Associations of Human Colorectal Adenoma with Serum Biomarkers of Body Iron Stores, Inflammation and Antioxidant Protein Thiols.

Red and processed meat consumption and obesity are established risk factors for colorectal adenoma (CRA). Adverse changes in biomarkers of body iron stores (total serum iron, ferritin, transferrin and transferrin saturation), inflammation (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [hs-CRP]) and anti-oxidative capacity (total of thiol groups (-S-H) of proteins [SHP]) might reflect underlying mechanisms that could explain the association of red/processed meat consumption and obesity with CRA. Overall, 100 CRA cases (including 71 advanced cases) and 100 CRA-free controls were frequency-matched on age and sex and were selected from a colonoscopy screening cohort.

One-carbon metabolism biomarkers and risk of urothelial cell carcinoma in the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition.

Published associations between dietary folate and bladder cancer risk are inconsistent. Biomarkers may provide more accurate measures of nutrient status. This nested case-control analysis within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) investigated associations between pre-diagnostic serum folate, homocysteine, vitamins B6 and B12 and the risk of urothelial cell carcinomas of the bladder (UCC).

Pre-diagnostic derivatives of reactive oxygen metabolites and the occurrence of lung, colorectal, breast and prostate cancer: An individual participant data meta-analysis of two large population-based studies.

Oxidative stress may be involved in carcinogenesis and biomarkers of oxidative stress like derivatives of reactive oxygen metabolites (d-ROM) may be useful for cancer prediction. However, no previous study assessed the association of pre-diagnostic d-ROM measurements with cancer incidence. We measured serum d-ROM levels in a cohort sample of n = 4,345 participants of the German ESTHER study and in a case-cohort sample of the Norwegian Tromsø study (cancer cases: n = 941; subcohort: n = 1,000).

Organic food consumption during pregnancy and its association with health-related characteristics: the KOALA Birth Cohort Study.

Objective: To investigate the associations of organic food consumption with maternal pre-pregnancy BMI, hypertension and diabetes in pregnancy, and several blood biomarkers of pregnant women.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Pregnant women were recruited at midwives' practices and through channels related to consumption of food from organic origin.

Iron Supplements and Magnesium Peroxide: An Example of a Hazardous Combination in Self-Medication.

The use of self-medication, which includes dietary supplements and over-the-counter drugs, is still on the rise, while safety issues are not well addressed yet. This especially holds for combinations. For example, iron supplements and magnesium peroxide both produce adverse effects via the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS).

Plasma carotenoids, vitamin C, tocopherols, and retinol and the risk of breast cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort.

Background: Carotenoids and vitamin C are thought to be associated with reduced cancer risk because of their antioxidative capacity.

Objective: This study evaluated the associations of plasma carotenoid, retinol, tocopherol, and vitamin C concentrations and risk of breast cancer.

Design: In a nested case-control study within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort, 1502 female incident breast cancer cases were included, with an oversampling of premenopausal (n = 582) and estrogen receptor-negative (ER-) cases (n = 462).

Evidence for the free radical/oxidative stress theory of ageing from the CHANCES consortium: a meta-analysis of individual participant data.

Background: The free radical/oxidative stress theory of ageing has received considerable attention, but the evidence on the association of oxidative stress markers with mortality is sparse.

Methods: We measured derivatives of reactive oxygen metabolite (D-ROM) levels as a proxy for the reactive oxygen species concentration and total thiol levels (TTL) as a proxy for the redox control status in 10,622 men and women (age range, 45-85 years), from population-based cohorts from Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, and Lithuania, of whom 1,702 died during follow-up.

Results: Both oxidative stress markers were significantly associated with all-cause mortality independently from established risk factors (including inflammation) and from each other in all cohorts.

Associations of metabolic, inflammatory and oxidative stress markers with total morbidity and multi-morbidity in a large cohort of older German adults.

Background: imbalances in metabolic, inflammatory and redox homeostasis play an important role in the leading theories of age-related morbidity, but no large-scale epidemiological study has been conducted so far assessing their associations with total morbidity and multi-morbidity in the same model.

Methods: analyses were conducted in 2,547 participants of an established population-based cohort study from Germany. The participants' median age was 70 years (range: 57-84) and 51.

Diurnal Variation of Hormonal and Lipid Biomarkers in a Molecular Epidemiology-Like Setting.

Introduction: Many molecular epidemiology studies focusing on high prevalent diseases, such as metabolic disorders and cancer, investigate metabolic and hormonal markers. In general, sampling for these markers can occur at any time-point during the day or after an overnight fast. However, environmental factors, such as light exposure and food intake might affect the levels of these markers, since they provide input for the internal time-keeping system.

Discovery of a novel epigenetic cancer marker related to the oxidative status of human blood.

Long-lasting oxidative stress exposure may lead to relatively stable epigenetic modifications of the DNA in order to activate anti-oxidative defence mechanisms. Oxidative stress related DNA methylation may therefore be associated (causally or as a by-product) with cancer. We measured derivatives of reactive oxygen metabolites (D-ROM), total thiol levels (TTL) and DNA methylation with the Illumina Infinium 450K BeadChip in three samples of German individuals aged ≥50 years: n = 1,000 ESTHER study baseline participants (DNA methylation only), n = 99 ESTHER eight-year follow-up participants and n = 142 participants of the BLITZ study.

Anticholinergic Accumulation: A Slumbering Interaction between Drugs and Food Supplements.

Many compounds display anticholinergic effects which might give rise to cognitive impairment and even delirium. These side effects are caused by their ability to bind to muscarinic receptors in our brain. Especially with combination of compounds, these serious effects are seen.

Evaluation of various biomarkers as potential mediators of the association between Δ5 desaturase, Δ6 desaturase, and stearoyl-CoA desaturase activity and incident type 2 diabetes in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Potsdam Study.

Background: An association between desaturase activity and risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) has been found in epidemiologic studies, but little is known about potential mediators of this association.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the potential role of diabetes-related biomarkers as mediators of the association between estimated Δ5 desaturase (D5D), Δ6 desaturase (D6D), and stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) activity and T2D risk.

Design: We analyzed a case-cohort study (subcohort: n = 1533; verified incident T2D cases: n = 400), nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Potsdam Study involving 27,548 middle-aged participants.

Association between Oxidative Stress and Frailty in an Elderly German Population: Results from the ESTHER Cohort Study.

Background: Oxidative stress (OS) and inflammatory biomarkers have been postulated to be important factors in the development of age-related diseases. While causes of frailty are complex and multidimensional based on the interaction of genetic, biological, physical, and environmental factors, the biological basis of frailty has been difficult to establish.

Objective: In this study, we aimed to assess the possible association between different OS and inflammatory biomarkers and frailty.

The shifting perception on antioxidants: the case of vitamin E and β-carotene.

Antioxidants are vital for aerobic life, and for decades the expectations of antioxidants as health promoting agents were very high. However, relatively recent meta-analyses of clinical studies show that supplementation of antioxidants does not result in the presumed health benefit, but is associated with increased mortality. The dilemma that still needs to be solved is: what are antioxidants in the end, healthy or toxic? We have evaluated this dilemma by examining the presumed health effects of two individual antioxidants with opposite images i.

Plasma fetuin-A concentration, genetic variation in the AHSG gene and risk of colorectal cancer.

Fetuin-A, also referred to as α2-Heremans-Schmid glycoprotein (AHSG), is a liver protein known to inhibit insulin actions. Hyperinsulinemia is a possible risk factor for colorectal cancer; however, the role of fetuin-A in the development of colorectal cancer is unclear. We investigated the association between circulating fetuin-A and colorectal cancer risk in a nested case-control study within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition.

The supplement-drug interaction of quercetin with tamsulosin on vasorelaxation.

The food supplement quercetin is used as self-medication for prostate disorders and is known to induce vasorelaxation. The drug tamsulosin is used in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia. A major side effect of tamsulosin is orthostatic hypotension, mediated by vasorelaxation resulting from α1-adrenoceptor blockade.

Erythrocyte membrane fatty acid fluidity and risk of type 2 diabetes in the EPIC-Potsdam study.

Aims/hypothesis: The fluidity of cell membranes has been hypothesised as an important link in the association of fatty acids (FAs) with diabetes risk. The lipophilic index, which can be derived from the FA profile of blood or tissues, has recently been proposed as a novel measure of cell membrane FA fluidity. In this study we aimed to evaluate the lipophilic index in relation to the incidence of type 2 diabetes.

Iron metabolism is prospectively associated with insulin resistance and glucose intolerance over a 7-year follow-up period: the CODAM study.

Objectives: Several markers of iron metabolism have been associated with insulin resistance (IR) and type 2 diabetes mellitus in cross-sectional studies. However, prospective data on these associations are scarce, and it is currently unclear in which tissues iron metabolism may contribute to IR. Therefore, we investigated whether markers of iron metabolism were associated with IR in muscle, liver, and adipocytes, and with glucose intolerance over a 7-year follow-up period.

Plasma carotenoids, vitamin C, retinol and tocopherols levels and pancreatic cancer risk within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition: a nested case-control study: plasma micronutrients and pancreatic cancer risk.

Evidence of a protective effect of several antioxidants and other nutrients on pancreatic cancer risk is inconsistent. The aim of this study was to investigate the association for prediagnostic plasma levels of carotenoids, vitamin C, retinol and tocopherols with risk of pancreatic cancer in a case-control study nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). 446 incident exocrine pancreatic cancer cases were matched to 446 controls by age at blood collection, study center, sex, date and time of blood collection, fasting status and hormone use.

Oxidative stress markers and all-cause mortality at older age: a population-based cohort study.

Background: The free radical/oxidative stress theory of aging has recently received much attention but the association of oxidative stress markers with all-cause mortality was not yet assessed in humans.

Methods: We measured derivatives of reactive oxygen metabolites (d-ROM) as a proxy for the reactive oxygen species concentration and total thiol levels (TTL) as a proxy for the redox control status in 2,932 participants of a population-based cohort study from Germany.

Results: The median age of the population was 70 years and 120 (4.

Association of CRP genetic variants with blood concentrations of C-reactive protein and colorectal cancer risk.

High blood concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP) have been associated with elevated risk of colorectal cancer in several prospective studies including the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), but it is unknown whether these observations reflect a causal relationship. We aimed to investigate whether CRP genetic variants associated with lifelong higher CRP concentrations translate into higher colorectal cancer risk. We conducted a prospective nested case-control study within EPIC including 727 cases diagnosed between 1992 and 2003 and 727 matched controls selected according to an incidence-density sampling protocol.

Evaluation of assays for measurement of serum (anti)oxidants in hemodialysis patients.

Background: Various biomarkers and assays have been used for assessment of (anti)oxidant status in hemodialysis patients, including those intended for measurement of serum total (anti)oxidants, most often as a part of panel biomarkers.

Methods: Serum (anti)oxidant status was measured in 32 chronically hemodialyzed patients and in 47 healthy persons, using two oxidations and three antioxidant assays.

Results: The patients before the hemodialysis session have had higher values of total oxidants in comparison to the healthy persons, with a further increase during the hemodialysis.

Vitamin D and mortality: meta-analysis of individual participant data from a large consortium of cohort studies from Europe and the United States.

Objective: To investigate the association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations (25(OH)D) and mortality in a large consortium of cohort studies paying particular attention to potential age, sex, season, and country differences.

Design: Meta-analysis of individual participant data of eight prospective cohort studies from Europe and the US.

Setting: General population.

Distinct associations of complement C3a and its precursor C3 with atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. The CODAM study.

Complement C3 is a novel risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), but the underlying mechanism is currently unknown. We determined the associations of the anaphylatoxin C3a, the activation product of C3, and of C3 itself with estimates of atherosclerosis and CVD. We studied associations of C3a and C3 with carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), ankle-arm blood pressure index (AAIx) and CVD in cross-sectional analyses among 545 participants of the Cohort on Diabetes and Atherosclerosis Maastricht (CODAM) study (62% men, 59.