Purpose:

Diet and nutrition are important for cancer prevention. To investigate associations between dietary behavior, demographics, and risk of cancer, we assessed dietary behavior and urinary concentration of gallic acid, a polyphenol with anticancer properties found in various fruits and vegetables, in racial and ethnic minorities.

Methods:

Ninety-one (91) participants were recruited from senior centers in East Harlem, New York City, a racially diverse and underserved community. A National Institute of Health (NIH)-validated dietary survey questionnaire-was used to collect dietary fruits and vegetables consumption data. Demographic and cancer information were also collected. All 91 participants completed the survey and forty-five (45) participants provided urine samples for gallic acid analysis.

Results:

Gender differences were significantly associated with dietary behavior and urinary gallic acid concentration (UGAC). Female participants had a higher total daily intake of fruits and a significantly higher UGAC compared to male participants (p < 0.05). Age was negatively associated with the serving quantity of French fries/fried potatoes and white potatoes (p < 0.05), while positively associated with the daily intake frequency and daily intake of fruits (p < 0.05). Furthermore, Asian race was associated with higher daily intake frequencies of fruits and vegetable soup (p < 0.05), compared to other races. In a multivariate analysis, a significant association was observed between the serving quantities of fruits and other vegetables and UGAC (p < 0.05) after controlling for demographic characteristics.

Conclusion:

The observed differences in dietary behavior and UGAC in this study provide limited information on the association between demographic differences and cancer prevalence in elder racial and ethnic minorities. Future research should investigate this association further for potential implications in cancer prevention.