Is Dietary Pattern Associated with Gastric Cancer Risk? A Case-control Study in Iran

Diet is considered as an important contributor to the development of the cancers. In the present study, the association of dietary patterns with gastric cancer risk was studied.

In the present case-control study, 192 newly diagnosed gastric cancer patients and 365 subjects as control group were included. The participants in each group underwent face-to-face interview. For food pattern determination, a 100-item qualitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and exploratory factor analysis method were used. Logistic regression was used for determination of association between derived dietary patterns and gastric cancer risk.

Four major dietary patterns with 55.48% prediction rate, namely “tubers and spices”, “cereals and dairies”, “healthy” and “Western-style”, were identified. Tubers and spices [in males: 11.42 (4.17, 26.75); in females: 6.94 (2.24, 21.56)] and “Western-style” dietary patterns [ in males: 1.16 (1.00-4.35); in females: 2.25 (1.10, 6.49] significantly increased the odds of gastric cancer risk in both sex. However, “healthy” dietary pattern and “cereals and dairies” dietary pattern were not associated with gastric cancer risk (P>0.05). 

In Iranian population, consumption of diets high in tubers, spices and salts (labelled tubers and spices), processed meat, high energy drinks, snacks and desserts (labelled western-style) tended to increase the risk of gastric cancer. More longitudinal studies with large sample size and accurate estimate of dietary intake is suggested until more precise conclusion could be achieved.