Abstract
Gastric cancer is an important public health problem in the world and Turkey. In addition to Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), smoking, alcohol consumption and family history, certain dietary factors have been associated with its occurrence. The impact of dietary habits and life-style factors on the risk of gastric cancer in Turkey were evaluated in this study. A questionnaire was applied to 106 patients with gastric adenocarcinoma and 106 controls without cancer matched for age (range 28-85 years) and gender selected from a hospital based population. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated with logistic regression analysis. The incidence of H. pylori was 81.3% in patients. Frequent consumption of salty dishes, very salty foods like pickles, soup mixes, sausages, foods at hot temperature (ORs=3.686, 7.784, 5.264, 3.148 and 3.273 respectively) and adding salt without tasting (OR=4.198) were associated with increased gastric risk. Also heavy smoking and high amount of alcohol consumption (p=0.000) were risk factors. Frequent consumption of green vegetables, onion, garlic and dried fruits (ORs=0.569, 0.092, 0.795 and 0.041) was non- significantly associated with decreased risk. Improved dietary habits, reducing salt consumption and eradication of H. pylori infection may provide protection against gastric cancer in Turkey.
Highlights
Epidemiological and etiological data suggest that H. pylori infection, heavy smoking, alcohol consumption, dietary habits and genetics play important roles in gastric carcinogenesis (Ramon et al, 1993; Chan et al, 2003; Fei & Xao 2006; Fock et al, 2008)
Design: A questionnaire was applied to 106 patients with gastric adenocarcinoma and 106 controls without cancer matched for age and gender selected from a hospital based population
Gastric cancer is more common in men than in women (Axon, 2002; Ito et al, 2003; Yalcin, 2009b)
Summary
Epidemiological and etiological data suggest that H. pylori infection, heavy smoking, alcohol consumption, dietary habits and genetics play important roles in gastric carcinogenesis (Ramon et al, 1993; Chan et al, 2003; Fei & Xao 2006; Fock et al, 2008). H. pylori has been classified as group 1 carcinogen by International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in 1994 (IARC Working Group, 1994). H. pylori infection causes progressive gastric lesions leading to chronic gastritis, gastric atrophy, intestinal metaplasia, dysplasia and eventually gastric adenocarcinoma (Crew, 2006; McColl, 2006). Genetic factors may play an important role in the pathogenesis of gastric cancer (Kelly & Duggan, 2003). Gastric cancer risk has been reported to be 2-3 times higher in individuals with first degree relatives diagnosed with gastric cancer (Kelly & Duggan, 2003)
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