Consumption of plant foods and stomach cancer mortality in the seven countries study. Is grain consumption a risk factor?

Plant foods are generally considered to be beneficial for health. A higher consumption of fruits, and to a lesser extent vegetables, is consistently a ssociated with a lower risk of stomach cancer. Results on the association b etween stomach cancer and grain consumption are less clear. We associated p lant food consumption with 25-year stomach cancer mortality, at population level in the Seven Countries Study? Around 1960, >12,000 men aged 40-59 yea rs from 7 countries and 16 cohorts were enrolled. In each cohort, dietary i nformation was collected in small random samples. Crude and adjusted associ ations were calculated for a change of 10% of mean intake. Results differed for the plant foods studied: an inverse association was observed for fruit s (adjusted rare ratio = 0.96 95% confidence interval = 0.91-0.99), a posit ive relation for refined grains (adjusted rare ratio = 1.07, 95% confidence interval = 1.03-1.12), and no association for total plant foods, vegetable s, whole grains, and potatoes. A high intake of refined grains was correlat ed with a low consumption of fruits. In conclusion, high intake of refined grains may increase stomach cancer risk. However, because adjustment could only be limited in this study high intake of refined grains may just reflec t the deleterious effect of a diet low in fruits or other characteristics a ssociated with low fruit consumption.