Adherence to healthy dietary patterns and risk of premature aging in adult survivors of childhood cancer in the St. Jude Lifetime Cohort Study

ABSTRACT Background Adult survivors of childhood cancer are at higher risk of premature aging compared to their cancer‐free peers due to the cancer and its treatments. However, little is known about the effect of adherence to healthy dietary patterns on aging in childhood cancer survivors. Methods A cross‐sectional analysis was conducted of 3322 participants (mean age, 30.5 years; standard deviation [SD], 8.4) from the St. Jude Lifetime Cohort Study. Diet was measured by a food frequency questionnaire and used to assess the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)‐2015 and alternate Mediterranean diet (aMED) scores. Premature aging was assessed by the deficit accumulation index and categorized into low, medium, and high risk. Multinomial logistic regressions adjusting for confounders were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervlas (CIs). Results The mean (SD) HEI‐2015 score was 60.0 (10.9) of 100, and the aMED score was 4.2 (2.0) of 9. Twenty percent and 8% of survivors were in the medium and high deficit accumulation index categories, respectively. Higher adherence to HEI‐2015 (OR high vs. low = 0.80; 95% CI, 0.69–0.93 per 10‐point increment) and aMED (OR high vs. low = 0.91; 95% CI, 0.84–0.98 per 1‐point increment) were associated with a lower risk of premature aging. The associations remained consistent among survivors who received radiation or chemotherapy. Conclusion Adherence to a healthy diet may contribute to reducing the premature aging risk in adult survivors of childhood cancer. Interventions that support healthy eating in this population could potentially have benefits for long‐term health outcomes.