Hamburgers and Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Brian C.-H. Chui, James Cergan, Aaron Folsom, Thomas Sellers, Lawrence Kushi, Robert Wallace, Wei Zheng, and John Potter JAMA 1996;275:1315-1321

This study was undertaken to determine whether high dietary intakes of fat protein, and milk are associated with the development of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in older women. It was a prospective study of 35,156 Iowa women, 55 to 69 years of age, who were followed for 7 years. Although, numerous associations were calculated (e.g., all meats, red meat, processed meat, all fish, chicken with skin, chicken without skin, milk, all dairy products, bacon, hot dogs, liver, beef stew, hamburger, to name a few) the researchers were particularly pleased with the hamburger association. After controlling for age, marital status, residence, total energy intake, and transfusion history, the relative risk of NHL for the group with the highest intake of hamburgers was 2.35 (95% C.I. 1.23 - 4.48).

Not too well done ? The biologic theory here is that carcinogens and mutagens such as heterocyclic amines generated during the cooking of red meat "may be of etiologic significance. The level heterocyclic amines is correlated positively with degree of doneness of meat. [ Animal ] experiments have shown that these compounds induce immunotoxicity in lymphoid tissues present in the gastrointestinal tract, and lymphomas and leukemias in mice."

Much to the chagrin of the authors, however, their own analysis on a possible association between degree of doneness of meat and NHL indicated that risk of NHL decreased as degree of doneness increased. So much for biological plausibility here!

More Kushi data dredging. Elsewhere on this page is another story of data dredging that resulted in a reported link between vitamin E and coronary heart disease. Coincidentally(???), one of the researchers in the vitamin E research is Lawrence Kushi. In the vitamin E study, more than 50 associations are reported. Here, more than 40 associations are presented. I can only imagine, how many associations were attempted in these studies, but not reported. I guess, hamburger was the unlucky loser in this study.

So go ahead... have that Big Mac, or Whopper (with cheese!) without fear. As Jimmy Buffet sang

I like mine with lettuce and tomato, Heinz 57 and french fried potato, Big kosher pickle and a cold draft beer, Well, good God almighty, which way do I steer for a Cheeseburger in Paradise...

Material presented on this home page constitutes opinion of the author.