Sámi traditional medicine and complementary and alternative medicine - a descriptive study of use within the Sámi population of Sweden.

Traditional medicine has been practised for millennia in the Sámi population, based on a Sámi worldview and cosmology, which includes natural remedies, prayers, drums and yoik singing. During the Christianisation of the Sámi during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, these practices were condemned. In recent years, however, a revival of Sámi culture has occurred and so has the practice of Sámi traditional medicine (STM) and the use of complementary alternative medicine (CAM). The aim of this study is to map the prevalence and use of STM and CAM among Sámi in Sweden today. The study population consisted of 3641 Sámi from the whole of Sweden, who had participated in the population-based cross-sectional survey Sámi Health on Equal Terms (SámiHET) in 2021. Our results show that women are more prone to use both STM and CAM than men and that younger persons are more likely to use STM and CAM than elderly persons. STM is more often used in the northern parts of Sápmi compared to the southern parts as well as a lower use of CAM in the north. This might be due to the stronger Sámi identity and easier access to traditional Sámi healers/helpers in the north as well as limited access to CAM services.

Coffee and tea consumption and risk of prostate cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition.

The epidemiological evidence regarding the association of coffee and tea consumption with prostate cancer risk is inconclusive, and few cohort studies have assessed these associations by disease stage and grade. We examined the associations of coffee (total, caffeinated and decaffeinated) and tea intake with prostate cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. Among 142,196 men, 7,036 incident prostate cancer cases were diagnosed over 14 years of follow-up. Data on coffee and tea consumption were collected through validated country-specific food questionnaires at baseline. We used Cox proportional hazards regression models to compute hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Models were stratified by center and age, and adjusted for anthropometric, lifestyle and dietary factors. Median coffee and tea intake were 375 and 106 mL/day, respectively, but large variations existed by country. Comparing the highest (median of 855 mL/day) versus lowest (median of 103 mL/day) consumers of coffee and tea (450 vs. 12 mL/day) the HRs were 1.02 (95% CI, 0.94-1.09) and 0.98 (95% CI, 0.90-1.07) for risk of total prostate cancer and 0.97 (95% CI, 0.79-1.21) and 0.89 (95% CI, 0.70-1.13) for risk of fatal disease, respectively. No evidence of association was seen for consumption of total, caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee or tea and risk of total prostate cancer or cancer by stage, grade or fatality in this large cohort. Further investigations are needed to clarify whether an association exists by different preparations or by concentrations and constituents of these beverages.

Circulating isoflavone and lignan concentrations and prostate cancer risk: a meta-analysis of individual participant data from seven prospective studies including 2,828 cases and 5,593 controls.

Phytoestrogens may influence prostate cancer development. This study aimed to examine the association between prediagnostic circulating concentrations of isoflavones (genistein, daidzein, equol) and lignans (enterolactone and enterodiol) and the risk of prostate cancer. Individual participant data were available from seven prospective studies (two studies from Japan with 241 cases and 503 controls and five studies from Europe with 2,828 cases and 5,593 controls). Because of the large difference in circulating isoflavone concentrations between Japan and Europe, analyses of the associations of isoflavone concentrations and prostate cancer risk were evaluated separately. Prostate cancer risk by study-specific fourths of circulating concentrations of each phytoestrogen was estimated using multivariable-adjusted conditional logistic regression. In men from Japan, those with high compared to low circulating equol concentrations had a lower risk of prostate cancer (multivariable-adjusted OR for upper quartile [Q4] vs. Q1 = 0.61, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.39-0.97), although there was no significant trend (OR per 75 percentile increase = 0.69, 95 CI = 0.46-1.05, ptrend = 0.085); Genistein and daidzein concentrations were not significantly associated with risk (ORs for Q4 vs. Q1 = 0.70, 0.45-1.10 and 0.71, 0.45-1.12, respectively). In men from Europe, circulating concentrations of genistein, daidzein and equol were not associated with risk. Circulating lignan concentrations were not associated with the risk of prostate cancer, overall or by disease aggressiveness or time to diagnosis. There was no strong evidence that prediagnostic circulating concentrations of isoflavones or lignans are associated with prostate cancer risk, although further research is warranted in populations where isoflavone intakes are high.

Coffee and Tea Consumption and the Contribution of Their Added Ingredients to Total Energy and Nutrient Intakes in 10 European Countries: Benchmark Data from the Late 1990s.

BACKGROUND: Coffee and tea are among the most commonly consumed nonalcoholic beverages worldwide, but methodological differences in assessing intake often hamper comparisons across populations. We aimed to (i) describe coffee and tea intakes and (ii) assess their contribution to intakes of selected nutrients in adults across 10 European countries. METHOD: Between 1995 and 2000, a standardized 24-h dietary recall was conducted among 36,018 men and women from 27 European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study centres. Adjusted arithmetic means of intakes were estimated in grams (=volume) per day by sex and centre. Means of intake across centres were compared by sociodemographic characteristics and lifestyle factors. RESULTS: In women, the mean daily intake of coffee ranged from 94 g/day (~0.6 cups) in Greece to 781 g/day (~4.4 cups) in Aarhus (Denmark), and tea from 14 g/day (~0.1 cups) in Navarra (Spain) to 788 g/day (~4.3 cups) in the UK general population. Similar geographical patterns for mean daily intakes of both coffee and tea were observed in men. Current smokers as compared with those who reported never smoking tended to drink on average up to 500 g/day more coffee and tea combined, but with substantial variation across centres. Other individuals' characteristics such as educational attainment or age were less predictive. In all centres, coffee and tea contributed to less than 10% of the energy intake. The greatest contribution to total sugar intakes was observed in Southern European centres (up to ~20%). CONCLUSION: Coffee and tea intake and their contribution to energy and sugar intake differed greatly among European adults. Variation in consumption was mostly driven by geographical region.

Potato consumption and risk of pancreatic cancer in the HELGA cohort.

Potatoes have been a staple food in many countries throughout the years. Potatoes have a high glycaemic index (GI) score, and high GI has been associated with several chronic diseases and cancers. Still, the research on potatoes and health is scarce and contradictive, and we identified no prospective studies that had investigated the association between potatoes as a single food and the risk of pancreatic cancer. The aim of this study was to prospectively investigate the association between potato consumption and pancreatic cancer among 114 240 men and women in the prospective HELGA cohort, using Cox proportional hazard models. Information on diet (validated FFQ's), lifestyle and health was collected by means of a questionnaire, and 221 pancreatic cancer cases were identified through cancer registries. The mean follow-up time was 11·4 (95 % CI 0·3, 16·9) years. High consumption of potatoes showed a non-significantly higher risk of pancreatic cancer in the adjusted model (hazard ratio (HR) 1·44; 95 % CI 0·93, 2·22, P for trend 0·030) when comparing the highest v. the lowest quartile of potato consumption. In the sex-specific analyses, significant associations were found for females (HR 2·00; 95 % CI 1·07, 3·72, P for trend 0·020), but not for males (HR 1·01; 95 % CI 0·56, 1·84, P for trend 0·34). In addition, we explored the associations by spline regression, and the absence of dose-response effects was confirmed. In this study, high potato consumption was not consistently associated with a higher risk of pancreatic cancer. Further studies with larger populations are needed to explore the possible sex difference.

Dietary intake of total polyphenol and polyphenol classes and the risk of colorectal cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort.

Polyphenols may play a chemopreventive role in colorectal cancer (CRC); however, epidemiological evidence supporting a role for intake of individual polyphenol classes, other than flavonoids is insufficient. We evaluated the association between dietary intakes of total and individual classes and subclasses of polyphenols and CRC risk and its main subsites, colon and rectum, within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. The cohort included 476,160 men and women from 10 European countries. During a mean follow-up of 14 years, there were 5991 incident CRC cases, of which 3897 were in the colon and 2094 were in the rectum. Polyphenol intake was estimated using validated centre/country specific dietary questionnaires and the Phenol-Explorer database. In multivariable-adjusted Cox regression models, a doubling in total dietary polyphenol intake was not associated with CRC risk in women (HRlog2 = 1.06, 95% CI 0.99-1.14) or in men (HRlog2 = 0.97, 95% CI 0.90-1.05), respectively. Phenolic acid intake, highly correlated with coffee consumption, was inversely associated with colon cancer in men (HRlog2 = 0.91, 95% CI 0.85-0.97) and positively associated with rectal cancer in women (HRlog2 = 1.10, 95% CI 1.02-1.19); although associations did not exceed the Bonferroni threshold for significance. Intake of other polyphenol classes was not related to colorectal, colon or rectal cancer risks. Our study suggests a possible inverse association between phenolic acid intake and colon cancer risk in men and positive with rectal cancer risk in women.

Coffee consumption and risk of rare cancers in Scandinavian countries.

Studies on the association between heavy coffee consumption and risk of less frequently diagnosed cancers are scarce. We aimed to quantify the association between filtered, boiled, and total coffee consumption and the risk of bladder, esophageal, kidney, pancreatic, and stomach cancers. We used data from the Norwegian Women and Cancer Study and the Northern Sweden Health and Disease Study. Information on coffee consumption was available for 193,439 participants. We used multivariable Cox proportional hazards models to calculate hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the investigated cancer sites by category of total, filtered, and boiled coffee consumption. Heavy filtered coffee consumers (≥ 4 cups/day) had a multivariable adjusted HR of 0.74 of being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer (95% CI 0.57-0.95) when compared with light filtered coffee consumers (≤ 1 cup/day). We did not observe significant associations between total or boiled coffee consumption and any of the investigated cancer sites, neither in the entire study sample nor in analyses stratified by sex. We found an increased risk of bladder cancer among never smokers who were heavy filtered or total coffee consumers, and an increased risk of stomach cancer in never smokers who were heavy boiled coffee consumers. Our data suggest that increased filtered coffee consumption might reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer. We did not find evidence of an association between coffee consumption and the risk of esophageal or kidney cancer. The increased risk of bladder and stomach cancer was confined to never smokers.

Coffee Drinking and Mortality in 10 European Countries: A Multinational Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between coffee consumption and mortality in diverse European populations with variable coffee preparation methods is unclear. OBJECTIVE: To examine whether coffee consumption is associated with all-cause and cause-specific mortality. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: 10 European countries. PARTICIPANTS: 521 330 persons enrolled in EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition). MEASUREMENTS: Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs estimated using multivariable Cox proportional hazards models. The association of coffee consumption with serum biomarkers of liver function, inflammation, and metabolic health was evaluated in the EPIC Biomarkers subcohort (n = 14 800). RESULTS: During a mean follow-up of 16.4 years, 41 693 deaths occurred. Compared with nonconsumers, participants in the highest quartile of coffee consumption had statistically significantly lower all-cause mortality (men: HR, 0.88 [95% CI, 0.82 to 0.95]; P for trend < 0.001; women: HR, 0.93 [CI, 0.87 to 0.98]; P for trend = 0.009). Inverse associations were also observed for digestive disease mortality for men (HR, 0.41 [CI, 0.32 to 0.54]; P for trend < 0.001) and women (HR, 0.60 [CI, 0.46 to 0.78]; P for trend < 0.001). Among women, there was a statistically significant inverse association of coffee drinking with circulatory disease mortality (HR, 0.78 [CI, 0.68 to 0.90]; P for trend < 0.001) and cerebrovascular disease mortality (HR, 0.70 [CI, 0.55 to 0.90]; P for trend = 0.002) and a positive association with ovarian cancer mortality (HR, 1.31 [CI, 1.07 to 1.61]; P for trend = 0.015). In the EPIC Biomarkers subcohort, higher coffee consumption was associated with lower serum alkaline phosphatase; alanine aminotransferase; aspartate aminotransferase; γ-glutamyltransferase; and, in women, C-reactive protein, lipoprotein(a), and glycated hemoglobin levels. LIMITATIONS: Reverse causality may have biased the findings; however, results did not differ after exclusion of participants who died within 8 years of baseline. Coffee-drinking habits were assessed only once. CONCLUSION: Coffee drinking was associated with reduced risk for death from various causes. This relationship did not vary by country. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: European Commission Directorate-General for Health and Consumers and International Agency for Research on Cancer.

Tea and coffee consumption in relation to DNA methylation in four European cohorts.

Lifestyle factors, such as food choices and exposure to chemicals, can alter DNA methylation and lead to changes in gene activity. Two such exposures with pharmacologically active components are coffee and tea consumption. Both coffee and tea have been suggested to play an important role in modulating disease-risk in humans by suppressing tumour progression, decreasing inflammation and influencing estrogen metabolism. These mechanisms may be mediated by changes in DNA methylation. To investigate if DNA methylation in blood is associated with coffee and tea consumption, we performed a genome-wide DNA methylation study for coffee and tea consumption in four European cohorts (N = 3,096). DNA methylation was measured from whole blood at 421,695 CpG sites distributed throughout the genome and analysed in men and women both separately and together in each cohort. Meta-analyses of the results and additional regional-level analyses were performed. After adjusting for multiple testing, the meta-analysis revealed that two individual CpG-sites, mapping to DNAJC16 and TTC17, were differentially methylated in relation to tea consumption in women. No individual sites were associated with men or with the sex-combined analysis for tea or coffee. The regional analysis revealed that 28 regions were differentially methylated in relation to tea consumption in women. These regions contained genes known to interact with estradiol metabolism and cancer. No significant regions were found in the sex-combined and male-only analysis for either tea or coffee consumption.

Coffee, tea and melanoma risk: findings from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition.

In vitro and animal studies suggest that bioactive constituents of coffee and tea may have anticarcinogenic effects against cutaneous melanoma; however, epidemiological evidence is limited to date. We examined the relationships between coffee (total, caffeinated or decaffeinated) and tea consumption and risk of melanoma in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). EPIC is a multicentre prospective study that enrolled over 500,000 participants aged 25-70 years from ten European countries in 1992-2000. Information on coffee and tea drinking was collected at baseline using validated country-specific dietary questionnaires. We used adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression models to calculate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for the associations between coffee and tea consumption and melanoma risk. Overall, 2,712 melanoma cases were identified during a median follow-up of 14.9 years among 476,160 study participants. Consumption of caffeinated coffee was inversely associated with melanoma risk among men (HR for highest quartile of consumption vs. non-consumers 0.31, 95% CI 0.14-0.69) but not among women (HR 0.96, 95% CI 0.62-1.47). There were no statistically significant associations between consumption of decaffeinated coffee or tea and the risk of melanoma among both men and women. The consumption of caffeinated coffee was inversely associated with melanoma risk among men in this large cohort study. Further investigations are warranted to confirm our findings and clarify the possible role of caffeine and other coffee compounds in reducing the risk of melanoma.

Dietary flavonoid intake and colorectal cancer risk in the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition (EPIC) cohort.

Flavonoids have been shown to inhibit colon cancer cell proliferation in vitro and protect against colorectal carcinogenesis in animal models. However, epidemiological evidence on the potential role of flavonoid intake in colorectal cancer (CRC) development remains sparse and inconsistent. We evaluated the association between dietary intakes of total flavonoids and their subclasses and risk of development of CRC, within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. A cohort of 477,312 adult men and women were recruited in 10 European countries. At baseline, dietary intakes of total flavonoids and individual subclasses were estimated using centre-specific validated dietary questionnaires and composition data from the Phenol-Explorer database. During an average of 11 years of follow-up, 4,517 new cases of primary CRC were identified, of which 2,869 were colon (proximal = 1,298 and distal = 1,266) and 1,648 rectal tumours. No association was found between total flavonoid intake and the risk of overall CRC (HR for comparison of extreme quintiles 1.05, 95% CI 0.93-1.18; p-trend = 0.58) or any CRC subtype. No association was also observed with any intake of individual flavonoid subclasses. Similar results were observed for flavonoid intake expressed as glycosides or aglycone equivalents. Intake of total flavonoids and flavonoid subclasses, as estimated from dietary questionnaires, did not show any association with risk of CRC development.

Dietary polyphenol intake in Europe: the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Polyphenols are plant secondary metabolites with a large variability in their chemical structure and dietary occurrence that have been associated with some protective effects against several chronic diseases. To date, limited data exist on intake of polyphenols in populations. The current cross-sectional analysis aimed at estimating dietary intakes of all currently known individual polyphenols and total intake per class and subclass, and to identify their main food sources in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort. METHODS: Dietary data at baseline were collected using a standardized 24-h dietary recall software administered to 36,037 adult subjects. Dietary data were linked with Phenol-Explorer, a database with data on 502 individual polyphenols in 452 foods and data on polyphenol losses due to cooking and food processing. RESULTS: Mean total polyphenol intake was the highest in Aarhus-Denmark (1786 mg/day in men and 1626 mg/day in women) and the lowest in Greece (744 mg/day in men and 584 mg/day in women). When dividing the subjects into three regions, the highest intake of total polyphenols was observed in the UK health-conscious group, followed by non-Mediterranean (non-MED) and MED countries. The main polyphenol contributors were phenolic acids (52.5-56.9 %), except in men from MED countries and in the UK health-conscious group where they were flavonoids (49.1-61.7 %). Coffee, tea, and fruits were the most important food sources of total polyphenols. A total of 437 different individual polyphenols were consumed, including 94 consumed at a level >1 mg/day. The most abundant ones were the caffeoylquinic acids and the proanthocyanidin oligomers and polymers. CONCLUSION: This study describes the large number of dietary individual polyphenols consumed and the high variability of their intakes between European populations, particularly between MED and non-MED countries.

The association of coffee intake with liver cancer risk is mediated by biomarkers of inflammation and hepatocellular injury: data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition.

BACKGROUND: Higher coffee intake has been purportedly related to a lower risk of liver cancer. However, it remains unclear whether this association may be accounted for by specific biological mechanisms. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate the potential mediating roles of inflammatory, metabolic, liver injury, and iron metabolism biomarkers on the association between coffee intake and the primary form of liver cancer-hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). DESIGN: We conducted a prospective nested case-control study within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition among 125 incident HCC cases matched to 250 controls using an incidence-density sampling procedure. The association of coffee intake with HCC risk was evaluated by using multivariable-adjusted conditional logistic regression that accounted for smoking, alcohol consumption, hepatitis infection, and other established liver cancer risk factors. The mediating effects of 21 biomarkers were evaluated on the basis of percentage changes and associated 95% CIs in the estimated regression coefficients of models with and without adjustment for biomarkers individually and in combination. RESULTS: The multivariable-adjusted RR of having ≥4 cups (600 mL) coffee/d compared with <2 cups (300 mL)/d was 0.25 (95% CI: 0.11, 0.62; P-trend = 0.006). A statistically significant attenuation of the association between coffee intake and HCC risk and thereby suspected mediation was confirmed for the inflammatory biomarker IL-6 and for the biomarkers of hepatocellular injury glutamate dehydrogenase, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT), and total bilirubin, which-in combination-attenuated the regression coefficients by 72% (95% CI: 7%, 239%). Of the investigated biomarkers, IL-6, AST, and GGT produced the highest change in the regression coefficients: 40%, 56%, and 60%, respectively. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that the inverse association of coffee intake with HCC risk was partly accounted for by biomarkers of inflammation and hepatocellular injury.

Coffee and tea consumption and risk of pre- and postmenopausal breast cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: Specific coffee subtypes and tea may impact risk of pre- and post-menopausal breast cancer differently. We investigated the association between coffee (total, caffeinated, decaffeinated) and tea intake and risk of breast cancer. METHODS: A total of 335,060 women participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Nutrition and Cancer (EPIC) Study, completed a dietary questionnaire from 1992 to 2000, and were followed-up until 2010 for incidence of breast cancer. Hazard ratios (HR) of breast cancer by country-specific, as well as cohort-wide categories of beverage intake were estimated. RESULTS: During an average follow-up of 11 years, 1064 premenopausal, and 9134 postmenopausal breast cancers were diagnosed. Caffeinated coffee intake was associated with lower risk of postmenopausal breast cancer: adjusted HR=0.90, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.82 to 0.98, for high versus low consumption; Ptrend=0.029. While there was no significant effect modification by hormone receptor status (P=0.711), linear trend for lower risk of breast cancer with increasing caffeinated coffee intake was clearest for estrogen and progesterone receptor negative (ER-PR-), postmenopausal breast cancer (P=0.008). For every 100 ml increase in caffeinated coffee intake, the risk of ER-PR- breast cancer was lower by 4% (adjusted HR: 0.96, 95% CI: 0.93 to 1.00). Non-consumers of decaffeinated coffee had lower risk of postmenopausal breast cancer (adjusted HR=0.89; 95% CI: 0.80 to 0.99) compared to low consumers, without evidence of dose-response relationship (Ptrend=0.128). Exclusive decaffeinated coffee consumption was not related to postmenopausal breast cancer risk, compared to any decaffeinated-low caffeinated intake (adjusted HR=0.97; 95% CI: 0.82 to 1.14), or to no intake of any coffee (HR: 0.96; 95%: 0.82 to 1.14). Caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee were not associated with premenopausal breast cancer. Tea intake was neither associated with pre- nor post-menopausal breast cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Higher caffeinated coffee intake may be associated with lower risk of postmenopausal breast cancer. Decaffeinated coffee intake does not seem to be associated with breast cancer.

Coffee, tea and decaffeinated coffee in relation to hepatocellular carcinoma in a European population: multicentre, prospective cohort study.

Inverse associations of coffee and/or tea in relation to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk have been consistently identified in studies conducted mostly in Asia where consumption patterns of such beverages differ from Europe. In the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and nutrition (EPIC), we identified 201 HCC cases among 486,799 men/women, after a median follow-up of 11 years. We calculated adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for HCC incidence in relation to quintiles/categories of coffee/tea intakes. We found that increased coffee and tea intakes were consistently associated with lower HCC risk. The inverse associations were substantial, monotonic and statistically significant. Coffee consumers in the highest compared to the lowest quintile had lower HCC risk by 72% [HR: 0.28; 95% confidence intervals (CIs): 0.16-0.50, p-trend < 0.001]. The corresponding association of tea with HCC risk was 0.41 (95% CI: 0.22-0.78, p-trend = 0.003). There was no compelling evidence of heterogeneity of these associations across strata of important HCC risk factors, including hepatitis B or hepatitis C status (available in a nested case-control study). The inverse, monotonic associations of coffee intake with HCC were apparent for caffeinated (p-trend = 0.009), but not decaffeinated (p-trend = 0.45) coffee for which, however, data were available for a fraction of subjects. Results from this multicentre, European cohort study strengthen the existing evidence regarding the inverse association between coffee/tea and HCC risk. Given the apparent lack of heterogeneity of these associations by HCC risk factors and that coffee/tea are universal exposures, our results could have important implications for high HCC risk subjects.

Total, caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee and tea intake and gastric cancer risk: results from the EPIC cohort study.

Prospective studies examining the association between coffee and tea consumption and gastric cancer risk have shown inconsistent results. We investigated the association between coffee (total, caffeinated and decaffeinated) and tea consumption and the risk of gastric cancer by anatomical site and histological type in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study. Coffee and tea consumption were assessed by dietary questionnaires at baseline. Adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated using Cox regression models. During 11.6 years of follow up, 683 gastric adenocarcinoma cases were identified among 477,312 participants. We found no significant association between overall gastric cancer risk and consumption of total coffee (HR 1.09, 95%-confidence intervals [CI]: 0.84-1.43; quartile 4 vs. non/quartile 1), caffeinated coffee (HR 1.14, 95%-CI: 0.82-1.59; quartile 4 vs. non/quartile 1), decaffeinated coffee (HR 1.07, 95%-CI: 0.75-1.53; tertile 3 vs. non/tertile 1) and tea (HR 0.81, 95%-CI: 0.59-1.09; quartile 4 vs. non/quartile 1). When stratified by anatomical site, we observed a significant positive association between gastric cardia cancer risk and total coffee consumption per increment of 100 mL/day (HR 1.06, 95%-CI: 1.03-1.11). Similarly, a significant positive association was observed between gastric cardia cancer risk and caffeinated coffee consumption (HR 1.98, 95%-CI: 1.16-3.36, p-trend=0.06; quartile 3 vs. non/quartile 1) and per increment of 100 mL/day (HR 1.09, 95%-CI: 1.04-1.14). In conclusion, consumption of total, caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee and tea is not associated with overall gastric cancer risk. However, total and caffeinated coffee consumption may be associated with an increased risk of gastric cardia cancer. Further prospective studies are needed to rule out chance or confounding.

Tea and coffee consumption and risk of esophageal cancer: the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition study.

Epidemiological data regarding tea and coffee consumption and risk of esophageal cancer (EC) is still inconclusive. We examined the association of tea and coffee consumption with EC risk among 442,143 men and women without cancer at baseline from 9 countries of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. Tea and coffee intakes were recorded using country-specific validated dietary questionnaires. Cox regression models were used to analyze the relationships between tea and coffee intake and EC risk. During a mean follow-up of 11.1 years, 339 participants developed EC, of which 142 were esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) and 174 were esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). In the multivariable models, no significant associations between tea (mostly black tea), and coffee intake and risk of EC, EAC and ESCC were observed. In stratified analyses, among men coffee consumption was inversely related to ESCC (HR for comparison of extreme tertiles 0.42, 95% CI 0.20-0.88; p-trend=0.022), but not among women. In current smokers, a significant and inverse association was observed between ESCC risk and tea (HR 0.46, 95% CI 0.23-0.93; p-trend=0.053) and coffee consumption (HR 0.37, 95% CI 0.19-0.73; p-trend=0.011). However, no statistically significant findings were observed using the continuous variable (per 100 mL/d). These data did not show a significant association between tea and coffee consumption and EC, EAC and ESCC, although a decreased risk of ESCC among men and current smokers is suggested, but need to be confirmed in further prospective studies including more cases.

Coffee and tea consumption, genotype-based CYP1A2 and NAT2 activity and colorectal cancer risk-results from the EPIC cohort study.

Coffee and tea contain numerous antimutagenic and antioxidant components and high levels of caffeine that may protect against colorectal cancer (CRC). We investigated the association between coffee and tea consumption and CRC risk and studied potential effect modification by CYP1A2 and NAT2 genotypes, enzymes involved in the metabolization of caffeine. Data from 477,071 participants (70.2% female) of the European Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort study were analyzed. At baseline (1992-2000) habitual (total, caffeinated and decaffeinated) coffee and tea consumption was assessed with dietary questionnaires. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate adjusted hazard ratio's (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Potential effect modification by genotype-based CYP1A2 and NAT2 activity was studied in a nested case-control set of 1,252 cases and 2,175 controls. After a median follow-up of 11.6 years, 4,234 participants developed CRC (mean age 64.7 ± 8.3 years). Total coffee consumption (high vs. non/low) was not associated with CRC risk (HR 1.06, 95% CI 0.95-1.18) or subsite cancers, and no significant associations were found for caffeinated (HR 1.10, 95% CI 0.97-1.26) and decaffeinated coffee (HR 0.96, 95% CI 0.84-1.11) and tea (HR 0.97, 95% CI 0.86-1.09). High coffee and tea consuming subjects with slow CYP1A2 or NAT2 activity had a similar CRC risk compared to non/low coffee and tea consuming subjects with a fast CYP1A2 or NAT2 activity, which suggests that caffeine metabolism does not affect the link between coffee and tea consumption and CRC risk. This study shows that coffee and tea consumption is not likely to be associated with overall CRC.

Food and water security issues in Russia I: food security in the general population of the Russian Arctic, Siberia and the Far East, 2000-2011.

BACKGROUND: Problems related to food security in Russian Arctic (dietary imbalance, predominance of carbohydrates, shortage of milk products, vegetables and fruits, deficit of vitamins and microelements, chemical, infectious and parasitic food contamination) have been defined in the literature. But no standard protocol of food security assessment has been used in the majority of studies. OBJECTIVES: Our aim was to obtain food security indicators, identified within an Arctic collaboration, for selected regions of the Russian Arctic, Siberia and the Far East, and to compare food safety in these territories. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: In 18 regions of the Russian Arctic, Siberia and the Far East, the following indicators of food security were analyzed: food costs, food consumption, and chemical and biological food contamination for the period 2000-2011. RESULTS: Food costs in the regions are high, comprising 23-43% of household income. Only 4 out of 10 food groups (fish products, cereals, sugar, plant oil) are consumed in sufficient amounts. The consumption of milk products, eggs, vegetables, potatoes, fruits (and berries) is severely low in a majority of the selected regions. There are high levels of biological contamination of food in many regions. The biological and chemical contamination situation is alarming, especially in Chukotka. Only 7 food pollutants are under regular control; among pesticides, only DDT. Evenki AO and Magadan Oblast have reached peak values in food contaminants compared with other regions. Mercury in local fish has not been analyzed in the majority of the regions. In 3 regions, no monitoring of DDT occurs. Aflatoxins have not been analyzed in 5 regions. Nitrates had the highest percentage in excess of the hygienic threshold in all regions. Excesses of other pollutants in different regions were episodic and as a rule not high. CONCLUSION: Improvement of the food supply and food accessibility in the regions of the Russian Arctic, Siberia and the Far East is of utmost importance. Both quantitative and qualitative control of chemical and biological contaminants in food is insufficient and demands radical enhancement aimed at improving food security.

Coffee and tea intake and risk of brain tumors in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort study.

BACKGROUND: In a recent US cohort study, total coffee and tea consumption was inversely associated with risk of glioma, and experimental studies showed that caffeine can slow the invasive growth of glioblastoma. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to examine the relation between coffee and tea intake and the risk of glioma and meningioma in a large European cohort study, the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). DESIGN: Data on coffee and tea intake were collected from men and women recruited into the EPIC cohort study. Over an average of 8.5 y of follow-up, 343 cases of glioma and 245 cases of meningioma were newly diagnosed in 9 countries. We used Cox proportional hazards models to examine the relation between coffee and tea and brain tumors. RESULTS: We observed no associations between coffee, tea, or combined coffee and tea consumption and risk of either type of brain tumor when using quantiles based on country-specific distributions of intake. However, a significant inverse association was observed for glioma risk among those consuming ≥100 mL coffee and tea per day compared with those consuming <100 mL/d (hazard ratio: 0.66; 95% CI: 0.44, 0.97; P = 0.03). The association was slightly stronger in men (hazard ratio: 0.59; 95% CI: 0.34, 1.01) than in women (hazard ratio: 0.74; 95% CI: 0.42, 1.31), although neither was statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: In this large cohort study, we observed an inverse association between total coffee and tea consumption and risk of glioma that was consistent with the findings of a recent study. These findings, if further replicated in other studies, may provide new avenues of research on gliomas.