Objective  To explore associations of life style and dietary habit with esophageal cancer (EC) in Chinese women and to provide evidences for the prevention and control of EC in the population.

  Methods  We conducted a case-control study during a period from January 2010 through December 2016. Using a self-designed questionnaire, we surveyed 309 female primary EC patients pathologically diagnosed in Fujian Cancer Hospital and Zhangzhou Hospital Affiliated to Fujian Medical University and 318 age- (± 3 years) frequency-matched non-tumor female patients taking medical service in orthopedics departments of the First Hospital and Zhangzhou Hospital Affiliated to Fujian Medical University.

  Results  The proportion of the cases eating hot and hard food were 58.3% and 56.6%, significantly higher than those (38.1% and 41.8%) of the controls (both P < 0.05). Compared to those reported by the controls, significantly lower proportions of green tea drinking (7.4% vs. 15.7%), eating coarse food 3 times or more per week (53.7% vs. 61.9%), and eating fruits 3 times or more per week (16.2% vs. 29.2%) were reported by the cases (all P < 0.05). After adjusting for age, education level, household monthly income and occupation, unconditional multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that eating hot and hard food were significantly related to increased the risk of EC; while green tea drinking and eating fruit 3 times or more per week were associated with reduced risk of EC.

  Conclusion  Life style and dietary habits such as green tea drinking, eating hot and hard food, and the frequency of eating fruit are main influencing factors of esophageal cancer incidence among Chinese women.