Contemplative Practices Behavior Is Positively Associated with Well-Being in Three Global Multi-Regional Stanford WELL for Life Cohorts.

Positive associations between well-being and a single contemplative practice (e.g., mindfulness meditation) are well documented, yet prior work may have underestimated the strength of the association by omitting consideration of multiple and/or alternative contemplative practices. Moreover, little is known about how contemplative practice behavior (CPB) impacts different dimensions of well-being. This study investigates the relationship of CPB, consisting of four discrete practices (embodied somatic-observing, non-reactive mindfulness, self-compassion, and compassion for others), with multiple dimensions of well-being. As with other canonical lifestyle behaviors, multiple contemplative practices can be integrated into one's daily routine. Thus, it is critical to holistically consider these behaviors, extending them beyond a simple uni-dimensional measure (e.g., daily mindfulness meditation practice). We developed an integrative measure of four types of contemplative practice and found it to be significantly associated with a multi-dimensional measure of well-being. Importantly, our findings were from three large global multi-regional cohorts and compared against better-understood lifestyle behaviors (physical activity). Data were drawn from California/San Francisco Bay Area, (n = 6442), Hangzhou City (n = 10,268), and New Taipei City (n = 3033). In all three cohorts, we found statistically significant (p < 0.05) positive associations between CPB and well-being, both overall and with all of the constituent domains of well-being, comparable to or stronger than the relationship with physical activity across most well-being outcomes. These findings provide robust and cross-cultural evidence for a positive association between CPB and well-being, illuminate dimensions of well-being that could be most influenced by CPB, and suggest CPB may be useful to include as part of fundamental lifestyle recommendations for health and well-being.

Significant reduction in end-stage liver diseases burden through the national viral hepatitis therapy program in Taiwan.

UNLABELLED: A national viral hepatitis therapy program was launched in Taiwan in October 2003. This study aimed to assess the impact of the program on reduction of end-stage liver disease (ESLD) burden. Profiles of national registries of households, cancers, and death certificates were used to derive incidence and mortality of ESLDs from 2000 to 2011. Age-gender-adjusted incidence and mortality rates of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and chronic liver diseases (CLDs) and cirrhosis of adults ages 30-69 years were compared before and after launching the program using Poisson's regression models. A total of 157,570 and 61,823 patients (15%-25% of those eligible for reimbursed treatment) received therapy for chronic hepatitis B and C, respectively, by 2011. There were 42,526 CLDs and cirrhosis deaths, 47,392 HCC deaths, and 74,832 incident HCC cases occurred in 140,814,448 person-years from 2000 to 2011. Male gender and elder age were associated with a significantly increased risk of CLDs and cirrhosis and HCC. Mortality and incidence rates of ESLDs decreased continuously from 2000 to 2003 (before therapy program) through 2004-2007 to 2008-2011 in all age and gender groups. The age-gender-adjusted rate ratio (95% confidence interval; P value) in 2008-2011 was 0.78 (0.76-0.80; P < 0.001) for CLDs and cirrhosis mortality, 0.76 (0.75-0.78; P < 0.005) for HCC mortality, and 0.86 (0.85-0.88; P < 0.005) for HCC incidence using 2000-2003 as the reference period (rate ratio = 1.0). CONCLUSIONS: The national viral hepatitis therapy program has significantly reduced the mortality of CLDs and cirrhosis and incidence and mortality of HCC.

The CYP19 TTTA repeat polymorphism is related to the prognosis of premenopausal stage I-II and operable stage III breast cancers.

PURPOSE: Given the critical role of the CYP19 gene, encoding aromatase, in estrogen synthesis and the association of the estrogen level with its TTTA repeat polymorphism, the potential influence of this polymorphism on breast cancer survival, and hence management, deserves further study. METHODS: Genotyping for the CYP19 TTTA repeat polymorphism was performed on 482 stage I-II and operable stage III Taiwanese breast cancer patients. Patients with more than seven TTTA repeats in either allele of CYP19 were defined as having the long allele. We correlated clinical variables and CYP19 genotypic polymorphism with outcome. RESULTS: In hormone receptor (HR)-positive breast cancers, premenopausal patients with the long allele of the CYP19 polymorphism had a significantly higher overall survival (OS) rate (8-year, 89% versus 68%; p= .003) than those without it. This difference was further demonstrated by a multivariate analysis (OS hazard ratio, 1.53; p= .041). In postmenopausal women or patients with HR-negative breast cancer, there was no significant difference in OS between patients with or without the long allele. In premenopausal women with HR-positive cancers, adequate intensity adjuvant chemotherapy did not achieve a greater OS rate than suboptimal chemotherapy in patients with the long allele, but it resulted in a significantly higher OS rate (p= .011) than suboptimal chemotherapy in women without the long allele. CONCLUSIONS: The CYP19 TTTA repeat polymorphism is associated with survival in premenopausal women, but not in postmenopausal women, with HR-positive breast cancers. Premenopausal women with the long allele have a greater survival rate and may not gain benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy.

Peanut consumption and reduced risk of colorectal cancer in women: a prospective study in Taiwan.

AIM: To examine whether peanut consumption is associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer in a prospective cohort with a 10-year follow-up. METHODS: In 1990-1992, residents (12026 men and 11917 women aged 30 to 65 years) in 7 townships, Taiwan, were interviewed and recruited into a cancer-screening cohort and annually followed up. Colorectal cancer cases in this cohort were identified from cancer registry and death certificates. Incidence rates of this disease by the end of 2001 were calculated by gender for the primary study variable and covariates. The dietary intake was assessed by means of weekly food frequency measures, including frequently consumed food groups and folk dishes including sweet potato, bean products, peanut products, pickled foodstuffs, nitrated or smoked foodstuffs. RESULTS: During the study period, 107 new colorectal cancer cases (68 men and 39 women) were confirmed. The multivariate Cox's proportional hazard model showed that the relative risk (RR) of peanut consumption was 0.73 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.44-1.21] for men and 0.42 (95% CI = 0.21-0.84) for women. However, frequent intake of pickled foodstuffs was harmful for women (RR = 2.15, 95% CI = 0.99-4.65). The risk of colorectal cancer was also elevated among cigarette smokers but not significant (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: This study suggests that frequent intake of peanut and its products may reduce colorectal cancer risk in women, demonstrating the anti-proliferating effect of peanut intake.