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Updated: May 3, 2026

Development of Compendium for Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Published on: April 12, 2024
Dinner-to-bed time and post-dinner walk: new potential independent factors in esophageal cancer development
Qingxu Song1, Hong Liu, Jianbo Wang
1Department of Radiation Oncology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, 107 West Wenhua Road, Jinan, 250012, People's Republic of China.
Purpose:
Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of shorter dinner-to-bed time and post-dinner walk on ESCC risk.
Methods:
A matched case-control study with 232 ESCC patients and 286 age- and gender-matched healthy controls enrolled was conducted. Conditional logistic regression was used to calculated odds ratio (OR) and 95 % confidence intervals (95 % CI).
Results:
The adjusted ORs of ESCC for subjects with shorter dinner-to-bed time (<3 h) were 2.84 (95 % CI 1.64-4.29), relative to those with longer dinner-to-bed time (≥4 h). While post-dinner walk was associated with a decreased ESCC risk (adjusted OR 0.64; 95 % CI 0.41-0.89). What's more, when reflux symptom was added into the multivariate models, risk estimate for shorter dinner-to-bed time still remained statistically significant (p = 0.003), and risk estimate for post-dinner walk changed slightly. In the subgroup analysis stratified by post-dinner walk, subjects with shorter dinner-to-bed time experienced similar risk (adjusted ORs 2.71 vs. 2.82).
Conclusions:
Shorter dinner-to-bed time is a potential risk factor for ESCC and post-dinner walk is a protective factor, providing evidence for the effect of lifestyle factors on ESCC risk.
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