Jing Yang1, Aimin Yang2,3, Zhe Wang1, Wei Wang1, Zhilian Wang1, Yonghong Wang1, Jintao Wang4, Jinghui Song5, Li Li6, Weiguo Lv7, Weihong Zhao1, Dongyan Li1, Huiqiang Liu1, Chen Wang8, Ashley Truong3, Tongzhang Zheng3, Tonya G Mason2, Jinjun Ran2, Min Hao1. 1. Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2. School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China. 3. School of Public Health, Brown University, Providence, RI. 4. Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China. 5. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Huhhot, China. 6. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China. 7. Department of Gynecologic Oncology, Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. 8. Pathology, Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China.
Abstract
Background: Although folate deficiency has long been implicated in cancer development, uncertainties remain concerning its role in cervical cancer prevention. In particular, the interaction between human papillomavirus (HPV) and folate in the risk of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) has been little studied. Objective: The goal of this study was to evaluate the dose-response association of serum folate with the risk of CIN, and the potential for HPV to modify the risk of CIN. Design: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of screening data in 2304 women aged 19-65 y who participated in an ongoing cohort of 40,000 women in China. Both categoric and spline analyses were used to evaluate the dose-response relation between serum folate and CIN risk. Results: After adjusting for potential confounders, a statistically significant inverse association between serum folate concentration and at least grade 2 CIN (CIN2+) risk was observed (1st quartile compared with 4th quartile: OR = 1.40; 95% CI: 1.09, 1.79; P-trend < 0.01); however, serum folate concentration was not associated with CIN1 risk. The risk patterns are similar when limited to only CIN2 and CIN3. An inverse linear relation between increased serum folate concentration and the risk of higher-grade CIN (CIN2, CIN3, and CIN2+) was also observed (for CIN2+: P-overall < 0.01, P-nonlinearity = 0.96). The highest risk of CIN2+ was observed in women with high-risk HPV types, who also had the lowest serum folate concentrations (P-interaction < 0.01). Conclusions: Our study indicates that serum folate is inversely associated with the risk of higher-grade CIN in Chinese women either with or without high-risk HPV infection. Thus, maintenance of normal serum folate levels may prove important for reducing the risk of CIN in women.
Background: Although folate deficiency has long been implicated in cancer development, uncertainties remain concerning its role in cervical cancer prevention. In particular, the interaction between human papillomavirus (HPV) and folate in the risk of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) has been little studied. Objective: The goal of this study was to evaluate the dose-response association of serum folate with the risk of CIN, and the potential for HPV to modify the risk of CIN. Design: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of screening data in 2304 women aged 19-65 y who participated in an ongoing cohort of 40,000 women in China. Both categoric and spline analyses were used to evaluate the dose-response relation between serum folate and CIN risk. Results: After adjusting for potential confounders, a statistically significant inverse association between serum folate concentration and at least grade 2 CIN (CIN2+) risk was observed (1st quartile compared with 4th quartile: OR = 1.40; 95% CI: 1.09, 1.79; P-trend < 0.01); however, serum folate concentration was not associated with CIN1 risk. The risk patterns are similar when limited to only CIN2 and CIN3. An inverse linear relation between increased serum folate concentration and the risk of higher-grade CIN (CIN2, CIN3, and CIN2+) was also observed (for CIN2+: P-overall < 0.01, P-nonlinearity = 0.96). The highest risk of CIN2+ was observed in women with high-risk HPV types, who also had the lowest serum folate concentrations (P-interaction < 0.01). Conclusions: Our study indicates that serum folate is inversely associated with the risk of higher-grade CIN in Chinese women either with or without high-risk HPV infection. Thus, maintenance of normal serum folate levels may prove important for reducing the risk of CIN in women.
Authors: Sascha Venturelli; Christian Leischner; Thomas Helling; Markus Burkard; Luigi Marongiu Journal: Nutrients Date: 2021-11-01 Impact factor: 5.717