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Although dietary factors have been examined as potential risk factors for liver cancer, the evidence is still inconclusive. Using a diet-wide association analysis, our research evaluated the associations of 126 foods and nutrients on the risk of liver cancer in a Chinese population. We obtained the diet consumption of 72,680 women in the Shanghai Women’s Health Study using baseline dietary questionnaires. The association between each food and nutrient and liver cancer risk was quantified by Cox regression model. A false discovery rate of 0.05 was used to determine the foods and nutrients which need to be verified. Totally 256 incident liver cancer cases were identified in 1,267,391 person-years during the follow-up duration. At the statistical significance level (P ≤ 0.05), higher intakes of cooked wheaten foods, pear, grape and copper were inversely associated with liver cancer risk, while spinach, leafy vegetables, eggplant and carrots showed the positive associations. After considering multiple comparisons, no dietary variable was associated with liver cancer risk. Similar findings were seen in the stratification, secondary and sensitivity analyses. Our findings observed no significant association between dietary factors and liver cancer risk after considering multiple comparisons in Chinese women. More evidence is needed to explore the associations between diet and female liver cancer occurrence.
Approximately five million individuals have traumatic injuries annually. Implementing prehospital blood-component transfusion (PHBT), encompassing packed red blood cells (p-RBCs), plasma, or platelets, facilitates early hemostatic volume replacement following trauma. The lack of uniform PHBT guidelines persists, relying on diverse parameters and physician experience.
Aim:
This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of various components of PHBT, including p-RBCs and plasma, on mortality and hematologic-related outcomes in traumatic patients.
Methods:
A comprehensive search strategy was executed to identify pertinent literature comparing the transfusion of p-RBCs, plasma, or a combination of both with standard resuscitation care in traumatized patients. Eligible studies underwent independent screening, and pertinent data were systematically extracted. The analysis employed pooled risk ratios (RR) for dichotomous outcomes and mean differences (MD) for continuous variables, each accompanied by their respective 95% confidence intervals (CI).
Results:
Forty studies were included in the qualitative analysis, while 26 of them were included in the quantitative analysis. Solely P-RBCs alone or combined with plasma showed no substantial effect on 24-hour or long-term mortality (RR = 1.13; 95% CI, 0.68 - 1.88; P = .63). Conversely, plasma transfusion alone exhibited a 28% reduction in 24-hour mortality with a RR of 0.72 (95% CI, 0.53 - 0.99; P = .04). In-hospital mortality and length of hospital stay were mostly unaffected by p-RBCs or p-RBCs plus plasma, except for a notable three-day reduction in length of hospital stay with p-RBCs alone (MD = -3.00; 95% CI, -5.01 to -0.99; P = .003). Hematological parameter analysis revealed nuanced effects, including a four-unit increase in RBC requirements with p-RBCs (MD = 3.95; 95% CI, 0.69 - 7.21; P = .02) and a substantial reduction in plasma requirements with plasma transfusion (MD = -0.73; 95% CI, -1.28 to -0.17; P = .01).
Conclusion:
This study revealed that plasma transfusion alone was associated with a substantial decrease in 24-hour mortality. Meanwhile, p-RBCs alone or combined with plasma did not significantly impact 24-hour or long-term mortality. In-hospital mortality and length of hospital stay were generally unaffected by p-RBCs or p-RBCs plus plasma, except for a substantial reduction in length of hospital stay with p-RBCs alone.
There is a lack of large-scale studies exploring labor market marginalization (LMM) among individuals diagnosed with bipolar disorder (BD). We aimed to investigate the association of BD with subsequent LMM in Sweden, and the effect of sex on LMM in BD.
Methods
Individuals aged 19–60 years living in Sweden with a first-time BD diagnosis between 2007 and 2016 (n = 25 231) were followed from the date of diagnosis for a maximum of 14 years. Risk of disability pension (DP), long-term sickness absence (SA) (>90 days), and long-term unemployment (>180 days) was compared to a matched comparison group from the general population, matched 1:5 on sex and birth year (n = 126 155), and unaffected full siblings (n = 24 098), using sex-stratified Cox regression analysis, yielding hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
Results
After adjusting for socioeconomic factors, baseline labor market status, and comorbid disorders, individuals with BD had a significantly higher risk of DP compared to the general population (HR = 16.67, 95% CI 15.33–18.13) and their unaffected siblings (HR = 5.54, 95% CI 4.96–6.18). Individuals with BD were also more likely to experience long-term SA compared to the general population (HR = 3.19, 95% CI 3.09–3.30) and their unaffected siblings (HR = 2.83, 95% CI 2.70–2.97). Moreover, individuals diagnosed with BD had an elevated risk of long-term unemployment relative to both comparison groups (HR range: 1.75–1.78). Men with BD had a higher relative risk of SA and unemployment than women. No difference was found in DP.
Conclusions
Individuals with BD face elevated risks of LMM compared to both the general population and unaffected siblings.
Markers of inflammation and cannabis exposure are associated with an increased risk of mental disorders. In the current study, we investigated associations between cannabis use and biomarkers of inflammation.
Methods
Utilizing a sample of 914 participants from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, we investigated whether interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), C-reactive protein (CRP), and soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) measured at age 24 were associated with past year daily cannabis use, less frequent cannabis use, and no past year cannabis use. We adjusted for a number of covariates including sociodemographic measures, body mass index, childhood trauma, and tobacco smoking. We found evidence of a strong association between daily or near daily cannabis use and suPAR.
Results
We did not find any associations between less frequent cannabis use and suPAR. We did not find evidence of an association between IL-6, TNFα or CRP, and cannabis use.
Conclusions
Our finding that frequent cannabis use is strongly associated with suPAR, a biomarker of systemic chronic inflammation implicated in neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative processes is novel. These findings may provide valuable insights into biological mechanisms by which cannabis affects the brain and impacts the risk of serious mental disorders.
The association between cannabis and psychosis is established, but the role of underlying genetics is unclear. We used data from the EU-GEI case-control study and UK Biobank to examine the independent and combined effect of heavy cannabis use and schizophrenia polygenic risk score (PRS) on risk for psychosis.
Methods
Genome-wide association study summary statistics from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium and the Genomic Psychiatry Cohort were used to calculate schizophrenia and cannabis use disorder (CUD) PRS for 1098 participants from the EU-GEI study and 143600 from the UK Biobank. Both datasets had information on cannabis use.
Results
In both samples, schizophrenia PRS and cannabis use independently increased risk of psychosis. Schizophrenia PRS was not associated with patterns of cannabis use in the EU-GEI cases or controls or UK Biobank cases. It was associated with lifetime and daily cannabis use among UK Biobank participants without psychosis, but the effect was substantially reduced when CUD PRS was included in the model. In the EU-GEI sample, regular users of high-potency cannabis had the highest odds of being a case independently of schizophrenia PRS (OR daily use high-potency cannabis adjusted for PRS = 5.09, 95% CI 3.08–8.43, p = 3.21 × 10−10). We found no evidence of interaction between schizophrenia PRS and patterns of cannabis use.
Conclusions
Regular use of high-potency cannabis remains a strong predictor of psychotic disorder independently of schizophrenia PRS, which does not seem to be associated with heavy cannabis use. These are important findings at a time of increasing use and potency of cannabis worldwide.
Genetic vulnerability to mental disorders has been associated with coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) outcomes. We explored whether polygenic risk scores (PRSs) for several mental disorders predicted poorer clinical and psychological COVID-19 outcomes in people with pre-existing depression.
Methods
Data from three assessments of the Australian Genetics of Depression Study (N = 4405; 52.2 years ± 14.9; 76.2% females) were analyzed. Outcomes included COVID-19 clinical outcomes (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 [SARS-CoV-2] infection and long COVID, noting the low incidence of COVID-19 cases in Australia at that time) and COVID-19 psychological outcomes (COVID-related stress and COVID-19 burnout). Predictors included PRS for depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and anxiety. The associations between these PRSs and the outcomes were assessed with adjusted linear/logistic/multinomial regressions. Mediation (N = 4338) and moderation (N = 3326) analyses were performed to explore the potential influence of anxiety symptoms and resilience on the identified associations between the PRSs and COVID-19 psychological outcomes.
Results
None of the selected PRS predicted SARS-CoV-2 infection or long COVID. In contrast, the depression PRS predicted higher levels of COVID-19 burnout. Anxiety symptoms fully mediated the association between the depression PRS and COVID-19 burnout. Resilience did not moderate this association.
Conclusions
A higher genetic risk for depression predicted higher COVID-19 burnout and this association was fully mediated by anxiety symptoms. Interventions targeting anxiety symptoms may be effective in mitigating the psychological effects of a pandemic among people with depression.
Involuntary admissions to psychiatric hospitals are on the rise. If patients at elevated risk of involuntary admission could be identified, prevention may be possible. Our aim was to develop and validate a prediction model for involuntary admission of patients receiving care within a psychiatric service system using machine learning trained on routine clinical data from electronic health records (EHRs).
Methods
EHR data from all adult patients who had been in contact with the Psychiatric Services of the Central Denmark Region between 2013 and 2021 were retrieved. We derived 694 patient predictors (covering e.g. diagnoses, medication, and coercive measures) and 1134 predictors from free text using term frequency-inverse document frequency and sentence transformers. At every voluntary inpatient discharge (prediction time), without an involuntary admission in the 2 years prior, we predicted involuntary admission 180 days ahead. XGBoost and elastic net models were trained on 85% of the dataset. The models with the highest area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) were tested on the remaining 15% of the data.
Results
The model was trained on 50 634 voluntary inpatient discharges among 17 968 patients. The cohort comprised of 1672 voluntary inpatient discharges followed by an involuntary admission. The best XGBoost and elastic net model from the training phase obtained an AUROC of 0.84 and 0.83, respectively, in the test phase.
Conclusion
A machine learning model using routine clinical EHR data can accurately predict involuntary admission. If implemented as a clinical decision support tool, this model may guide interventions aimed at reducing the risk of involuntary admission.
Dietary Mn intake may have a beneficial effect in reducing cancer risk; however, its association with thyroid cancer (TC) risk remains inadequately understood. Additionally, Mn was associated with inflammation markers. Thus, we examined whether dietary Mn intake emerges a protective role against TC and whether this preventative effect has an interaction with IL1 receptor type 1 (IL1R1) rs3917225. The prospective study was designed at National Cancer Center in Korea between October 2007 and December 2020 including 17 754 participants. We identified TC cases by following participants until December 2020. Mn intake was collected using a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire (SQFFQ). Genotyping was performed to determine IL1R1 rs3917225. The hazard ratios (HR) and 95 % confidence interval (CI) were calculated with a Cox proportional hazards model. We ascertained 108 incident TC cases throughout follow-up duration. Dietary Mn intake was found to be inversely associated with TC risk (HR (95 % CI)=0·64 (0·44, 0·95)). However, IL1R1 rs3917225 seemed to modify this association; the protective effect was limited to G-allele carriers (HR = 0·30 (0·11, 0·86), P interaction=0·028). A higher dietary Mn was suggested to be a protective factor against TC. Additionally, we drew a potential biological interaction between Mn intake and IL1R1 rs3917225 with a greater effect among individuals with a minor allele. This implies that when considering the cancer-preventive role of Mn, it is important to account for the influence of inflammatory gene participation.
Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) and antidepressant medications are both first-line interventions for adult depression, but their relative efficacy in the long term and on outcome measures other than depressive symptomatology is unknown. Individual participant data (IPD) meta-analyses can provide more precise effect estimates than conventional meta-analyses. This IPD meta-analysis compared the efficacy of IPT and antidepressants on various outcomes at post-treatment and follow-up (PROSPERO: CRD42020219891). A systematic literature search conducted May 1st, 2023 identified randomized trials comparing IPT and antidepressants in acute-phase treatment of adults with depression. Anonymized IPD were requested and analyzed using mixed-effects models. The prespecified primary outcome was post-treatment depression symptom severity. Secondary outcomes were all post-treatment and follow-up measures assessed in at least two studies. IPD were obtained from 9 of 15 studies identified (N = 1536/1948, 78.9%). No significant comparative treatment effects were found on post-treatment measures of depression (d = 0.088, p = 0.103, N = 1530) and social functioning (d = 0.026, p = 0.624, N = 1213). In smaller samples, antidepressants performed slightly better than IPT on post-treatment measures of general psychopathology (d = 0.276, p = 0.023, N = 307) and dysfunctional attitudes (d = 0.249, p = 0.029, N = 231), but not on any other secondary outcomes, nor at follow-up. This IPD meta-analysis is the first to examine the acute and longer-term efficacy of IPT v. antidepressants on a broad range of outcomes. Depression treatment trials should routinely include multiple outcome measures and follow-up assessments.
The ways in which perceived harm due to substance use affects relationships between psychotic and suicidal experiences are poorly understood. The goal of the current study was to redress this gap by investigating the moderating effects of harm due to substance use on pathways involving positive psychotic symptoms, the perceived cognitive-emotional sequelae of those symptoms, and suicidal ideation.
Method
The design was cross-sectional. Mediation and moderated mediation pathways were tested. The predictor was severity of positive psychotic symptoms. Cognitive interpretative and emotional characteristics of both auditory hallucinations and delusions were mediators. Suicidal ideation was the outcome variable. General symptoms associated with severe mental health problems were statistically controlled for.
Results
There was evidence of an indirect pathway between positive psychotic symptom severity and suicidal ideation via cognitive interpretation and emotional characteristics of both auditory hallucinations and delusions. Harm due to drug use, but not alcohol use, moderated the indirect pathway involving delusions such that it was most prominent when harm due to drug use was at medium-to-high levels. The components of suicidal ideation that were most strongly affected by this moderated indirect pathway were active intent, passive desire, and lack of deterrents.
Conclusions
From both scientific and therapy development perspectives, it is important to understand the complex interplay between, not only the presence of auditory hallucinations and delusions, but the ensuing cognitive and emotional consequences of those experiences which, when combined with harm associated with substance use, in particular drug use, can escalate suicidal thoughts and acts.
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the most serious and incapacitating mental diseases that can result from trauma exposure. The exact prevalence of this disorder is not known as the literature provides very different results, ranging from 2.5% to 74%. The aim of this umbrella review is to provide an estimation of PTSD prevalence and to clarify whether the prevalence depends on the assessment methods applied (structured interview v. self-report questionnaire) and on the nature of the traumatic event (interpersonal v. not-interpersonal). A systematic search of major databases and additional sources (Google Scholar, EBSCO, Web of Science, PubMed, Galileo Discovery) was conducted. Fifty-nine reviews met the criteria of this umbrella review. Overall PTSD prevalence was 23.95% (95% confidence interval 95% CI 20.74–27.15), with no publication bias or significant small-study effects, but a high level of heterogeneity between meta-analyses. Sensitivities analyses revealed that these results do not change after removing meta-analysis also including data from underage participants (23.03%, 95% CI 18.58–27.48), nor after excluding meta-analysis of low quality (24.26%, 95% CI 20.46–28.06). Regarding the impact of diagnostic instruments on PTSD prevalence, the results revealed a lack of significant differences in PTSD prevalence when structured v. self-report instruments were applied (p = 0.0835). Finally, PTSD prevalence did not differ following event of intentional (25.42%, 95% CI 19.76–31.09) or not intentional (22.48%, 95% CI 17.22–27.73) nature (p = 0.4598). The present umbrella review establishes a robust foundation for future research and provides valuable insights on PTSD prevalence.
The social defeat hypothesis posits that low status and repeated humiliation increase the risk for psychotic disorders (PDs) and psychotic experiences (PEs). The purpose of this paper was to provide a systematic review of studies on risk of PDs and PEs among lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) people and a quantitative synthesis of any difference in risk. PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase, and Web of Science were searched from database inception until January 30, 2024. Two independent reviewers assessed the eligibility and quality of studies, extracted effect sizes, and noted the results of mediation analyses. Using a random effects model we computed pooled odds ratios (ORs). Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were followed. The search identified seven studies of PDs and six of PEs. As for PDs, the unadjusted (2.13; 95% confidence interval 0.72–6.34) and covariate-adjusted pooled OR (2.24; 1.72–3.53) were not significantly increased for LGB individuals. After exclusion of a study of limited quality, both the unadjusted pooled OR (2.77; 1.21–6.32) and the covariate-adjusted pooled OR (2.67; 1.53–4.66) were significantly increased. The pooled ORs were increased for PEs: unadjusted, pooled OR = 1.97 (1.47–2.63), covariate-adjusted, pooled OR = 1.85 (1.50–2.28). Studies of PE that examined the mediating role of several variables reported that the contribution of drug abuse was small compared to that of psychosocial stressors. The results of a study in adolescents suggested a protective effect of parental support. These findings suggest an increased psychosis risk for LGB people and support the social defeat hypothesis.
We consider the estimation of rare-event probabilities using sample proportions output by naive Monte Carlo or collected data. Unlike using variance reduction techniques, this naive estimator does not have an a priori relative efficiency guarantee. On the other hand, due to the recent surge of sophisticated rare-event problems arising in safety evaluations of intelligent systems, efficiency-guaranteed variance reduction may face implementation challenges which, coupled with the availability of computation or data collection power, motivate the use of such a naive estimator. In this paper we study the uncertainty quantification, namely the construction, coverage validity, and tightness of confidence intervals, for rare-event probabilities using only sample proportions. In addition to the known normality, Wilson, and exact intervals, we investigate and compare them with two new intervals derived from Chernoff’s inequality and the Berry–Esseen theorem. Moreover, we generalize our results to the natural situation where sampling stops by reaching a target number of rare-event hits. Our findings show that the normality and Wilson intervals are not always valid, but they are close to the newly developed valid intervals in terms of half-width. In contrast, the exact interval is conservative, but safely guarantees the attainment of the nominal confidence level. Our new intervals, while being more conservative than the exact interval, provide useful insights into understanding the tightness of the considered intervals.
The aim of this study is to investigate whether 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) is associated with periodontitis and tooth loss in older adults. A total of 2346 adults underwent a detailed dental examination as part of the health assessment of a national population study – The Irish Longitudinal Study of Ageing. 25(OH)D analysis was performed on frozen non-fasting total plasma using LC-MS. The analysis included both multiple logistic regression and multinominal logistic regression to investigate associations between 25(OH)D concentration, periodontitis and tooth loss, adjusting for a range of potential confounders. Results of the analysis found the mean age of participants was 65·3 years (sd 8·2) and 55·3 % of the group were female. Based on the quintile of 25(OH)D concentration, participants in the lowest v. highest quintile had an OR of 1·57 (95 % CI 1·16, 2·13; P < 0·01) of having periodontitis in the fully adjusted model. For tooth loss, participants in the lowest v. highest quintile of 25(OH)D had a RRR of 1·55 (95 % CI 1·12, 2·13; P < 0·01) to have 1–19 teeth and a RRR of 1·96 (95 % CI 1·20, 3·21; P < 0·01) to be edentulous, relative to those with ≥ 20 teeth in the fully adjusted models. These findings demonstrate that in this cross-sectional study of older men and women from Ireland, 25(OH)D concentration was associated with both periodontitis and tooth loss, independent of other risk factors.
Problematic drinking frequently co-occurs with depression among young adults, but often remains unaddressed in depression treatment. Evidence is insufficient on whether digital alcohol interventions can be effective in this young comorbid population. In a randomized controlled trial, we examined the effectiveness of Beating the Booze (BtB), an add-on digital alcohol intervention to complement depression treatment for young adults.
Methods
Participants were randomized to BtB + depression treatment as usual (BTB + TAU, n = 81) or TAU (n = 82). The primary outcome was treatment response, a combined measure for alcohol and depression after 6-month follow-up. Secondary outcomes were number of weekly drinks (Timeline Follow-back) and depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale). Treatment response was analyzed using generalized linear modeling and secondary outcomes using robust linear mixed modeling.
Results
Low treatment response was found due to lower than expected depression remission rates. No statistically significant between-group effect was found for treatment response after 6-month follow-up (odds ratio 2.86, p = 0.089, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.85–9.63). For our secondary outcomes, statistically significant larger reductions in weekly drinks were found in the intervention group after 3-month (B = −4.00, p = 0.009, 95% CI −6.97 to −1.02, d = 0.27) and 6-month follow-up (B = −3.20, p = 0.032, 95% CI −6.13 to −0.27, d = 0.23). We found no statistically significant between-group differences on depressive symptoms after 3-month (B = −0.57, p = 0.732, 95% CI −3.83 to 2.69) nor after 6-month follow-up (B = −0.44, p = 0.793, 95% CI −3.69 to 2.82).
Conclusions
The add-on digital alcohol intervention was effective in reducing alcohol use, but not in reducing depressive symptoms and treatment response among young adults with co-occurring depressive disorders and problematic alcohol use.
Trial registration:
Pre-registered on October 29, 2019 in the Overview of Medical Research in the Netherlands (OMON), formerly the Dutch Trial Register(https://onderzoekmetmensen.nl/en/trial/49219).
Although small fish are an important source of micronutrients, the relationship between their intake and mortality remains unclear. This study aimed to clarify the association between intake of small fish and all-cause and cause-specific mortality.
Design:
We used the data from a cohort study in Japan. The frequency of the intake of small fish was assessed using a validated FFQ. The hazard ratio (HR) and 95 % confidence interval (CI) for all-cause and cause-specific mortality according to the frequency of the intake of small fish by sex were estimated using a Cox proportional hazard model with adjustments for covariates.
Setting:
The Japan Multi-Institutional Collaborative Cohort Study.
Participants:
A total of 80 802 participants (34 555 males and 46 247 females), aged 35–69 years.
Results:
During a mean follow-up of 9·0 years, we identified 2482 deaths including 1495 cancer-related deaths. The intake of small fish was statistically significantly and inversely associated with the risk of all-cause and cancer mortality in females. The multivariable-adjusted HR (95 % CI) in females for all-cause mortality according to the intake were 0·68 (0·55, 0·85) for intakes 1–3 times/month, 0·72 (0·57, 0·90) for 1–2 times/week and 0·69 (0·54, 0·88) for ≥ 3 times/week, compared with the rare intake. The corresponding HR (95 % CI) in females for cancer mortality were 0·72 (0·54, 0·96), 0·71 (0·53, 0·96) and 0·64 (0·46, 0·89), respectively. No statistically significant association was observed in males.
Conclusions:
Intake of small fish may reduce the risk of all-cause and cancer mortality in Japanese females.
Addressing aggressive behavior in adolescence is a key step toward preventing violence and associated social and economic costs in adulthood. This study examined the secondary effects of the personality-targeted substance use preventive program Preventure on aggressive behavior from ages 13 to 20.
Methods
In total, 339 young people from nine independent schools (M age = 13.03 years, s.d. = 0.47, range = 12–15) who rated highly on one of the four personality traits associated with increased substance use and other emotional/behavioral symptoms (i.e. impulsivity, anxiety sensitivity, sensation seeking, and negative thinking) were included in the analyses (n = 145 in Preventure, n = 194 in control). Self-report assessments were administered at baseline and follow-up (6 months, 1, 2, 3, 5.5, and 7 years). Overall aggression and subtypes of aggressive behaviors (proactive, reactive) were examined using multilevel mixed-effects analysis accounting for school-level clustering.
Results
Across the 7-year follow-up period, the average yearly reduction in the frequency of aggressive behaviors (b = −0.42; 95% confidence interval [CI] −0.64 to −0.20; p < 0.001), reactive aggression (b = −0.22; 95% CI 0.35 to −0.10; p = 0.001), and proactive aggression (b = −0.14; 95% CI −0.23 to −0.05; p = 0.002) was greater for the Preventure group compared to the control group.
Conclusions
The study suggests a brief personality-targeted intervention may have long-term impacts on aggression among young people; however, this interpretation is limited by imbalance of sex ratios between study groups.
Neoadjuvant radiotherapy (RT) is commonly used as standard treatment for rectal cancer. However, response rates are variable and survival outcomes remain poor, highlighting the need to develop new therapeutic strategies. Research is focused on identifying novel methods for sensitising rectal tumours to RT to enhance responses and improve patient outcomes. This can be achieved through harnessing tumour promoting effects of radiation or preventing development of radio-resistance in cancer cells. Many of the approaches being investigated involve targeting the recently published new dimensions of cancer hallmarks. This review article will discuss key radiation and targeted therapy combination strategies being investigated in the rectal cancer setting, with a focus on exploitation of mechanisms which target the hallmarks of cancer.
The literature on green tea consumption and glucose metabolism has reported conflicting findings. This cross-sectional study examined the association of green tea consumption with abnormal glucose metabolism among 3000 rural residents aged 40–60 years in Khánh Hòa province in Vietnam. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the association of green tea consumption (0, < 200, 200–< 400, 400–< 600 or ≥ 600 ml/d) with prediabetes and diabetes (based on the American Diabetes Association criteria). Linear regression analysis was performed to examine the association between green tea consumption and the log-transformed homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (a marker of insulin resistance) and the log-transformed homeostatic model assessment of β-cell function (HOMA-β) (a marker of insulin secretion). The OR for prediabetes and diabetes among participants who consumed ≥ 600 ml/d v. those who did not consume green tea were 1·61 (95 % CI = 1·07, 2·42) and 2·04 (95 % CI = 1·07, 3·89), respectively. Higher green tea consumption was associated with a higher level of log-transformed HOMA-IR (Pfor trend = 0·04) but not with a lower level of log-transformed HOMA-β (Pfor trend = 0·75). Higher green tea consumption was positively associated with the prevalence of prediabetes, diabetes and insulin resistance in rural Vietnam. The findings of this study indicated prompting the need for further research considering context in understanding the link between green tea consumption and glucose metabolism, especially in rural settings in low- and middle-income countries.
It is uncertain whether dietary intake of mushrooms rich in dietary fibre and several antioxidants is associated with a lower risk of dementia. We sought to examine prospectively the association between mushroom intake and the risk of disabling dementia. We performed a prospective study involving 3750 people aged 40 to 64 years residing in three communities who participated in an annual cardiovascular risk survey from 1985 to 1999. Cases of incident disabling dementia were surveyed from 1999 to 2020. We calculated the hazard ratios (HR) and 95 % CI for incident total dementia according to mushroom intake among participants with or without a history of stroke. During a mean 16·0 years’ follow-up in 3739 eligible participants, 670 people developed disabling dementia. For women, mushroom intake was inversely associated with the risk of total dementia and the association was confined to dementia without a history of stroke. The multivariable HR (95 % CI) for total dementia in women were 0·81 (0·62, 1·06) for mushroom intake of 0·1–14·9 g/d and 0·56 (0·42, 0·75) for mushroom intake above 15·0 g/d (Pfor trend = 0·003) compared with no intake. The corresponding HR (95 % CI) for dementia without a history of stroke were 0·66 (0·47, 0·93) and 0·55 (0·38, 0·79) (Pfor trend = 0·01). In men, no associations were observed between mushroom intake and the risk of disabling dementia. Among Japanese women, dietary mushroom intake was associated with a lower risk of disabling dementia.