What lifestyle habit is commonly noted in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma?

Patients with gastric adenocarcinoma are often noted to have a history of smoking as a significant lifestyle habit. Smoking has been established as a risk factor for various cancers, including those of the gastrointestinal tract. It is thought to contribute to carcinogenesis by damaging the gastric mucosa and altering the environment of the stomach, potentially leading to the development of malignancies such as gastric adenocarcinoma.

In contexts where lifestyle choices are implicated in disease risk, smoking stands out due to its well-documented association with increased cancer incidence and its role as a modifiable risk factor. The other options, such as excessive exercise, being a non-smoker, or maintaining a high-fiber diet, are generally not associated with an increase in risk for gastric adenocarcinoma and may even confer protective effects against cancer, making them less relevant in the discussion of lifestyle habits commonly noted in patients with this specific type of cancer.