Pre-diagnostic circulating concentrations of fat-soluble vitamins and risk of glioma in three cohort studies

Few prospective studies have evaluated the relation between fat-soluble vitamins and glioma risk. Using three cohorts-UK Biobank (UKB), Nurses' Health Study (NHS), and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS), we investigated associations of pre-diagnostic concentrations of fat-soluble vitamins D, A, and E with incident glioma. In 346,785 participants (444 cases) in UKB, associations with vitamin D (25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D]) were evaluated by Cox proportional hazards regression. In NHS (52 cases, 104 controls) and HPFS (32 cases, 64 controls), associations with 25(OH)D, vitamin A (retinol), and vitamin E (alpha- and gamma -tocopherol) were assessed using conditional logistic regression. Our results suggested plasma concentrations of 25(OH)D and retinol were not associated with glioma risk. Comparing the highest to lowest tertile, the multivariable hazard ratio (MVHR) for 25(OH)D was 0.87 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.68-1.11) in UKB and the multivariable risk ratio (MVRR) was 0.97 (95% CI 0.51-1.85) in NHS and HPFS. In NHS and HPFS, the MVRR for the same comparison for retinol was 1.16 (95% CI 0.56-2.38). Nonsignificant associations were observed for alpha -tocopherol (MVRRtertile3vs1=0.61, 95% CI 0.29-1.32) and gamma -tocopherol (MVRR (tertile3vs1)=1.30, 95% CI 0.63-2.69) that became stronger in 4-year lagged analyses. Further investigation is warranted on a potential association between alpha- and gamma -tocopherol and glioma risk.

Automated summary

This study found no association between plasma concentrations of 25(OH)D and retinol with glioma risk in three cohorts. However, further investigation is needed on the potential association between alpha- and gamma-tocopherol and glioma risk.