persons Diet and Health Study

**Fig. 2**
Mean (95% CI) intakes of (A) total vegetables and (B) fruit in meat eaters versus vegetarians (including vegans) by cohort. Abbreviations: CARRS, Centre for cArdiometabolic Risk Reduction in South Asia; EPIC, European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition; NIH-AARP, National Institutes of Health-American Association of Retired Persons Diet and Health Study

**Fig. 3**
Mean (95% CI) body mass index by diet group in (A) cohorts with large proportions of vegetarians and (B) very large cohorts. Abbreviations: CARRS, Centre for cArdiometabolic Risk Reduction in South Asia; EPIC, European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition; NIH-AARP, National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study. All vegetarians include lacto-ovo, lacto and ovo vegetarians. In the Oxford Vegetarian Study, poultry eaters could not be determined as poultry intake was not assessed

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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Methods and participant characteristics in the Cancer Risk in Vegetarians Consortium: a cross-sectional analysis across 11 prospective studies

Affiliations

Methods and participant characteristics in the Cancer Risk in Vegetarians Consortium: a cross-sectional analysis across 11 prospective studies

Authors

Affiliations

Erratum in

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical