Food and Digestive Cancer
Co-Creator | Data Visualization | 2020
Client: Data Science Master's Project
Languages used: R, Github, D3.js
Overview
In 2020, my classmate and I did an exploratory data analysis and visualization project using SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results) datasets on digestive cancer mortality and incidence and a USDA dataset on the average daily per capita calorie intake of various minor and major food groups. We sought out to find which foods correlated or did not correlate with digestive cancer incidence and mortality.
Results
We saw that overall caloric intake is associated with digestive cancer, both of which have been decreasing as a whole from 2000. In terms of major food groups, we found that all of them except for proteins and fats correlated with increased digestive cancer rates. However, this finding is most likely due to all the food groups also correlated with total caloric intake as well. Additionally, each food group consisted of one or two foods which both consisted of a large portion of its caloric content and was associated with digestive cancer.
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In terms of specific foods, there were several expected and unexpected correlations that we uncovered. Beef, milk, ice cream, and high fructose corn syrup are all well-documented culprits for digestive cancer, while foods like head lettuce, potatoes, and orange juice were unlikely correlates of cancer incidence/mortality. High fiber foods like avocados, hominy, peanuts, and sweet potatoes trended upwards as digestive cancer trended downwards. These types of foods are known to promote gut health and are thought to be protective against several forms of cancer. However, we also found that butter and mozzarella were negatively associated, despite our pre-existing notions of dairy products.
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