The role of diet and physical activity for ovarian cancer results from the Adventist Health Study

A few aspects of the epidemiology of ovarian cancer are well understood, such as the inverse relationship with parity and oral contraceptive (OC) use. The role of other factors such as the potential influence of diet or physical activity is far from being established. A few studies, however, have been able to identify dietary risk factors for ovarian cancer. In this dissertation, I have conducted two studies that investigate the relationship between dietary factors and physical activity and the three endpoints: (1) nonfatal ovarian cancer (1976--1982; time to diagnosis), (2) fatal ovarian cancer (1976--1988; time to death), and (3) total ovarian cancer (1976--1992; actual and estimated time to diagnosis) in the Adventist Health Study (AHS).;The first study, examined the relation between dietary factors and all ovarian cancer. The study showed a consistent (for all three endpoints) reduced risk of ovarian cancer with fruit and vegetables intake. Specifically, I found a significant reduced risk of fatal ovarian cancer with tomato intake (RR for tomato intake >5 times/week vs. <1 time/week = 0.30, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.12--0.74; p for trend = 0.003). Also for total ovarian cancer cases (fatal and nonfatal) the risk ratio (RR) for tomato intake >5 times/week vs. <1 time/week was 0.32, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.13--0.77; p for trend = 0.0005.;In the second study I examined the relation between physical activity and the three endpoints of ovarian cancer. There was no association between either leisure or occupational activity and ovarian cancer risk.;Thus, the findings from the first study implicate that vegetables (specifically tomatoes) and total fruits are associated with a risk reduction for the three endpoints of ovarian cancer among Adventist women in Southern California. The result is consistent with the findings of others. Our findings do not support a protective effect of leisure-time or occupational physical activity on risk of ovarian cancer.