Essay: Study On Dietary Fat & Breast Cancer Invasion

1) Why did the articles conduct this study?

2) What do we know about the topic?

3) What dont we know about the topic (what gap are the authors trying to fill)?

4) What type of study design is this? Identify three design elements of the study

5) Identify the outcome and exposure under investigation. How were they defined

6) What measure of occurrence did the authors use to present their findings?

7) Choose a measure of occurrence that is important to the study main findings and interpret it.

8) Describe how the outcome and exposure were measured.

9) Describe: 1) any potential measurement problems for the exposure, and 2) how this may have affected the results

10) Describe: 1) any potential measurement problems for the outcome, and 2) how this may have affected the results

11) Describe presence or absence of design and/or execution problems with the study, such as confounding and selection bias, including how they may have affected the accuracy of the estimate of association between exposure and disease and/or the interpretation of the study.

1. The articles conducted the study to establish whether there is a direct association between dietary fat intakes, which comprise of the intake of total fats plus other major fat subtypes and whether they pose a risk to the consumer to be invaded by breast cancer. The articles conducted the study also to establish whether menopause hormones together with high fat intake attributed to breast cancer invasion. The articles also carried the study to prove that besides genetic hereditary issues and alcohol, high fat intake is a cause of breast cancer invasion. The articles carried the study to prove that intake of saturated fat was the main cause of breast cancer and that women who consumed them at a higher amount exposed themselves to a higher risk of contracting the disease (Tannenbaum 43).

2. The relationship between breast cancer and dietary fat has been examined over a long time and no substantial evidence has been found hence the topic has since remained controversial in nutritional epidemiology. Though there are studies on animals as early as the 1940s that suggested that high fat intake could cause mammary carcinogenesis, researchers still had doubt because of differences in diet between the control and case subjects. The topic has, therefore, remained unsolved and just based on assumptions of various researchers. Nevertheless, recent studies show that saturated fats are a key cause of breast cancer among women who take them at high levels.

3. The authors try to show that there is a direct relationship between dietary fat intakes, which comprise of the total fat intakes and the major fat subtypes and breast cancer invasion. They show this through the statistical analysis of dietary data whereby it was found out that the relation between high fat intake and breast cancer remained significantly constant in the statistical scale. The authors also try to establish the relationship between the menopause hormones and dietary fats in relation to the invasion of breast cancer by carrying out statistics on women who are at the menopause stage. Holding the other factors constant such as alcohol intake and genetics, total high fat intake was associated with post-menopause breast cancer invasion. The intake of fats was considered a continuous variable and most of the common sources of these fats were butter, margarine, beef, poultry, and vegetable oil, cakes and poultry foods (Tannenbaum 47)

This is a case-control study comprising of the study population, statistical analysis, and dietary data. The study population comprises of both men and women and their food intake frequency examined. These two groups differ in outcomes but are just compared to casually know their fat intake through the various foods they consume. In the statistical analysis, there was a follow up done from the time people answered the questionnaires to the time they underwent breast cancer examination. The period is calculated from the time they answered the questionnaire to the time they were diagnosed with breast cancer. The dietary data was also collected and assessed by examining the types of foods they consumed, whether they had high saturated fat content or whether the breast cancer was caused by other non-dietary attributes (Michels 45).

Background Information

The outcome and exposure under investigation

The exposure under study is the intake of dietary fats that comprised of the total fats and major fat types and how the lead to breast cancer invasion. Among the various types of fats, saturated fats are considered the most contributors to breast cancer invasion. Women with high intakes of saturated fats were diagnosed with breast cancer compared to women who took them in low amounts hence had low chances of getting the disease.

The authors used statistical graphs to present their finds, for example, the line graph was used to present the dietary information, whereas the bar graphs were used to compare the intake of fats versus the breast cancer diagnosis victims.

The intake of saturated fats is the major contributors to breast cancer invasion. In many studies, intake of saturated fat was the main cause of breast cancer and that woman who consumed them at a higher amount exposed themselves to a higher risk of contracting the disease. Therefore, it is imperative for women to be careful with the fat intake as it exposes them to the risk of breast cancer (Kipnis, Freedman, Brown, Hartma , Schatzkin and Wacholder 812).

The information on intake of foods with saturated fats was collected through questionnaires and the dietary information underwent statistical analysis, which was presented in the charts and graphs. The women who had a high intake of saturated fats were compared with women with a low fat intake. The outcomes showed that women with a high intake of saturated fats had a high exposure to breast cancer invasion as compared to the women who had low fat intake; this means that fat intake is linked to the risk of breast cancer (Howe, Hirohata, Hislop, Iscovich, Yuan and Katsouyanni 34).

Measurement error in the FFQ-report in the dietary intake can affect the results because it has always been a major problem in nutritional epidemiology. There are instances whereby the types of fats cannot be differentiated hence causing biases in the results. Similarly, the research is based on trial and error. For instance, the trials suggested that low fat intake could minimize the risk of breast cancer, which might not be the case (Hunter 12).

Measurement errors and unmeasured errors might influence the observer’s conclusion on the problem. Although there can be a possibility of spurious associations due to unmeasured confounders, the estimates yielded do not show any changes when compared to other breast cancer risk factors. Additionally, the ecological association in animal research indicates that fat intakes are associated with breast cancer, however, actual studies on the issue of fat intake and breast cancer in women are inconclusive (Greenwald 34).

Objectives of the Study

The article focuses more on the dietary risk associated with high intake of saturated fat to be the major cause of breast cancer in women. The study tends to assume other causes for example instances whereby the disease might have been inherited as it can be in the family background and also if the woman has a high intake of alcohol. The observer will tend to make observations based on saturated fats ignoring the fact that the woman might have a high fat intake but might have inherited the diseases and the fact that there is no clear association between fat intake and breast cancer. In addition, the measurement and confounders error can influence the observation (Carroll, Midthune, Freedma and Kipnis 80)

The study provides evidence on the fact that women with a high intake of saturated fats were diagnosed with breast cancer and that women who had a low intake of saturated fats had a low risk of getting breast cancer. The results of the study are in full support of the ongoing debate between breast cancer and dietary fats association (Buell 78). Through the statistical analysis done and presented in the graphs and tables it’s evident that even in the post-menopause women, breast cancer invasion is highly attributed to high fat intake. Dietary fats increase the risk of breast cancer and various studies and observations have proved this true. Further, to validate the research findings, the researchers who conducted the scientific research are reputable as they are experts in the medical field (Armstrong and Doll 57). 

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Howe GR,  Hirohata T,  Hislop TG ,  Iscovich JM ,  Yuan JM,  Katsouyanni K, et al. Dietary factors and risk of breast cancer: combined analysis of 12 case-control studies. J Natl Cancer Inst 1990; 82: 561-9.

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Michels KB.  The role of nutrition in cancer development and prevention.  Int J Cancer   2005; 114: 163–5.

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