Social Isolation and Mortality in US Black and White Men and Women.

Social isolation is associated with higher mortality in studies comprising mostly white adults, yet associations among black adults are unclear. In this prospective cohort study, we evaluated whether associations of social isolation with all-cause, cardiovascular disease, and cancer mortality differed by race and sex. Adults enrolled in Cancer Prevention Study II in 1982/1983 were followed for mortality through 2012 (n = 580,182).

Increased Kawasaki Disease Incidence Associated With Higher Precipitation and Lower Temperatures, Japan, 1991-2004.

Background: Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute febrile vasculitis, which primarily affects children. The etiology of KD is unknown; while certain characteristics of the disease suggest an infectious origin, genetic or environmental factors may also be important. Seasonal patterns of KD incidence are well documented, but it is unclear whether these patterns are caused by changes in climate or by other unknown seasonal effects.

Prediagnostic Helicobacter pylori Antibodies and Colorectal Cancer Risk in an Elderly, Caucasian Population.

Background: Study results on overall seroprevalence of Helicobacter pylori and colorectal cancer risk have been inconsistent. However, one study found positive associations with antibodies to specific H. pylori proteins.

Parental Age at Birth and Risk of Hematological Malignancies in Older Adults.

The proportion of parents aged ≥35 years at the birth of their child continues to increase, but long-term health consequences for these children are not fully understood. A recent prospective study of 110,999 adult women showed an association between paternal-but not maternal-age at birth and sporadic hematological cancer risk. To further investigate this topic, we examined these associations in women and men in the American Cancer Society Cancer Prevention Study-II Nutrition Cohort.

Prediagnostic circulating polyomavirus antibody levels and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Background: Three human polyomaviruses have been classified as probable (Merkel cell polyomavirus) or possible (BK and JC polyomaviruses) carcinogens, but few epidemiologic studies have examined associations between this growing class of viruses and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).

Methods: Associations between polyomavirus antibodies and NHL incidence were examined using data from the American Cancer Society Cancer Prevention Study-II. This nested case-control study included 279 NHL cases and 557 controls.

Epstein-Barr virus and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in the cancer prevention study-II and a meta-analysis of serologic studies.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) causes rare, malignant lymphomas. The role of EBV in other non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs) remains unclear, but mildly reduced immune function could lead to reactivation of EBV and subsequent NHL. We examined the association between prospectively-collected plasma EBV antibodies and NHL risk in the Cancer Prevention Study-II (CPS-II) Nutrition Cohort and conducted a meta-analysis of our and published results.

Sporadic fatal insomnia in an adolescent.

The occurrence of sporadic prion disease among adolescents is extremely rare. A prion disease was confirmed in an adolescent with disease onset at 13 years of age. Genetic, neuropathologic, and biochemical analyses of the patient's autopsy brain tissue were consistent with sporadic fatal insomnia, a type of sporadic prion disease.