TOKYO—Findings from a recent Japanese study indicate a potential decrease in the risk of colorectal cancer with higher dietary intake of calcium among middle-aged Japanese men, who have a relatively low dietary intake of calcium (Am J Clin Nutr.) (DOI:10.3945/ajcn.2008.26195).

A total of 74,639 subjects (35,194 men and 39,445 women) who participated in the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study were followed from 1995 to 1999 to the end of 2004, during which time 761 cases of colorectal cancer (464 men, 297 women) were newly identified.

After adjusting for potential confounding factors, the multivariate hazard ratio in the highest quintile of dietary calcium intake compared with the lowest was 0.71 among men. The association appeared to decrease considerably among subjects in the second quintile without a clear further dose-response relation (P for trend: 0.09). No association was seen among women. No statistically significant association with dietary vitamin D intake was seen in either men or women, although men in the highest dietary intake group of both nutrients had a lower risk than did men in the lowest group.