High Spicy Food Intake and Risk of Cancer: A Meta-analysis of Case-control Studies / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>Background:</b>Studies on the association between spicy food intake and cancer risk have reported inconsistent results. We quantitatively assessed this association by conducting a meta-analysis based on evidence from case-control studies.</p><p><b>Methods:</b>PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were searched for eligible publications. Combined odds ratios (OR s) with their 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using a random- or fixed-effects model. The methodological quality of the included articles was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale (NOS). All data were analyzed using STATA 11.0 software (version 11.0; StataCorp., College Station, TX, USA). Subgroup analyses were also performed with stratification by region, sex, number of cases, cancer subtype, source of the control group, and NOS score.</p><p><b>Results:</b>A total 39 studies from 28 articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis (7884 patients with cancer and 10,142 controls). Comparison of the highest versus lowest exposure category in each study revealed a significant OR of 1.76 (95% CI = 1.35-2.29) in spite of significant heterogeneity (P < 0.001). In the subgroup analyses, this positive correlation was still found for gastric cancer, different regions, different numbers of cases, different sources of the control group, and high-quality articles (NOS score of ≥ 7). However, no statistically significant association was observed for women, esophageal cancer, gallbladder cancer, or low-quality articles (NOS score of <7). No evidence of publication bias was found.</p><p><b>Conclusions:</b>Evidence from case-control studies suggested that a higher level of spicy food intake may be associated with an increased incidence of cancer despite significant heterogeneity. More studies are warranted to clarify our understanding of the association between high spicy food intake and the risk of cancer.</p>

Heavy Metal Assessment among Chinese Nonferrous Metal-exposed Workers from the Jinchang Cohort Study / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

Environmental exposure to heavy metals has been linked to a wide range of human health hazards. We detected the levels of 15 metals in urine samples from 500 representative sub-samples in an ongoing occupational cohort study (Jinchang Cohort) to directly evaluate metal exposure levels. Fifteen metals, namely As, Ba, Be, Cd, Cs, Cr, Co, Cu, Pb, Mn, Ni, Se, Tl, U, and Zn, were detected by inductively coupled plasma quadruple mass spectrometry. The results showed that median creatinine adjustment and geometric mean urinary metal levels were higher in the heavy metal-exposed group, except Se and Zn, than other reported general or occupational populations. Further studies should address the effects of heavy metals on human health.

Trend Analysis of Cancer Mortality in the Jinchang Cohort, China, 2001-2010 / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To describe the baseline data of cancers in the Jinchang Cohort, this paper examined trends in cancer mortality among adults investigated in Jinchang, Gansu province from 2001 to 2010.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Mortality data were collected from company departments through administrative documents, death certificates, etc. Trend analyses of cancer mortality were performed on the basis of 925 cancer deaths between 2001 and 2010.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The crude mortality rate of cancer continuously increased from 161.86 per 100,000 in 2001 to 315.32 per 100,000 in 2010, with an average increase of 7.69% per year in the Jinchang Cohort (16.41% in females compared to 6.04% in males), but the age-standardized mortality rate increased only in females. Thirteen leading cancers accounted for 92.10% of all cancer deaths. The five leading causes of cancer mortality in males were lung, gastric, liver, esophageal, and colorectal cancer, whereas those in females were lung, liver, gastric, breast, and esophageal cancer.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The overall cancer mortality rate increased from 2001 to 2010 in the Jinchang Cohort, with greater rate of increase in females than in males. Lung, breast, and gastric cancer, in that order, were the leading causes of increased cancer mortality in females.</p>

Dynamic Changes in DNA Damage and Repair Biomarkers with Employment Length among Nickel Smelting Workers / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

Our study explored the dynamic changes in and the relationship between the DNA damage marker 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and the DNA repair marker 8-hydroxyguanine DNA glycosidase 1 (hOGG1) according to the length of occupational employment in nickel smelting workers. One hundred forty nickel-exposed smelting workers and 140 age-matched unexposed office workers were selected from the Jinchang cohort. The 8-OHdG levels in smelting workers was significantly higher than in office workers (Z=-8.688, P<0.05) and the 8-OHdG levels among nickel smelting workers in the 10-14 y employment length category was significantly higher than among all peers. The hOGG1 levels among smelting workers were significantly lower than those of non-exposed workers (Z=-8.948, P<0.05). There were significant differences between employment length and hOGG1 levels, with subjects employed in nickel smelting for 10-14 y showing the highest levels of hOGG1. Correlation analysis showed positive correlations between 8-OHdG and hOGG1 levels (r=0.413; P<0.01). DNA damage was increased with employment length among nickel smelting workers and was related to the inhibition of hOGG1 repair capacity.

Metal Exposure and Risk of Diabetes and Prediabetes among Chinese Occupational Workers / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the association between metal exposure and risk of diabetes and prediabetes among Chinese workers exposed to metals.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We used data obtained from the baseline survey of the Jinchang Cohort Study of workers in Jinchang Industry, the largest nickel production company in China. A total of 42,122 workers ⋝20 years of age were included in the study. A standardized, structured questionnaire was used to collect epidemiological information. Physical examinations and laboratory tests were conducted to evaluate the health status of the participants and to measure various biomarkers including blood sugar, lipids, and urinary metal concentrations. Logistic regression was used to study the association between occupational groups categorized according to the measured metal levels (office workers, low-level; mining/production workers, mid-level; and smelting/refining workers, high-level) and risk of diabetes and prediabetes.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The overall prevalence of diabetes and prediabetes was 7.5% and 16.8%, respectively. The adjusted odds ratios for diabetes among mining/production workers and smelting/refining workers compared to office workers were 1.5 (95% CI: 1.3, 1.7) and 3.8 (95% CI: 3.4, 4.3), respectively. No association was observed between these occupational groups and prediabetes in this study.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Occupations associated with higher levels of metal exposure were associated with an increased risk of diabetes in this cohort. More studies are needed to confirm this observed association.</p>

Nickel-exposed workers in China: a cohort study / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

There are more than 50 000 workers in Jinchuan Group Co, Ltd (JNMC). Since all staff in JNMC are eligible for a medical examination every two years, only 23 484 nickel-exposed subjects who participated in medical examination were included in this study. Their data, collected from June 22, 2011 to September 28, 2012, in a comprehensive epidemiological survey and during medical examinations, permitted an extensive evaluation of the relation between metal exposure, gene, epigenetics and risk of human diseases. Their lifestyle investigation showed that the overall prevalence of current smokers, alcohol drinkers, and tea drinkers was 39.1%, 19.7%, and 55.2%, respectively. The prevalence of hypertension, allergic rhinitis and cholecystitis , the top 3 prevalent diseases, was 11.7%, 11.0%, and 8.9%, respectively.

Prevalence of metabolic syndrome in Chinese nickel-exposed workers / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) was investigated in Chinese nickel-exposed workers. A total of 35 104 subjects were enrolled in this study. The age-adjusted prevalence of MS, BMI⋝25, diabetes, hypertension, and abnormal lipid was 13.9%, 29.5%, 12.8%, 27.5%, and 47.1%, respectively. The prevalence of BMI⋝25, hyperglycemia, and hypertension increased with the age of males and females, and was higher in males than in females (37.1% vs 21.5%, 15.9% vs 12.1%, 35.0% vs 24.3%, 54.3% vs 40.4%).