This review article contains a concise consideration of genetic and environmental risk factors for colorectal cancer. Known risk factors associated with colorectal cancer include familial and hereditary factors and lifestyle-related and ecological factors. Lifestyle factors are significant because of the potential for improving our understanding of the disease. Physical inactivity, obesity, smoking and alcohol consumption can also be addressed through therapeutic interventions. We also made efforts to systematize available literature and data on epidemiology, diagnosis, type and nature of symptoms and disease stages. Further study of colorectal cancer and progress made globally is crucial to inform future strategies in controlling the disease’s burden through population-based preventative initiatives.

The food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and the food record (FR) are among the most common methods used in dietary research. It is important to know that is it possible to use both methods simultaneously in dietary assessment and prepare a single, comprehensive interpretation. The aim of this study was to compare the energy and nutritional value of diets, determined by the FFQ and by the three-day food records of young women. The study involved 84 female students aged 21–26 years (mean of 22.2 ± 0.8 years). Completing the FFQ was preceded by obtaining unweighted food records covering three consecutive days. Energy and nutritional value of diets was assessed for both methods (FFQ-crude, FR-crude). Data obtained for FFQ-crude were adjusted with beta-coefficient equaling 0.5915 (FFQ-adjusted) and regression analysis (FFQ-regressive). The FFQ-adjusted was calculated as FR-crude/FFQ-crude ratio of mean daily energy intake. FFQ-regressive was calculated for energy and each nutrient separately using regression equation, including FFQ-crude and FR-crude as covariates. For FR-crude and FFQ-crude the energy value of diets was standardized to 2000 kcal (FR-standardized, FFQ-standardized). Methods of statistical comparison included a dependent samples t-test, a chi-square test, and the Bland-Altman method. The mean energy intake in FFQ-crude was significantly higher than FR-crude (2740.5 kcal vs. 1621.0 kcal, respectively). For FR-standardized and FFQ-standardized, significance differences were found in the mean intake of 18 out of 31 nutrients, for FR-crude and FFQ-adjusted in 13 out of 31 nutrients and FR-crude and FFQ-regressive in 11 out of 31 nutrients. The Bland-Altman method showed an overestimation of energy and nutrient intake by FFQ-crude in comparison to FR-crude, e.g., total protein was overestimated by 34.7 g/day (95% Confidence Interval, CI: −29.6, 99.0 g/day) and fat by 48.6 g/day (95% CI: −36.4, 133.6 g/day). After regressive transformation of FFQ, the absolute difference between FFQ-regressive and FR-crude equaled 0.0 g/day and 95% CI were much better (e.g., for total protein 95% CI: −32.7, 32.7 g/day, for fat 95% CI: −49.6, 49.6 g/day). In conclusion, differences in nutritional value of diets resulted from overestimating energy intake by the FFQ in comparison to the three-day unweighted food records. Adjustment of energy and nutrient intake applied for the FFQ using various methods, particularly regression equations, significantly improved the agreement between results obtained by both methods and dietary assessment. To obtain the most accurate results in future studies using this FFQ, energy and nutrient intake should be adjusted by the regression equations presented in this paper.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the test–retest reproducibility of a non-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (acronym: 62-item FFQ-6) and the possibility of identifying dietary patterns (DPs) in 13–21-year-old females. The study involved 97 females within three age groups: 13–15, 16–18, and 19–21 years, including 31, 38, and 28 subjects, respectively. The questionnaire was completed twice with a two-week interval (test and retest). For the total sample, using a principal component analysis (PCA), two similar PCA-driven DPs (DP1 and DP2) were identified separately from test data and retest data, considering two sets of input variables. 60-item-DP1 and 60-item-DP2 were identified after excluding two items—vegetables and fruits in general—due to including single items of various kinds of vegetables and fruits. After an aggregation of some items of the questionnaire, 25-item-DP1 and 25-item-DP2 were identified. The kappa statistic (test vs. retest) in the total sample averaged at 0.52 (0.32–0.72 for food items), while within age groups, it averaged at 0.41, 0.53, and 0.65, respectively. The percentage of subjects classified into the same food frequency category (test vs. retest) in the total sample averaged at 68% (51%–89% for food items), while within age groups, it averaged at 60%, 68%, and 77%, respectively. The Spearman correlations between dietary pattern scores (test vs. retest) in the total sample were: 0.84 (within age groups 0.83, 0.81, and 0.78, respectively) for 60-item-DP1, 0.68 (within age groups 0.24, 0.79, and 0.76, respectively) for 60-item-DP2, 0.76 (within age groups 0.56, 0.82, and 0.89, respectively) for 25-item-DP1, and 0.48 (within age groups 0.40, 0.57, and 0.53, respectively) for 25-item-DP2 (p < 0.05 for all). In conclusion, the test–retest reproducibility of the 62-item FFQ-6 was good or very good for most food items, with a tendency to be higher in older age groups of females under study. Due to the acceptable-to-good reproducibility of dietary pattern identification, the use of a 62-item FFQ-6 to describe the overall diet of young Polish females can be recommended.

The objective of the study was to analyze the consumption of dairy products and dietary calcium by women in the context of bone mineral density and to assess opportunities to prevent osteoporosis in a dietary manner. The study was carried out with 712 Polish women. In 170 women aged 32 to 59 bone mineral density (BMD) was measured. The data on the consumption of dairy products and dietary calcium and some other osteoporosis risk factors was collected from 712 women. The average calcium intake from a diet was 507 mg/day. Only 2% of the women met Polish calcium intake recommendations. During adulthood, dairy product consumption or dietary calcium intake did not differ significantly between women with low BMD (below −1 SD) and women with regular BMD (≥−1 SD) (47.4 vs. 44.3 servings/week and 459 vs. 510 mg/day, respectively, p > 0.05). The odds ratios adjusted for age, menstruation and BMI in women with upper BMD tercile in comparison to the reference group (bottom tercile) was 2.73 (95% CI: 1.14, 6.55; p < 0.05) for the daily consumption of dairy products during the pre-school period and 2.40 (95% CI: 1.01, 5.70; p < 0.05) for the daily consumption of dairy products during the school period. Two clusters of women were established. In the S1 cluster, low BMD (below −1 SD) was associated with older age (≥50 years), lack of menstrual cycle. In the S2 cluster, regular BMD (≥−1 SD) was related to younger aged women (<50 years), presence of menstrual cycle, consumption of higher level of dairy products (≥28 servings/week) during adulthood and daily intake of dairy products during childhood and adolescence. The results indicate that good bone health to the large extent depended upon the combined impact of dietary factors and some non-modifiable risk factors of osteoporosis such as age and the presence of menstruation. Consumption of dairy products in childhood and adolescence may improve bone mineral density and reduce the risk of osteoporosis in adult women.

The role of the family environment in regards to dairy products and dietary calcium in the context of obesity is not fully understood. The aim of the study was to investigate the association among dairy-related dietary patterns (DDPs), dietary calcium, body weight and composition in mothers and daughters. Data were collected through a cross-sectional survey within the MODAF Project. A total sample of 712 pairs of mothers ( 1 standard deviation (SD), WC > 80 cm, body fat > 32%, WHtR > 0.5, BMI = 25–29.9 kg/m² or BMI ≥ 30 kg/m² by 44–67% when compared to low-dairy low-calcium DDP (288 mg/day). In mothers per 100 mg/day of dietary calcium, the chance of z-WC > 1SD, WC > 80 cm, z-WHtR > 1SD, WHtR > 0.5 cm, BMI = 25 to 29.9 kg/m² or BMI ≥ 30 kg/m² decreased by 5–9%. In correspondence analysis, a clear association was found between mothers’ and daughters’ low-dairy low-calcium DDPs and upper categories of z-WC (>1 SDs). This study reinforces evidence of the similarity between mothers and daughters in dairy-related dietary patterns and provides a new insight on the adverse relation between low-dairy low-calcium dietary patterns and obesity. It was found that diets containing various dairy products with suboptimal dietary calcium content may be recommended in obesity prevention.

The aim of this study was to demonstrate similarities and differences between mothers and daughters regarding dietary and non-dietary risk factors for bone fractures and osteoporosis. The study was carried out in 2007–2010 on 712 mothers (29–59 years) and daughters (12–21 years) family pairs. In the sub-sample (170 family pairs) bone mineral density (BMD) was measured for the forearm by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). The consumption of dairy products was determined with a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (ADOS-Ca) and calcium intake from the daily diet was calculated. The presence of risk factors for bone fractures in mothers and daughters was significantly correlated. The Spearman rank coefficient for dietary factors of fracture risk was 0.87 (P0.05) in upper tercile of BMD and for non-dietary factors of fracture risk was 0.83 (P<0.05) in whole sub-sample, 0.86 (P<0.05) in bottom tercile of BMD, 0.93 (P<0.05) in middle tercile of BMD, 0.65 (P<0.05) in upper tercile of BMD. Our results confirm the role of the family environment for bone health and document the stronger effect of negative factors of the family environment as compared to other positive factors on bone fracture risk.