Refrigerator Ownership and the Decline of Gastric Cancer: A Global Overview

Lim, Yee Siew; Tan, Ya Wen; Heng, Eshan; Chia, Tee Hang; Spiekermann, Melanie; Hill, Andrew; Lim, Kean Ghee

doi:10.31557/APJCP.2026.27.6.2143

Refrigerator Ownership and the Decline of Gastric Cancer: A Global Overview

Document Type : Research Articles

Authors

¹ Dr Gray’s Hospital, Pluscarden Rd, Elgin IV30 1SN, United Kingdom.

² Penang General Hospital, Jalan Residensi, 10450 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.

³ Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, 1345 Govan Rd, Glasgow G51 4TF, United Kingdom.

⁴ Department of Surgery, South Auckland Clinical Campus, Middlemore Hospital, 10 Milton Road, Papatoetoe, Auckland 2024, New Zealand.

⁵ MU University, Clinical Campus, Jalan Rasah, Seremban 70300, Malaysia.

10.31557/APJCP.2026.27.6.2143

Abstract

Objective: Refrigeration of food has been shown to mitigate environmental and dietary risk factors important in the pathogenesis of gastric cancer. Globally, the incidence of gastric cancer has decreased. This study aims to determine the relationship between refrigerator ownership and gastric cancer. Methods: Gastric cancer data were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease study, and refrigerator ownership data were sourced from GlobalDataLab. Countries were excluded from the analysis if they lacked refrigerator ownership data for more than 10 years or had over 80% ownership at the start of data collection. The relationship between the two variables was assessed using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. Result: Countries were screened using the inclusion criteria, and 85 countries from five continents were included in the study. Seventy-three countries demonstrated a negative correlation between refrigerator ownership and gastric cancer among their male populations, and 55 countries showed comparable results among their female populations. Thirteen countries exhibited a positive correlation between the two variables. Conclusion: Increasing refrigerator ownership appears to be associated with decreasing gastric cancer rates. Further research is needed to identify the specific risk factors involved in gastric cancer pathogenesis in the 13 countries where this association was not observed.

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