DIETARY HABITS AND GEOGRAPHIC-VARIATION IN STOMACH-CANCER MORTALITY IN SPAIN

Following examination of the geographical pattern of stomach cancer in cidence in Spain, the possible relationship between diet and stomach c ancer has been assessed using an ecological model which looks into the relationship between the consumption of different foods and the nutri ent intake in each of the 50 Spanish provinces during the period 1964- 65, and the mortality rate for stomach cancer in these same 50 provinc es during a period 20 years later (1984-86), The geographical pattern of stomach cancer mortality has been arrived at using the standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) calculated for each province, The per capita consumption of foods was obtained from the National Institute for Stat istics and the calculation of nutrient intake was based on tables of n utritional composition, The results have been obtained using the stati stical techniques of linear and Poisson regression, Stomach cancer mor tality in Spain exhibits a stable and well-defined pattern, with less risk being apparent in the Mediterranean coastal provinces, The variab ility in the geographical distribution of stomach cancer mortality can , in large part (76%), be explained by the variation in the types of f oods consumed between provinces, and this figure rises to 82% when one considers other socio-economic variables, A significant inverse assoc iation has been found between gastric cancer mortality and consumption of vegetables, fruits and vegetable oil as well as with vegetative gr owth and population density, From the multiple regression analysis, wh ich considered both nutritional and socioeconomic variables, the stron gest inverse association with stomach cancer mortality was found in th e consumption of green vegetables, The estimated relative risk (RR) of dying, for an increase in consumption of vegetables of 100 g per capi ta per day is 0.72, (95% CI:0.53-0.91). These results are consistent w ith those of similar studies elsewhere.