title: Diet and vitamin nutrition of the high esophageal cancer risk population in Linxian, China.
abstract: In order to examine the nutritional status of the population of Linxian (in Henan, China) known to be at high risk for esophageal cancer (EC), we analyzed blood samples and conducted 3-day dietary surveys on 3 groups of normal adults, age 40-50, from Henan province. Two groups were from Linxian, where the EC mortality rate is about 138/100,000 (Group C, consisting of volunteers with a family history of EC, and Group NC, consisting of those who did not have a family history of EC). The third group, Group F, was from Fanxian, where the EC mortality rate is about 24/100,000. The average plasma retinol level was found to be about 0.27 micrograms/ml in all 3 groups; about 13%-20% of the individuals had a level less than 0.2 micrograms/ml. The average plasma carotene level of all 3 groups appeared to be adequate, ranging from 0.5-1.0 micrograms/ml. About 23% of the subjects in both Groups C and NC had low (less than 2 micrograms/ml) plasma ascorbate levels; in Group F, 16% had low ascorbate levels. Less than 12% of the individuals in each of the 3 groups had erythrocyte glutathione reductase activation coefficients less than 1.2, indicating a widely occurring riboflavin deficiency. Consumption of alcoholic beverages was not found to be a contributing factor to EC. The results of the present study reveal a deficiency of vitamins in the study populations, but do not indicate that the average nutritional status of the volunteers in Group C was worse than that of Groups NC and F with regard to vitamin A, ascorbate, and riboflavin.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000097:blood*; D001361:Avitaminosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D002338:Carotenoids / Q000097:blood; D002681:China; D004032:Diet; D004034:Diet Surveys; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology* / Q000235:genetics; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012256:Riboflavin / Q000097:blood*; D012306:Risk; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D014801:Vitamin A; D002338:Carotenoids; D001205:Ascorbic Acid; D012256:Riboflavin