Helicobacter Pylori Infection in Texas Hispanic and Non-Hispanic White Men: Implications for Gastric Cancer Risk Disparities.

Chronic Helicobacter pylori ( H. pylori) infection is a major gastric adenocarcinoma (GA) risk factor. GA disproportionately affects U.S. Hispanics compared with non-Hispanic Whites (NHWs). Since H. pylori infection studies in Hispanics are few, infection rates in Hispanic and NHW men in Bexar County were compared, and relationships with ethnicity and obesity examined. Age- and zip code-matched participants from a community-dwelling cohort were randomly selected. Sera from 284 men were analyzed by enzyme immunoassay for H. pylori antibodies. Adjusted risk ratio estimation for matched data was conducted to identify differences. Hispanics had a markedly higher prevalence of infection (30.3%) than NHWs (9.2%). Matched risk ratio (mRR) analyses revealed a strong association between H. pylori seropositivity and Hispanic ethnicity (mRR = 3.31; 95% CI [1.91, 5.73], adjusted by BMI, smoking status, and family history of cancer (mRR range = 3.28-3.89). BMI mRRs (range = 1.19-1.22) were significant in all models. In this cohort, Hispanic men had higher H. pylori infection rates than NHWs, and parallel the disproportionately higher rates of GA; obesity contributes to this higher prevalence. Future studies should address country of origin, acculturation, and other factors influencing obesity to further elucidate risk of GA in Hispanic populations.

Effects of six months of Yoga on inflammatory serum markers prognostic of recurrence risk in breast cancer survivors.

Yoga-based exercise has proven to be beneficial for practitioners, including cancer survivors. This study reports on the effect on inflammatory biological markers for 20 breast cancer survivors who participated in a six-month yoga-based (YE) exercise program. Results are compared to a comprehensive exercise (CE) program group and a comparison (C) exercise group who chose their own exercises. "Pre" and "post" assessments included measures of anthropometrics, cardiorespiratory capacity, and inflammatory markers interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin 8 (IL-8), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) and C-reactive protein (CRP). Descriptive statistics, effect size (d), and dependent sample 't' tests for all outcome measures were calculated for the YE group. Significant improvements were seen in decreased % body fat, (-3.00%, d = -0.44, p = <.001) but not in cardiorespiratory capacity or in inflammatory serum markers. To compare YE outcomes with the other two groups, a one-way analysis of co-variance (ANCOVA) was used, controlling for age, BMI, cardiorespiratory capacity and serum marker baseline values. We found no differences between groups. Moreover, we did not see significant changes in any inflammatory marker for any group. Our results support the effectiveness of yoga-based exercise modified for breast cancer survivors for improving body composition. Larger studies are needed to determine if there are significant changes in inflammatory serum markers as a result of specific exercise modalities.