A case-control study on the relationship between salt intake and salty taste and risk of gastric cancer

Table 1 Concentration of sodium chloride n (%)

STST score	NaCl concentration		Cases(n = 300)	Controls(n = 600)
	g/L	mol/L
1	0.22	0.004	5 (2)	12 (2)
2	0.45	0.008	7 (2)	48 (8)
3	0.90	0.015	24 (8)	108 (18)
4	1.80	0.030	43 (14)	174 (29)
5	3.60	0.060	57 (19)	132 (22)
6	7.30	0.120	76 (25)	60 (10)
7	14.60	0.150	54 (18)	42 (7)
8	29.20	0.500	31 (10)	18 (3)
9	58.40	1	3 (1)	6 (1)

STST: Salt taste sensitivity threshold.

Table 2 Odds ratio and 95% CIs for lifestyle- and diet-related factors and gastric cancer n (%)

Characteristics	Cases (n = 300)	Controls (n = 600)	OR (95% CI)	P value
Age (yr)	52.1 ± 5.4	52.4 ± 4.9		> 0.05
Male	214 (23.7)	428 (71.3)
Education				0.12
Literate	96 (32.0)	162 (27.0)	0.79 (0.59-1.06)
Smoking	156 (52.0)	276 (46.0)	2.27 (1.27-4.04)	< 0.001
Drinking	72 (24.0)	134 (22.3)	2.41 (1.51-3.87)	< 0.001
Fresh vegetable
< 3 times/wk	99 (33.0)	282 (47.0)	-	< 0.001
≥ 3 times/wk	201 (67.0)	318 (53.0)	0.92 (0.58-0.98)
Fresh fruit
< 3 times/wk	144 (48.0)	219 (36.5)	-	< 0.001
≥ 3 times/wk	156 (52.0)	381 (63.5)	0.87 (0.67-0.93)
Salted food(meat and fishes, pickled vegetable)
< 3 times/wk	120 (40.0)	298 (49.7)	-
≥ 3 times/wk	180 (60.0)	302 (50.3)	1.54 (1.15-2.93)	< 0.05
STST score	5.52 ± 1.26	4.4 ± 0.91	1.66 (1.48-1.85)	< 0.001

STST: Salt taste sensitivity threshold. OR: Odds ratio.

Table 3 Relationship between salt taste sensitivity threshold score and lifestyle factors

	n (%)	STST score(mean ± SD)	P
Age (yr)
< 50	224 (24.9)	4.79 ± 1.25	0.76
50-64	543 (60.3)	5.10 ± 0.83
≥ 65	133 (14.8)	5.08 ± 1.56
Smoking (packs/yr)
< 40	660 (73.3)	4.88 ± 1.02	0.93
≥ 40	240 (26.7)	5.24 ± 1.51
Drinking (g/d)
< 22.8	517 (57.4)	5.10 ± 1.02	0.10
≥ 22.8	383 (42.6)	5.19 ± 1.12
Fresh vegetable(times/wk)
< 3	241 (26.8)	5.14 ± 1.08	0.18
≥ 3	659 (73.2)	5.07 ± 0.97
Fresh fruit (times/wk)
< 3	363 (40.3)	5.18 ± 1.41	0.11
≥ 3	537 (59.7)	5.07 ± 1.15
Salted food intake (times/wk)
< 3	418 (46.4)	4.68 ± 1.32
≥ 3	482 (53.6)	5.47 ± 0.98	< 0.001

STST: Salt taste sensitivity threshold.

Table 4 Odds ratio and 95% CIs for salt-related factors and gastric cancer n (%)

Salt factors	Cases	Controls	OR1 (95% CI)	P	OR2 (95% CI)	P value
Salted taste preference
Not salty	118 (39.3)	301 (50.2)	-	-	-	-
Medium	162 (54)	265 (44.2)	1.12 (0.79-1.89)	P = 0.45	1.34 (0.92-2.67)	P = 0.08
Salty	20 (6.6)	34 (5.7)	1.33 (1.02-1.75)	< 0.05	1.94 (1.37-4.76)	< 0.05
STST≥ 5	221 (73.7)	258 (43)	4.03 (2.87-5.65)	< 0.001	5.71 (3.18-6.72)	< 0.001

OR1 for salt related factors and gastric cancer was none-adjusted; OR2 was adjusted for age, sex, smoking, drinking, fresh fruit and fresh vegetables; STST: Salt taste sensitivity threshold. OR: Odds ratio.

Table 5 Relationship between salt taste sensitivity threshold score and salt intake n (%)

Salty taste preference	STST score						P
	1-2	3-4	5-6	7-8	9	Total
Dislike	60 (6.7)	233 (25.9)	98 (10.9)	26 (2.9)	2 (0.2)	419 (46.6)	χ2 = 220.1
Not prefer	11 (1.2)	104 (11.6)	206 (22.9)	104 (11.6)	2 (0.2)	427 (47.4)	P < 0.001
Like	1 (0.1)	12 (1.3)	21 (2.3)	15 (1.7)	5 (0.6)	54 (6.0)
Total	72 (8.0)	349 (38.8)	325 (36.1)	145 (16.1)	9 (1.0)	900 (100)

STST: Salt taste sensitivity threshold.