Cross-sectional analysis of adherence to healthy dietary patterns and risk of premature aging in adult survivors of childhood cancer
Adult survivors of childhood cancer are at higher risk of premature aging compared to cancer-free peers due to cancer and its treatments. A cross-sectional analysis of 3322 participants (mean age 30.5 ± 8.4 years) in the St. Jude Lifetime Cohort Study evaluated the effect of adherence to healthy dietary patterns on aging in childhood cancer survivors (CCSs). Diet was measured by a food frequency questionnaire and used to assess the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2015 and alternate Mediterranean diet (aMED) scores. Premature aging was assessed by the deficit accumulation index and categorized into low, medium, and high risk. The mean HEI-2015 score was 60.0 ± 10.9 of 100, and the aMED score was 4.2 ± 2.0 of 9. Twenty percent and 8% of survivors were in the medium and high deficit accumulation index categories, respectively. Higher adherence to HEI-2015 (ORhigh versus low 0.80; 95% CI 0.69-0.93 per 10-point increment) and aMED (0.91; 0.84-0.98 per 1-point increment) were associated with a lower risk of premature aging. The associations remained consistent among survivors who received radiation or chemotherapy. The authors conclude that adherence to a healthy diet may contribute to reducing the premature aging risk in adult CCSs.