ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To determine whether 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A inhibitors (statins) are associated with a decreased risk of colorectal cancer. METHODS: The population included 159,219 postmenopausal women enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative in which 2000 pathologically confirmed cases of colorectal cancer were identified during an average of 10.7 (S.D. 2.9) years. Information on statins was collected at baseline and years 1, 3, 6, and 9. Self- and interviewer-administered questionnaires were used to collect information on other risk factors. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated by the use of Cox proportional hazards regression to evaluate the relationship between statin use and risk. Statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS: Statins were used by 12,030 (7.6%) women at baseline. The annualized colorectal cancer rate was 0.13% among users and 0.12% among nonusers. The multivariable adjusted HR for users versus nonusers was 0.99 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.83-1.20, p = .95), and 0.79 (95% CI, 0.56-1.11) for users of ≥3 years. In the multivariable adjusted time-dependent model, the HR for lovastatin was 0.62 (95% CI, 0.39-0.99). There was no effect of tumor location, stage or grade. CONCLUSIONS: There was a reduction in colorectal cancer risk associated with lovastatin and a nonsignificant association with longer duration of use.
Subject(s)
Colorectal Neoplasms/epidemiology , Colorectal Neoplasms/prevention & control , Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors/administration & dosage , Aged , Anthropometry , Chi-Square Distribution , Demography , Female , Humans , Middle Aged , Postmenopause , Proportional Hazards Models , Prospective Studies , Risk , Surveys and Questionnaires , Time Factors , United States/epidemiologySubject(s)
Coronary Disease/etiology , Food Contamination , Animals , Coronary Disease/mortality , Fishes , HumansABSTRACT
Eight elderly patients (mean age +/- SD, 73.2 +/- 9.5 years) were studied with Holter electrocardiographic monitoring for 24 h before and 24 h after an electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) treatment. Patients with a history of cardiac disease but who were not experiencing any active cardiac symptoms were chosen for study. They were not receiving either cardioactive medications or psychotropic agents that can effect cardiac rhythm or conduction. Each patient served as his own control, with direct comparison of the periods before and after the treatment. There were no differences before and after ECT in the electrocardiogram. One minute after the seizure, patients were hypertensive and tachycardic. ECT does not appear to pose additional risk in stable, elderly patients with a history of cardiac disease.
