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A W Hsing

Publications and source records attributed to A W Hsing.

65 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Diet, tobacco use, and fatal prostate cancer: results from the Lutheran Brotherhood Cohort Study.

A cohort of 17,633 white males age 35 and older responded to a mailed epidemiological questionnaire in 1966 and was followed until 1986 to determine the risk of cancer associated with diet, tobacco use, and other factors. During the 20-year follow-up, 149 fatal prostate cancer cases were identified. Relative risks for prostate cancer were significantly elevated among cigarette smokers (relative risk, 1.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-2.9) and users of smokeless tobacco (relative risk, 2.1; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-4.1). No significant associations were found with frequency of consumption of meats, dairy products, fruits, or vegetables. There were no overall significant associations between consumption of vitamin A from animal sources (retinol) and provitamin A from plant sources (carotene) and risk, but positive trends were seen for ages under 75, while inverse associations were found at older ages. Beverage consumption, including drinking coffee and alcohol, was unrelated to risk. Marital status, education, rural/urban status, and farming residence were also unrelated to the risk of fatal prostate cancer. The findings add to limited evidence that tobacco may be a risk factor for prostate cancer, but fail to provide clues to dietary or other risk factors.

Adult↗

Serologic precursors of cancer. Retinol, carotenoids, and tocopherol and risk of prostate cancer.

We investigated the associations of serum retinol, the carotenoids beta-carotene and lycopene, and tocopherol (vitamin E) with the risk of prostate cancer in a nested case-control study. For the study, serum obtained in 1974 from 25,802 persons in Washington County, MD, was used. Serum levels of the nutrients in 103 men who developed prostate cancer during the subsequent 13 years were compared with levels in 103 control subjects matched for age and race. Although no significant associations were observed with beta-carotene, lycopene, or tocopherol, the data suggested an inverse relationship between serum retinol and risk of prostate cancer. We analyzed data on the distribution of serum retinol by quartiles, using the lowest quartile as the reference value. Odds ratios were 0.67, 0.39, and 0.40 for the second, third, and highest quartiles, respectively.

Aged↗

Cigarette smoking and liver cancer among US veterans.

The relationship of tobacco use with risk of primary liver cancer was investigated using data from a 26-year mortality follow-up of nearly 250,000 US veterans, mostly from World War I. Significantly increased risks for liver cancer (289 deaths) were associated with most forms of tobacco use, including pipe and cigar smoking. Elevated relative risks (RRs) were seen for current cigarette smokers (RR = 2.4; 95 percent confidence interval [CI] 1.6-3.5) and former cigarette smokers (RR = 1.9, 1.2-2.9). A strong dose-response relationship (P less than 0.001) was found for cigarette smoking, with smokers of 40 or more cigarettes per day having almost a fourfold risk (RR = 3.8, 1.9-8.0). Risks were also found to increase significantly with years of cigarette use and with earlier age at the start of cigarette smoking. These results are consistent with those of other cohort and case-control studies, suggesting that cigarette smoking may be related to the risk of liver cancer.

Follow-Up Studies↗

Risk factors for preterm premature rupture of fetal membranes: a multicenter case-control study.

To assess the association between women with preterm premature rupture of membranes and 41 potential risk factors, we conducted a case-control study in six United States tertiary perinatal centers. The study involved completion of a comprehensive questionnaire for 341 women with preterm premature rupture of membranes in singleton pregnancies from 20 to 36 weeks' gestation and 253 control women matched for maternal age, gestational age, parity, clinic or private patient status, and previous vaginal or cesarean delivery. Univariate analysis revealed 11 variables associated with a significantly (p less than 0.05) increased risk of preterm premature rupture of membranes. After multiple logistic regression analysis, three variables remained in the model as independent risk factors: antepartum vaginal bleeding in more than one trimester (odds ratio 7.4; 95% confidence interval, 2.2, 25.6), current cigarette smoking (odds ratio, 2.1; 95% confidence interval, 1.4, 3.1), and previous preterm delivery (odds ratio, 2.5; 95% confidence interval, 1.4, 2.5). Cessation of cigarette smoking by pregnant women may reduce the risk of preterm premature rupture of membranes. Further study is necessary to determine the nature of the relationship between antepartum vaginal bleeding and preterm premature rupture of membranes.

Case-Control Studies↗

Correlations of dietary intake and blood nutrient levels with esophageal cancer mortality in China.

Using dietary, blood nutrient, and esophageal cancer mortality data from 65 Chinese counties, we examined several correlations to help provide clues to the influence of diet and nutrition on the geographic variation of esophageal cancer in China. Esophageal cancer mortality was significantly inversely related to reported fruit consumption and to plasma ascorbic acid concentration. The age-adjusted mortality rates were more than three times higher for counties in the lowest compared with the highest quartile of fruit intake or plasma vitamin C. Positive correlations with intake of moldy vegetables were observed but not with tobacco and alcohol consumption. There were suggestive inverse associations with blood selenium and riboflavin but little effect of fat-soluble vitamins. Limitations of ecological data preclude causal inferences, but the relationships provide leads to dietary factors that may contribute to the exceptionally high rates of esophageal cancer in several areas of China.

Adolescent↗

Is cigarette smoking a risk factor for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma or multiple myeloma? Results from the Lutheran Brotherhood Cohort Study.

Among 17,633 U.S. white male insurance policy holders whose use of tobacco was characterized in a 1966 self-administered questionnaire, there were 49 deaths from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) and 21 from multiple myeloma (MM) during a 20-year follow-up. Men who had ever smoked cigarettes had an elevated mortality from NHL (RR = 2.1; CI = 0.9-4.9), with risk almost four-fold greater among the heaviest smokers (RR = 3.8; CI = 1.4-10.1) compared with those who used no tobacco. In contrast, risk of MM was only slightly elevated among those who had ever smoked cigarettes (RR = 1.3; CI = 0.4-3.9) and without evidence of a dose-response trend. Since this is the first cohort study suggesting a link between cigarette smoking and NHL and findings from case-control studies have been inconsistent, additional clarification should be sought from larger incidence-based cohort investigations.

Adult↗

Risk factors for stomach cancer in sixty-five Chinese counties.

Stomach cancer mortality data were compared with dietary and biochemical data from 65 Chinese counties to provide clues to reasons for the marked geographic variation of stomach cancer mortality rates in China. Sex-specific correlation and multivariate regression analyses showed significant positive associations with consumption of salted vegetables and eggs, prevalence of antibodies to Helicobacter pylori, and levels of plasma albumin; and significant negative associations with intake of green vegetables and levels of plasma selenium and beta-carotene. Limitations of ecological data preclude causal inferences, but these findings suggest factors that may contribute to making stomach cancer the leading cause of cancer death in China and other countries.

Adult↗

Prostate cancer mortality in the United States by cohort year of birth, 1865-1940.

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among United States men, with rates among blacks twice those among whites. Over time, mortality has increased among nonwhites but has changed little among whites. Earlier reports have predicted that the rise among nonwhites would diminish because it appeared that those born in the late 1800s were at highest risk. Based on 1950-1989 United States mortality data and populations at risk estimated using census data, we assessed prostate cancer mortality trends over time in white, nonwhite, and black men. From 1950-1954 to 1985-1989, age-adjusted prostate cancer mortality rates increased slightly for whites (9%) but substantially for nonwhites (67%). Among whites, rates increased over time in men over age 80 years but remained constant for younger men. Among nonwhites, rates increased steeply in those above age 74 years and slightly in the age group 65-74 years but declined in those under age 65 years, with the rate of decrease much more rapid in those under 55. The predicted reduction in risk among nonwhite men born since 1900, reported in an earlier study based on the mortality pattern through 1970, has not occurred because rates continued to increase among older nonwhites. In summary, prostate cancer mortality rates are rising among older men and decreasing in nonwhite young men. While improved detection of the cancer may partly account for the trend, analytical studies are needed to investigate the reasons for the increase in prostate cancer mortality in older men, the decrease in nonwhite young men, and the increasing excess risk among blacks.

Aged↗

The relationship of serum dehydroepiandrosterone and its sulfate to subsequent cancer of the prostate.

Levels of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) in sera collected and frozen in 1974 were studied among 81 prostate cancer cases diagnosed in the following 12 years and 81 age- and race-matched controls. Although mean levels of DHEA were 11% lower among cases than controls and DHEA-S levels were 12% lower than among controls, no dose-response association was noted for either DHEA or DHEA-S. It seems unlikely that serum levels of DHEA or DHEA-S are important risk factors for prostate cancer.

Adult↗

Serological precursors of cancer: serum hormones and risk of subsequent prostate cancer.

A population-based nested case-control study was conducted to determine the relation of prediagnostic serum levels of testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, prolactin, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, estrone, and estradiol to the risk of subsequent prostate cancer. Serum specimens of study subjects were available from a blood collection campaign in Washington County, Maryland, in 1974. Serum hormone levels of 98 histologically confirmed prostate cancer cases diagnosed in the subsequent 13 years were compared to those of 98 controls who were individually matched to cases on the basis of age (within weeks), sex, and race. There were no significant differences in levels of these hormones between cases and controls, although elevated levels of luteinizing hormone and of testosterone:dihydrotestosterone ratios were associated with mild increased risks of prostate cancer.

Aged↗