Electron micrograph of a negatively stained human papillomavirus (HPV) found in human warts. Credit: public domain
A study conducted by the Schools of Public Health and Medicine faculty at LSU Health New Orleans reports that diet contributes to HPV infection that leads to cervical cancer. The results are published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
“This study showed that women who did not eat fruits, dark green vegetables, and beans had a significantly higher risk of high-risk genital HPV infection,” said Hui-Yi Lin, Ph.D., professor of biostatistics at LSU. Health New Orleans School of Public Health and lead author of the study. “In addition, whole grain and dairy intake was inversely associated with low-risk HPV infection.”
The study included anonymized data from 10,543 women from the 2003-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The women were 18-59 years old, with valid data on genital HPV infection and dietary information from the Healthy Eating Index. Women with an HPV vaccine dose or a history of cancer were excluded.
For US women aged 15-59, the prevalence of HPV infection is 40.7% and high-risk HPV infection is 19.2%. Low-risk HPV prevalence was 21.5% and HPV negative, 59.3%.
In general, American women have low scores on the Healthy Eating Index for vegetables, beans and fruits, with less than half of the optimal score of 5. Their score for the vegetables and beans category was 2.02. The score for whole fruit was 2.48 and for total fruit (whole fruit plus juice) 2.41. About 43% of the women did not eat vegetables and beans, 27.5% did not eat whole fruit and 15.8% did not eat any fruit at all.
These results are consistent with the authors’ previous antioxidant study, which indicates that the four dietary antioxidants (vitamins A, B2, E, and folic acid) were inversely associated with high-risk HPV infection.
These dietary antioxidants are found in dark green vegetables (such as spinach, kale, and broccoli), beans (such as lima beans, peas, soybeans, and black beans), and fruits (such as oranges, grapes, blueberries, and mango). The authors suggest that the potential biological mechanism of fruits, dark green vegetables and beans to inhibit HPV infection may be through enhancing immune response and reducing inflammation.
The research team also noted that women who ate healthily tended to display different health behaviors. For example, women with a maximum score of 5 in total fruits were less likely to be current smokers, frequent alcohol drinkers, and users of illicit substances during their lifetimes. They were also less likely to engage in risky sexual behavior.
Cervical cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death for women ages 20 to 39 in the United States. The primary cause of cervical cancer and precancerous cancer of the cervix is infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV). Almost all cervical cancers (99.7%) are directly related to the previous infection of oncogenic or high-risk HPVs.
HPV infection is common among American women – it is estimated that about 80% will have at least one type of HPV infection during their lifetime. While most HPV infections are asymptotic and resolve within two years, some persist and progress to cervical cancer.
More information:
Hui-Yi Lin et al, Impact of Dietary Quality on Genital Oncogenic HPV Infection in Women, The Journal of Infectious Diseases (2023). DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiad146
Quote: Study shows diet contributes to risk of HPV-related cancer (2023, May 25) Retrieved May 26, 2023 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-diet-contributes-hpv-related cancer.html
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