| 1. |
- van Bakel, Marit M E, et al.
(author)
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Methodological challenges in the application of the Glycemic Index in epidemiological studies using data from the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition
- 2009
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In: Journal of Nutrition. - : Elsevier BV. - 0022-3166 .- 1541-6100. ; 139:3, s. 568-575
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Associations between the glycemic index (GI) or glycemic load (GL) and diseases are heterogeneous in epidemiological studies. Differences in assigning GI values to food items may contribute to this inconsistency. Our objective was to address methodological issues related to the use of current GI and GL values in epidemiological studies. We performed ecological comparison and correlation studies by calculating dietary GI and GL from country-specific dietary questionnaires (DQ) from 422,837 participants from 9 countries participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study and single standardized 24-h dietary recalls (24-HDR) obtained from a representative sample (n = 33,404) using mainly Foster Powell's international table as a reference source. Further, 2 inter-rater and 1 inter-method comparison were conducted, comparing DQ GI values assigned by independent groups with values linked by us. The ecological correlation between DQ and 24-HDR was good for GL (overall r = 0.76; P < 0.005) and moderate for GI (r = 0.57; P < 0.05). Mean GI/GL differences between DQ and 24-HDR were significant for most centers. GL but not GI from DQ was highly correlated with total carbohydrate (r = 0.98 and 0.15, respectively; P < 0.0001) and this was higher for starch (r = 0.72; P < 0.0001) than for sugars (r = 0.36; P < 0.0001). The inter-rater and inter-method variations were considerable for GI (weighted kappa coefficients of 0.49 and 0.65 for inter-rater and 0.25 for inter-method variation, respectively) but only mild for GL (weighted kappa coefficients > 0.80). A more consistent methodology to attribute GI values to foods and validated DQ is needed to derive meaningful GI/GL estimates for nutritional epidemiology.
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| 2. |
- Freisling, Heinz, et al.
(author)
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Dietary acrylamide intake of adults in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition differs greatly according to geographical region
- 2013
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In: European Journal of Nutrition. - : Springer. - 1436-6207 .- 1436-6215. ; 52:4, s. 1369-1380
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Methodological differences in assessing dietary acrylamide (AA) often hamper comparisons of intake across populations. Our aim was to describe the mean dietary AA intake in 27 centers of 10 European countries according to selected lifestyle characteristics and its contributing food sources in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. In this cross-sectional analysis, 36 994 men and women, aged 35-74 years completed a single, standardized 24-hour dietary recall using EPIC-Soft. Food consumption data were matched to a harmonized AA database. Intake was computed by gender and center, and across categories of habitual alcohol consumption, smoking status, physical activity, education, and body mass index (BMI). Adjustment was made for participants' age, height, weight, and energy intake using linear regression models. Adjusted mean AA intake across centers ranged from 13 to 47 mu g/day in men and from 12 to 39 mu g/day in women; intakes were higher in northern European centers. In most centers, intake in women was significantly higher among alcohol drinkers compared with abstainers. There were no associations between AA intake and physical activity, BMI, or education. At least 50 % of AA intake across centers came from two food groups "bread, crisp bread, rusks" and "coffee." The third main contributing food group was "potatoes". Dietary AA intake differs greatly among European adults residing in different geographical regions. This observed heterogeneity in AA intake deserves consideration in the design and interpretation of population-based studies of dietary AA intake and health outcomes.
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| 3. |
- Gallo, Valentina, et al.
(author)
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Physical activity and risk of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in a prospective cohort study
- 2016
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In: European Journal of Epidemiology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0393-2990 .- 1573-7284. ; 31:3, s. 255-266
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Previous case-control studies have suggested a possible increased risk of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) with physical activity (PA), but this association has never been studied in prospective cohort studies. We therefore assessed the association between PA and risk of death from ALS in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. A total of 472,100 individuals were included in the analysis, yielding 219 ALS deaths. At recruitment, information on PA was collected through standardised questionnaires. Total PA was expressed by the Cambridge Physical Activity Index (CPAI) and analysed in relation to ALS mortality, using Cox hazard models. Interactions with age, sex, and anthropometric measures were assessed. Total PA was weakly inversely associated with ALS mortality with a borderline statistically significant trend across categories (p = 0.042), with those physically active being 33 % less likely to die from ALS compared to those inactive: HR = 0.67 (95 % CI 0.42-1.06). Anthropometric measures, sex, and age did not modify the association with CPAI. The present study shows a slightly decreased-not increased like in case-control studies-risk of dying from ALS in those with high levels of total PA at enrolment. This association does not appear confounded by age, gender, anthropometry, smoking, and education. Ours was the first prospective cohort study on ALS and physical activity.
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| 4. |
- Gallo, Valentina, et al.
(author)
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Smoking and risk for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis : analysis of the EPIC cohort
- 2009
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In: Annals of Neurology. - New York : J. Wiley & Sons. - 0364-5134 .- 1531-8249. ; 65:4, s. 378-385
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: Cigarette smoking has been reported as "probable" risk factor for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a poorly understood disease in terms of aetiology. The extensive longitudinal data of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) were used to evaluate age-specific mortality rates from ALS and the role of cigarette smoking on the risk of dying from ALS. Methods: A total of 517,890 healthy subjects were included, resulting in 4,591,325 person-years. ALS cases were ascertained through death certificates. Cox hazard models were built to investigate the role of smoking on the risk of ALS, using packs/years and smoking duration to study dose-response. Results: A total of 118 subjects died from ALS, resulting in a crude mortality rate of 2.69 per 100,000/year. Current smokers at recruitment had an almost two-fold increased risk of dying from ALS compared to never smokers (HR = 1.89, 95% C.I. 1.14-3.14), while former smokers at the time of enrollment had a 50% increased risk (HR = 1.48, 95% C.I. 0.94-2.32). The number of years spent smoking increased the risk of ALS (p for trend = 0.002). Those who smoked more than 33 years had more than a two-fold increased risk of ALS compared with never smokers (HR = 2.16, 95% C.I. 1.33-3.53). Conversely, the number of years since quitting smoking was associated with a decreased risk of ALS compared with continuing smoking. Interpretation: These results strongly support the hypothesis of a role of cigarette smoking in aetiology of ALS. We hypothesize that this could occur through lipid peroxidation via formaldehyde exposure.
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| 5. |
- Grote, Verena A., et al.
(author)
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The associations of advanced glycation end products and its soluble receptor with pancreatic cancer risk: A case-control study within the prospective EPIC cohort
- 2012
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In: Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention. - 1055-9965 .- 1538-7755. ; 21:4, s. 619-628
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Advanced glycation end products (AGE) and their receptors (RAGE) have been implicated in cancer development through their proinflammatory capabilities. However, prospective data on their association with cancer of specific sites, including pancreatic cancer, are limited. Methods: Prediagnostic blood levels of the AGE product Nε-(carboxymethyl)lysine (CML) and the endogenous secreted receptor for AGE (esRAGE) were measured using ELISA in 454 patients with exocrine pancreatic cancer and individually matched controls within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Pancreatic cancer risk was estimated by calculating ORs with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: Elevated CML levels tended to be associated with a reduction in pancreatic cancer risk [OR = 0.57 (95% CI, 0.32-1.01) comparing highest with lowest quintile), whereas no association was observed for esRAGE (OR = 0.98; 95% CI, 0.62-1.54). Adjustments for body mass index and smoking attenuated the inverse associations of CML with pancreatic cancer risk (OR = 0.78; 95% CI, 0.41-1.49). There was an inverse association between esRAGE and risk of pancreatic cancer for cases that were diagnosed within the first 2 years of follow-up [OR = 0.46 (95% CI, 0.22-0.96) for a doubling in concentration], whereas there was no association among those with a longer follow-up (OR = 1.11; 95% CI, 0.88-1.39; P interaction = 0.002). Conclusions and Impact: Our results do not provide evidence for an association of higher CML or lower esRAGE levels with risk of pancreatic cancer. The role of AGE/RAGE in pancreatic cancer would benefit from further investigations. ©2012 AACR.
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| 6. |
- Kühn, Tilman, et al.
(author)
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Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D and the risk of breast cancer in the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition : A nested case-control study
- 2013
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In: International Journal of Cancer. - : Wiley. - 0020-7136 .- 1097-0215. ; 133:7, s. 1689-1700
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Experimental evidence suggests that vitamin D might play a role in the development of breast cancer. Although the results of case-control studies indicate that circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] is inversely associated with the risk of breast cancer, the results of prospective studies are inconsistent. A case-control study embedded in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) was carried out comprising 1,391 incident breast cancer cases and 1,391 controls. Multivariable conditional logistic regression models did not reveal a significant overall association between season-standardized 25(OH)D levels and the risk of breast cancer (ORQ4-Q1 [95% CI]: 1.07 [0.85-1.36], ptrend = 0.67). Moreover, 25(OH)D levels were not related to the risks of estrogen receptor positive tumors (ORQ4-Q1 [95% CI]: 0.97 [0.67-1.38], ptrend = 0.90) and estrogen receptor negative tumors (ORQ4-Q1 [95% CI]: 0.97 [0.66-1.42], ptrend = 0.98). In hormone replacement therapy (HRT) users, 25(OH)D was significantly inversely associated with incident breast cancer (ORlog2 [95% CI]: 0.62 [0.42-0.90], p = 0.01), whereas no significant association was found in HRT nonusers (ORlog2 [95% CI]: 1.14 [0.80-1.62], p = 0.48). Further, a nonsignificant inverse association was found in women with body mass indices (BMI) < 25 kg/m(2) (ORlog2 [95% CI]: 0.83 [0.67-1.03], p = 0.09), as opposed to a borderline significant positive association in women with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m(2) (ORlog2 [95% CI]: 1.30 [1.0-1.69], p = 0.05). Overall, prediagnostic levels of circulating 25(OH)D were not related to the risk of breast cancer in the EPIC study. This result is in line with findings in the majority of prospective studies and does not support a role of vitamin D in the development of breast cancer.
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| 7. |
- Langenberg, Claudia, et al.
(author)
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Long-Term Risk of Incident Type 2 Diabetes and Measures of Overall and Regional Obesity: The EPIC-InterAct Case-Cohort Study
- 2012
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In: PLoS Medicine. - San Francisco : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1549-1676 .- 1549-1277. ; 9:6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Waist circumference (WC) is a simple and reliable measure of fat distribution that may add to the prediction of type 2 diabetes (T2D), but previous studies have been too small to reliably quantify the relative and absolute risk of future diabetes by WC at different levels of body mass index (BMI). Methods and Findings: The prospective InterAct case-cohort study was conducted in 26 centres in eight European countries and consists of 12,403 incident T2D cases and a stratified subcohort of 16,154 individuals from a total cohort of 340,234 participants with 3.99 million person-years of follow-up. We used Prentice-weighted Cox regression and random effects meta-analysis methods to estimate hazard ratios for T2D. Kaplan-Meier estimates of the cumulative incidence of T2D were calculated. BMI and WC were each independently associated with T2D, with WC being a stronger risk factor in women than in men. Risk increased across groups defined by BMI and WC; compared to low normal weight individuals (BMI 18.5-22.4 kg/m(2)) with a low WC (< 94/80 cm in men/women), the hazard ratio of T2D was 22.0 (95% confidence interval 14.3; 33.8) in men and 31.8 (25.2; 40.2) in women with grade 2 obesity (BMI >= 35 kg/m(2)) and a high WC (> 102/88 cm). Among the large group of overweight individuals, WC measurement was highly informative and facilitated the identification of a subgroup of overweight people with high WC whose 10-y T2D cumulative incidence (men, 70 per 1,000 person-years; women, 44 per 1,000 person-years) was comparable to that of the obese group (50-103 per 1,000 person-years in men and 28-74 per 1,000 person-years in women). Conclusions: WC is independently and strongly associated with T2D, particularly in women, and should be more widely measured for risk stratification. If targeted measurement is necessary for reasons of resource scarcity, measuring WC in overweight individuals may be an effective strategy, since it identifies a high-risk subgroup of individuals who could benefit from individualised preventive action.
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| 8. |
- May, Anne M., et al.
(author)
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Determinants of non- response to a second assessment of lifestyle factors and body weight in the EPIC-PANACEA study
- 2012
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In: BMC Medical Research Methodology. - : BioMed Central. - 1471-2288. ; 12
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: This paper discusses whether baseline demographic, socio-economic, health variables, length of follow-up and method of contacting the participants predict non-response to the invitation for a second assessment of lifestyle factors and body weight in the European multi-center EPIC-PANACEA study. Methods: Over 500.000 participants from several centers in ten European countries recruited between 1992 and 2000 were contacted 2-11 years later to update data on lifestyle and body weight. Length of follow-up as well as the method of approaching differed between the collaborating study centers. Non-responders were compared with responders using multivariate logistic regression analyses. Results: Overall response for the second assessment was high (81.6%). Compared to postal surveys, centers where the participants completed the questionnaire by phone attained a higher response. Response was also high in centers with a short follow-up period. Non-response was higher in participants who were male (odds ratio 1.09 (confidence interval 1.07; 1.11), aged under 40 years (1.96 (1.90; 2.02), living alone (1.40 (1.37; 1.43), less educated (1.35 (1.12; 1.19), of poorer health (1.33 (1.27; 1.39), reporting an unhealthy lifestyle and who had either a low (<18.5 kg/m2, 1.16 (1.09; 1.23)) or a high BMI (>25, 1.08 (1.06; 1.10); especially >= 30 kg/m2, 1.26 (1.23; 1.29)). Conclusions: Cohort studies may enhance cohort maintenance by paying particular attention to the subgroups that are most unlikely to respond and by an active recruitment strategy using telephone interviews.
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| 9. |
- Vermeulen, Esther, et al.
(author)
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Dietary Flavonoid Intake and Esophageal Cancer Risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition Cohort
- 2013
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In: American Journal of Epidemiology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0002-9262 .- 1476-6256. ; 178:4, s. 570-581
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We prospectively investigated dietary flavonoid intake and esophageal cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort. The study included 477,312 adult subjects from 10 European countries. At baseline, country-specific validated dietary questionnaires were used. During a mean follow-up of 11 years (1992-2010), there were 341 incident esophageal cancer cases, of which 142 were esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), 176 were esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), and 23 were other types of esophageal cancer. In crude models, a doubling in total dietary flavonoid intake was inversely associated with esophageal cancer risk (hazard ratio (HR) (log(2))=0.87, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.78, 0.98) but not in multi-variable models (HR (log(2))=0.97, 95% CI: 0.86, 1.10). After covariate adjustment, no statistically significant association was found between any flavonoid subclass and esophageal cancer, EAC, or ESCC. However, among current smokers, flavonols were statistically significantly associated with a reduced esophageal cancer risk (HR (log(2)) = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.56, 0.94), whereas total flavonoids, flavanols, and flavan-3-ol monomers tended to be inversely associated with esophageal cancer risk. No associations were found in either never or former smokers. These findings suggest that dietary flavonoid intake was not associated with overall esophageal cancer, EAC, or ESCC risk, although total flavonoids and some flavonoid subclasses, particularly flavonols, may reduce the esophageal cancer risk among current smokers.
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| 10. |
- Zamora-Ros, Raul, et al.
(author)
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Dietary flavonoid, lignan and antioxidant capacity and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition study
- 2013
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In: International Journal of Cancer. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 0020-7136 .- 1097-0215. ; 133:10, s. 2429-2443
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Limited epidemiological evidence suggests a protective role for plant foods rich in flavonoids and antioxidants in hepatocellular cancer (HCC) etiology. Our aim was to prospectively investigate the association between dietary intake of flavonoids, lignans and nonenzymatic antioxidant capacity (NEAC) and HCC risk. Data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort including 477,206 subjects (29.8% male) recruited from ten Western European countries, was analyzed. Flavonoid, lignan and NEAC intakes were calculated using a compilation of existing food composition databases linked to dietary information from validated dietary questionnaires. Dietary NEAC was based on ferric reducing antioxidant capacity (FRAP) and total radical-trapping antioxidant parameter (TRAP). Hepatitis B/C status was measured in a nested case-control subset. During a mean follow-up of 11-years, 191 incident HCC cases (66.5% men) were identified. Using Cox regression, multivariable adjusted models showed a borderline nonsignificant association of HCC with total flavonoid intake (highest versus lowest tertile, HR = 0.65, 95% CI: 0.40-1.04; ptrend = 0.065), but not with lignans. Among flavonoid subclasses, flavanols were inversely associated with HCC risk (HR = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.39-0.99; ptrend = 0.06). Dietary NEAC was inversely associated with HCC (FRAP: HR 0.50, 95% CI: 0.31-0.81; ptrend = 0.001; TRAP: HR 0.49, 95% CI: 0.31-0.79; ptrend = 0.002), but statistical significance was lost after exclusion of the first 2 years of follow-up. This study suggests that higher intake of dietary flavanols and antioxidants may be associated with a reduced HCC risk.
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