title: Plasma pepsinogens, nutrients, and diet in areas of Italy at varying gastric cancer risk.
abstract: In a survey of 930 adults aged 35-74 years randomly sampled from the general population of four areas of Italy at different risks for gastric cancer (GC), plasma levels of pepsinogens (PGI and PGII) and fat-soluble vitamins were assayed. Pepsinogen levels were used to identify individuals with chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG). Severe CAG (PGI < or = 20 pg/liter) affected 5.8% of the population, but the prevalence rose with increasing age and declining social class. Severe CAG was 5 times more common in areas with high compared to low rates of GC. Risk also rose with increasing consumption of salted/dried fish but was inversely related to dietary intake of beta-carotene and to plasma retinol and cholesterol levels. The prevalence of moderate CAG (PGI > 20 pg/liter, but PGI/PGII < or = 2.9) was 6.3%. Moderate CAG was also related to age and social class and increased 1.8-fold in areas where GC rates were high, but was not strongly associated with diet or plasma nutrients. The authors discuss these findings in relation to those from a previous case-control study of GC in the same areas.
authors.affiliation: Unità di Epidemiologia, Centro per lo Studio e la Prevenzione Oncologica, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Palli
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Decarli
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cipriani
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Forman
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Amadori
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Avellini
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giacosa
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Manca
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Russo
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Salkeld
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005399:Fishes; D005757:Gastritis, Atrophic / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D010435:Pepsinogens / Q000097:blood*; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012923:Social Class; D012982:Sodium, Dietary / Q000009:adverse effects; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D014815:Vitamins / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D010435:Pepsinogens; D012982:Sodium, Dietary; D014815:Vitamins; D002784:Cholesterol