The Study
Risk of colorectal and other gastro‐intestinal cancers after exposure to nitrate, nitrite and N‐nitroso compounds: a follow‐up study
This study is like watching people over many years to see if eating certain foods is linked to getting sick. It found that people who ate more smoked fish had more colon cancer, but it can't prove the food caused the cancer because other things might be involved.
Analysis score
Maximum 72 for a cohort study.
Where the score came from
Scientists followed people for many years and found that those who ate more of certain chemicals in food had higher chances of getting colon cancer.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 547 / 100
Quality score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes, doubling cancer risk is significant for humans
- 2People with highest NDMA intake had 2.12 times higher colon cancer risk.
- 3Those eating smoked/salted fish had 2.58 times higher risk.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
International Journal of Cancer
Year
1999
Authors
P. Knekt, R. Järvinen, J. Dich, T. Hakulinen
Related Content
Claims (4)
Eating a lot of smoked and salted fish might raise your chances of getting colon cancer later in life, based on a long-term study of Finnish adults.
Eating more of a chemical called NDMA might raise your chances of getting colon cancer, according to a long-term study of Finnish people.
Researchers followed nearly 10,000 Finnish adults for 24 years and found that eating foods with nitrates or nitrites didn't increase their chances of getting stomach or intestinal cancers.
When you eat processed meats like bacon or hot dogs, chemicals in them can turn into harmful substances in your stomach that can damage your DNA and might cause cancer.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.