"EPIC was designed to investigate the relationships between diet, nutritional status, lifestyle and environmental factors and the incidence of cancer and other chronic diseases. EPIC is the largest study of diet and health ever undertaken, having recruited over half a million (520,000) people in ten European countries: Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom (…) Recruitment into the study, which was initiated in 1992, was principally from the general population aged 20 years or over, and took place between 1993 and 1999. Detailed information on diet and lifestyle was obtained by questionnaire, and anthropometric measurements and blood samples were taken at recruitment. The blood is stored in liquid nitrogen for future analyses. By studying very many people in different countries with differing diets, using carefully designed and tested questionnaires, EPIC should produce much more specific information about the effect of diet on long-term health than any previous study. The first results were presented in June 2001 at the European Conference on Nutrition and Cancer and the conference proceedings have been published in Riboli E., Lambert A. (eds): Nutrition and lifestyle: Opportunities for Cancer Prevention. IARC Sci. Publ. No.156. 2002".
Related links:
General papers:
- Bingham S, Riboli E. Diet and cancer–the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. Nat Rev Cancer. 2004 Mar;4(3):206-15. Review.
- Gonzalez CA, Riboli E. Diet and cancer prevention: Contributions from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. Eur J Cancer. 2010 Sep;46(14):2555-62.
- Gonzalez CA. The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Public Health Nutr. 2006 Feb;9(1A):124-6. Review.
- Riboli E. The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC): plans and progress. J Nutr. 2001 Jan;131(1):170S-175S. Review.
- Riboli E, Kaaks R. The EPIC Project: rationale and study design. European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. Int J Epidemiol. 1997;26 Suppl 1:S6-14.
Health and lifestyle:
- Khaw KT, Wareham N, Bingham S, Welch A, Luben R, Day N. Combined impact of health behaviours and mortality in men and women: the EPIC-Norfolk prospective population study. PLoS Med. 2008 Jan 8;5(1):e12. Erratum in: PLoS Med. 2008 Mar 18;5(3):e70.
- Couto E, Boffetta P, Lagiou P, et al. Mediterranean dietary pattern and cancer risk in the EPIC cohort. Br J Cancer.
- Benetou V, Trichopoulou A, Orfanos P, Naska A, Lagiou P, Boffetta P, Trichopoulos D; Greek EPIC cohort. Conformity to traditional Mediterranean diet and cancer incidence: the Greek EPIC cohort. Br J Cancer. 2008 Jul 8;99(1):191-5.
- Trichopoulou A, Orfanos P, Norat T, et al. Modified Mediterranean diet and survival: EPIC-elderly prospective cohort study. BMJ. 2005 Apr 30;330(7498):991. Epub 2005 Apr 8.
- Purslow LR, Sandhu MS, Forouhi N, et al. Energy intake at breakfast and weight change: prospective study of 6,764 middle-aged men and women. Am J Epidemiol. 2008 Jan 15;167(2):188-92. Epub 2007 Dec 12.
- Bamia C, Orfanos P, Ferrari P, et al. Dietary patterns among older Europeans: the EPIC-Elderly study. Br J Nutr. 2005 Jul;94(1):100-13.
- Schulze MB, Hoffmann K, Kroke A, Boeing H. Dietary patterns and their association with food and nutrient intake in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Potsdam study. Br J Nutr. 2001 Mar;85(3):363-73. Erratum in: Br J Nutr 2002 Mar;87(3):279.
- Slimani N & Margetts. Nutrient Intakes and Patterns in the EPIC cohorts from ten European countries. B. Eur J Clin Nutr 2009, Nov;63, S1-S274 (Also see EPIC website).
- Hermann S, Rohrmann S, Linseisen J. Lifestyle factors, obesity and the risk of colorectal adenomas in EPIC-Heidelberg. Cancer Causes Control. 2009 Oct;20(8):1397-408. Epub 2009 May 23.
- The role of diet on the longevity of elderly Europeans: EPIC-Elderly. A study in the context of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC).
Meat and vegetarian:
- Key TJ, Appleby PN, Spencer EA, Travis RC, Roddam AW, Allen NE. Mortality in British vegetarians: results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Oxford). Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 May;89(5):1613S-1619S. Epub 2009 Mar 18.
- Norat T, Bingham S, Ferrari P, et al. Meat, fish, and colorectal cancer risk: the European Prospective Investigation into cancer and nutrition. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2005 Jun 15;97(12):906-16.
- Batty GD & Gonder U, Worm N. Re: Meat, fish, and colorectal cancer risk: the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2005 Dec 7;97(23):1787; author reply 1788-9.
- Linseisen J, Kesse E, Slimani N, et al. Meat consumption in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohorts: results from 24-hour dietary recalls. Public Health Nutr. 2002 Dec;5(6B):1243-58.
- Key TJ, Appleby PN, Spencer EA, Travis RC, Allen NE, Thorogood M, Mann JI. Cancer incidence in British vegetarians. Br J Cancer. 2009 Jul 7;101(1):192-7. Epub 2009 Jun 16.
- Key TJ, Appleby PN, Spencer EA, Travis RC, Roddam AW, Allen NE. Cancer incidence in vegetarians: results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Oxford). Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 May;89(5):1620S-1626S. Epub 2009 Mar 11.
- Key TJ, Appleby PN, Rosell MS. Health effects of vegetarian and vegan diets. Proc Nutr Soc. 2006 Feb;65(1):35-41. Review.
- Welch AA, Shakya-Shrestha S, Lentjes MA, Wareham NJ, Khaw KT. Dietary intake and status of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in a population of fish-eating and non-fish-eating meat-eaters, vegetarians, and vegans and the product-precursor ratio of α-linolenic acid to long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids: results from the EPIC-Norfolk cohort. Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Nov;92(5):1040-51. Epub 2010 Sep 22. Erratum in: Am J Clin Nutr. 2011 Mar;93(3):676.
- Davey GK, Spencer EA, Appleby PN, Allen NE, Knox KH, Key TJ. EPIC-Oxford: lifestyle characteristics and nutrient intakes in a cohort of 33 883 meat-eaters and 31 546 non meat-eaters in the UK. Public Health Nutr. 2003 May;6(3):259-69.
- Crowe FL, Steur M, Allen NE, Appleby PN, Travis RC, Key TJ. Plasma concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in meat eaters, fish eaters, vegetarians and vegans: results from the EPIC-Oxford study. Public Health Nutr. 2011 Feb;14(2):340-6. Epub 2010 Sep 21.
- Appleby PN, Davey GK, Key TJ. Hypertension and blood pressure among meat eaters, fish eaters, vegetarians and vegans in EPIC-Oxford. Public Health Nutr. 2002 Oct;5(5):645-54.
- Spencer EA, Appleby PN, Davey GK, Key TJ. Diet and body mass index in 38000 EPIC-Oxford meat-eaters, fish-eaters, vegetarians and vegans. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2003 Jun;27(6):728-34.
- Rosell M, Appleby P, Spencer E, Key T. Weight gain over 5 years in 21,966 meat-eating, fish-eating, vegetarian, and vegan men and women in EPIC-Oxford. Int J Obes (Lond). 2006 Sep;30(9):1389-96. Epub 2006 Mar 14.
- Vergnaud AC, Norat T, Romaguera D, et al. Meat consumption and prospective weight change in participants of the EPIC-PANACEA study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Aug;92(2):398-407. Epub 2010 Jun 30.
- Paul Appleby. An EPIC undertaking: Lessons for vegetarians and vegans from the EPIC-Oxford study. September 2008.
Metabolic parameters:
- Pischon T, Boeing H, Hoffmann K, et al. General and abdominal adiposity and risk of death in Europe. N Engl J Med. 2008 Nov 13;359(20):2105-20. Erratum in: N Engl J Med. 2010 Jun 24;362(25):2433.
- Park JY, Mitrou PN, Keogh RH, Luben RN, Wareham NJ, Khaw KT. Self-reported and measured anthropometric data and risk of colorectal cancer in the EPIC-Norfolk study. Int J Obes (Lond). 2011 Mar 22.
- Crowe FL, Key TJ, Allen NE, et al. The association between diet and serum concentrations of IGF-I, IGFBP-1, IGFBP-2, and IGFBP-3 in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2009 May;18(5):1333-40.
- Rinaldi S, Cleveland R, Norat T, et al. Serum levels of IGF-I, IGFBP-3 and colorectal cancer risk: results from the EPIC cohort, plus a meta-analysis of prospective studies. Int J Cancer. 2010 Apr 1;126(7):1702-15.
- Rinaldi S, Rohrmann S, Jenab M, et al. Glycosylated hemoglobin and risk of colorectal cancer in men and women, the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2008 Nov;17(11):3108-15.
- Aleksandrova K, Jenab M, Boeing H, et al. Circulating C-reactive protein concentrations and risks of colon and rectal cancer: a nested case-control study within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. Am J Epidemiol. 2010 Aug 15;172(4):407-18.
- Park JY, Mitrou PN, Keen J, Dahm CC, Gay LJ, Luben RN, McTaggart A, Khaw KT, Ball RY, Arends MJ, Rodwell SA. Lifestyle factors and p53 mutation patterns in colorectal cancer patients in the EPIC-Norfolk study. Mutagenesis. 2010 Jul;25(4):351-8. Epub 2010 Mar 12.
Dietary patterns:
- Kesse E, Clavel-Chapelon F, Boutron-Ruault MC. Dietary patterns and risk of colorectal tumors: a cohort of French women of the National Education System (E3N). Am J Epidemiol. 2006 Dec 1;164(11):1085-93. Epub 2006 Sep 21.
- Boffetta P, Couto E, Wichmann J, et al. Fruit and vegetable intake and overall cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). J Natl Cancer Inst. 2010 Apr 21;102(8):529-37. Epub 2010 Apr 6.
- van Duijnhoven FJ, Bueno-De-Mesquita HB, Ferrari P, et al. Fruit, vegetables, and colorectal cancer risk: the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 May;89(5):1441-52.
- Smith-Warner SA, Spiegelman D, Adami HO, et al. Types of dietary fat and breast cancer: a pooled analysis of cohort studies. Int J Cancer. 2001 Jun 1;92(5):767-74.
- Thiébaut AC, Clavel-Chapelon F. [Fat consumption and breast cancer: preliminary results from the E3N-Epic cohort]. Bull Cancer. 2001 Oct;88(10):954-8. French.
- Linseisen J, Welch AA, Ocké M, et al. Dietary fat intake in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition: results from the 24-h dietary recalls. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2009 Nov;63 Suppl 4:S61-80.
- Linseisen J, Bergström E, Gafá L, et al. Consumption of added fats and oils in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) centres across 10 European countries as assessed by 24-hour dietary recalls. Public Health Nutr. 2002.
- Pala V, Sieri S, Masala G, et al. Associations between dietary pattern and lifestyle, anthropometry and other health indicators in the elderly participants of the EPIC-Italy cohort. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2006 Apr;16(3):186-201. Epub 2006 Feb 17.
- Kesse E, Boutron-Ruault MC, Norat T, Riboli E, Clavel-Chapelon F; E3N Group. Dietary calcium, phosphorus, vitamin D, dairy products and the risk of colorectal adenoma and cancer among French women of the E3N-EPIC prospective study. Int J Cancer. 2005 Oct 20;117(1):137-44.
All publications: