Tsubono Y, Tsugane S, Gey K F
Epidemiology and Biostatistics Division, National Cancer Center Research Institute East, Kashiwa, Japan.
Nutr Cancer. 1999;34(1):56-61. doi: 10.1207/S15327914NC340108.
To examine the geographic associations between plasma antioxidant levels and gastric cancer risk, we conducted an ecological study in five regions of Japan representing the threefold variation in the disease mortality within the country. Subjects were 634 men aged 40-49 years sampled randomly from the five regions with 72% response rates. Plasma concentrations of five carotenoids (beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, lycopene, lutein, and zeaxanthin), alpha-tocopherol, and ascorbic acid were measured, and the mean levels were correlated with age-adjusted mortality rates from gastric cancer. beta-Carotene and alpha-tocopherol were inversely correlated with gastric cancer rates (r = -0.31 and -0.89, respectively). alpha-Carotene and lycopene showed stronger inverse correlation than did beta-carotene (r = -0.67 and -0.56, respectively), but these relations disappeared after the exclusion of one outlying region in Okinawa with the lowest mortality. In contrast, ascorbic acid revealed a negative correlation with the exclusion of this outlier (r = -0.61). Lutein and zeaxanthin were not inversely associated with risk. The results suggest that plasma levels of beta-carotene and alpha-tocopherol, and possibly alpha-carotene, lycopene, and ascorbic acid, may partly account for the regional difference in gastric cancer mortality in Japan.
为了研究血浆抗氧化剂水平与胃癌风险之间的地理关联，我们在日本的五个地区开展了一项生态学研究，这五个地区代表了该国疾病死亡率三倍的差异。研究对象为从这五个地区随机抽取的634名40 - 49岁男性，应答率为72%。测量了五种类胡萝卜素（β-胡萝卜素、α-胡萝卜素、番茄红素、叶黄素和玉米黄质）、α-生育酚和抗坏血酸的血浆浓度，并将平均水平与胃癌的年龄调整死亡率进行关联。β-胡萝卜素和α-生育酚与胃癌发生率呈负相关（r分别为 - 0.31和 - 0.89）。α-胡萝卜素和番茄红素的负相关性比β-胡萝卜素更强（r分别为 - 0.67和 - 0.56），但在排除冲绳一个死亡率最低的偏远地区后，这些关系消失了。相比之下，排除这个异常值后抗坏血酸显示出负相关性（r = - 0.61）。叶黄素和玉米黄质与风险无负相关。结果表明，血浆中β-胡萝卜素、α-生育酚以及可能还有α-胡萝卜素、番茄红素和抗坏血酸的水平，可能部分解释了日本胃癌死亡率的地区差异。
