Tier 4 — mechanistic

Choline and betaine intake and colorectal cancer risk in Chinese population: a case-control study

Min-Shan Lu, Yu-Jing Fang, Zhi-Zhong Pan, Xiao Zhong, Mei-Chun Zheng, Yu-Ming Chen, Cai-Xia Zhang
PloS one 2015 10(3):e0118661

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 25785727
PubMed Central
PMC4364675
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0118661
Funding
Reported funding/support: This study was jointly supported by the Sun Yat-sen University Hundred Talents Program (51000-3181301) and Danone Nutrition Research and Education Foundation (No: DIC2011-03). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing interests
Reported disclosure: Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Study snapshot

DesignCase-control study
ModelHuman participants
Sample890 colorectal-cancer cases and 890 controls
InterventionHabitual dietary choline and/or betaine intake; no randomized TMG treatment
Duration2010-2013 recruitment
EndpointsColorectal-cancer odds

What the study showed, in plain terms

Published in 2015, this source examined human observational and biomarker research. Design: Case-control study. Sample/model: 890 colorectal-cancer cases and 890 controls. The exposure or intervention was Habitual dietary choline and/or betaine intake; no randomized TMG treatment. Follow-up or treatment period: 2010-2013 recruitment.

Betaine intake was not significantly associated with colorectal-cancer odds; some choline measures showed inverse associations.

Observational exposure analysis: residual confounding and reverse causation remain possible. Associations do not establish that betaine supplementation causes the same outcome. Diet recall, case selection or illness-related metabolite changes may introduce bias.

Continue with TMG Data Center

Continue with TMG Supplement: Trimethylglycine Benefits, Uses and Evidence

Key findings

  • Betaine intake was not significantly associated with colorectal-cancer odds; some choline measures showed inverse associations.
  • The recorded outcome domains were Colorectal-cancer odds.
  • The exposure was observed rather than assigned as an isolated supplement treatment.

What this study can and cannot tell us

  • Observational exposure analysis: residual confounding and reverse causation remain possible. Associations do not establish that betaine supplementation causes the same outcome. Diet recall, case selection or illness-related metabolite changes may introduce bias.
  • Confounding, dietary patterns, illness, medication use and reverse causation can influence an association. Blood or dietary concentrations do not identify the effect of starting a capsule.
  • Source basis: Accessible full-text extract plus indexed bibliographic data. Missing method details, funding information or participant denominators are not inferred.

Related papers in the corpus

Tier 4
Association of choline and betaine levels with cancer incidence and survival: A meta-analysis
Jiyoung Youn et al. · Clinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland) · 2019
Tier 4
Choline and betaine consumption lowers cancer risk: a meta-analysis of epidemiologic studies
Shanwen Sun et al. · Scientific reports · 2016
Tier 4
The association between dietary intakes of methionine, choline and betaine and breast cancer risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Heleen Van Puyvelde et al. · Cancer epidemiology · 2023
Tier 4
Dietary Choline and Betaine and Risk of CVD: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Prospective Studies
Katie A Meyer et al. · Nutrients · 2017
Tier 4
Dietary Choline and Betaine Are Not Associated With the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes. A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies
Elham Sharifi-Zahabi et al. · Journal of diabetes research · 2026
Tier 4
Association of choline and betaine with the risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality: Meta-analysis
Qinglin Yang et al. · European journal of clinical investigation · 2023

Editorial review

Reviewed by the Biohack Blueprint research team

Last verified

Dr. Khaled Mahmoud, MBBChCritical Care Medicine, Longevity Science & Editorial Direction Dr. Amr Yasser, PhDCardiometabolic, Musculoskeletal, Gut & Bioavailability Dr. Abdulla Mostafa, PhDCellular Senescence, Neurological, Mitochondrial & Brain-Ageing Biology