Association between salt intake and gastric atrophy by Helicobacter pylori infection: first results from the Epidemiological Investigation of Gastric Malignancy (ENIGMA)

Purpose Gastric atrophy (GA), usually linked to chronic infection with Helicobacter pylori ( H. pylori ), may over time evolve into gastric malignancy. Besides H. pylori , high salt intake may play a role in GA development. This study evaluates cross sectionally the association between salt intake and GA in Chilean adults. Methods Population-based samples were recruited from two sites, Antofagasta and Valdivia, partaking in the Epidemiological Investigation of Gastric Malignancies. At recruitment, participants answered questionnaires and provided biospecimens. Salt intake (g/day) was estimated from casual spot urine samples using the Tanaka equation. GA was determined by serum pepsinogen levels. Only participants ≥ 40 to 70 years of age were considered in this analysis, n = 565. For the association between salt intake (as sex-specific quartiles) and GA, odds ratios (ORs) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated through multivariable logistic regression. Results In women, the multivariable-adjusted OR for GA comparing quartile 4 of the estimated salt intake (12.8 g/day) to quartile 1 (6.6 g/day) was 1.18 (95% CI 0.52–2.68, P -trend = 0.87). The corresponding OR in men was 0.49 (95% CI 0.19–1.27, P -trend = 0.17) with salt intakes of 12.8 g/day and 7.1 g/day for quartiles 4 and 1, respectively. Conclusion There was little evidence for an association between salt intake estimated from spot urine and GA risk in our cross-sectional analysis of middle aged and older adults in Chile. Reverse causation bias cannot be ruled out and the sample size was limited to provide more precise estimates.