reuters health
by alison mccook
thursday, december 16, 2004
new york (reuters health) - u.s. investigators have found that children who ate oranges and bananas or drank orange juice most days of the week before age 2 were significantly less likely than other children to be diagnosed with leukemia before age 14.
previous research has suggested that diet may influence the risk of certain cancers, including colorectal, prostate, lung and breast cancers.
before age 15, more children become sick from leukemia than from any other type of cancer. however, the effect of diet on the childhood risk of this cancer remains largely unknown.
to investigate, dr. marilyn l. kwan of the university of california, berkeley, and her colleagues interviewed the mothers of 328 children diagnosed with leukemia and the same number of cancer-free kids. mothers reported what children ate before age 2.
the leukemia cases and cancer-free children breastfed for a similar amount of time, and weighed roughly the same at birth.
the researchers found that children who age oranges or bananas 4 to 6 times per week were around half as likely to develop leukemia before age 14. drinking orange juice between 4 and 6 times per week reduced leukemia risk by a comparable amount, the team reports in the american journal of epidemiology.
by alison mccook
thursday, december 16, 2004
new york (reuters health) - u.s. investigators have found that children who ate oranges and bananas or drank orange juice most days of the week before age 2 were significantly less likely than other children to be diagnosed with leukemia before age 14.
previous research has suggested that diet may influence the risk of certain cancers, including colorectal, prostate, lung and breast cancers.
before age 15, more children become sick from leukemia than from any other type of cancer. however, the effect of diet on the childhood risk of this cancer remains largely unknown.
to investigate, dr. marilyn l. kwan of the university of california, berkeley, and her colleagues interviewed the mothers of 328 children diagnosed with leukemia and the same number of cancer-free kids. mothers reported what children ate before age 2.
the leukemia cases and cancer-free children breastfed for a similar amount of time, and weighed roughly the same at birth.
the researchers found that children who age oranges or bananas 4 to 6 times per week were around half as likely to develop leukemia before age 14. drinking orange juice between 4 and 6 times per week reduced leukemia risk by a comparable amount, the team reports in the american journal of epidemiology.