An exploratory study of respiratory quotient calibration and association with postmenopausal breast cancer
A partir des données de la cohorte "Women's Health Initiative", cette étude évalue l'association entre le quotient respiratoire et le risque de cancer du sein après la ménopause
Background: The respiratory quotient (RQ), defined as the ratio of carbon dioxide exhaled to oxygen uptake, reflects substrate utilization when energy is expended. Fat and alcohol have RQ values of about 0.7, compared to 1.0 for carbohydrate, and about 0.8 for protein. Here, the association between RQ and postmenopausal breast cancer risk is studied. Methods: Paired RQ measurements were obtained, separated by about 6 months, for women in the reliability subset of a Women's Health Initiative (WHI) Nutrition and Physical Activity Assessment Study. Linear regression of the average of the paired log RQ assessments on a corresponding log food quotient (FQ) average and other study subject characteristics, including age, body mass index, race, and education, yielded calibration equations for predicting RQ. Results: Calibration equations, using any of food frequency, food record, or dietary recall data, explained an appreciable fraction of measured log RQ variation, and these were used to compute calibrated RQ estimates throughout WHI cohorts. Calibrated RQ estimates using four-day food record data related inversely (P=0.004) to (invasive) breast cancer risk in the WHI Dietary Modification trial comparison group, and corresponding RQ estimates using food frequency data related inversely (P=0.002) to breast cancer incidence in this cohort combined with the larger WHI Observational Study. Conclusion: Though preliminary, these analyses suggest a substantially higher postmenopausal breast cancer risk among women having relatively low RQ. Impact: RQ elevation could provide a novel target for breast cancer risk reduction.