Biomedical subjects

Göran Hallmans

Publications and source records attributed to Göran Hallmans.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Reported food intake and distribution of body fat: a repeated cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Body mass, as well as distribution of body fat, are predictors of both diabetes and cardiovascular disease. In Northern Sweden, despite a marked increase in average body mass, prevalence of diabetes was stagnant and myocardial infarctions decreased. A more favourable distribution of body fat is a possible contributing factor. This study investigates the relative importance of individual food items for time trends in waist circumference (WC) and hip circumference (HC) on a population level. METHODS: Independent cross-sectional surveys conducted in 1986, 1990, 1994 and 1999 in the two northernmost counties of Sweden with a common population of 250,000. Randomly selected age stratified samples, altogether 2982 men and 3087 women aged 25-64 years. Questionnaires were completed and anthropometric measurements taken. For each food item, associations between frequency of consumption and waist and hip circumferences were estimated. Partial regression coefficients for every level of reported intake were multiplied with differences in proportion of the population reporting the corresponding levels of intake in 1986 and 1999. The sum of these product terms for every food item was the respective estimated impact on mean circumference. RESULTS: Time trends in reported food consumption associated with the more favourable gynoid distribution of adipose tissue were increased use of vegetable oil, pasta and 1.5% fat milk. Trends associated with abdominal obesity were increased consumption of beer in men and higher intake of hamburgers and French fried potatoes in women. CONCLUSION: Food trends as markers of time trends in body fat distribution have been identified. The method is a complement to conventional approaches to establish associations between food intake and disease risk on a population level.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Insulin-like growth factor I in pregnancy and maternal risk of breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: The role of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I in breast cancer remains controversial, despite numerous reports on the association of the hormone with breast cancer or high-risk mammographic densities. We hypothesized that exposure to elevated IGF-I during early pregnancy, a period characterized by intense cell proliferation in the breasts and in the presence of high concentrations of sex steroids, will be associated with increased maternal risk to develop a breast malignancy. METHODS: The Northern Sweden Maternity Cohort is an ongoing prospective study, collecting blood samples from first-trimester-pregnant women since 1975 as part of screening for infectious diseases. A case-control study (212 cases and 369 controls) was nested among Northern Sweden Maternity Cohort members who delivered singleton babies. RIA was used to measure IGF-I and IGF-II levels. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). RESULTS: Breast cancer risk increased with increasing IGF-I (top tertile OR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.1-2.7). The association was stronger among the primiparous (OR, 2.2; 95% CI, 1.1-4.4) than in the nonprimiparous women (OR, 1.4; 95% CI, 0.7-2.8). Upper-tertile risks seemed to decrease within the <28-, 28 to 33, and >33-year groups of age at sampling, from 2.5 (0.9-7.6) to 2.1 (0.9-5.0) and 1.2 (0.5-2.5), respectively. There was no association of breast cancer with first-trimester-pregnancy IGF-II. CONCLUSIONS: The study offers further evidence that IGF-I is important in breast cancer. Our findings suggest that the adverse effect of IGF-I on the breast may be stronger before the remodeling of the gland induced by a first pregnancy.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Circulating enterolactone and risk of endometrial cancer.

It has been suggested that phytoestrogens protect against hormone-dependent cancers. Lignans are the main class of phytoestrogens in Western diets. We conducted a prospective study of endometrial cancer and circulating levels of the main human lignan, enterolactone. The design was a case-control study nested within 3 prospective cohort studies, in New York, Sweden and Italy. Serum or plasma samples had been collected at enrollment and stored at -80 degrees C. A total of 153 cases, diagnosed a median of 5.3 years after blood donation, and 271 matched controls were included. No difference in circulating enterolactone was observed between cases (median, 19.2 nmol/L) and controls (18.5 nmol/L). Adjusting for body mass index, the odds ratio for the top tertile of enterolactone, as compared to the lowest was 1.2 (95% CI, 0.7-2.0; p for trend = 0.53). Lack of association was observed in both pre- and postmenopausal women. No correlation was observed between enterolactone and circulating estrogens or SHBG in healthy postmenopausal women. These results do not support a protective role of circulating lignans, in the range of levels observed, against endometrial cancer.

4-Butyrolactone↗

PubMed2006

Promoter polymorphisms in matrix metalloproteinases and their inhibitors: few associations with breast cancer susceptibility and progression.

The importance of matrix metalloproteinases and their inhibitors in tumor progression is well documented. We wanted to investigate if single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the promoter regions of these genes are associated with susceptibility to or progression of breast cancer. In this, so far largest case-control study, we genotyped eight SNPs in the MMP1, MMP2, MMP3, MMP9, MMP13, RECK and TIMP3 genes in a well-characterized breast cancer series of 959 cases and 952 controls from Sweden. Even though we did not correct for multiple comparisons, only a few associations were noted. We observed a moderately increased risk for the TT homozygotes of the MMP9-1562 C/T SNP (OR 1.88, 95% CI 0.97-3.63) and for the C allele carriers of the TIMP3-1296 T/C SNP (OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.05-1.50). In the survival analysis, only the TC heterozygotes of the RECK-420 T/C SNP showed a better survival compared to the TT homozygotes (P = 0.02 in all cases and P = 0.03 in lymph node negative cases). None of the other SNPs conferred an increased breast cancer risk, nor did they correlate with survival. A combination of the -585 TT homozygosity in the RECK gene and the -1296 TT homozygosity in the TIMP3 gene correlated with estrogen and progesterone receptor status (OR 1.81, 95% CI 1.03-3.21 and OR 2.10, 95% CI 1.18-3.86, respectively), and a combination of the -1306 TT homozygosity in the MMP2 gene and the -1562 CC homozygosity in the MMP9 gene with progesterone receptor status (OR 2.34, 95% CI 1.08-5.08). Although our study suggests some correlations between the studied SNPs and the progression of breast cancer, the rarity of the risk genotypes limits their usefulness in the clinic.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

TP53 and KRAS2 mutations in plasma DNA of healthy subjects and subsequent cancer occurrence: a prospective study.

In cancer patients, plasma often contains mutant DNA released by cancer cells. We have assessed the significance of plasma DNA mutations for subsequent cancer development in healthy subjects in a large longitudinal prospective study. The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study was analyzed with a nested case-control design. Cases were nonsmokers or ex-smokers for >10 years and newly diagnosed with lung, bladder, or upper aerodigestive tract cancers or leukemia accrued after a median follow-up of 6.3 years. Controls were matched 2:1 for follow-up, age, sex, area of recruitment, and smoking status. KRAS2 mutations were detected by mutant-enriched PCR and sequencing (n = 1,098). TP53 mutations were detected by denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography, temporal temperature gradient electrophoresis, and sequencing (n = 550). KRAS2 or TP53 mutations were detected in 13 of 1,098 (1.2%) and 20 of 550 (3.6%) subjects, respectively, 16 of whom developed cancer on average after 18.3 months of follow-up. Among 137 subjects who developed bladder cancer, 5 had KRAS2 mutations [odds ratio (OR), 4.25; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 1.27-14.15] and 7 had TP53 mutations (OR, 1.81; 95% CI, 0.66-4.97). There was a nonsignificant trend for association between TP53 mutations and bulky adducts in lymphocyte DNA (OR, 2.78; 95% CI, 0.64-12.17). This is the first report of TP53 or KRAS2 mutations in the plasma of healthy subjects in a prospective study, suggesting that KRAS2 mutation is detectable ahead of bladder cancer diagnosis. TP53 mutation may be associated with environmental exposures. These observations have implications for monitoring early steps of carcinogenesis.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Polymorphisms in the KDR and POSTN genes: association with breast cancer susceptibility and prognosis.

Angiogenesis is an important step in the development of cancer. Vascular endothelial growth factor is a major regulator of breast cancer angiogenesis, the effects of which are transmitted through the kinase domain receptor (KDR). Up-regulation of KDR by periostin (POSTN) induces angiogenesis. We screened the KDR and the POSTN genes for published single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and chose two SNPs in each gene for further analyses. We carried out a case-control study consisting of 412 familial and 912 unselected breast cancer cases together with ethnically and geographically selected controls. Genotype, haplotype and genotype combination analyses were carried out to evaluate their effect on susceptibility to and prognosis of breast cancer. A haplotype in the POSTN gene was associated with an increased risk even after correction for multiple comparisons. Nominal associations between the SNPs and prognostic indicators were also observed. Tumors of the KDR 472His allele carriers were less often progesterone receptor negative according to both genotype and haplotype analyses (OR 0.61, 95%CI 0.40-0.92 and OR 0.60, 95%CI 0.40-0.91, respectively). The POSTN -33G allele carriers had more often high grade and estrogen receptor negative tumors (OR 1.75, 95%CI 1.02-3.01 and OR 1.70, 95%CI 1.04-2.78, respectively). The overall and cancer specific survival after 15 years of follow-up was more than 75%, and it did not depend on the genotype. Although a major effect of the SNPs in the KDR and the POSTN genes on breast cancer susceptibility and prognosis was excluded, the effect of the POSTN C-33G SNP on prognosis needs further characterization.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Fruits and vegetables and renal cell carcinoma: findings from the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition (EPIC).

We examined the association between fruits and vegetables and risk of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Dietary intake data and complete follow-up information on cancer incidence were available for 375,851 participants recruited in EPIC centers of 8 countries. During an average follow-up of 6.2 years, 306 incident cases of RCC were identified. The associations of consumption of total vegetables, total fruits, combined total fruits and vegetables and specific subtypes of vegetables with RCC risk were analyzed using Cox proportional hazards, stratified by centre and adjusted for potential confounders. No significant associations between fruit and vegetable consumption and RCC risk were observed despite a wide range of intake. The estimated relative risks (95% confidence intervals [CI]) in men and women combined were 0.97 (0.85-1.11) per 40 g increase in vegetable intake, 1.03 (0.97-1.08) per 40 g increase in fruit intake and 1.02 (0.93-1.11) per 80 g increase in fruit and vegetable intake combined. Among the vegetable subtypes, an inverse association was observed for root vegetables (RR per 8 g increase: 0.88; 95% CI: 0.78-0.99). These results suggest that total consumption of fruits and vegetables is not related to risk of RCC, although we cannot exclude the possibility that very low consumption is related to higher risk. The relationship of specific fruit and vegetable subgroups with RCC risk warrant further investigation.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Plasma and dietary vitamin C levels and risk of gastric cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-EURGAST).

Vitamin C is an antioxidant and inhibitor of carcinogenic N-nitroso compound production in the stomach. Higher dietary vitamin C consumption is associated with decreased risk of gastric cancer (GC) in numerous case-control studies, but data from prospective studies are limited, particularly so for blood measures of vitamin C. The objective of this study was to determine the association of plasma and dietary vitamin C levels with the risk of GC in a case-control study nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), a large cohort involving 10 European countries. Using a fluorometric method, vitamin C was measured in pre-diagnostic plasma from 215 GC cases (matched controls = 416). Conditional logistic regression models adjusted by body mass index, total energy intake, smoking status/duration/intensity and Helicobacter pylori infection status were used to estimate relative cancer risks. No association with GC risk was observed for dietary vitamin C, whereas an inverse GC risk was observed in the highest versus lowest quartile of plasma vitamin C [odds ratio (OR) = 0.55, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.31-0.97, P(trend) = 0.043], which was maintained after exclusion of cases with <or=2 years follow-up (OR = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.19-0.83, P(trend) = 0.064). The inverse association was more pronounced in subjects consuming higher levels of red and processed meats, a factor that may increase endogenous N-nitroso compound production. The effect of plasma vitamin C was not different by GC anatomical subsite (cardia/non-cardia) or histological subtype (diffuse/intestinal), and there was no significant interaction of effect with H.pylori. The results of this study show, in a prospective setting, an inverse association of GC risk with high levels of plasma vitamin C and suggest an interaction with the intake of red and processed meats, whose consumption may elevate endogenous N-nitroso compound production.

Aged↗

PubMed2006

Fruit and vegetable intake and the risk of stomach and oesophagus adenocarcinoma in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-EURGAST).

It is considered that fruit and vegetable (F&V) protect against oesophagus and gastric cancer (GC). However, 2 recent meta-analyses suggest that the strength of association on GC seems to be weaker for vegetables than for fruit and weaker in cohort than in case-control studies. No evidence exists from cohort studies about adenocarcinoma of oesophagus (ACO). In 521,457 men and women participating in the EPIC cohort in 10 European countries, information of diet and lifestyle was collected at baseline. After an average of 6.5 years of follow-up, a total of 330 GC and 65 ACO, confirmed and classified by a panel of pathologists, was used for the analysis. We examined the relation between F&V intake and GC and ACO. A calibration study in a sub-sample was used to control diet measurement errors. In a sub-sample of cases and a random sample of controls, antibodies against Helicobacter pylori (Hp) were measured and interactions with F&V were examined in a nested case-control study. We observed no association with total vegetable intake or specific groups of vegetables and GC risk, except for the intestinal type, where a negative association is possible regarding total vegetable (calibrated HR 0.66; 95% CI 0.35-1.22 per 100 g increase) and onion and garlic intake (calibrated HR 0.70; 95% CI 0.38-1.29 per 10 g increase). No evidence of association between fresh fruit intake and GC risk was observed. We found a negative but non significant association between citrus fruit intake and the cardia site (calibrated HR 0.77; 95% CI 0.47-1.22 per 100 g increase) while no association was observed with the non-cardia site. Regarding ACO, we found a non significant negative association for vegetable intake and for citrus intake (calibrated HRs 0.72; 95% CI 0.32-1.64 and 0.77; 95% CI 0.46-1.28 per 100 and 50 g increase, respectively). It seems that Hp infection does not modify the effect of F&V intake. Our study supports a possible protective role of vegetable intake in the intestinal type of GC and the ACO. Citrus fruit consumption may have a role in the protection against cardia GC and ACO.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMed2006

Endogenous versus exogenous exposure to N-nitroso compounds and gastric cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-EURGAST) study.

The risk of gastric cancer (GC) associated with dietary intake of nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) and endogenous formation of nitroso compounds (NOCs) was investigated in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). The study included 521,457 individuals and 314 incident cases of GC that had occurred after 6.6 average years of follow-up. An index of endogenous NOC (ENOC) formation was estimated using data of the iron content from meat intake and faecal apparent total NOC formation according to previous published studies. Antibodies to Helicobacter pylori and vitamin C levels were measured in a sub-sample of cases and matched controls included in a nested case-control within the cohort. Exposure to NDMA was < 1 microg on average compared with 93 mug on average from ENOC. There was no association between NDMA intake and GC risk (HR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.7-1.43). ENOC was significantly associated with non-cardia cancer risk (HR, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.14-1.78 for an increase of 40 microg/day) but not with cardia cancer (HR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.69-1.33). Although the number of not infected cases is low, our data suggest a possible interaction between ENOC and H.pylori infection (P for interaction = 0.09). Moreover, we observed an interaction between plasma vitamin C and ENOC (P < 0.02). ENOC formation may account for our previously reported association between red and processed meat consumption and gastric cancer risk.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMed2006

Meat intake and risk of stomach and esophageal adenocarcinoma within the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC).

BACKGROUND: Dietary factors are thought to have an important role in gastric and esophageal carcinogenesis, but evidence from cohort studies for such a role is lacking. We examined the risks of gastric cancer and esophageal adenocarcinoma associated with meat consumption within the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort. METHODS: A total of 521,457 men and women aged 35-70 years in 10 European countries participated in the EPIC cohort. Dietary and lifestyle information was collected at recruitment. Cox proportional hazard models were used to examine associations between meat intake and risks of cardia and gastric non-cardia cancers and esophageal adenocarcinoma. Data from a calibration substudy were used to correct hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for diet measurement errors. In a nested case-control study, we examined interactions between Helicobacter pylori infection status (i.e., plasma H. pylori antibodies) and meat intakes. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS: During a mean follow-up of 6.5 years, 330 gastric adenocarcinoma and 65 esophageal adenocarcinomas were diagnosed. Gastric non-cardia cancer risk was statistically significantly associated with intakes of total meat (calibrated HR per 100-g/day increase = 3.52; 95% CI = 1.96 to 6.34), red meat (calibrated HR per 50-g/day increase = 1.73; 95% CI = 1.03 to 2.88), and processed meat (calibrated HR per 50-g/day increase = 2.45; 95% CI = 1.43 to 4.21). The association between the risk of gastric non-cardia cancer and total meat intake was especially large in H. pylori-infected subjects (odds ratio per 100-g/day increase = 5.32; 95% CI = 2.10 to 13.4). Intakes of total, red, or processed meat were not associated with the risk of gastric cardia cancer. A positive but non-statistically significant association was observed between esophageal adenocarcinoma cancer risk and total and processed meat intake in the calibrated model. In this study population, the absolute risk of development of gastric adenocarcinoma within 10 years for a study subject aged 60 years was 0.26% for the lowest quartile of total meat intake and 0.33% for the highest quartile of total meat intake. CONCLUSION: Total, red, and processed meat intakes were associated with an increased risk of gastric non-cardia cancer, especially in H. pylori antibody-positive subjects, but not with cardia gastric cancer.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMed2006

Body size and risk of renal cell carcinoma in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC).

Previous studies suggest that obesity is related to increased risk of renal cell carcinoma (RCC); however, only a few studies report on measures of central vs. peripheral adiposity. We examined the association between anthropometric measures, including waist and hip circumference and RCC risk among 348,550 men and women free of cancer at baseline from 8 countries of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). During 6.0 years of follow-up we identified 287 incident cases of RCC. Relative risks were calculated using Cox regression, stratified by age and study center and adjusted for smoking status, education, alcohol consumption, physical activity, menopausal status, and hormone replacement therapy use. Among women, an increased risk of RCC was conferred by body weight (relative risk [RR] in highest vs. lowest quintile = 2.13; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.16-3.90; p-trend = 0.003), body mass index (BMI) (RR = 2.25; 95% CI = 1.14-4.44; p-trend = 0.009), and waist (RR = 1.67; 95% CI = 0.94-2.98; p-trend = 0.003) and hip circumference (RR = 2.30; 95% CI = 1.22-4.34; p-trend = 0.01); however, waist and hip circumference were no longer significant after controlling for body weight. Among men, hip circumference (RR = 0.44; 95% CI = 0.20-0.98; p-trend = 0.03) was related significantly to decreased RCC risk only after accounting for body weight. Height was not related significantly to RCC risk. Our findings suggest that obesity is related to increased risk of RCC irrespective of fat distribution among women, whereas low hip circumference is related to increased RCC risk among men. Our data give further credence to public health efforts aiming to reduce the prevalence of obesity to prevent RCC, in addition to other chronic diseases.

Body Composition↗

PubMed2006

A potential inverse association between insulin-like growth factor I and hypertension in a cross-sectional study.

PURPOSE: Elevated circulating insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) levels increasingly are being implicated as a potential risk factor for the development of some cancers; however, relatively few epidemiologic studies have focused on potential relationships between circulating IGF-I levels and cardiovascular risk factors or cardiovascular disease. Hence, our objective is to examine relationships between IGF-I levels; body mass index (BMI); fasting insulin level; IGF binding protein 1 (IGFBP-1), IGFBP-2, and IGFBP-3 levels; and an array of traditional cardiovascular risk factors. METHODS: Our analysis included 715 men and women aged 30 to 62 years who participated in the Västerbotten Intervention Project cohort. IGF-I and IGFBP-1, -2, and -3 were measured in stored plasma samples. Cardiovascular risk factors of interest included glucose level (fasting and 2-hour postload), lipid levels (total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides), blood pressure (systolic and diastolic), and hypertension status. All presented results were adjusted for age, sex, and laboratory batch. RESULTS: IGF-I quartile was associated inversely with 2-hour glucose level and diastolic blood pressure. There was a stepwise inverse graded association between increasing IGF-I quartile and hypertension, with an odds ratio of 0.51 (95% confidence interval, 0.29-0.90) for hypertension comparing the fourth IGF-I quartile with the first. Further adjusting for BMI and IGFBP-3 level simultaneously strengthened the inverse association, with an odds ratio of 0.42 (95% confidence interval, 0.22-0.80) for hypertension comparing the fourth with the first IGF-I quartile. CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to positive associations between IGF-I levels and some cancers, our results suggest that IGF-I level may be related inversely to prevalent hypertension, a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Body mass index and cancer: results from the Northern Sweden Health and Disease Cohort.

Excess weight has been associated with increased risk of cancer. The effect of body mass index (BMI, kg/m(2)) on overall cancer risk and on risk of developing several common cancer types was examined in a population-based cohort study. Height and weight measurements were available for 35,362 women and 33,424 men recruited in the Northern Sweden Health and Disease Cohort between 1985 and 2003. Among cohort members, 2,691 incident cancer cases were identified. The association of BMI with cancer risk was examined using Poisson regression. Women with BMI > 27.1 (top quartile) had a 29% higher risk of developing any malignancy compared to women with BMI of 18.5-22.2 (lowest quartile), which increased to 47% in analysis limited to nonsmokers. Analyses according to WHO cut-off points showed that obese women (BMI > or = 30) had a 36% higher risk of cancer than women with BMI in the normal range (18.5-25). Individual cancer sites most strongly related to obesity were endometrium (risk for top quartile = 3.53, 95% confidence interval 1.86-7.43), ovary (2.09, 1.13-4.13) and colon (2.05, 1.04-4.41). BMI was inversely related to breast cancer occurring before age 49 (0.58, 0.29-1.11, p(trend) < 0.04). In men, there was no association of BMI with overall cancer risk. Obese men (BMI > or = 30), however, were at increased risk of developing kidney cancer (3.63, 1.23-10.7) and, after exclusion of cases diagnosed within 1 year of recruitment, colon cancer (1.77, 1.04-2.95). Our study provides further evidence that BMI is positively associated with cancer risk. In women from northern Sweden, up to 7% of all cancers were attributable to overweight and obesity and could be avoided by keeping BMI within the recommended range.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Epidemiology of Kaposi's Sarcoma herpesvirus (HHV8) in Västerbotten County, Sweden.

A population-based serosurvey of Human Herpesvirus type 8 (HHV8) in Västerbotten County, an area of Northern Sweden with high incidence of Kaposi's Sarcoma, was conducted. Serum samples from an age- and sex-stratified random sample of 520 subjects (260 men and 260 women) participating in a population-based biobanking project were tested for antibodies against HHV8, using a sensitive indirect immunofluorescence assay to latent and lytic HHV8 antigens. Buffy coat DNA was also analyzed for viral DNA using real time PCR assay. HHV8 DNA was not detectable in any one of the buffy coat samples. Eighty-four subjects (16.2%) were HHV8 seropositive, 14.4% for the lytic HHV8 antigen, and 1.7% for the latent HHV8 antigen. HHV8 seroprevalences were not associated significantly with sex or age. HHV8 seropositivity was more common among smokers (OR: 1.95, 95% CI: 1.02-3.75), but was less common among consumers of wine and spirits (OR: 0.44, 95% CI: 0.25-0.77 and OR: 0.50, 95% CI: 0.26-0.95, respectively). In summary, HHV8 has an intermediate high and stable seroprevalence rate in Northern Sweden, but environmental determinants that can explain the viral distribution were not found.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

The effect of occasional smoking on smoking-related cancers: in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC).

OBJECTIVE: Most studies on tobacco smoking have focused on daily-smokers. Occasional smokers, who have never smoked daily, have often been included in the reference group of never-smokers. We have investigated the association between occasional smoking and cancer of the bladder, kidney, pancreas, upper aero-digestive tract and lung. METHODS: The study population consisted of 158,488 persons, who provided information on occasional smoking, within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), 780 of whom developed a smoking-related cancer. We used Cox proportional hazard model, stratified by gender and country to estimate incidence rate ratios (IRR) for smoking-related cancers. RESULTS: The results suggest that occasional smokers have a higher risk of bladder cancer (IRR: 1.92, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.93-3.98) and of the major smoking-related cancers combined (IRR: 1.24, 95% CI 0.80-1.94) than true never-smokers. Including occasional smokers in the reference group resulted in a lower risk estimate for former and current smokers. CONCLUSIONS: Occasional smoking should be discouraged.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Polymorphisms of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase and the risk of prostate cancer: a nested case-control study.

It has been proposed that folate and polymorphisms of the enzyme methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR), which regulates influx of folate from DNA synthesis and repair to methylation reactions, are involved in the aetiology of cancer. To relate the MTHFR 677C-->T and 1298A-->C polymorphisms to the risk of prostate cancer, taking into consideration prospective plasma levels of folate, vitamin B12 and homocysteine. The design was a case-control study of 223 prostate cancer cases and 435 matched controls nested within the population-based Northern Sweden Health and Disease Cohort. Neither the MTHFR 677C-->T nor the MTHFR 1298A-->C polymorphism was statistically significantly associated with the risk of prostate cancer in univariate analysis by conditional logistic regression. After adjustment for MTHFR 1298A-->C, plasma folate, vitamin B12, homocysteine, body mass index and smoking, the odds ratios were, for the 677 CT genotype, 1.52 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02-2.26], and for TT, 0.91 (95% CI 0.41-2.04). Our previously reported observation of a possible increase in the risk of prostate cancer at high plasma folate levels was attributable in this study to subjects having the MTHFR 677C-->T polymorphism. We found that the MTHFR 677C-->T polymorphism is not likely to have a major role in the development of prostate cancer, although it may possibly increase the risk in combination with high plasma folate levels. Further investigation in larger studies is warranted.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

The effects of commuting activity and occupational and leisure time physical activity on risk of myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: Risk reduction of myocardial infarction has been shown for leisure time physical activity. The results of studies on occupational physical activity and risk of myocardial infarction are incongruous and studies on commuting activity are scarce. The aim of this study was to investigate how commuting activity, occupational physical activity and leisure time physical activity were associated with risk of future first myocardial infarction. DESIGN: We used a prospective incident case-referent study design nested in Västerbotten Intervention Program and the Northern Sweden MONICA study. METHODS: Commuting habits, occupational physical activity, leisure time physical activity and cardiovascular risk factors were assessed at baseline screening and compared in 583 cases (20% women) with a first myocardial infarction and 2098 matched referents. RESULTS: Regular car commuting was associated with increased risk of myocardial infarction versus commuting by bus, cycling or walking [odds ratio (OR) 1.74; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.20-2.52] after multivariate adjustment. High versus low leisure time physical activity was associated with reduced risk of myocardial infarction (OR 0.69; 95% CI, 0.50-0.95) after adjustment for occupational physical activity and commuting activity, but the association was not statistically significant after further multivariate adjustment. After multivariate adjustment we observed a reduced risk for myocardial infarction in men with moderate (OR 0.70; 95% CI, 0.50-0.98) or high (OR 0.67; 95% CI, 0.42-1.08) versus low occupational physical activity. CONCLUSIONS: We found a clear association between car commuting and a first myocardial infarction and a corresponding inverse association with leisure time physical activity, while the impact of occupational physical activity on the risk of myocardial infarction was weaker.

Chi-Square Distribution↗