Dietary intake of copper and gastric cancer: a pooled analysis within the Stomach cancer Pooling (StoP) Project.

BACKGROUND: Evidence on the potential association between dietary copper intake and gastric cancer (GC) is lacking. Thus, we aimed to evaluate this association within the Stomach cancer Pooling (StoP) Project-an international consortium of epidemiological studies on GC. METHODS: Data from five case-control studies within the StoP Project were included (2448 cases, 4350 controls). We estimated adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs for the association between dietary copper intake and GC using multivariable mixed-effects logistic regression models. We also modelled the dose-response relationship between copper intake and GC using a logistic mixed-effects model with fractional polynomial. RESULTS: The OR for the highest quartile of copper intake compared with the lowest one was 0.78 (95% CI: 0.63-0.95; P for trend = 0.013). Results were similar for non-cardia-type (OR: 0.72; 95% CI: 0.57-0.91), intestinal-type (OR: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.56-0.99) and other histological-type GC (OR: 0.65; 95% CI: 0.44-0.96). The dose-response analysis showed a steep decrease in ORs for modest intakes (<1 mg/day), which were subsequently steady for ≤3 mg/day (OR: 0.09; 95% CI: 0.02-0.41) and slowly increased for higher intakes. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of our large study suggest that copper intake might be inversely associated with GC, although their confirmation by prospective studies is required.

The association between dietary fiber intake and gastric cancer: a pooled analysis of 11 case-control studies.

PURPOSE: Gastric cancer (GC) is among the leading causes of cancer mortality worldwide. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between dietary fiber intake and GC. METHODS: We pooled data from 11 population or hospital-based case-control studies included in the Stomach Cancer Pooling (StoP) Project, for a total of 4865 histologically confirmed cases and 10,626 controls. Intake of dietary fibers and other dietary factors was collected using food frequency questionnaires. We calculated the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of the association between dietary fiber intake and GC by using a multivariable logistic regression model adjusted for study site, sex, age, caloric intake, smoking, fruit and vegetable intake, and socioeconomic status. We conducted stratified analyses by these factors, as well as GC anatomical site and histological type. RESULTS: The OR of GC for an increase of one quartile of fiber intake was 0.91 (95% CI: 0.85, 0.97), that for the highest compared to the lowest quartile of dietary fiber intake was 0.72 (95% CI: 0.59, 0.88). Results were similar irrespective of anatomical site and histological type. CONCLUSION: Our analysis supports the hypothesis that dietary fiber intake may exert a protective effect on GC.

Assessing the Association between Biomarkers and COVID-19 Mortality Using the Joint Modelling Approach.

We evaluated the association between biomarkers and COVID-19 mortality. Baseline characteristics of 403 COVID-19 patients included sex and age; biomarkers, measured throughout the follow-up, included lymphocytes, neutrophils, ferritin, C-reactive protein, glucose, and LDH. Hazard ratios (HRs) and corresponding 95% credible intervals (CIs) were estimated through joint models (JMs) using a Bayesian approach. We fitted univariable (a single biomarker) and multivariable (all biomarkers) JMs. In univariable analyses, all biomarkers were significantly associated with COVID-19 mortality. In multivariable analysis, HRs were 1.78 (95% CI: 1.13-2.87) with a doubling of neutrophils levels, 1.49 (95% CI: 1.19-1.95) with a doubling of C-reactive protein levels, 2.66 (95% CI: 1.45-4.95) for an increase of 100 mg/dL of glucose, and 1.31 (95% CI: 1.12-1.55) for an increase of 100 U/L of LDH. No evidence of association was observed for lymphocytes and ferritin in multivariable analysis. Men had a higher COVID-19 mortality risk than women (HR = 1.75; 95% CI: 1.07-2.80) and age showed the strongest effect with a rapid increase from 60 years. These findings using JM confirm the usefulness of biomarkers in assessing COVID-19 severity and mortality. Monitoring trend patterns of such biomarkers can provide additional help in tailoring the appropriate care pathway.

Dietary intake of vitamin C and gastric cancer: a pooled analysis within the Stomach cancer Pooling (StoP) Project.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies suggest that dietary vitamin C is inversely associated with gastric cancer (GC), but most of them did not consider intake of fruit and vegetables. Thus, we aimed to evaluate this association within the Stomach cancer Pooling (StoP) Project, a consortium of epidemiological studies on GC. METHODS: Fourteen case-control studies were included in the analysis (5362 cases, 11,497 controls). We estimated odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between dietary intake of vitamin C and GC, adjusted for relevant confounders and for intake of fruit and vegetables. The dose-response relationship was evaluated using mixed-effects logistic models with second-order fractional polynomials. RESULTS: Individuals in the highest quartile of dietary vitamin C intake had reduced odds of GC compared with those in the lowest quartile (OR: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.58, 0.72). Additional adjustment for fruit and vegetables intake led to an OR of 0.85 (95% CI: 0.73, 0.98). A significant inverse association was observed for noncardia GC, as well as for both intestinal and diffuse types of the disease. The results of the dose-response analysis showed decreasing ORs of GC up to 150-200 mg/day of vitamin C (OR: 0.54; 95% CI: 0.41, 0.71), whereas ORs for higher intakes were close to 1.0. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of our pooled study suggest that vitamin C is inversely associated with GC, with a potentially beneficial effect also for intakes above the currently recommended daily intake (90 mg for men and 75 mg for women).

Are Major a Posteriori Dietary Patterns Reproducible in the Italian Population? A Systematic Review and Quantitative Assessment.

Although a posteriori dietary patterns (DPs) naturally reflect actual dietary behavior in a population, their specificity limits generalizability. Among other issues, the absence of a standardized approach to analysis have further hindered discovery of genuinely reproducible DPs across studies from the same/similar populations. A systematic review on a posteriori DPs from principal component analysis or exploratory factor analysis (EFA) across study populations from Italy provides the basis to explore assessment and drivers of DP reproducibility in a case study of epidemiological interest. First to our knowledge, we carried out a qualitative (i.e., similarity plots built on text descriptions) and quantitative (i.e., congruence coefficients, CCs) assessment of DP reproducibility. The 52 selected articles were published in 2001-2022 and represented dietary habits in 1965-2022 from 70% of the Italian regions; children/adolescents, pregnancy/breastfeeding women, and elderly were considered in 15 articles. The included studies mainly derived EFA-based DPs on food groups from food frequency questionnaires and were of "good quality" according to standard scales. Based on text descriptions, the 186 identified DPs were collapsed into 113 (69 food-based and 44 nutrient-based) apparently different DPs (39.3% reduction), later summarized along with the 3 "Mixed-Salad/Vegetable-based Patterns," "Pasta-and-Meat-oriented/Starchy Patterns," and "Dairy Products" and "Sweets/Animal-based Patterns" groups, by matching similar food-based and nutrient-based groups of collapsed DPs. Based on CCs (215 CCs, 68 DPs, 18 articles using the same input lists), all pairs of DPs showing the same/similar names were at least "fairly similar" and ∼81% were "equivalent." The 30 "equivalent" DPs ended up into 6 genuinely different DPs (80% reduction) that targeted fruits and (raw) vegetables, pasta and meat combined, and cheese and deli meats. Such reduction reflects the same study design, list of input variables, and DP identification method followed across articles from the same groups. This review was registered at PROSPERO as CRD42022341037.

Reproductive factors, hormonal interventions, and gastric cancer risk in the Stomach cancer Pooling (StoP) Project.

BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer incidence is higher in men, and a protective hormone-related effect in women is postulated. We aimed to investigate and quantify the relationship in the Stomach cancer Pooling (StoP) Project consortium. METHODS: A total of 2,084 cases and 7,102 controls from 11 studies in seven countries were included. Summary odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) assessing associations of key reproductive factors and menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) with gastric cancer were estimated by pooling study-specific ORs using random-effects meta-analysis. RESULTS: A duration of fertility of ≥ 40 years (vs. < 20), was associated with a 25% lower risk of gastric cancer (OR = 0.75; 95% CI: 0.58-0.96). Compared with never use, ever, 5-9 years and ≥ 10 years use of MHT in postmenopausal women, showed ORs of 0.73 (95% CI: 0.58-0.92), 0.53 (95% CI: 0.34-0.84) and 0.71 (95% CI: 0.50-1.00), respectively. The associations were generally similar for anatomical and histologic subtypes. CONCLUSION: Our results support the hypothesis that reproductive factors and MHT use may lower the risk of gastric cancer in women, regardless of anatomical or histologic subtypes. Given the variation in hormones over the lifespan, studies should address their effects in premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Furthermore, mechanistic studies may inform potential biological processes.

A novel approach to assess diet diversity: a development of the Nutritional Functional Diversity indicator.

Background and aims: Diversity is a key element of diet quality. The Food Variety Score (FVS) is used to assess diversity, especially in low- and middle-income countries. It sums up the number of foods consumed ignoring their nutrient content. A more suitable index should combine the number of foods consumed and their nutritional composition. We adapted the Nutritional Functional Diversity indicator (NFD), proposed by ecologists, to measure diversity in the human diet. We compared NFD and FVS evaluating subjects' distributions across quartiles of the two diversity indices. To evaluate which one reflected a higher diet quality, we estimated associations between these two diversity indices and diet quality measures, i.e., the Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS) and the Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015). Associations were expressed by odds ratios (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI). Materials and methods: We used the data of controls only derived from an integrated series of hospital-based case-control cancer studies conducted in different Italian areas. The NFD identifies groups of foods based on a set of nutrients according to a cluster analysis. Some steps are required: creating a food-nutrient matrix; clustering of the Euclidean food-food distance matrix to identify groups of foods with nutritional (dis)similarities; and calculating the NFD as the ratio between the sum of branch lengths of the dendrogram belonging to the number of foods consumed by individuals (i.e., subject-specific diversity) and the sum of all branch lengths of the dendrogram (i.e., maximal diversity). Results: More than one quarter of individuals (28.4%) were differently classified within quartiles of the two diversity indices. For both indices, increasing the diversity level increased the risk for adhering to MDS (OR for NFD = 11.26; 95% CI: 7.88-16.09, and OR for FVS = 6.80; 95% CI: 4.84-9.54) and to HEI-2015 (OR for NDF = 2.86; 95% CI: 2.39-3.42, and OR for FVS = 2.72; 95% CI: 2.27-3.26). Associations were stronger for NFD. Conclusion: Our findings showed a greater ability of NFD to assess diet quality quantifying the degree of diversity.

Does Pizza Consumption Favor an Improved Disease Activity in Rheumatoid Arthritis?

To our knowledge, no studies so far have investigated the role of pizza and its ingredients in modulating disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We assessed this question via a recent cross-sectional study including 365 participants from Italy, the birthplace of pizza. Multiple robust linear and logistic regression models were fitted with the tertile consumption categories of each available pizza-related food item/group (i.e., pizza, refined grains, mozzarella cheese, and olive oil) as independent variables, and each available RA activity measure (i.e., the Disease Activity Score on 28 joints with C-reactive protein (DAS28-CRP), and the Simplified Disease Activity Index (SDAI)) as the dependent variable. Stratified analyses were carried out according to the disease severity or duration. Participants eating half a pizza >1 time/week (vs. ≤2 times/month) reported beneficial effects on disease activity, with the significant reductions of ~70% (overall analysis), and 80% (the more severe stratum), and the significant beta coefficients of -0.70 for the DAS28-CRP, and -3.6 for the SDAI (overall analysis) and of -1.10 and -5.30 (in long-standing and more severe RA, respectively). Among the pizza-related food items/groups, mozzarella cheese and olive oil showed beneficial effects, especially in the more severe stratum. Future cohort studies are needed to confirm this beneficial effect of pizza and related food items/groups on RA disease activity.

Nasal Cytology on 241 Children: From Birth to the First 3 Years of Life and Association with Common Airways Diseases.

BACKGROUND: Nasal cytology at birth and in the pediatric age is barely investigated regarding its association with the onset of common pediatric diseases. METHODS: We enrolled 241 newborns within their first 24 h of life, studying their nasal cellular composition and repeating this at 1 and 3 years of life. We collected anamneses of perinatal factors and external factors (parental smoking, passive smoking, breastfeeding), and the prevalence of otitis, rhinosinusitis, bronchitis, asthma, and allergy at all timepoints. RESULTS: 204 children completed the study. At birth, there was a prevalence of ciliated cells and rare neutrophils. At 1 and 3 years, ciliated cells started reducing in favor of muciparous cells and neutrophils. We found that caesarian delivery and nasogastric tube usage for choanal patency are significantly related to a certain cellular nasal composition. Additionally, development of upper respiratory tract infections, AOM (acute otitis media) and allergy correlates with specific cytological compositions which may predict those pathologies. CONCLUSIONS: Our study is the first to show the normal nasal mucosa cellular composition and development in the first 3 years of life in a large cohort. Nasal cytology may be a tool for early risk assessment in the occurrence of upper airway disease.

Garlic consumption in relation to colorectal cancer risk and to alterations of blood bacterial DNA.

PURPOSE: Garlic consumption has been inversely associated to intestinal adenoma (IA) and colorectal cancer (CRC) risk, although evidence is not consistent. Gut microbiota has been implied in CRC pathogenesis and is also influenced by garlic consumption. We analyzed whether dietary garlic influence CRC risk and bacterial DNA in blood. METHODS: We conducted a case-control study in Italy involving 100 incident CRC cases, 100 IA and 100 healthy controls matched by center, sex and age. We used a validated food frequency questionnaire to assess dietary habits and garlic consumption. Blood bacterial DNA profile was estimated using qPCR and16S rRNA gene profiling. We derived odds ratios (ORs) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of IA and CRC according to garlic consumption from multiple conditional logistic regression. We used Mann-Whitney and chi-square tests to evaluate taxa differences in abundance and prevalence. RESULTS: The OR of CRC for medium/high versus low/null garlic consumption was 0.27 (95% CI = 0.11-0.66). Differences in garlic consumption were found for selected blood bacterial taxa. Medium/high garlic consumption was associated to an increase of Corynebacteriales order, Nocardiaceae family and Rhodococcus genus, and to a decrease of Family XI and Finegoldia genus. CONCLUSIONS: The study adds data on the protective effect of dietary garlic on CRC risk. Moreover, it supports evidence of a translocation of bacterial material to bloodstream and corroborates the hypothesis of a diet-microbiota axis as a mechanism behind the role of garlic in CRC prevention.

Yoghurt Intake and Gastric Cancer: A Pooled Analysis of 16 Studies of the StoP Consortium.

BACKGROUND: Yoghurt can modify gastrointestinal disease risk, possibly acting on gut microbiota. Our study aimed at exploring the under-investigated association between yoghurt and gastric cancer (GC). METHODS: We pooled data from 16 studies from the Stomach Cancer Pooling (StoP) Project. Total yoghurt intake was derived from food frequency questionnaires. We calculated study-specific odds ratios (ORs) of GC and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for increasing categories of yoghurt consumption using univariate and multivariable unconditional logistic regression models. A two-stage analysis, with a meta-analysis of the pooled adjusted data, was conducted. RESULTS: The analysis included 6278 GC cases and 14,181 controls, including 1179 cardia and 3463 non-cardia, 1191 diffuse and 1717 intestinal cases. The overall meta-analysis revealed no association between increasing portions of yoghurt intake (continuous) and GC (OR = 0.98, 95% CI = 0.94-1.02). When restricting to cohort studies, a borderline inverse relationship was found (OR = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.88-0.99). The adjusted and unadjusted OR were 0.92 (95% CI = 0.85-0.99) and 0.78 (95% CI = 0.73-0.84) for any vs. no yoghurt consumption and GC risk. The OR for 1 category of increase in yoghurt intake was 0.96 (95% CI = 0.91-1.02) for cardia, 1.03 (95% CI = 1.00-1.07) for non-cardia, 1.12 (95% CI = 1.07-1.19) for diffuse and 1.02 (95% CI = 0.97-1.06) for intestinal GC. No effect was seen within hospital-based and population-based studies, nor in men or women. CONCLUSIONS: We found no association between yoghurt and GC in the main adjusted models, despite sensitivity analyses suggesting a protective effect. Additional studies should further address this association.

Mushroom consumption and risk of gastric cancer: a pooled analysis within the stomach cancer pooling project and a combined meta-analysis with other observational studies.

Edible mushrooms have high concentrations of vitamins and minerals. They are considered 'functional foods' for their disease-prevention properties. Mushroom consumption may reduce the risk of gastric cancer, the fifth most common cancer worldwide. We investigated the association between mushroom consumption and gastric cancer risk in a pooled analysis within the Stomach Cancer Pooling (StoP) Project and in a meta-analysis that also included previously published studies. A total of 3900 gastric cancer cases and 7792 controls from 11 studies were included in the StoP analysis. Mushroom consumption was measured using food frequency questionnaires. Higher mushroom consumption was associated with a lower risk of gastric cancer [relative risk (RR) for the highest vs. lowest consumption categories, 0.82; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.71-0.95]. The corresponding RRs were 0.59 (95% CI, 0.26-1.33) in a meta-analysis of four previously published studies and 0.77 for all studies combined (95% CI, 0.63-0.95; n = 15 studies). In geographic subgroup analysis, the pooled risk in Western Pacific countries was (RR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.40-0.87; n = 6). The stronger effect in Asian countries may reflect high level of antioxidants in mushroom species consumed in Asia.

Olive Oil and Nuts in Rheumatoid Arthritis Disease Activity.

Few observational studies investigated the relationship between single food groups and disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Within a recent Italian cross-sectional study (365 patients, median age: 58.46 years, 78.63% females), we focused on two food groups, olive oil and nuts, representing vegetable sources of fatty acids. Disease activity was measured with Disease Activity Score on 28 joints based on C-reactive protein (DAS28-CRP) and the Simplified Disease Activity Index (SDAI). Robust linear and logistic regression models included tertile-based consumption categories of each food group and several confounders. Stratified analyses were performed by disease severity or duration. Higher consumption of both food groups exerted a favorable effect on disease activity, significant only for olive oil (Beta: -0.33, p-value: 0.03) in the linear regression on the overall sample. This favorable effect was stronger in the more severe or long-standing forms of RA (p-value for heterogeneity <0.05, especially for disease severity). Significant ORs were as low as ~0.30 for both food groups, strata (i.e., more severe and long-standing RA), and disease activity measures. Mean DAS28-CRP significantly decreased by ~0.70 for olive oil and ~0.55 for nuts in the two strata; mean SDAI significantly decreased by 3.30 or more for olive oil in the two strata. Globally, the beta coefficients doubled, and the ORs halved (in absolute values) for both food groups, reaching significance in 12 of the 16 available models fitted to the more severe or long-standing RA strata. More compromised forms of RA may benefit from increasing consumption of olive oil, olives, and nuts.

Validation of the Italian version of the Tool to Measure Parenting Self-Efficacy questionnaire using data from an intervention study.

BACKGROUND: Parent self-efficacy (PSE), parents' confidence in their ability to successfully raise their children, has proved to be a powerful direct predictor of specific positive parenting practices. The aim of this study was to validate the Italian version of the Tool to Measure Parenting Self-Efficacy (TOPSE) using data from the questionnaires previously completed in a controlled before-after study conducted in 2015 to evaluate a newsletter programme to help improve parenting. Mothers and fathers of newborns were asked to complete the TOPSE at the child's birth (t0), at 6 months (t1) and at 12 months (t2): 265 TOPSE questionnaires were collected at t0 (43%), 158 at t1 (26%) and 188 at t2 (31%). METHODS: We measured internal reliability using Cronbach's alpha for each of the eight domains of the TOPSE. The intracluster correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to evaluate the external reliability only for parents with more than one child. Responsiveness was measured by testing the ability of the questionnaire to detect differences between groups and times that we expected to be measurable, based on consolidated findings in the literature. Mean scores of PSE improved from t0 to t2 (Hypothesis 1), PSE was lower at baseline for first-time parents than for those with multiple children (Hypothesis 2) and the improvement from t0 to t2 was stronger for first-time parents than for parents with multiple children (Hypothesis 3). RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Based on our sample of questionnaires, the Italian version of the TOPSE was reliable for almost all of the domains except for Emotion, Self-acceptance and Learning, which could be refined by re-framing or dropping one item. External reliability was moderate, bearing in mind that the questionnaire was repeated at different times over 12 months, during which parents normally change. Responsiveness was good, especially for the Emotion and Empathy domains.

Adult height and risk of gastric cancer: a pooled analysis within the Stomach cancer Pooling Project.

BACKGROUND: The association between height and risk of gastric cancer has been studied in several epidemiological studies with contrasting results. The aim of this study is to examine the association between adult height and gastric cancer within a large pooled analysis of case-control studies members of the Stomach cancer Pooling (StoP) Project consortium. METHODS: Data from 18 studies members of the StoP consortium were collected and analyzed. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to estimate the study-specific odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between 10-cm increase in height and risk of gastric cancer. Age, sex, tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, social class, geographical area and Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori ) status were included in the regression model. Resulting estimates were then pooled with random-effect model. Analyses were conducted overall and in strata of selected variables. RESULTS: A total of 7562 cases and 19 033 controls were included in the analysis. The pooled OR was 0.96 (95% CI 0.87-1.05). A sensitivity analysis was performed restricting the results to the studies with information on H. pylori status, resulting in an OR of 0.97 (95% CI 0.79-1.20). CONCLUSION: Our study does not support a strong and consistent association between adult height and gastric cancer.

Flavonoid Intake in Relation to Colorectal Cancer Risk and Blood Bacterial DNA.

Flavonoids have been inversely associated to colorectal cancer (CRC) and are plausible intermediaries for the relation among gut microbiome, intestinal permeability and CRC. We analyzed the relation of flavonoid intake with CRC and blood bacterial DNA. We conducted a case-control study in Italy involving 100 incident CRC cases and 200 controls. A valid and reproducible food-frequency questionnaire was used to assess dietary habits and to estimate six flavonoid subclass intakes. We applied qPCR and 16S rRNA gene profiling to assess blood bacterial DNA. We used multiple logistic regression to derive odds ratios (ORs) of CRC and Mann-Whitney and chi--square tests to evaluate abundance and prevalence of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) according to flavonoid intakes. Inverse associations with CRC were found for anthocyanidins (OR for the highest versus the lowest tertile = 0.24, 95% confidence interval, CI = 0.11-0.52) and flavanones (OR = 0.18, 95% CI = 0.08-0.42). We found different abundance and prevalence according to anthocyanidin and flavanone intake for OTUs referring to Oligoflexales order, Diplorickettsiaceae family, Staphylococcus, Brevundimonas, Pelomonas and Escherischia-Shigella genera, and Flavobacterium and Legionella species. The study provides evidence to a protective effect of dietary anthocyanidins and flavanones on CRC and suggests an influence of flavonoids on blood bacterial DNA, possibly through intestinal permeability changes.

Are Dietary Patterns Related to Cognitive Performance in 7-Year-Old Children? Evidence from a Birth Cohort in Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy.

Research from different sources supports a link between nutrition and neurodevelopment, but evidence is still sparse regarding the relationship between a posteriori dietary patterns (DPs) and cognitive performance in school-aged children. Within the Northern Adriatic Cohort II, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy, 379 7-year-old children were cross-sectionally evaluated. Dietary patterns were identified through a principal component factor analysis based on 37 nutrients from children's 3-day dietary records. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale of Children (WISC-IV) test provided measures of cognitive performance, including the full-scale intelligence quotient (FSIQ) and single index scores. Each DP was related to FSIQ or single index scores through multiple robust linear regression models. We identified five DPs named "Dairy Products", "Plant-based Foods", "Fats", "Meat and Potatoes", and "Seafood" (63% of variance explained). After adjustment, no significant relationship was observed with the FSIQ score; positive associations were found between the "Seafood" DP and Verbal Comprehension Index or Perceptual Reasoning Index. The "Meat and Potatoes" and "Dairy Products" DPs were inversely associated with the Verbal Comprehension Index and Processing Speed Index scores, respectively. In the absence of a relation with the overall FSIQ score, single DPs might influence specific cognitive functions, including verbal and reasoning abilities, as targeted by single indexes, in the expected direction.

The Association between Peptic Ulcer Disease and Gastric Cancer: Results from the Stomach Cancer Pooling (StoP) Project Consortium.

BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer (GC) is the fifth most common type of cancer and the fourth most common cause of cancer-related mortality. Although the risk of GC and peptic ulcer disease (PUD) is known to be increased by H. pylori infection, evidence regarding the direct relationship between PUD and GC across ethnicities is inconclusive. Therefore, we investigated the association between PUD and GC in the Stomach cancer Pooling (StoP) consortium. METHODS: History of peptic ulcer disease was collected using a structured questionnaire in 11 studies in the StoP consortium, including 4106 GC cases and 6922 controls. The two-stage individual-participant data meta-analysis approach was adopted to generate a priori. Unconditional logistic regression and Firth's penalized maximum likelihood estimator were used to calculate study-specific odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between gastric ulcer (GU)/duodenal ulcer (DU) and risk of GC. RESULTS: History of GU and DU was thoroughly reported and used in association analysis, respectively, by 487 cases (12.5%) and 276 controls (4.1%), and 253 cases (7.8%) and 318 controls (6.0%). We found that GU was associated with an increased risk of GC (OR = 3.04, 95% CI: 2.07-4.49). No association between DU and GC risk was observed (OR = 1.03, 95% CI: 0.77-1.39). CONCLUSIONS: In the pooled analysis of 11 case-control studies in a large consortium (i.e., the Stomach cancer Pooling (StoP) consortium), we found a positive association between GU and risk of GC and no association between DU and GC risk.

Nasopharyngeal Bacterial Microbiota Composition and SARS-CoV-2 IgG Antibody Maintenance in Asymptomatic/Paucisymptomatic Subjects.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), ranging from asymptomatic conditions to severe/fatal lung injury and multi-organ failure. Growing evidence shows that the nasopharyngeal microbiota composition may predict the severity of respiratory infections and may play a role in the protection from viral entry and the regulation of the immune response to the infection. In the present study, we have characterized the nasopharyngeal bacterial microbiota (BNM) composition and have performed factor analysis in a group of 54 asymptomatic/paucisymptomatic subjects who tested positive for nasopharyngeal swab SARS-CoV-2 RNA and/or showed anti-RBD-IgG positive serology at the enrolment. We investigated whether BNM was associated with SARS-CoV-2 RNA positivity and serum anti-RBD-IgG antibody development/maintenance 20-28 weeks after the enrolment. Shannon's entropy α-diversity index [odds ratio (OR) = 5.75, p = 0.0107] and the BNM Factor1 (OR = 2.64, p = 0.0370) were positively associated with serum anti-RBD-IgG antibody maintenance. The present results suggest that BNM composition may influence the immunological memory against SARS-CoV-2 infections. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study investigating the link between BNM and specific IgG antibody maintenance. Further studies are needed to unveil the mechanisms through which the BNM influences the adaptive immune response against viral infections.