Dietary patterns and gastric cancer risk in Mexico

Multiple epidemiological studies have evaluated the relationship between diet and gastric cancer (GC), focusing on individual foods and nutrients. However, some studies have estimated the association between dietary patterns and GC risk. To identify the dietary patterns of residents of Mexico City and to assess the association of these patterns with GC, a population-based case-control study with 248 histologically confirmed GC cases and 478 controls paired by age and sex was carried out. The dietary patterns were characterized from 22 food groups through factorial analysis. Three major dietary patterns were identified. Pattern 1 was characterized by the consumption of vegetables, fruits, and white meat; subjects in the highest quintile of this pattern had a lower GC risk than those in the lowest quintile [odds ratio (OR(Q5 vs. Q1)) = 0.43; 95% confidence interval (95%CI): 0.24-0.77; P trend = 0.010]. A comparison between the extreme quintiles of the third pattern (which included major consumption of refined grains and desserts), resulted in the following: OR(Q5 vs. Q1) = 4.80; 95%CI: 2.56-8.98; P-trend < 0.001). Additionally, we found no significant association between the second pattern (characterized by high consumption of Mexican food) and GC risk. This is the first study of associations between dietary patterns and GC in Mexico to confirm that GC risk is lower in individuals with healthy dietary patterns.