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Author Spotlight: Advancing Early Detection and Treatment of Gastrointestinal Tumors
Published on: February 16, 2024
Dietary Factors and Gastric Intestinal Metaplasia Risk Among US Veterans
Mimi C Tan1, Niharika Mallepally2, Quynh Ho3,4
1Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Baylor College of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, MS: BCM 285, Houston, TX, 77030-3498, USA. mc2@bcm.edu.
Background:
Studies on diet and gastric intestinal metaplasia (GIM) risk are lacking in US populations.
Aim:
To determine the associations of dietary factors and risk of GIM among a US population with typical American diet.
Methods:
We analyzed data from a cross-sectional study of veterans attending primary care and endoscopy clinics at the Houston VA Medical Center. Patients completed a 110-item Block Food Frequency Questionnaire then underwent upper endoscopy with gastric mapping biopsies. We compared cases defined by GIM on ≥ 1 non-cardia gastric biopsy to controls without GIM. Associations of dietary factors and GIM were estimated using logistic regression models as odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).
Results:
Among 423 GIM cases and 1796 controls, cases were older (62.1 vs. 59.9 years) and more likely to be male (97.2% vs. 90.8%) and non-White (58.6% vs. 39.0%). GIM cases had lower fat intake (percent kcal from fat tertile 1: 43.6% vs. 33.4%) and higher carbohydrate intake (percent kcal from carbohydrate T3: 41.8% vs. 33.3%) than controls. Adjusting for age, gender, race, smoking, and Helicobacter pylori, percent kcal from carbohydrates (T3 vs. T1: OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.08-1.67), fruit intake (T3 vs. T1: OR 1.28, 95% CI 1.02-1.61), and fiber intake (T3 vs. T1: OR 1.37, 95% CI 1.04-1.80) were associated with GIM. In subgroup analyses, these associations were primarily seen in non-White patients.
Conclusions:
Few dietary factors, including high carbohydrate intake, are associated with increased risk of GIM in US populations, independent of H. pylori or smoking.
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