Adherence to Lifelines Diet Score (LLDS) Is Associated with a Reduced Risk of Breast Cancer (BrCa): A Case-Control Study

BACKGROUND: Previous evidence suggests a link between diet quality and breast cancer (BrCa); however, the link between the Lifelines Diet Score (LLDS)—a fully food-based score that uses the 2015 Dutch Dietary Guidelines—and risk of BrCa has not yet been evaluated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to observe the relationship between adherence to an LLDS and risk of BrCa in Iranian adults. METHODS: In the hospital-based case-control study, 253 patients with BrCa and 267 non-BrCa controls were enrolled. Individual's food consumption was recorded to calculate LLDS using a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire. In adjusted models, the association between the inflammatory potential of the diet and the risk of BrCa was estimated by using binary logistic regression. RESULTS: Compared with control individuals, BrCa patients significantly had higher waist circumference (WC), first pregnancy age, abortion history, and number of children. In addition, the mean intake of vitamin D supplements and anti-inflammatory drugs in the case group was significantly lower than the control group. Furthermore, after adjusted potential confounders, individuals in the highest vs. lowest quartiles of LLDS showed statistically significant lower risk of BrCa in overall population (OR: 0.21; 95% CI: 0.11–0.43; P trend <0.001), premenopausal (OR: 0.26; 95% CI: 0.10–0.68; P trend = 0.003), and post-menopausal women (OR: 0.20; 95% CI: 0.06–0.60; P trend = 0.015). CONCLUSION: Findings of this study reflected that higher LLDS decreased risk of BrCa, but need further investigation in later studies.