Purpose The association of lipid metabolism linked the risk of gastric cancer (GC) was widely debated. We aimed to explore the longitudinal associations between total cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) with the incident risk of GC.
Methods The serum lipids were quarterly stratified based on the distribution of GC-free populations. The Cox proportional hazard models and restricted cubic spline models were applied to estimate the hazard ratios (HRs) and dose-response association of GC under different sub-analyses. The interactions of serum lipids on GC incidence were tested by generalized additive models.
Results After average 7.2±1.2 years follow-up, 248 primary GCincident cases were collected among 45,642 cancer-free baseline individuals.In total population, the hazard risks (HRs) with 95% confidence interval (CI) of TG (HR=1.53, 95% CI: 1.02-2.29) and LDL-C (HR=2.21, 95% CI: 1.51-3.24) were significantly increased when the Q4 stratum compared with Q1. While decreased HR was found in the Q4 stratum of HDL-C (HR=0.42, 95% CI: 0.26-0.67). Further sub-analyses testified these associations in males solely. The highest GC incident risk was plainly visible when both HDL-C and LDL-C were abnormal (HR=5.38, 95% CI: 3.43-8.45), followed by excess TG and hypo-HDL-C group (HR=2.75, 95% CI: 1.89-4.00) and excess TG and LDL-C group (HR=2.55, 95% CI: 1.78- 3.64) compared with normal lipid group.
Conclusion Lipid metabolism abnormalities could be important risk factors for GC. Additionally, a combination of any abnormalities among TG, HDL-C, and LDL-C would interactively elevate the incidence risk of GC.