Dietary habits and risk of death due to hepatocellular carcinoma in a large scale cohort study in Japan. Univariate analysis of JACC study data.

To explore the association between dietary habits and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) mortality in Japan, univariate analyses was performed using data from the JACC Study. A cohort of 46,465 males and 64,327 females aged 40 to 79 in 19 prefectures in Japan completed the baseline survey during 1988-1990 and were followed up until the end of 1999. The hazard ratio (HR) of HCC mortality for each food item by gender, age group (40-59 and 60-79 years) and history of liver diseases was obtained by Cox proportional hazards model. Some categories, such as boiled rice, ham and sausage, chicken, fish and pickles among men without history of liver diseases and those of miso-soup, fish, carrots and squash, and potatoes among women without history of liver diseases showed a significant inverse association with HCC mortality. Frequent intake of eggs was significantly associated with increased HCC mortality in men without history of liver diseases. Potatoes and foods boiled down in soy sauce (tsukudani) showed a significant positive association, and pickles had a significant inverse association with HCC mortality in men with history of liver diseases. Frequent intake of coffee showed a significant inverse association with HCC mortality both in men and women with history of liver diseases. It is considered that further analysis using a multivariate Cox proportional hazards model including other confounding factors will be required for a more meaningful interpretation of the data.