Gut Liver. 2025 Apr 25. doi: 10.5009/gnl240555. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND/AIMS: This study examined sex differences in the effect of changes in body mass index (BMI) on the development of gastric cancer (GC) in South Korea.
METHODS: Using data from the National Health Insurance Service-Health Screening Cohort, a retrospective cohort study involving 333,169 Koreans with a median follow-up of 12 years was conducted. BMI was categorized into five groups (<18.5, 18.5-22.9, 23.0-24.9 [reference], 25.0-29.9, and ≥30.0 kg/m2) and the risk of developing GC was evaluated according to changes in BMI by calculating the hazard ratio (HR) using Cox proportional hazard regression.
RESULTS: Among males, BMI ≥30.0 kg/m2 was associated with a 1.27-fold higher overall risk of developing GC (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02 to 1.57), but not in females. For non-cardia GC, a U-shaped association between BMI and risk of developing GC was observed in males, although statistical significance was observed only for BMI 18.5-22.9 kg/m2. Additionally, an increase in BMI to 23.0-24.9 kg/m2 was associated with a decreased non-cardia GC risk among males. In females, the largest waist circumference category was significantly associated with an increased risk of developing overall GC (HR, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.07 to 1.74).
CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that maintaining a BMI in the range of 23.0-24.9 kg/m2 is optimal for minimizing the risk of non-cardia GC, particularly in males. In females, visceral obesity, represented by a large waist circumference as a proxy, was associated with an increased risk of developing GC.
PMID:40276822 | DOI:10.5009/gnl240555
