Globally, stomach cancer is one of the five most common types of cancer. Previously, small studies were conducted in Asia that linked the risk of developing this disease to excessive consumption of table salt. However, systematic scientific work has not yet been carried out to identify this connection.
Some researchers are inclined to believe that large amounts of salt destroy the gastric mucosa. This supposedly makes it more susceptible to colonization by the bacteria Helicobacter pylori, which is a well-known risk factor for stomach cancer.
Scientists from the Medical University of Vienna spent study based on the UK biological bank. This is a large database that contains the biological and medical indicators of 471 thousand volunteers who agreed to share information for use in various studies.
The average age of the participants was 56 years. They had to answer the question about whether salt is added during meals. That is, in addition to the one that is added to the dish during cooking. Answers ranged from “never” to “always.” The researchers also collected data on the participants’ presence of stomach cancer, Helicobacter pylori infection and concomitant diseases.
The studied data set included 640 cases of stomach cancer. And scientists were able to calculate that those people who always added salt at the table had a 41 percent higher risk of developing this disease than those who never added salt to their food or did so rarely.
The authors of the work still emphasize that, despite the large sample, the number of cases of stomach cancer in it is not high enough to strictly adhere to the derived percentage. Also, the technique does not allow taking into account other dietary features of a particular study participant and other risk factors.
However, even taking into account the margin of error, the study shows that there is still a link between increased salt intake and an increased risk of stomach cancer.
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