Tobacco smoking and bladder cancer in coffee non-drinkers.
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Adult↗
Biomedical subjects
A Tavani
Publications and source records attributed to A Tavani.
Milk, dairy products, and coronary heart disease.
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Adult↗
n-3 Polyunsaturated fatty acids, fish, and nonfatal acute myocardial infarction.
BACKGROUND: The relation between n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), fish intake, and risk of coronary heart disease is controversial. METHODS AND RESULTS: An Italian case-control study including 507 patients with nonfatal acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and 478 hospital controls found a multivariate odds ratio (OR) of 0.67 (95% CI, 0.47 to 0.95) for the highest n-3 PUFA intake and 0.68 (95% CI, 0.47 to 0.98) for an intake of >1 portion of fish per week compared with >/=2 portions per week. CONCLUSIONS: Small amounts of n-3 PUFAs may be inversely related to AMI risk in this low-risk population.
Administration, Oral↗
Calcium, dairy products, and the risk of prostate cancer.
BACKGROUND: Calcium intake has been suggested to play a role in the etiology of prostate cancer, since it is inversely related to vitamin D levels, which, in turn, would have an antiproliferative effect on human cancer cell lines. The hypothesis that high calcium and low vitamin D levels are associated with prostate cancer risk, however, remains unconvincingly demonstrated. METHODS: This relation was investigated in a case-control study of prostate cancer conducted in Northern Italy between 1985 and 1992 on 288 cases and 762 controls admitted to hospital for acute non-neoplastic diseases. RESULTS: No significant relation was found for calcium intake: compared to the lowest quintile of intake, the multivariate odds ratios (OR) of prostatic cancer, after adjusting for age, study center, education, body mass index, and meat intake, for increasing intake quintiles were 1.21, 0.68, 0.64, 1.12, with no trend in risk. The OR was 0.99 for an increment of 500 mg per day of calcium. The risk estimates were consistent in two strata of age (< 65 and > or = 65 years at diagnosis). CONCLUSIONS: Our results do not support an association between calcium and the risk of prostate cancer. However, the present study cannot address the effect of calcium in the ranges where an increased risk of prostate cancer has been noted previously, and with specific reference to advanced disease.
Adult↗
Plasma ascorbic acid and risk of heart disease and cancer.
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Ascorbic Acid↗
Physical activity and risk of ovarian cancer: an Italian case-control study.
The relationship between physical activity and the risk of ovarian cancer was analyzed using data from a case-control study conducted between 1992 and 1999 in Italy. Cases were 1,031 women with incident, histologically confirmed, invasive epithelial ovarian cancer and controls were 2,411 women admitted to hospital for acute non-neoplastic, non-hormonal conditions. Compared to women with the lowest level of occupational physical activity, the ORs of ovarian cancer obtained adjusting for center, year of interview and age for women with the highest level of physical activity were 0.70, 0.52 and 0.64 (all statistically significant) respectively, at ages 15-19, 30-39 and 50-59 years, with significant trends in risk for the 2 youngest age groups. The corresponding ORs became 0.89, 0.67 and 0.76 after further allowance for several co-variates of ovarian cancer, including education, which was positively associated with cancer risk. No significant association was found with leisure-time physical activity though the risk was below unity in women with the highest level of activity. The multivariate OR was 0.44 for women with the highest level of combined occupational plus leisure-time physical activity. The inverse relationship between occupational physical activity and ovarian cancer risk was not heterogeneous across strata of selected co-variates.
Adolescent↗
Vegetables, fruit, antioxidants and cancer: a review of Italian studies.
BACKGROUND: Case-control studies have suggested that a diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables protects from the risk of most common epithelial cancers, including those of the digestive tract, and also several nondigestive neoplasms; however, selections in cohort studies have been generally weaker. AIM OF THE STUDY: To review the relation between frequency of consumption of vegetables and fruit, estimated intake of selected antioxidants and the risk of cancer at different sites. METHODS: Systematic overview of data, with specific focus on a network of case-control studies conducted in Italy from 1983 to 1999. RESULTS: The relative risks (RR) of digestive tract neoplasms were reduced in subjects reporting highest vegetable intake. A protective effect of vegetables was also observed for hormone-related neoplasms. Fruit was related to a reduced RR of cancers of the upper digestive tract, stomach and urinary tract. With reference to the role of selected antioxidants, beta-carotene, vitamins C and E showed a significant inverse relation with oral and pharyngeal, esophageal and breast cancer risk. Against colorectal cancer, the most consistent protective effects were provided by carotene, riboflavin and vitamin C, but inverse relations were observed also for calcium and vitamin D. CONCLUSIONS: Fruit and vegetable consumption in Mediterranean populations appears to provide protection against several types of neoplasms.
Antioxidants↗
Reliability of data on medical conditions, menstrual and reproductive history provided by hospital controls.
To assess the reliability of data on medical conditions, and menstrual or reproductive history, a sample of 294 controls interviewed in hospital between 1989 and 1992 for an Italian case-control study on digestive tract neoplasms was re-interviewed at home during 1993. A high agreement between responses at the two interviews (kappa > or = 0.85) was observed for most medical conditions, including diabetes, cholelithiasis, hepatitis, duodenal ulcer, and, among female conditions, uterine fibromas, benign breast disease, hysterectomy and monolateral ovariectomy. For gastric ulcer and parotitis the reliability was less satisfactory (kappa = 0.35 and 0.20, respectively). The agreement was high (kappa > 0.80) also for age at menarche, menopausal status, type and age at menopause, number of children, age at first pregnancy, age at first and last birth, and spontaneous abortions. The agreement was lower for questions on menstrual pattern (kappa = 0.68) and induced abortions (kappa = 0.62). Thus, this study indicates that information on personal medical conditions, and menstrual or reproductive history, provided by hospital controls through an interviewer-administered questionnaire is satisfactory for the purposes of epidemiological inference, and that the interview setting does not substantially influence the recall of this information.
Adult↗
Alcohol, smoking, coffee and risk of non-fatal acute myocardial infarction in Italy.
OBJECTIVES: To assess the relation between cigarette smoking, alcohol, coffee, decaffeinated coffee and tea consumption, and the risk of non-fatal acute myocardial infarction (AMI). DESIGN AND SETTING: Hospital-based case-control study conducted in 1995-1999 in Milan, Italy. PATIENTS: 507 cases with a first episode of non-fatal AMI, and 478 controls admitted to hospital for acute diseases. METHODS: Information was collected by interviewer-administered questionnaires. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated by multiple logistic regression. RESULTS: Compared to alcohol non-drinkers the OR was 0.6 (95% CI: 0.4-0.9) in drinkers, and 0.5 in drinkers of > 3 drinks/day. The OR for > 1 drink/day of wine was 0.5, and those for beer, amari, grappa and spirits ranged between 0.4 and 0.6. Compared to never smokers, the OR was 2.2 (95% CI: 1.5-3.1) among current smokers, and 4.6 among current smokers of > or = 25 cigarettes/day. The risk was similar to that of never smokers > or = 5 years after cessation (OR: 1.1 after 5-9 years, 0.7 after > or = 10 years). The OR was 2.3 for low tar cigarettes and 2.0 for high tar ones. The OR for coffee intake (expresso and mocha) was around unity up to 3 cups/ day, but rose to 1.9 (95% CI: 1.1-3.3) for > or = 6 cups/ day. Moderate decaffeinated coffee and tea intake was not associated with AMI risk. Compared to non-smokers drinking < or = 3 cups of coffee/day, the OR was 1.6 among non-smokers drinking > 3 cups of coffee/ day and 3.3 (95% CI: 2.1-5.0) among current smokers drinking < or = 3 cups of coffee/day. Compared to alcohol drinkers with a coffee intake of < or = 3 cups/ day, alcohol non-drinkers with higher coffee intake had an OR of 2.2, and compared to non-smokers alcohol drinkers, the OR was 3.3 in current smokers alcohol non-drinkers. CONCLUSIONS: In this Italian population alcohol intake was inversely associated to AMI risk, while smoking and heavy (but not moderate) coffee drinking increased the risk.
Adult↗
Short-term changes of cardiovascular risk factors after a non-pharmacological body weight reduction program.
OBJECTIVE: To test the short-term effectiveness of a 3 week hospital-based body weight reduction (BWR) program on selected coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors in obese subjects. DESIGN: Intervention study to assess the modifications in CHD risk factor scores estimated according to Framingham risk factor categories (age, total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes and smoking). SETTING: 3rd Division of Metabolic Diseases, Italian Institute for Auxology, Piancavallo (VB), Italy. SUBJECTS: Two-hundred and sixty-eight obese patients (43 men, 225 women, age range 19-81 y; body mass index (BMI) range 30-67). INTERVENTION: The BWR program consisted of a 3 week integrated energy-restricted diet (1200-1800 kcal/day), associated with moderate aerobic exercise, psychological counselling and educational lectures. RESULTS: Substantial reductions of total cholesterol (16.7%), HDL cholesterol (14.8%), systolic (11.2%) and diastolic blood pressure (8.7%) were observed at the end of the intervention, even with relatively moderate decrease in weight (4.1%) and in persistence of elevated BMI (over 40 kg/m2). The mean CHD Framingham score decreased by 16.1%, from 7.8 to 6.2. The BWR-induced changes were similar in both sexes, and across strata of age and BMI. CONCLUSIONS: The full-time participation of the patients in the hospital-based, integrated BWR program may explain the positive clinical outcome in all the subgroups considered, although the long-term results need to be quantified. SPONSORSHIPS: Partially supported by Progetti di Ricerca Corrente, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, IRCCS, Milan, Italy.
Adult↗
Alcohol drinking and risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
OBJECTIVE: To analyse the relation between alcohol intake and the risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). DESIGN: Hospital-based case-control study. SETTINGS: The greater Milan area and the province of Pordenone, Northern Italy. SUBJECTS: Cases were 446 (256 men and 190 women) with histologically confirmed incident NHL, and controls were 1295 (791 men and 504 women) with acute non-neoplastic conditions. RESULTS: Compared to non-drinkers, the odds ratio (OR) was 0.92 for <3 drinks per day, 0.98 for 3-6 drinks, and 1.02 for > or =7 drinks per day. Wine drinking was also not associated with risk, and the OR was 0.85 for drinkers of > or =7 drinks/day compared to non-drinkers. Beer and spirit intake was also not associated with NHL risk. CONCLUSIONS: Our study, based on a population with relatively high alcohol intakes, indicates that there is no appreciable association between intake of various alcoholic beverages and the risk of NHL. SPONSORSHIP: Italian Association for Research on Cancer, Milan, Italy.
Adolescent↗
Oral contraceptives and bone mineral density.
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Adult↗
Diet and risk of oral and pharyngeal cancer. An Italian case-control study.
The relation between diet and risk of oral and pharyngeal cancer was analysed in a case-control study conducted in North-East Italy between 1996 and 1999. Cases were 132 patients (including 33 women), with incident, histologically confirmed cancer of the oral cavity or pharynx, and controls were 148 subjects (including 45 women) admitted to hospitals for acute conditions unrelated to smoking or alcohol drinking. After allowance for tobacco, alcohol and several other potential confounding factors, significant inverse association with the risk of oral and pharyngeal cancer was found for consumption of total green vegetables (OR 0.37) and total fruit (OR 0.34) with significant trends in risk Compared with alcohol drinkers of < 20 drinks/week and eating > 13 portions/week of total green vegetables, the OR for drinkers of > or = 20 drinks/week and eating < 7 portions/week of green vegetables was 15.44. Our study provides further support to the beneficial effect of high intake of vegetables and fruit, particularly in heavy smokers and alcohol drinkers.
Adult↗
Hair dyes and bladder cancer: an update.
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Carcinogens↗
Coffee and alcohol intake and risk of ovarian cancer: an Italian case-control study.
The relation between coffee and alcohol intake and ovarian cancer risk was analyzed in a case-control study conducted in Italy between 1992 and 1999. Cases were 1,031 women, aged 18-79 years, with incident, histologically confirmed invasive epithelial ovarian cancer, and controls were 2,411 women, aged 17-79 years, admitted to the hospital for acute nonneoplastic non-hormone-related diseases. Coffee intake (mostly espresso and mocha) was not associated with ovarian cancer risk, with an odds ratio (OR) of 0.93 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.69-1.27] in drinkers of > or = 4 cups/day compared with drinkers of < 1 cup/day. No meaningful relation was observed with cappuccino (OR = 1.06, 95% CI = 0.85-1.32 for drinkers compared with nondrinkers), decaffeinated coffee (OR = 0.64, 95% CI 0.42-0.96), and tea intake (OR = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.75-1.08). Total alcohol intake was not associated with ovarian cancer risk (OR = 1.09, 95% CI = 0.76-1.57 in drinkers of > or = 36 g/day compared with never drinkers). No relationship was found with wine (OR = 1.03, 95% CI = 0.70-1.50 for > 39 g/day compared with never drinkers), beer, amari, grappa, and spirits. No significant heterogeneity was found for coffee or total alcohol intake across strata of age, education, parity, oral contraceptive use, family history of ovarian/breast cancer, body mass index, and calorie intake. This study, based on a large data set; provides no support for a causal association between invasive epithelial ovarian cancer risk and coffee and alcohol intake.
Adolescent↗
Oral contraceptives and cancer: an update.
Most up-to-date information on oral contraceptives (OCs) and breast cancer risk comes from a collaborative re-analysis of individual data on 53297 cases and 100239 controls. It is now established that there is a moderately increased breast cancer risk among current OC users, which tends to level off in the few years after stopping use. With regard to cervical cancer, OC use has been found to be associated with increased risk in human papilloma virus-positive women. With reference to the well known protective effects of OCs against endometrial carcinogenesis, additional information has suggested a consistent protection across types of OCs used. Further data on ovarian cancer confirm that the protection of OCs is long lasting, and may well be observed 15 to 20 years after stopping use. Several studies have suggested an inverse relationship between use of OCs and risk of colorectal cancer, and in a meta-analysis of published data the pooled relative risk of colorectal cancer for DC ever-use was 0.82 (95% confidence interval 0.74 to 0.97). There was no association with duration of use. The increased risk for hepatocellular carcinoma in the absence of hepatitis B viruses is the only established evidence of a direct association between OC use and cancer risk, which led an International Agency for Research on Cancer Working Group to classify OCs as carcinogenic to humans in 1998.
Case-Control Studies↗
Nutrition and health: epidemiology of diet, cancer and cardiovascular disease in Italy.
Most epidemiological data suggest a protective role for fruits and vegetables in the prevention of several common epithelial cancers, including digestive and major non-digestive neoplasms. The relation between frequency of consumption of vegetables and fruit and cancer and myocardial infarction risk was analysed using data from a series of case-control studies conducted in Italy. For digestive tract cancer, population attributable risks for low intake of vegetables and fruit ranged between 15 and 40%. A selected number of antioxidants showed a significant inverse relation with breast and colorectal cancer risk, although the main components responsible for the favourable effect of a diet rich in vegetables and fruit remain undefined. Fish tends to be another favourable indicator of reduced cancer risk. In contrast, subjects reporting frequent red meat intake showed a relative risk consistently above unity for several common neoplasms. Whole grain food intake was consistently related to reduced risk of several types of cancer, particularly of the upper digestive tract neoplasms. Epidemiological evidence of the relation between fiber and colorectal cancer indicated a possible protections. In contrast, refined grain intake was associated to increased risk of different types of cancer, pointing to a potential role of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). A low risk diet for cardiovascular disease includes high consumption of fish, vegetables and fruit, and hence rich in ascorbic acid and other antioxidants, thus sharing several aspects with a favourable diet for cancer.
Animals↗
Red meat intake and cancer risk: a study in Italy.
Meat intake has been positively associated with risk of digestive tract cancers in several epidemiological studies, while data on the relation of meat intake with cancer risk at most other sites are inconsistent. The overall data set, derived from an integrated series of case-control studies conducted in northern Italy between 1983 and 1996, included the following incident, histologically confirmed neoplasms: oral cavity, pharynx and esophagus (n = 497), stomach (n = 745), colon (n = 828), rectum (n = 498), liver (n = 428), gallbladder (n = 60), pancreas (n = 362), larynx (n = 242), breast (n = 3,412), endometrium (n = 750), ovary (n = 971), prostate (n = 127), bladder (n = 431), kidney (n = 190), thyroid (n = 208), Hodgkin's disease (n = 80), non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (n = 200) and multiple myelomas (n = 120). Controls were 7,990 patients admitted to hospital for acute, non-neoplastic conditions unrelated to long-term modifications in diet. The multivariate odds ratios (ORs) for the highest tertile of red meat intake (>/=7 times/week) compared with the lowest (</=3 times/week) were 1.6 for stomach, 1.9 for colon, 1.7 for rectal, 1.6 for pancreatic, 1.6 for bladder, 1.2 for breast, 1.5 for endometrial and 1.3 for ovarian cancer. ORs showed no significant heterogeneity across strata of age at diagnosis and sex. No convincing relation with red meat intake emerged for cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx and esophagus, liver, gallbladder, larynx, kidney, thyroid, prostate, Hodgkin's disease, non-Hodgkin's lymphomas and multiple myeloma. For none of the neoplasms considered was there a significant inverse relationship with red meat intake. Thus, reducing red meat intake might lower the risk for several common neoplasms.
Adult↗