Cancer incidence of workers in the Finnish pulp and paper industry

The cancer incidence of 3,545 workers in the Finnish pulp and paper industry was assessed in a retrospective cohort study. The cohort included workers with continuous employment of at least one year between 1 January 1945 and 31 December 1961 and was followed until 31 December 1980. Six subcohorts were formed (sulfite mill, sulfate mill, paper mill, board mill, maintenance department, and power plant). Separate analyses were made for the 2,597 workers hired after 1 January 1945. The smoking habits were surveyed. Among the men, 196 cases of primary cancer were detected versus 203.8 expected [standardized incidence ratio (SIR) 96, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 82-114], and there were 47 cancer cases among the women versus 57.9 expected (SIR 91, 95% CI 60-108). Lung cancer occurred in 78 men (62.6 expected, SIR 125, 95% CI 98-155), and the excess was the most prominent for the male board mill workers (40 observed, 81.1 expected, SIR 222, 95% CI 158-302), particularly after 20 year's latency (25 observed, 7.8 expected, SIR 323, 95% CI 209-476). Analogous excesses of lung cancer occurred among the men (especially the male board mill workers) who began work after 1 January 1945. The findings were not explained by smoking habits.     

Oral contraceptive use before first birth and risk of breast cancer: a case control study

Background  

Our investigation sought to compare changes in sexual function following supracervical hysterectomy (SCH) and total abdominal hysterectomy (TAH).     

Interleukin 10 family gene polymorphisms are not associated with major depressive disorder and panic disorder phenotypes

Genetic regulation of immune system and inflammatory response may be related to the pathogenesis and manifestations of mood and anxiety disorders. In the present study we examined a range of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in chromosomal region 1q32, the locus of interleukin 10 (IL10) gene, in patients with major depressive disorder (n = 312) and panic disorder (n = 210), and matched healthy controls (n = 356). We found no significant associations of the SNPs in IL10 family genes with either diagnostic group. Haplotype analysis revealed seven haplotype blocks, but their frequencies did not differ between patients and controls. Significant associations were detected for SNP rs1539243 in IKBKE (inhibitor of kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B-cells, kinase epsilon) gene showing different allelic and genotypic distributions in the total as well as in separate diagnostic groups as compared to controls. IKBKE emerged as a candidate for further studies of genetic factors associated with panic disorder and major depressive disorder.     

Dietary cholesterol, fatty acids, and the risk of lung cancer among men.

The relation between dietary cholesterol and fatty acids and the incidence of lung cancer was studied among 4,538 Finnish men aged 20-69 years and initially free of cancer. During 20 years of follow-up, 117 lung cancer cases were diagnosed. Cholesterol intake was not associated with lung cancer risk, the age-, smoking-, and energy-adjusted relative risk between the lowest and highest tertiles being 1.0 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.6-1.9]. The intake of saturated fatty acids was nonsignificantly related with lung cancer incidence, the relative risk for the lowest compared with the highest tertile being 1.6 (CI = 0.8-3.2). The association was stronger among smokers than among nonsmokers, the relative risks being 2.1 (CI = 1.0-4.3) and 1.3 (CI = 0.4-4.1), respectively. The relative risk among smokers, however, decreased to 1.5 after adjustment for the amount they smoked. In the total cohort, there was a significantly elevated risk of lung cancer among men with a high intake of butter, one of the main sources of saturated fatty acids, the relative risk being 1.9 (CI = 1.1-3.2). The present data do not confirm previous results suggesting that dietary cholesterol predicts the occurrence of lung cancer among men. The association between intake of saturated fatty acids and lung cancer observed in the present study may be partly due to heavy smoking among high consumers of saturated fat.     

Cancer risk among glass factory workers: an excess of lung cancer?

A total of 3749 workers employed for at least three months in two Finnish glass factories (cohorts A and B) were followed up for cancer in 1953-86 through the Finnish Cancer Registry. In cohort A (1353 men, 1261 women), 106 primary cancers were diagnosed among men, and their standardised incidence ratio (SIR) for all cancers was 99. Among women the risk was low (65 cases, SIR 64). In cohort B (450 men, 685 women), the relative risk of cancer was close to unity for both men (57 cases) and women (75 cases). The risk of cancer was analysed by primary site, type of work, years since first exposure, and age at diagnosis. The only significantly increased risks were those of lung cancer among men (SIR 130, 95% CI 100-167, cohorts A and B combined), and skin cancer among glass blowers (SIR 625, 95% CI 129-1827). An increased risk of lung, stomach, and colon cancer as well as of brain tumours has been reported in previous studies. It is postulated that the excess risk of lung cancer, detected in this study, can also be accounted for by lifestyle, and not only by possible occupational exposures, because a similar excess risk of lung cancer has been found previously for all industrial workers in Finland. Although the risk of stomach cancer in this study was increased among glass blowers, it was not high in the largest groups of plain glass workers. The risks of tumours of the central nervous system and colon were not increased either.     

Common Variations in 4p Locus are Related to Male Completed Suicide

Suicidal behavior is a multifactorial phenomenon, with a significant genetic predisposition. To assess the contribution of genes in the 4p region to suicide risk, we genotyped 36 single nucleotide polymorphisms from a 49Mb region on the chromosome arm 4p11-16 in a total of 288 male suicide victims and 327 healthy male volunteers. The nonsynonymous variants rs1383180 in EVC gene, rs6811863 in TBC1D1 gene, rs362272 in HTT gene, and rs734312 in WFS1 gene were associated to the male completed suicide. However, only EVC polymorphism remained significant after correcting for multiple comparisons (P < .05 after 10 K permutations). The function of these genes is not clear yet. WFS1 and HTT are related to the unfolded protein response and endoplasmic reticulum stress, and TBC1D1 is a GTPase activator. EVC is a protein with transmembrane and leucine zipper domains, its function has not been elucidated yet. Further studies are required in order to reveal the role of these four polymorphisms in the pathoetiology of suicide. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.