Steamed Ginseng Berry Powder Ameliorates Skeletal Muscle Atrophy via Myogenic Effects.

Sarcopenia is an age-related loss of muscle mass and function for which there is no approved pharmacological treatment. We tested direct efficacy by evaluating grip strength improvement in a sarcopenia mouse model rather than drug screening, which inhibits specific molecular mechanisms. Various physiological functions of ginseng berries are beneficial to the human body. The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of steamed ginseng berry powder (SGBP). SGBP administration increased myotube diameter and suppressed the mRNA expression of sarcopenia-inducing molecules. SGBP also reduced the levels of inflammatory transcription factors and cytokines that are known to induce sarcopenia. Oral administration of SGBP improved muscle mass and physical performance in a mouse model of sarcopenia. In summary, our data suggest that SGBP is a novel therapeutic candidate for the amelioration of muscle weakness, including sarcopenia.

Cultivation of Chlorella sp. HS2 using wastewater from soy sauce factory.

Incorporation of wastewater from industrial sectors into the design of microalgal biorefineries has significant potential for advancing the practical application of this emerging industry. This study tested various food industrial wastewaters to assess their suitability for microalgal cultivation. Among these wastewaters, defective soy sauce (DSS) and soy sauce wastewater (SWW) were chosen but DSS exhibited the highest nutrient content with 13,500 ppm total nitrogen and 3051 ppm total phosphorus. After diluting DSS by a factor of 50, small-scale cultivation of microalgae was conducted to optimize culture conditions. SWW exhibited optimal growth at 25-30 °C and 300-500 µE m-2 s-1, while DSS showed optimal growth at 30-35 °C. Based on a 100-mL lab-scale and 3-L outdoor cultivation with an extended cultivation period, DSS outperformed SWW, exhibiting higher final biomass productivity. Additionally, nutrient-concentrated nature of DSS is advantageous for transportation at an industrial scale, leading us to select it as the most promising feedstock for microalgal cultivation. With further optimization, DSS has the potential to serve as an effective microalgal cultivation feedstock for large-scale biomass production.

Prophylactic Cerclage to Prevent Preterm Birth after Conization: A Cohort Study Using Data from the National Health Insurance Service of Korea.

PURPOSE: To investigate potential differences in the frequency of preterm births (PTB) between pregnancies with or without prophylactic cerclage in women with a history of conization. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We identified women who had their first singleton delivery after conization between 2013 and 2018 using records in the National Health Insurance Service of Korea claims database. We only included women who had undergone a health examination and interview within 2 years before delivery. We used timing of maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (MSAFP) tests to differentiate early (before) from late (after the MSAFP test) cerclage. The frequency of adverse pregnancy outcomes, including PTB, preterm labor and premature rupture of membranes, antibiotics and tocolytics use, cesarean delivery, and number of admissions before delivery, were compared. RESULTS: A total of 8322 women was included. Compared to the no cerclage group (n=7147), the risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes were higher in the cerclage group (n=1175). After categorizing patients with cerclage into two groups, the risk of PTB was still higher in the early cerclage group than in the no cerclage group after adjusting for baseline factors (4.48%, 30/669 vs. 2.77%, 159/5749, odds ratio 2.42, 95% confidence interval 1.49, 3.92). Other adverse pregnancy outcomes were also more frequent in the early cerclage group than the no cerclage group. CONCLUSION: Early cerclage performed before MSAFP testing does not prevent PTB in pregnancy with a history of conization, but increases the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, including PTB.

Stepwise treatment of undiluted raw piggery wastewater, using three microalgal species adapted to high ammonia.

A high ammonia concentration and chemical oxygen demand (COD) in piggery wastewater force it to be diluted before conventional microalgal treatment to reduce ammonia toxicity. Incomplete treatment of ammonia and COD in piggery wastewater may cause eutrophication, resulting in algal blooms. This study tried to treat raw piggery wastewater without dilution, using three strains of microalgae (Chlorella sorokiniana, Coelastrella sp. and Acutodesmus nygaardii) that outcompeted other algae under heterotrophic, mixotrophic, and autotrophic conditions, respectively, through adaptive evolution at high ammonia concentration. The three stepwise processes were designed to remove (1) small particles, COD, and phosphorus in the 1st heterotrophic C. sorokiniana cultivation, (2) ammonia and COD in the 2nd mixotrophic Coelastrella sp. cultivation, and (3) the remaining ammonia in the 3rd photoautotrophic A. nygaardii cultivation. To enhance ammonia uptake rate, each algal species were inoculated after 2-day nitrogen starvation. When the N-starved three species were inoculated at each step sequentially at 7 g/L for 2 days, the final phosphorus, COD, and ammonia removal efficiencies were 100% (16.4-0 mg/L), 92% (6820-545 mg/L), 90% (850-81 mg/L) and turbidity (99%) after total 6 days.

Does Diabetes Increase the Risk of Contracting COVID-19? A Population-Based Study in Korea.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to determine the infection risk of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in patients with diabetes (according to treatment method). METHODS: Claimed subjects to the Korean National Health Insurance claims database diagnosed with COVID-19 were included. Ten thousand sixty-nine patients with COVID-19 between January 28 and April 5, 2020, were included. Stratified random sampling of 1:5 was used to select the control group of COVID-19 patients. In total 50,587 subjects were selected as the control group. After deleting the missing values, 60,656 subjects were included. RESULTS: Adjusted odds ratio (OR) indicated that diabetic insulin users had a higher risk of COVID-19 than subjects without diabetes (OR, 1.25; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03 to 1.53; P=0.0278). In the subgroup analysis, infection risk was higher among diabetes male insulin users (OR, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.07 to 1.89), those between 40 and 59 years (OR, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.13 to 2.44). The infection risk was higher in diabetic insulin users with 2 to 4 years of morbidity (OR, 1.744; 95% CI, 1.003 to 3.044). CONCLUSION: Some diabetic patients with certain conditions would be associated with a higher risk of acquiring COVID-19, highlighting their need for special attention. Efforts are warranted to ensure that diabetic patients have minimal exposure to the virus. It is important to establish proactive care and screening tests for diabetic patients suspected with COVID-19 for timely disease diagnosis and management.

Efficacy and Safety of Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Patients Treated with Statins for Residual Hypertriglyceridemia: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular risk remains increased despite optimal low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) level induced by intensive statin therapy. Therefore, recent guidelines recommend non-high density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C) as a secondary target for preventing cardiovascular events. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and tolerability of omega-3 fatty acids (OM3-FAs) in combination with atorvastatin compared to atorvastatin alone in patients with mixed dyslipidemia. METHODS: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, and phase III multicenter study included adults with fasting triglyceride (TG) levels ≥200 and <500 mg/dL and LDL-C levels <110 mg/dL. Eligible subjects were randomized to ATOMEGA (OM3-FAs 4,000 mg plus atorvastatin calcium 20 mg) or atorvastatin 20 mg plus placebo groups. The primary efficacy endpoints were the percent changes in TG and non-HDL-C levels from baseline at the end of treatment. RESULTS: After 8 weeks of treatment, the percent changes from baseline in TG (-29.8% vs. 3.6%, P<0.001) and non-HDL-C (-10.1% vs. 4.9%, P<0.001) levels were significantly greater in the ATOMEGA group (n=97) than in the atorvastatin group (n=103). Moreover, the proportion of total subjects reaching TG target of <200 mg/dL in the ATOMEGA group was significantly higher than that in the atorvastatin group (62.9% vs. 22.3%, P<0.001). The incidence of adverse events did not differ between the two groups. CONCLUSION: The addition of OM3-FAs to atorvastatin improved TG and non-HDL-C levels to a significant extent compared to atorvastatin alone in subjects with residual hypertriglyceridemia.

Enhanced and Balanced Microalgal Wastewater Treatment (COD, N, and P) by Interval Inoculation of Activated Sludge.

Although chemical oxygen demand (COD) is an important issue for wastewater treatment, COD reduction with microalgae has been less studied compared to nitrogen or phosphorus removal. COD removal is not efficient in conventional wastewater treatment using microalgae, because the algae release organic compounds, thereby finally increasing the COD level. This study focused on enhancing COD removal and meeting the effluent standard for discharge by optimizing sludge inoculation timing, which was an important factor in forming a desirable algae/bacteria consortium for more efficient COD removal and higher biomass productivity. Activated sludge has been added to reduce COD in many studies, but its inoculation was done at the start of cultivation. However, when the sludge was added after 3 days of cultivation, at which point the COD concentration started to increase again, the algal growth and biomass productivity were higher than those of the initial sludge inoculation and control (without sludge). Algal and bacterial cell numbers measured by qPCR were also higher with sludge inoculation at 3 days later. In a semi-continuous cultivation system, a hydraulic retention time of 5 days with sludge inoculation resulted in the highest biomass productivity and N/P removal. This study achieved a further improved COD removal than the conventional microalgal wastewater treatment, by introducing bacteria in activated sludge at optimized timing.

Association between family history of diabetes and clusters of adherence to healthy behaviors: cross-sectional results from the Health Examinees-Gem (HEXA-G) study.

OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated whether individuals with affected family member adhered to healthy behaviours. DESIGN AND SETTING: This was a cross-sectional study of participants selected from health examinees who underwent the national health check-up programme of Korea in 39 centres between 2004 and 2013. PARTICIPANTS: The baseline data of 128 520 participants enrolled in the Health Examinees-Gem study were used for analysis. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Associations of family history of diabetes with adherence to regular exercise, healthy diet and body composition, and clusters of healthy behaviours were evaluated while adjusting for potential confounders selected by a directed acyclic graph. RESULTS: Participants with a family history of diabetes were more likely to adhere to a regular exercise regimen (OR=1.12, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.18 for men and OR=1.10, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.14 for women) and healthy diet (OR=1.06, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.12 for men and OR=1.06, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.12 for women) but were less likely to have a normal body composition (OR=0.83, 95% CI 0.78 to 0.87 for men and OR=0.83, 95% CI 0.80 to 0.86 for women). These associations were strengthened when the affected family members were siblings, the number of affected members was increased or the age at diagnosis of the affected member was younger than 50 years. In men and women, having a normal body composition is important in determining the cluster of behaviours, and those with a family history of diabetes were less likely to adhere to the normal body composition cluster. CONCLUSIONS: The group with high risk of diabetes showed healthy behaviors, but they did not have a normal body composition. Policies and campaigns targeting integrated health behaviors will be needed to reduce the burden of diseases and improve public health.

Association between Continuity of Care and the Onset of Thyroid Disorder among Diabetes Patients in Korea.

Objectives: As the relationship between diabetes mellitus and thyroid dysfunction is well known, it is important to investigate the factors influencing this association. Continuity of care is associated with better quality of care and outcomes, such as reduced complications, among diabetes patients. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the association between continuity of care and the onset of thyroid dysfunction among diabetes patients. Methods: We used Korean National Health Insurance Service National Sample Cohort data from 2002 to 2013. Our final study population included 16,806 newly diagnosed diabetes patients who were older than 45 years of age. Continuity of care was measured using the Continuity of Care index. The dependent variable was the onset of thyroid disorder. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used for statistical analyses. Results: Diabetes patients with low continuity of care were at increased risk of the onset of thyroid disorder compared with those with high continuity of care (hazard ratio (HR): 1.28, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.07⁻1.54). Subgroup analyses showed that this association was significant within patients with type 2 diabetes (HR: 1.24, 95% CI: 1.01⁻1.52) or whose main attending site was a local clinic (HR: 1.32, 95% CI: 1.07⁻1.64). Conclusions: Our results show that diabetes patients with low continuity of care are more likely to experience the onset of thyroid disorder. Therefore, improving continuity of care could be a reasonable method of preventing complications or comorbidities, including thyroid disorder, among diabetes patients.

Implementation of the Chronic Disease Care System and its association with health care costs and continuity of care in Korean adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND: The Chronic Disease Care System (CDCS) has been implemented in Korea to encourage treatment continuity in chronic disease patients. This study investigated the effect of the introduction of the CDCS on health care costs and continuity of care in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). METHODS: The National Health Insurance data from August, 2010 to March, 2012 (pre-policy) and from May, 2012 to December, 2013 (post-policy) were used. Introduction of the CDCS was defined as the intervention. The intervention group consisted of T2DM patients participating in the program and the control group patients not participating in the program. The Difference-in-Differences (DID) method was used to estimate the differences in total health care costs for outpatient services and continuity of care between the intervention and the control group before and after the intervention period. RESULTS: Implementation of the CDCS was associated with decreased health care costs (ß = - 46,877 Korean Won, P < 0.0001) and improved continuity of care (ß = 0.0536, P < 0.0001) in the intervention group with adjustment for covariates. CONCLUSION: Findings confirm an association between the adoption of the CDCS and reduced health care costs and improved continuity of care. The results reveal the potential benefits of reinforcing effective chronic disease management strategies in reducing health care costs and improving treatment continuity.

Management of Chronic Disease and Hospitalization Due to Diabetes among Type 2 Diabetes Patients in Korea: Using the National Sample Cohort Data 2002⁻2013.

To prevent negative outcomes for diabetes patients, developing self-management skills is imperative. This study aimed to examine the association between management of chronic disease (MCD), which mainly involves educating patients about their chronic diseases for obtaining self-management skills and hospitalization due to diabetes among type 2 diabetes patients in Korea. Korean National Health Insurance Service National Sample Cohort data from 2002 to 2013 were used. A total of 54,031 type 2 diabetes patients were included in the study. If patients received the MCD within 1 year from the onset of diabetes, we categorized them as "MCD received patients" We reclassified these groups into five groups: "non-receiving", "1⁻3 times", "4⁻6 times", "7⁻9 times" and "10⁻12 times" The dependent variable of this study was hospitalization due to diabetes. Cox proportional hazard regression was used. Of the patients, 86.2% (n = 46,571) did not received the MCD within the 1 year from the onset of diabetes. The number of MCDs received increased and the hazard ratio (HR) for hospitalization due to diabetes decreased; particularly, patients who received MCD 10⁻12 times per annum showed the lowest HR for hospitalization due to diabetes compared to patients in the MCD non-received group (1⁻3 times per annum: HR: 0.81, p = 0.0001; 4⁻6 times per annum: HR: 0.82, p = 0.0248; 7⁻9 times per annum: HR: 0.75, p = 0.0054; 10⁻12 times per annum: HR: 0.61, p < 0.0001). Considering the importance of raising self-managing diabetes skills, the findings can aid in determining the outcomes of the MCD program.

The role of adjuvant external beam radiation therapy for papillary thyroid carcinoma invading the trachea.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of adjuvant external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) on local failure-free survival rate (LFFS) for papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) invading the trachea. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-six patients with locally advanced PTC invading the trachea were treated with surgical resection. After surgery, 21 patients received adjuvant EBRT and radioactive iodine therapy (EBRT group) and 35 patients were treated with radioactive iodine therapy (control group). RESULTS: The age range was 26-87 years (median, 56 years). The median follow-up period was 43 months (range, 4 to 145 months). EBRT doses ranged from 50.4 to 66 Gy (median, 60 Gy). Esophagus invasion and gross residual disease was more frequent in the EBRT group. In the control group, local recurrence developed in 9 (9/35, 26%) and new distant metastasis in 2 (2/35, 6%) patients, occurring 4 to 68 months (median, 37 months) and 53 to 68 months (median, 60 months) after surgery, respectively. Two patients had simultaneous local recurrence and new distant metastasis. There was one local failure in the EBRT group at 18 months after surgery (1/21, 5%). The 5-year LFFS was 95% in the EBRT group and 63% in the control group (p = 0.103). In the EBRT group, one late grade 2 xerostomia was developed. CONCLUSION: Although, EBRT group had a higher incidence of esophagus invasion and gross residual disease, EBRT group showed a better 5-year LFFS. Adjuvant EBRT may have contributed to the better LFFS in these patients.

Korean research project on the integrated exposure assessment of hazardous substances for food safety.

OBJECTIVES: This survey was designed to conduct the first nationwide dietary exposure assessment on hazardous substances including the intakes of functional food and herbal medicine. In this paper, we introduced the survey design and the results of the dietary exposure status and internal exposure levels of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and mercury (Hg). METHODS: We selected 4867 subjects of all ages throughout Korea. We conducted a food survey, dietary survey, biomonitoring, and health survey. RESULTS: Pb and Cd were the highest (median value) in the seaweed (94.2 µg/kg for Pb; 594 µg/kg for Cd), and Hg was the highest in the fish (46.4 µg/kg). The dietary exposure level (median value) of Pb was 0.14 µg/kg body weight (bw)/d, 0.18 µg/kg bw/d for Cd, and 0.07 µg/kg bw/d for Hg. Those with a blood Pb level of less than 5.00 µg/dL (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reference value for those 1 to 5 years of age) were 99.0% of all the subjects. Those with a blood Cd level with less than 0.30 µg/L (German Federal Environmental Agency, reference value for non-smoking children) were 24.5%. For those with a blood Hg level with less than 5.00 µg/L (human biomonitoring I, references value for children and adults, German Federal Environmental Agency) was 81.0 % of all the subjects. CONCLUSIONS: The main dietary exposure of heavy metals occurs through food consumed in a large quantity and high frequency. The blood Hg level and dietary exposure level of Hg were both higher than those in the European Union.

Effects of photoperiod on nutrient removal, biomass production, and algal-bacterial population dynamics in lab-scale photobioreactors treating municipal wastewater.

Effects of photoperiod were investigated in lab-scale photobioreactors containing algal-bacterial consortia to reduce organic nutrients from municipal wastewater. Under three photoperiod conditions (12 h:12 h, 36 h:12 h, and 60 h:12 h dark­light cycles), nutrient removals and biomass productions were measured along with monitoring microbial population dynamics. After a batch operation for 12 days, 59­80% carbon, 35­88% nitrogen, and 43­89% phosphorus were removed from influents, respectively. In this study, carbon removal was related positively to the length of dark cycles, while nitrogen and phosphorus removals inversely. On the contrast, the highest microbial biomass in terms of chlorophyll a, dry cell weight, and algal/bacterial rRNA gene markers was produced under the 12 h:12 h dark­light cycle among the three photoperiods. The results showed 1) simultaneous growths between algae and bacteria in the microbial consortia and 2) efficient nitrogen and phosphorus removals along with high microbial biomass production under prolonged light conditions. Statistical analyses indicated that carbon removal was significantly related to the ratio of bacteria to algae in the microbial consortia along with prolonged dark conditions (p < 0.05). In addition, the ratio of nitrogen removal to phosphorus removal decreased significantly under prolonged dark conditions (p < 0.001). These results indicated that the photoperiod condition has remarkable impacts on adjusting nutrient removal, producing microbial biomass, and altering algal-bacterial population dynamics. Therefore, the control of photoperiod was suggested as an important operating parameter in the algal wastewater treatment.

Effect of jeju water on blood glucose levels in diabetic patients: a randomized controlled trial.

Jeju water is the groundwater of Jeju Island, a volcanic island located in Republic of Korea. We investigated whether Jeju water improved glycemic control in patients with diabetes. This was a 12-week single-center, double-blind, randomized, and controlled trial. The subjects daily drank a liter of one of three kinds of water: two Jeju waters (S1 and S2) and Seoul tap water (SS). The primary outcome was the proportion of patients in the per-protocol (PP) population achieving glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) < 7.0% at week 12. In total, 196 patients were randomized and analyzed in the intention-to-treat (ITT) population (66 consuming S1, 63 consuming S2, and 67 consuming SS); 146 patients were considered in the PP population. There were no significant differences in the primary outcomes of the groups consuming S1, S2, or SS. However, the percentage of patients achieving HbA1c < 8% was significantly higher in the S2 group than in the SS group. In the ITT population, the 12-week HbA1c and fructosamine levels were lower in the S1 group than in the SS group and the 4-, 8-, and 12-week fructosamine levels were lower in the S2 group than in the SS group. Although we failed to achieve the primary outcome, it is possible that the Jeju waters improve glycemic control compared with the Seoul tap water in diabetic patients.

Increased microalgae growth and nutrient removal using balanced N:P ratio in wastewater.

Microalgal cultivation using wastewater is now regarded as essential for biodiesel production, as two goals can be achieved simultaneously; that is, nutrient removal efficiency and biomass production. Therefore, this study examined the effects of carbon sources, the N:P ratio, and the hydraulic retention time (HRT) to identify the optimal conditions for nutrient removal efficiency and biomass production. The effluent from a 2nd lagoon was used to cultivate microalgae. Whereas the algal species diversity and lipid content increased with a longer HRT, the algal biomass productivity decreased. Different carbon sources also affected the algal species composition. Diatoms were dominant with an increased pH when bicarbonate was supplied. However, 2% CO(2) gas led to a lower pH and the dominance of filamentous green algae with a much lower biomass productivity. Among the experiments, the highest chlorophyll-a concentration and lipid productivity were obtained with the addition of phosphate up to 0.5 mg/l P, since phosphorus was in short supply compared with nitrogen. The N and P removal efficiencies were also higher with a balanced N:P ratio, based on the addition of phosphate. Thus, optimizing the N:P ratio for the dominant algae could be critical in attaining higher algal growth, lipid productivity, and nutrient removal efficiency.

Adolescent and adult soy food intake and breast cancer risk: results from the Shanghai Women's Health Study.

BACKGROUND: Soy food is a rich source of isoflavones--a class of phytoestrogens that has both antiestrogenic and anticarcinogenic properties. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to evaluate the association of adolescent and adult soy food intake with breast cancer risk in a cohort of 73,223 Chinese women who participated in the Shanghai Women's Health Study. DESIGN: A validated food-frequency questionnaire was used to assess usual dietary intake during adulthood and adolescence. After a mean follow-up of 7.4 y, 592 incident cases of breast cancer were identified for longitudinal analyses by using Cox regressions. RESULTS: Adult soy food consumption, measured either by soy protein or isoflavone intake, was inversely associated with the risk of premenopausal breast cancer, and the association was highly statistically significant (P for trend < 0.001). The multivariate-adjusted relative risks (RRs) for the upper intake quintile compared with the lowest quintile were 0.41 (95% CI: 0.25, 0.70) for soy protein intake and 0.44 (95% CI: 0.26, 0.73) for isoflavone intake. High intake of soy foods during adolescence was also associated with a reduced risk of premenopausal breast cancer (RR: 0.57; 95% CI: 0.34, 0.97). Women who consumed a high amount of soy foods consistently during adolescence and adulthood had a substantially reduced risk of breast cancer. No significant association with soy food consumption was found for postmenopausal breast cancer. CONCLUSION: This large, population-based, prospective cohort study provides strong evidence of a protective effect of soy food intake against premenopausal breast cancer.

Animal origin foods and colorectal cancer risk: a report from the Shanghai Women's Health Study.

The association of animal-origin food consumption and cooking patterns with colorectal cancer (CRC) risk was evaluated in a cohort of 73,224 participants of the Shanghai Women's Health Study. After a mean follow-up time of 7.4 yr, 394 incident cases of CRC (colon = 236; rectal = 158) were diagnosed. Overall, no association was found between the risk of CRC and intake of total meat and total fish. Eel (P(trend) = 0.01), shrimp (P(trend) = 0.06), and shellfish (P(trend) = 0.04) consumption were positively associated with CRC risk. High egg intake and high intake of total cholesterol were also related to risk of CRC (RR for the highest vs. lowest quintiles of intake were 1.4 (95% CI = 1.1-2.0) for eggs and 1.6 (95% CI = 1.1-2.3) for cholesterol). Milk intake was inversely associated with the risk of colon cancer (P(trend) = 0.05). Common Chinese cooking practices except the smoking method of cooking were not related to CRC risk. The latter was positively associated with colon cancer (RR = 1.4 for ever vs. never, 95% CI = 1.1-1.9). A possible role of cholesterol and environmental pollution in the etiology of CRC was suggested.

Dietary animal-derived iron and fat intake and breast cancer risk in the Shanghai Breast Cancer Study.

BACKGROUND: Dietary fats and other constituents have been studied extensively in relation to breast cancer risk. Iron, an essential micronutrient with pro-oxidant properties, has received little attention, and specific fats may augment its toxicity. We investigated the effects of iron and fats from various food sources on the risk of breast cancer. METHODS: Participants in a population-based case-control study, 3,452 breast cancer cases, and 3,474 age-frequency-matched controls, completed in-person interviews, including a detailed food-frequency questionnaire. Plant- and animal-derived iron and fat intakes were derived from dietary intake data and food composition tables. Unconditional logistic regression models were used to study the independent and interactive effects of different forms of iron and fats on breast cancer risk. RESULTS: Animal-derived (largely heme) iron intake was positively associated with breast cancer risk (P (trend) < 0.01; OR = 1.49 in the highest vs. lowest quartile, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.25-1.78) after adjustment for known risk factors, antioxidant vitamin and isoflavone intake, and vitamin supplement use. The effect of animal-derived iron was similar in pre- and postmenopausal women. Intake of animal-derived fats was also associated with increased risk (adjusted OR = 1.34, 95% CI 1.14-1.58), particularly after menopause. A significant interaction between iron and fat from animal sources was observed (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: A high intake of animal-derived (heme) iron may be associated with an increased risk of primary breast cancer in Chinese women, and saturated and mono-unsaturated fats that are also derived from animal sources may augment this effect. Combined reductions in animal-derived iron and fat consumption have the potential to reduce breast cancer risk.

Dietary administration of inositol and/or inositol-6-phosphate prevents chemically-induced rat hepatocarcinogenesis.

Chemoprevention is considered a rational strategy for dietary approaches to prevention of cancer. Multiple lines of evidence suggest that many of our dietary principles are able to intervene in the multistage carcinogenesis process and phytic acid (inositol hexaphosphate, IP6), a phytochemical present in a variety of plant species, has been shown to prevent various cancers, including those of the mammary gland, colon and liver. However, the mechanism of chemoprevention by IP6 has not been fully elucidated. In the present study, we examined the effects of inositol and/or IP6 supplementation on rat hepatocarcinogenesis initiated by diethylnitrosamine (DEN) and promoted by partial hepatectomy (PH). Supplementation with either inositol or IP6, or their combination, starting one week prior to administration of DEN, resulted in a significant decrease in both the area and the number of placental glutathione S-transferase positive (GST-P+) foci, a preneoplastic marker for DEN-initiated hepatocarcinogenesis. The administration of inositol and/or IP6 in drinking water caused marked enhancement in the glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity. In addition, the production of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and the catalase activity were significantly reduced in rats supplemented with inositol and /or IP6. Based on these findings, it is likely that the chemopreventive effects of inositol and/or IP6 on rat hepatocarcinogenesis initiated by DEN and promoted by PH are associated with induction of GST activity and suppression of lipid peroxidation.