ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutritional Epidemiology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1619809
Association between a dietary index for gut microbiota and breast cancer history in adult women: Findings from NHANES 2011-2020
Provisionally accepted
- 1Affiliated Taihe Hospital, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Anhui, China
- 2University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
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Gut microbiota plays a crucial role in cancer development, yet limited studies have explored microbiota-oriented diets in relation to breast cancer risk. The aim was to investigate the association between a gut microbiota-oriented dietary index (DI-GM) and breast cancer risk among U.S. women.This cross-sectional study analyzed data from 6,083 women aged ≥20 years from NHANES 2011-2020. The DI-GM score, based on intake of microbiota-beneficial and microbiota-unfavorable foods, was constructed from 24-hour dietary recalls. Breast cancer history was self-reported. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine associations. Subgroup analyses assessed potential effect modification.Results: Higher DI-GM scores were significantly associated with lower odds of breast cancer (adjusted OR = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.89-0.99, p = 0.012). Women with DI-GM scores ≥6 had a 33% lower likelihood of breast cancer compared to those with lower scores (adjusted OR = 0.67, 95% CI: 0.45-0.89, p = 0.006). Subgroup analyses showed consistent associations across age, ethnicity, smoking, alcohol, and BMI categories without significant interactions.Following a diet that supports a healthy gut microbiota may help reduce the risk of breast cancer. Additional longitudinal and mechanistic research is needed to validate these results.
Keywords: Breast Neoplasms, Diet, Gut Microbiota, Nutrition Surveys, NHANES
Received: 28 Apr 2025; Accepted: 20 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Fan, Li, Bu, Geng and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Song Liu, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
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