Trends in cured meat consumption in relation to childhood and adult brain cancer in the United States

This study compared trends in cured meat consumption in the U.S., to trends in cancer incidence rates by age, sex and race between 1977-78 and 1989-91. Consumption of cured meat declined about 17%, with the decline more evident among whites than blacks. By the 1990s, average cured meat intake was over 20% higher among blacks than whites. Because residual nitrite in cured meats is reported to have decreased markedly (by clp to 80%) from the 1970s to the 1990s, population exposure to nitrites from cured meats has likely declined dramatically. In contrast, the incidence of brain and nervous system cancer among both children and adults has risen from the 1970s to the 1990s, with higher rates among whites compared with blacks. The cured meat consumption and cancer trends are not consistent with the hypothesis that intake of cured meats has increased the risk of childhood and adult brain cancers. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.