Citrus Consumption and Risk of Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer in the UK Biobank

Abstract

Background: Non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) incidence has been dramatically increasing worldwide. Psoralen, a known photocarcinogen, is naturally abundant in citrus products, leading to the hypothesis that high citrus consumption may increase NMSC risk.

Methods: We fitted age- and multivariable-adjusted logistic regression models to evaluate the association between citrus consumption and NMSC risk among 197,372 UKBB participants. A total of 9,613 NMSC cases were identified using International Classification of Disease 10 codes. Citrus consumption data were collected via five rounds of 24-hour recall questionnaires.

Results: We found no association between high total citrus consumption and NMSC risk, although a slightly elevated NMSC risk was observed among participants who consumed >0 to half a serving of total citrus per day (OR [95% CI] = 1.08 [1.01-1.16]). There was no association between individual citrus products and NMSC risk.

Conclusion: High citrus consumption was not associated with an increased risk of NMSC in our UKBB sample. Further studies are needed to clarify these associations.

Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/01635581.2021.1952439 .