A recent study suggested that individuals with diets high in acidogenic foods are at high risk of developing pancreatic cancer.
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The modern western diets are typically loaded with
acid-forming foods. Human and in vitro studies revealed a potential link between
dietary acid load and cancer risk.
Current population-based study comprised 95,708
American adults. Dietary acid load was evaluated using potential renal acid
load or PRAL and net endogenous acid production or NEAP; the greater the value,
the higher the dietary acid load.
There was a total of 337 pancreatic cancer cases occurred over 848,534.0
person-years of follow-up. Fully adjusting cox regression models showed that
PRAL score had a positive correlation with the risk of pancreatic cancer.
Comparing with lowest quartile, the highest PRAL score quartile contributed to
a 73% risk increase.
For a subgroup analysis, the positive correlation between
PRAL score and the risk of pancreatic cancer was stronger among younger than
older participants. Similar outcomes were seen for the NEAP score.
According to experts, the current epidemiologic study
is said to be the first of its kind, and the findings point to the possibility
that lowering dietary acid load may play an important role in the prevention of
pancreatic cancer. Nonetheless, additional studies in other populations and
settings are warranted to validate the data gathered.
Source: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev
2021;30:1009-1019