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Yuheng Chen, Xiaonong Zou, Tongzhang Zheng | Chinese Medical Journal | (2017)
Key Takeaways
Plain English Takeaway
Eating a lot of spicy food may be linked to a higher chance of getting cancer, but more research is needed to be sure about this connection.
Study Aim
The main goal of this paper is to find out if eating a lot of spicy food is linked to a higher risk of developing cancer. The authors want to clear up confusion from earlier studies that gave mixed answers about whether spicy food increases, decreases, or has no effect on cancer risk.
Simply put: The study wants to see if eating spicy food often makes people more likely to get cancer.
Study Design
The researchers performed a meta-analysis (a study that combines results from many previous studies) using data from 39 case-control studies. These studies compared people with cancer (cases) to people without cancer (controls) and looked at how much spicy food each group ate. The researchers searched three major databases for studies published in English and included only those that reported odds ratios (a measure of risk) for cancer based on spicy food intake. They also checked the quality of each study using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale (a tool for rating study quality).
Simply put: The authors looked at many past studies to see if people who eat more spicy food are more likely to have cancer than those who eat less.
Findings
The meta-analysis shows that people who eat the most spicy food have a higher risk of cancer compared to those who eat the least, with an odds ratio of 1.76 (meaning a 76% higher risk). This link was especially strong for gastric cancer (cancer of the stomach) and was seen in both Asian and non-Asian populations. However, the connection was not found in women, esophageal cancer, or gallbladder cancer. The results were consistent in high-quality studies, but there was a lot of variation between studies. The authors note that differences in how spicy food was defined and measured, as well as possible biases in the original studies, make it hard to be certain about the results. They recommend more research with better methods to confirm these findings.
Simply put: People who eat a lot of spicy food might have a higher chance of getting cancer, but we need better studies to know for sure.
Abstract
BACKGROUND:: Studies on the association between spicy food intake and cancer risk have reported inconsistent results. We quantitatively assessed this association by conducting a meta-analysis based on evidence from case-control studies. METHODS:: PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were searched for eligible publications. Combined odds ratios (OR s) with their 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using a random- or fixed-effects model. The methodological quality of the included articles was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale (NOS). All data were analyzed using STATA 11.0 software (version 11.0; StataCorp., College Station, TX, USA). Subgroup analyses were also performed with stratification by region, sex, number of cases, cancer subtype, source of the control group, and NOS score. RESULTS:: A total 39 studies from 28 articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis (7884 patients with cancer and 10,142 controls). Comparison of the highest versus lowest exposure category in each study revealed a significant OR of 1.76 (95% CI = 1.35-2.29) in spite of significant heterogeneity (P < 0.001). In the subgroup analyses, this positive correlation was still found for gastric cancer, different regions, different numbers of cases, different sources of the control group, and high-quality articles (NOS score of ≥ 7). However, no statistically significant association was observed for women, esophageal cancer, gallbladder cancer, or low-quality articles (NOS score of <7). No evidence of publication bias was found. CONCLUSIONS:: Evidence from case-control studies suggested that a higher level of spicy food intake may be associated with an increased incidence of cancer despite significant heterogeneity. More studies are warranted to clarify our understanding of the association between high spicy food intake and the risk of cancer.
Found this "meta-analysis of case–control studies" that concludes:
So sounds not conclusive, but potentially spicy food may increase cancer risk.
Wonder what the practical advise here would be then. Spicy food potentially good for cardio-vascular health, but maybe not-so-good for cancer?