The Study
Salt processed food and gastric cancer in a Chinese population.
This study is like noticing that people who eat more salty foods tend to get more stomach cancer, but it can't prove the salty foods actually cause the cancer. It's like seeing that people with umbrellas are often wet - the umbrellas didn't cause the rain, they're just associated with rainy weather.
Analysis score
Maximum 58 for a case-control study.
Where the score came from
Eating lots of salty preserved foods increases stomach cancer risk, while fresh veggies protect against it.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 553 / 100
Quality score
Researchers compare people who have a condition (cases) with similar people who do not (controls), looking back in time for differences in exposure. Useful but more prone to bias.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes, risk changes are large and significant for human health.
- 2Salted meat: 6x risk; pickled veggies: 3x risk; preserved veggies: 6x risk; very salty preference: 36x risk; fresh veggies: 72% lower risk.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP
Year
2014
Authors
Sihao Lin, Yuanhang Li, Kayee Leung, Cheng-Yu Huang, Xiao-rong Wang
Related Content
Claims (5)
Eating a lot of salty preserved foods can hurt your stomach lining and cause long-term swelling, making you more likely to get stomach cancer after many years.
Eating a lot of pickled veggies (more than a half-pound per week) might triple the risk of stomach cancer in Chinese adults from certain areas, even when considering how much fresh fruits and veggies they eat.
If Chinese adults like eating very salty food, they might have a much higher chance of getting stomach cancer, and the saltier they like it, the bigger the risk.
Eating more than a small amount of pickled veggies each week might make Chinese adults over 6 times more likely to get stomach cancer, and the more you eat, the higher the risk.
Eating more than 100 grams of salted meat each week might make Chinese adults between 40 and 75 years old almost six times more likely to get stomach cancer, even after considering other factors like smoking or diet.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.