Nut and peanut butter consumption and the risk of lung cancer and its subtypes: A prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: Nut consumption has been associated with reduced cancer-related mortality, but evidence for a relation between nut intake and lung cancer risk is limited. We investigated the association between total nut, tree nut, peanut, and peanut butter intake and the risk of lung cancer and its subtypes in the Netherlands Cohort Study.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 1986, dietary and lifestyle habits of 120,852 participants, aged 55-69 years, were measured with a questionnaire. After 20.3 years of follow-up, 3720 subcohort members and 2861 lung cancer cases were included in multivariable case-cohort analyses.

RESULTS: Total nut intake was not significantly associated with total lung cancer risk in men or women. For small cell carcinoma, a significant inverse association with total nut intake was observed in men after controlling for detailed smoking habits (HR (95%CI) for 10+ g/day vs. nonconsumers: 0.62 (0.43-0.89), p-trend: 0.024). Inverse relations with small cell carcinoma were also found for tree nut and peanut intake in men in continuous analyses (HR (95%CI) per 5 g/day increment: 0.70 (0.53-0.93) and 0.93 (0.88-0.98), respectively). For the other lung cancer subtypes, no significant associations were seen in men. Nut intake was not related to the risk of lung cancer subtypes in women, and no associations were found for peanut butter in both sexes.

CONCLUSION: Increased nut intake might contribute to the prevention of small cell carcinoma in men. No significant associations were found in men for the other subtypes or total lung cancer, in women, or for peanut butter intake.