Salty Food Intake and Risk of Helicobacter pylori Infection

To clarify the risk factors for Helicobacter pylori infection, which is considered to play an etiologic role in atrophic gastritis, duodenal ulcer and gastric cancer, various parameters including diet and socioeconomic characteristics were compared between H. pylori‐infected and non‐infected men. In a cross‐sectional study of 634 men aged 40 to 49 years selected randomly from five areas with different rates of gastric cancer mortality, 474 of 628 men evaluated were positive for IgG antibody against H. pylori. After logistic regression analysis adjusted for area, the results showed a significant association between frequent intake of pickled vegetables and prevalence of H. pylori antibody (odds ratios against men who consume < 1 day/week were 1.19 for 1–2 days/week, 1.92 for 3–4 days/week, 1.90 for 5–7 days/week; P for trend = 0.02). Daily consumption of miso soup was also associated with an increased risk (odds ratio against non‐daily consumer = 1.60, 95% confidence interval = 1.03–2.49). Occupation, number of siblings, education, smoking and alcohol drinking, and other dietary habits were not significantly associated with the prevalence of infection in this population. Although there are limitations in a cross‐sectional study such as this, consumption of salty foods appears to increase the risk of H. pylori infection, which could be a marker of salty food intake or an intermediate risk factor in the etiologic sequence between salty food intake and gastric cancer.