BACKGROUND: It has been hypothesized that the high prevalence of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in China is associated with specific environments and lifestyles. A previous study found that immigrant residents (IR) from Henan, residing long term in the town of Caihu, had significantly greater risk of dying from ESCC than host residents (HR). OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to compare lifestyle and living environments between high risk IR and low risk HR to determine risk factors for ESCC. METHODS: The subjects included randomly selected IR and HR living in Caihu. Information on lifestyle and the living environment of participants was collected by interview using a structured questionnaire. RESULTS: The IR were found to have a higher consumption of hot food (P<0.05), pickled vegetables (P<0.05) and a lower consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, and alcohol (P<0.05), compared with the HR. There were no significant differences in income and cigarette smoking between the two populations. Fewer IR families had a separate kitchen (P<0.05) than host families. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provided some epidemiological evidence indicating that dietary factors, such as hot food, pickled vegetables, salt, and low fruit and vegetable intake, as well as a poor living environment, are possibly related to the higher prevalence of ESCC in IR. However, cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking and income were not shown to be risk factors for immigrant susceptibility to ESCC in our study.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND: It has been hypothesized that the high prevalence of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in China is associated with specific environments and lifestyles. A previous study found that immigrant residents (IR) from Henan, residing long term in the town of Caihu, had significantly greater risk of dying from ESCC than host residents (HR). OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to compare lifestyle and living environments between high risk IR and low risk HR to determine risk factors for ESCC. METHODS: The subjects included randomly selected IR and HR living in Caihu. Information on lifestyle and the living environment of participants was collected by interview using a structured questionnaire. RESULTS: The IR were found to have a higher consumption of hot food (P<0.05), pickled vegetables (P<0.05) and a lower consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, and alcohol (P<0.05), compared with the HR. There were no significant differences in income and cigarette smoking between the two populations. Fewer IR families had a separate kitchen (P<0.05) than host families. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provided some epidemiological evidence indicating that dietary factors, such as hot food, pickled vegetables, salt, and low fruit and vegetable intake, as well as a poor living environment, are possibly related to the higher prevalence of ESCC in IR. However, cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking and income were not shown to be risk factors for immigrant susceptibility to ESCC in our study.
Authors: Beenish Iqbal; Idrees Ayoub Shah; Gulzar Ahmad Bhat; Arshid Bashir Bhat; Rumaisa Rafiq; Sumaiya Nabi; Reza Malekhzadeh; Christian C Abnet; Paolo Boffetta; Mazda Jenab; Nazir Ahmad Dar Journal: Springerplus Date: 2015-06-23