Association between Nutrient Intakes and Benign Prostate Hyperplasia

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is the most common prostate disease in middle aged and elderly men. Therefore, identifying risk factors for BPH is crucial for understanding the etiology and for undertaking interventions or targeting strategies. The survey was carried out in two steps: first, pilot study was conducted prior to the main study in order to estimate baseline characteristics. Second, main study investigated prevalence and risk factors of BPH by clinical diagnostic tests and questionnaire. A total of 641 male aged 50-79 years participated in this community-based crosssectional study. Using 24 hour recall of food consumption, we found that animal fat intakes increased the risk of BPH with adjusted for age, chronic bronchitis, PSA level, drinking frequency, and excercise frequency (odds ratio 1.84, 95% confidence interval 1.10-3.06). Although BPH has been considered as unavoidable disease with advancing age, if these dietary risk factors are clearly identified, it can be prevented effectively by laying special emphasis on those at risk.

The Association of Reproductive and Menstrual Factors and Colon and Rectal Cancer Risk in Korean Women / 한국역학회지

Recently, there were several epidemiological studies demonstrating that reproductive and menstrual factors are associated with the risk of colorectal cancer in women. A hospital-based case-control study has been conducted to investigate whether the histories of childbearing, menstruation, and breast-feeding are associated with colorectal cancer risk. The cases were consecutively diagnosed, histologically confirmed, incident patients with cancers of the colon and rectum aged 30-79 who were admitted to three tertiary hospitals in Seoul, Korea between March 1995 and August 1997. Controls were selected in the same hospitals as the cases during the same periods. Finally, a total of 151 cases and 110 controls were selected and interviewed on their reproductive and menstrual characteristics using a structured questionnaire. Earlier age at first birth appears to be related with increased risk of colorectal cancer (multivariate relative risk[RR] of colorectal cancer for or = 2.33; 95% confidence interval[CI] 1.1-5.1, p for trend 0.03). Compared with women who experienced menarche at age 16 or older, women whose menarche occurred at age 14 or less appeared at significantly higher risk of rectal cancer(multivariate RR of colorectal cancer for or =16 = 2.26; 95% CI 1.0-3.4, p for trend 0.03). We found no associations for parity, incomplete pregnancies, menopause, use of oral contraceptives, and hormone replacement therapy. These findings suggest that events of reproductive life may have a bearing on female subsequent risk of colon and rectal cancer