Mediterranean diet slashes gastric cancer risk by 29%, shows study

Findings from a recent study published in Frontiers in Nutrition, demonstrate that high adherence to the Mediterranean diet is associated with a 29% reduced risk of gastric cancer. According to the latest estimates released by GLOBOCAN, in 2020, gastric cancer remains the fifth most commonly diagnosed cancer and the fourth leading cause of cancer-related mortality globally, with >1 million new cases and an estimated 769,000 deaths.

Despite growing evidence for the association of adherence to the Mediterranean diet with gastric cancer risk, the results remain inconclusive. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to summarize the evidence from previous observational studies and assess the potential association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and risk of gastric cancer using a dose–response meta-analysis.

A comprehensive literature search for all observational studies published up to June 30, 2023, was conducted using the databases of PubMed, ISI Web of Science, EBSCO, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Wanfang Data.

Overall, 11 studies with a total number of 1,366,318 participants were included in the final analysis. Combining 14 effect sizes from 11 studies revealed that compared with the lowest category, the highest adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with a 29% reduction in the risk of gastric cancer.

Reference: Front. Nutr., 08 September 2023 Sec. Clinical Nutrition

Volume 10 - 2023 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2023.1259453