Worse Stomach Cancer Factor Than Overdrinking, Overeating, and Salty Foods... 'Lack of Physical Activity'

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Endoscopy Every 2 Years Reduces Stomach Cancer Mortality by 81%

Gastric cancer is known to occur particularly frequently among Koreans. According to national cancer registry statistics, gastric cancer consistently ranked as the most common cancer in Korea, only dropping to 4th place (26,662 cases) in 2020, when the number of gastroscopy screenings decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic.

'Lack of Physical Activity' Identified as a Major Risk Factor Among Gastric Cancer Risk Factors

On the 20th, Professor Choi Gwiseon and her research team at the National Cancer Center Graduate School of International Cancer Studies announced that, based on one-on-one interviews conducted with 3,539 adults aged 40 to 74 who participated in the 2019 Cancer Screening Behavior Survey, they observed that individuals with more gastric cancer risk factors tend to neglect gastric cancer screening.

They found that the more a person corresponds to the six identified risk factors affecting gastric cancer occurrence?▲smoking ▲alcohol consumption ▲lack of physical activity ▲obesity ▲consumption of red and processed meats ▲excessive salt intake?the less likely they are to undergo regular gastric cancer screening, significantly increasing their risk of developing gastric cancer.

In particular, among the six risk factors causing gastric cancer, 'lack of physical activity' was identified as a major factor that can increase gastric cancer risk in both men and women in this study.

Lack of physical activity was defined according to the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation as not engaging in at least 75 minutes of moderate or higher intensity physical activity per week, with 61.5% of the total participants falling into this category.

The next major risk factors were smoking for men (52.2%) and high salt intake for women (28.5%).

A significant number of participants had multiple gastric cancer risk factors simultaneously. Among men, 58.5% had two or more risk factors, while 36.8% of women did. For three or more risk factors, 26.3% of men and 8.7% of women were affected.

The most common risk factor combinations among men were 'smoking + lack of physical activity' (13.6%) and 'smoking + lack of physical activity + excessive salt intake' (6.5%).

In contrast, women most commonly showed 'lack of physical activity + excessive salt intake' (12.1%) and 'lack of physical activity + obesity' (8.1%).

More Risk Factors Lead to Neglect of Screening... Gastroscopy Every Two Years Reduces Gastric Cancer Mortality by 81%

The problem is that people with more gastric cancer risk factors tend to neglect gastric cancer screenings such as gastroscopy.

The research team estimated that men with three or more gastric cancer risk factors are 65% less likely to undergo gastric cancer screening compared to men with no risk factors. For women under the same conditions, the likelihood decreased by up to 68%.

Professor Choi pointed out, "This result shows that although gastric cancer risk can be greatly reduced by correcting unhealthy lifestyle habits and undergoing regular screenings, these improvements are not being adequately made."

In fact, quitting smoking can prevent 11% of gastric cancer cases worldwide, and in Korea, this figure is estimated to be as high as 19.4%.

There is also research showing that undergoing gastroscopy screening every two years can reduce mortality from gastric cancer by up to 81%.

Professor Choi explained, "People with poor lifestyle habits often tend not to take good care of themselves regarding cancer risk and are less likely to participate in cancer screening programs. However, to reduce the incidence of gastric cancer and increase treatment rates through early diagnosis, it is desirable for individuals to be aware of lifestyle habits that cause gastric cancer and actively participate in selective screening."

Meanwhile, these research findings were recently published in the international academic journal Scientific Reports.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.