Abstract C036: Disparities in dietary behavior in East Harlem, New York City

Cancer is the second most common cause of deaths in the United States, disproportionately affecting minority groups. A diet low in fruits and vegetables is associated with increased risk of cancer. In this multidisciplinary study, we assessed the dietary behaviors and the urinary concentrations of gallic acid, an antioxidant found in various fruits and vegetables, of minorities in New York City. Seventy-five (75) participants were recruited from a senior center in East Harlem, New York City, a racially diverse and underserved community. A National Institute of Health (NIH) - validated survey questionnaire was used to collect dietary behavior data. Demographic and cancer history information were also collected. All 75 participants completed the survey and forty-one (41) participants provided urine samples for urinary gallic acid content analysis. Associations between demographic factors and the intake of certain foods were observed. Specifically, age was negatively associated with the frequency of French fries/fried potatoes and white potatoes intake (p<0.05), while positively associated with frequency of fruit intake (p<0.05). Additionally, Asian race was associated with a higher frequency of fruit intake (p<0.05), compared to other races. Moreover, two male participants (1 Black/African American and 1 White) reported incidences of cancer. Although both individuals reported a college education or higher, they related an annual household income of less than $50,000. In addition, their intake of fruits and vegetables was lower (2.93±1.35) compared to the overall sample (3.38±5.07), along with a much lower detected urinary gallic acid mean concentration (1.78±0.77) compared to the total urinary gallic acid concentration sample mean (11.11±23.14). This study provides preliminary information about the dietary behavior of older adults in East Harlem, which will serve as a basis for a future larger study to investigate the effect of nutrition/dietary education intervention on cancer prevention among diverse groups in New York City.

Citation Format: Cristina Zambrano, Wenyue Lu, Cicely Johnson, Maayan Beeber, April Panitz, Safa Ibrahim, Marilyn Fraser, Aisha Bhimla, Yin Tan, Grace Ma, Khursheed Navder, Ming-Chin Yeh, Olorunseun Ogunwobi. Disparities in dietary behavior in East Harlem, New York City [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2019 Sep 20-23; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl_2):Abstract nr C036.