Stomach cancer and food storage

To examine the influence of food storage habits on the development of stomach cancer, we compared 95 patients and 190 controls selected from the general population. Information about food storage and diet was obtained from the patients and the controls by use of a questionnaire mailed to each subject followed by an interview. Low intake of salad vegetables and fruit and high intake of salt were clearly associated with stomach cancer development. No association was found with recent refrigerator use, but a halving of stomach cancer risk in subjects who had used a refrigerator for greater than or equal to 29 years persisted after allowance was made for recent diet. Risk was elevated in subjects who, when children, had lived in houses without a larder built specifically for the storage of food.