Low cholesterol is an independent risk factor for developing gastric cancer

This study was published in the International Journal of Cancer 2008 Feb 15;122(4):909-14

 

Study title and authors:

Impact of serum total cholesterol on the incidence of gastric cancer in a population-based prospective study: the Hisayama study.

Asano K, Kubo M, Yonemoto K, Doi Y, Ninomiya T, Tanizaki Y, Arima H, Shirota T, Matsumoto T, Iida M, Kiyohara Y.

Department of Environmental Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan. k-asano@intmed2.med.kyushu-u.ac.jp

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17957783

This study examined the association between cholesterol levels and the incidence of gastric cancer. The study included 2,604 subjects aged 40 years or older were followed for 14 years.

The study found:
(a) Men with the lowest cholesterol (under 4.42 mmol/L or 171 mg/dL) had a 78% increased risk of developing gastric cancer compared with men with the highest cholesterol (over 5.77 mmol/L or 223 mg/dL).
(b) Women with the lowest cholesterol (under 4.78 mmol/L or 184 mg/dL) had a 68% increased risk of developing gastric cancer compared with women with the highest cholesterol (over 6.26 mmol/L or 242 mg/dL).

The findings of the study suggest that low cholesterol is an independent risk factor for developing gastric cancer.