Thirty-one studies were included in this meta-analysis. Comparing the highest with the lowest
categories, vitamin A intake significantly reduced gastric cancer risk (pooled RR ¼ 0.66, 95% CI: 0.52
e0.84), whereas a marginally inverse association was found between retinol intake (pooled RR ¼ 0.94,
95% CI: 0.87e1.03) or blood retinol level (pooled RR ¼ 0.87, 95% CI: 0.73e1.05) and gastric cancer risk.
Interestingly, the results of subgroup analysis indicated that high vitamin A intake and blood retinol level
were associated with reduced gastric cancer risk in Western countries, while a marginally inverse association
was found between retinol and gastric cancer risk in Western countries