Psychological factors and mortality in the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study for Evaluation of Cancer (JACC).

Psychological factors may have an influence on disease processes and therefore they were investigated in the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study. Overall there were very few consistent associations with cancer death. Persons with 'ikigai', defined as 'that which most makes one's life seem worth living', demonstrated decreased risk of mortality from all causes, ischemic heart disease (IHD) and cerebrovascular disease (CVD).There was no consistent link with being quick to judge, although those answering no to quick judgement were at increased risk of all cause, IHD and CVD mortality. psychological stress was related to a slightly elevated risk of all cause death, IHD in men and CVD in women. However, a sense of hurry was linked to a slightly reduced risk for mortality from all causes and CVD. Persons who were likely to be angry had an increased risk for mortality from all causes. In women not likely to be angry there were also positive links to death from cancers like breast. Joyfulness was associated with decreased mortality, especially from CVD. A feeling of being trusted was also protective, again particularly for CVD.

Lack of an association between serum level of transforming growth factor beta -1 and stomach cancer risk in the JACC study.

Alterations in the serum concentration of transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGFbeta1) have been observed in gastric cancer patients. No study, however, has ever examined the association between the serum TGFbeta1 level and stomach cancer prospectively. We conducted a prospective, nested case-control analysis among apparently healthy men and women who were followed for up to 8 years in the JACC Study to assess whether serum level of total TGFbeta1 is associated with a subsequent risk of stomach cancer. The concentration of serum TGFbeta1 in previously collected blood samples was analyzed by ELISA for 209 individuals in whom a diagnosis of stomach cancer was documented, and for 409 controls matched with them for gender, age and study area. Baseline blood levels of TGFbeta1 were not related to the risk of stomach cancer in either men or women, a finding unchanged even after adjustment for potential confounders. The multivariate-adjusted odds ratio of stomach cancer in men and women was 1.10 (95% CI, 0.82 to 1.48) and 1.09 (95% CI, 0.80 to 1.48), respectively, for each increase of 1 SD in the TGFbeta1 value. In conclusion, serum TGFbeta1 levels were not associated with increased risks of subsequent stomach cancer.gene A52C polymorphism related to the metabolism of long-chain fatty acids and oxidized LDL in the etiology of colorectal cancer.