Diet and colorectal cancer in UK Biobank: a prospective study

Previous studies have found an increased risk of colorectal cancer in those with high intakes of red and processed meat. However, these previous studies collected information on dietary intakes during the 1990s or earlier and patterns in meat consumption have since changed. In addition, few studies have used re-measured intakes to reduce the impact of measurement error, and to quantify the amount of red and processed meat that is associated with an increased risk. Measurement error generally biases the associations towards the null value, therefore the associations observed in previous studies, which did not re-measure intakes, may be underestimated.

Our study found that people who were consuming red and processed meat four or more times per week, had a 20% increased risk of colorectal cancer compared with those who were consuming red and processed meat less than twice a week. The study also found heavier drinkers of alcohol had an increased risk – up by 24% among those who drank the most alcohol compared with those who drank the least. Eating fibre in the form of breakfast cereals and bread had a protective effect, however.