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The influence of dietary vegetables and fruits on endometrial cancer risk: a meta-analysis of observational studies

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 77, pages 561–573 (2023)Cite this article

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Abstract

Fruits and vegetables store many bioactive compounds and micronutrients, making their consumption ideal for maintaining good health. A previous meta-analysis in 2007 provided evidence that high vegetable and cruciferous vegetable intake might help prevent endometrial cancer (EC) development. The current study purposely explored the favorable effects of vegetables, fruits, and their other specific types using a review of the most recent papers. We conducted a systematic search through August 2021 in the PubMed and EMBASE databases on this topic, through which twenty-seven studies, consisting of 21 case-control and 6 cohort studies, were obtained. The results showed that vegetables (pooled odds ratio [OR], relative risk [RR], hazard ratio [HR] = 0.76, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.63–0.91), cruciferous vegetables (pooled OR = 0.81, 95% CI 0.70–0.94), dark green and yellow/orange combined vegetables (pooled OR = 0.64, 95% CI 0.42–0.97), and fruits (pooled OR = 0.81, 95% CI 0.70–0.92) were strongly associated with a reduced risk of EC. These results were primarily based on studies of high quality and exhibited either by case-control only or a combination of case-control and cohort studies. Additionally, the results varied by geographic location, such as Western areas, the US, and Italy. This meta-analysis suggested that the consumption of fruits and vegetables has beneficial effects on EC risk and that specific kinds of fruits and vegetables should be recommended differently due to their outstanding bioactive components.

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Fig. 1: Flow diagram for study selection.
Fig. 2: Association between fruits intake and EC risk (n = 14, high quality studies).
Fig. 3: Association between vegetables intake and EC risk (n = 14, high quality studies).

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Data availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary information file.

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Acknowledgements

Grant support: This work was supported by grants from the International Cooperation & Education Program (NCCRI•NCCI 52210-52211, 2021) of National Cancer Center, National Cancer Center (1910330).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cancer Control and Population Health, National Cancer Center Graduate School of Cancer Science and Policy, National Cancer Center, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

    Y-Thanh Lu

  2. Department of Cancer Biomedical Science, National Cancer Center Graduate School of Cancer Science and Policy, National Cancer Center, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

    Madhawa Gunathilake & Jeongseon Kim

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YTL and JK designed, identified, and extracted relevant articles for analyses; YTL drafted the manuscript; JK and MG reviewed and edited the manuscript; All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Jeongseon Kim.

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Lu, YT., Gunathilake, M. & Kim, J. The influence of dietary vegetables and fruits on endometrial cancer risk: a meta-analysis of observational studies. Eur J Clin Nutr 77, 561–573 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-022-01213-3

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