Dietary habits and geographic variation in stomach cancer mortality in Spain

Following examination of the geographical pattern of stomach cancer incidence in Spain, the possible relationship between diet and stomach cancer has been assessed using an ecological model which looks into the relationship between the consumption of different foods and the nutrient intake in each of the 50 Spanish provinces during the period 1964-65, and the mortality rate for stomach cancer in these same 50 provinces during a period 20 years later (1984-86). The geographical pattern of stomach cancer mortality has been arrived at using the standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) calculated for each province. The per capita consumption of foods was obtained from the National Institute for Sta…