Association between Habitual Dietary Salt Intake and Risk of Gastric Cancer : A Systematic Review of Observational Studies

Purpose. Systematic reviews of case-control and prospective studies showed a positive association between habitual salt intake and gastric cancer. Given new studies published thereafter, we carried out a meta-analysis to assess the association between dietary salt intake and gastric cancer. Methods. Case-control studies and cohort studies published between January 1992 and January 2012 on PubMed and Embase were searched. We quantified associations between salt intake and gastric cancer with meta-analysis. Results. Eleven studies (7 case controls and 4 cohorts) finally were included in the meta-analysis (total population: n=2076498; events: n=12039). The combined odds ratio showed significantly positive association between high salt intake and gastric cancer compared with low salt intake (OR = 2.05, 95% CI [1.60, 2.62]; P