Abstract

The present study was conducted to evaluate the food and nutrients intakes of stomach cancer patients in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk areas in order to find out the dietary risk factors for stomach cancer. The subjects of the study were 102 patients who had recently been diagnosed with stomach cancer at the Gyeongbuk National University Hospital. The control subjects were 105 people including patients from the Department of Orthopedic Surgery and healthy volunteers who did not have any gastrointestinal diseases. Estimates of nutrients intakes were determined from the food intake frequency data obtained by individual interviews using questionnaires. The mean daily calorie intakes of the control and the case groups were not significantly different. However the energy intake from protein was significantly higher in the case group as compared to the control group. With regard to the nutrients intakes, the case subjects consumed significantly higher amounts of nutrients such as protein, calcium, sodium, phosphorus and niacin than the control group. The case group showed a tendency to consume higher amount of protein, fat, calcium and iron from animal food sources. In the present study dietary factors which were suspected as being risk factors for stomach cancer included high consumption of animal foods, specific nutrients such as protein, sodium and niacin, specific food groups such as meat, spices, and low consumption of fruits and mushrooms. Therefore, it is recommended that more extensive and systematic surveys be conducted to confirm the risk factors for stomach cancer, taking into consideration the dietary cultural characteristics of this region.

• Keywords: stomach cancer; dietary risk factor; nutrient intake