Occupational exposure to endocrine disruptors and lymphoma risk in a multi-centric European study.

BACKGROUND: Incidence rates of lymphoma are usually higher in men than in women, and oestrogens may protect against lymphoma. METHODS: We evaluated occupational exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) among 2457 controls and 2178 incident lymphoma cases and subtypes from the European Epilymph study. RESULTS: Over 30 years of exposure to EDCs compared to no exposure was associated with a 24% increased risk of mature B-cell neoplasms (P-trend=0.02). Associations were observed among men, but not women. CONCLUSIONS: Prolonged occupational exposure to endocrine disruptors seems to be moderately associated with some lymphoma subtypes.

Antibodies against lytic and latent Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpes virus antigens and lymphoma in the European EpiLymph case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpes virus is associated with primary effusion lymphoma and multicentric Castleman's disease. METHODS: Seropositivity to lytic and latent Kaposi's sarcoma herpes virus (KSHV) antigens were examined in 2083 lymphomas and 2013 controls from six European countries. RESULTS: Antibodies against KSHV latent and lytic antigens were detectable in 4.5% and 3.4% of controls, respectively, and 3.6% of cases (P>0.05). The KSHV seropositivity was associated with splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL) (odds ratio (OR)=4.11, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.57-10.83) and multiple myeloma (OR=0.31, 95% CI=0.11-0.85). CONCLUSION: The KSHV is unlikely to contribute importantly to lymphomagenesis among immunocompetent subjects. However, the observed association with SMZL may underline a chronic antigen mechanism in its aetiology.

Compositional analysis of dietary patterns.

Instead of looking at individual nutrients or foods, dietary pattern analysis has emerged as a promising approach to examine the relationship between diet and health outcomes. Despite dietary patterns being compositional (i.e. usually a higher intake of some foods implies that less of other foods are being consumed), compositional data analysis has not yet been applied in this setting. We describe three compositional data analysis approaches (compositional principal component analysis, balances and principal balances) that enable the extraction of dietary patterns by using control subjects from the Spanish multicase-control (MCC-Spain) study. In particular, principal balances overcome the limitations of purely data-driven or investigator-driven methods and present dietary patterns as trade-offs between eating more of some foods and less of others.

Mujeres cuidadas por hombres: percepciones de un cambio de rol. Un estudio cualitativo / Women cared by men: perceptions for a rol change

Objetivo: Describir la experiencia de mujeres cuidadas por hombres en la transición del rol de cuidadora a receptora de cuidados. Metodología: Estudio cualitativo descriptivo basado en la teoría fenomenológica con entrevistas en profundidad. Se realizó un muestreo por bola de nieve y se escogieron 6 mujeres cuidadas por hombres a las que se entrevistó. Resultados: Se han obtenido 4 categorías: concepto de cuidado, experiencia como cuidadora, de proveedora a receptora de cuidados y cuidadoras frente a cuidador. Conclusiones: Los sentimientos de las mujeres cuidadoras son muy variados, desde el amor y felicidad hasta la obligación y agotamiento. Al producirse la transición de un rol de cuidadora al de receptora experimentan otro tipo de sentimientos, como pérdida de independencia y agradecimiento, entre otros. En cuanto a la calidad de vida percibida dieron respuestas muy heterogéneas, no relacionadas con quien proporciona los cuidados sino con su estado de salud. La incursión del hombre en el cuidado se realiza por la aparición súbita de una enfermedad incapacitante en la mujer o por el aumento del nivel de dependencia en relación con el paso de tiempo. Parece que la incorporación del hombre al cuidado se realiza cuando no hay otra alternativa posible y, a pesar de ello, se continúa perpetuando el rol tradicional femenino con la contratación de cuidadoras femeninas para el cuidado del hogar y tareas básicas (AU)

Objective: Describe the experience of women cared for by men, in the transition of the role of caregiver to care recipient. Methods: A qualitative, descriptive study based on a phenomenological theory with in-depth interviews. A snowball sampling was done, choosing six women cared for by men who were then interviewed. Results: Four categories were obtained: Concept of care, Experience as a caregiver, from being a caregiver to a care recipient, and Female versus male caregivers. Conclusions: The feelings of female caregivers are very varied, from love and happiness to obligation and exhaustion. When the transition from a caregiver role to a care recipient occurs, they experience other types of feelings, such as loss of independence and gratitude, among others. Regarding the quality of life experienced, they gave heterogeneous answers, not related to the person who provides the care, but to the status of their health. The incursion of men into care is made by the sudden appearance of a disabling disease in the woman or by the increase of the level of dependence in relation to the passage of time. It seems that the incorporation of men into care takes place when there are no other alternatives, and despite this, we still continue to perpetuate the traditional female role through the hiring of female caregivers for home care and basic tasks (AU)

Exposure to non-arsenic pesticides is associated with lymphoma among farmers in Spain.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the risk of lymphoma among farmers in Spain. METHODS: This is a multicentre case control study conducted in Spain. Cases were subjects diagnosed with lymphoma according to the World Health Organization (WHO) classification in four hospitals between 1998-2002. Hospital controls were frequency matched to the cases by sex, age, and centre. All subjects were interviewed about jobs ever held in lifetime for at least one year and the exposures in those jobs were recorded. The risk of lymphomas among subjects ever having had a job as a farmer was compared with all other occupations. Farmers were analysed according to the type of farming job performed: crop farming, animal farming, and general farming. Occupational exposure was summarised into 15 main categories: organic dust, radiation, contact with animals, PAH, non-arsenic pesticides (carbamates, organophosphates, chlorinated hydrocarbons, triazines and triazoles, phenoxy herbicides, chlorophenols, dibenzodioxin, and dibenzofuran), arsenic pesticides, contact with meat, contact with children, solvents, asbestos, soldering fumes, organic colourants, polychlorinated biphenyls, ethylene oxide, and hair dyes. RESULTS: Although farmers were not at an increased risk of lymphoma as compared with all other occupations, farmers exposed to non-arsenic pesticides were found to be at increased risk of lymphoma (OR = 1.8, 95% CI 1.1 to 2). This increased risk was observed among farmers working exclusively either as crop farmers or as animal farmers (OR = 2.8, 95% CI 1.3 to 5.8). Risk was highest for exposure to non-arsenic pesticides for over nine years (OR = 2.4, 95% CI 1.2 to 2.8). CONCLUSIONS: Long term exposure to non-arsenic pesticides may induce lymphomagenesis among farmers.

Desigualdades de género, edad y situación sociolaboral. Programa de actividad fisica Activa-Murcia / Gender, Age and Socio-Occupational Inequalities. Activa-Murcia Physical Activity Program

El objetivo de este estudio fue describir las características diferenciales por sexo y edad en un Programa de actividad física (ACTIVA-Murcia) desde una perspectiva de género. Se realizó un estudio descriptivo mediante análisis secundario en 411 participantes de dos centros de salud de Murcia. El 62,3% fueron mujeres y el 71,8% tenían entre 45 y 64 años. Entre los hombres, el 57,8% estaban laboralmente activos y tenían una actividad física cuya mediana fue de 1.939,5 METs/semanales. Entre las mujeres, el 37,4% estaban activas laboralmente y realizaban una mediana de 1.386,0 METs/semanales. El motivo de ausencia a alguna sesión por enfermedad fue del 53,4% para las mujeres y el 30,4% para los hombres. Los profesionales deben considerar estas diferencias en la promoción de actividad física

The objective of this study was to describe the differential characteristics by sex and age in a physical activity Program (ACTIVA-Murcia) from a gender perspective. A descriptive study by secondary analysis was conducted on 411 participants from two municipality health centers in Murcia. 62.3% were women and 71.8% were between 45 and 64 years of age. Among men, 57.8% were working and they had a median physical activity of 1,939.5 METs/week. Among women, 37.4% were active in work, performing a median of 1,386.0 METs/week. The most declared reason of absence from any session was illness, as stated by 53.4% of women and 30.4% of men. Professionals should consider these differences in the promotion of physical activity

A meta-analysis of Hodgkin lymphoma reveals 19p13.3 TCF3 as a novel susceptibility locus.

Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) have identified associations with genetic variation at both HLA and non-HLA loci; however, much of heritable HL susceptibility remains unexplained. Here we perform a meta-analysis of three HL GWAS totaling 1,816 cases and 7,877 controls followed by replication in an independent set of 1,281 cases and 3,218 controls to find novel risk loci. We identify a novel variant at 19p13.3 associated with HL (rs1860661; odds ratio (OR)=0.81, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 0.76-0.86, P(combined) = 3.5 × 10(-10)), located in intron 2 of TCF3 (also known as E2A), a regulator of B- and T-cell lineage commitment known to be involved in HL pathogenesis. This meta-analysis also notes associations between previously published loci at 2p16, 5q31, 6p31, 8q24 and 10p14 and HL subtypes. We conclude that our data suggest a link between the 19p13.3 locus, including TCF3, and HL risk.

Risk of malignant lymphoma associated with human herpesvirus-8: a case-control study in Spain.

No overall increased risk of lymphoma associated with antibodies to human herpesvirus-8 was found in 526 lymphomas and 599 controls (odds ratio (OR)=1.04, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.62-1.75); significant increases were noted for 19 lymphoplasmacytic lymphomas (OR=4.47, 95% CI=1.34-14.85) and nine low-grade lymphoma/lymphoma B-cell NOS (OR=5.82, 95% CI=1.07-31.73).

Predictores de la retención en una comunidad terapéutica para drogodependientes / Predictors of retention in a Therapeutic Community for addicts

El abandono de los tratamientos es uno de los principales problemas en el ámbito de la salud mental y se trata de un fenómeno particularmente importante en los programas por abuso de drogas. El objetivo de este estudio es evaluar las tasas de retención de una comunidad terapéutica para drogodependientes y conocer la influencia de las variables pre y durante el tratamiento sobre la permanencia de los pacientes en el programa. La tasa de abandonos fue del 32,7 por ciento y la duración media de la permanencia de 7 meses. El estudio muestra que las variables relacionadas con los sujetos no predicen el abandono mientras que las variables relacionadas con el tratamiento estaban asociadas con una mayor retención. Se concluye que los eventos durante el tratamiento son cruciales para la retención de los pacientes en los tratamientos de drogodependencias (AU)