Pooled results from 5 validation studies of dietary self-report instruments using recovery biomarkers for energy and protein intake.

We pooled data from 5 large validation studies of dietary self-report instruments that used recovery biomarkers as references to clarify the measurement properties of food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) and 24-hour recalls. The studies were conducted in widely differing US adult populations from 1999 to 2009. We report on total energy, protein, and protein density intakes.

A prospective study of vitamin and mineral supplement use and the risk of upper gastrointestinal cancers.

We examined the association of use of multivitamins or single vitamin/mineral supplements with risk of four upper gastrointestinal cancers in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study cohort with 11 years of follow-up. After exclusions, 490,593 persons were included in our analytic cohort and 1780 upper gastrointestinal cancers were accrued. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using Cox models with adjustment for potential confounders.

Colorectal cancers soon after colonoscopy: a pooled multicohort analysis.

Objective: Some individuals are diagnosed with colorectal cancer (CRC) despite recent colonoscopy. We examined individuals under colonoscopic surveillance for colonic adenomas to assess possible reasons for diagnosing cancer after a recent colonoscopy with complete removal of any identified polyps.

Design: Primary data were pooled from eight large (>800 patients) North American studies in which participants with adenoma(s) had a baseline colonoscopy (with intent to remove all visualised lesions) and were followed with subsequent colonoscopy.

Intake of fruits and vegetables and risk of pancreatic cancer in a pooled analysis of 14 cohort studies.

Fruit and vegetable intake may protect against pancreatic cancer, since fruits and vegetables are rich in potentially cancer-preventive nutrients. Most case-control studies have found inverse associations between fruit and vegetable intake and pancreatic cancer risk, although bias due to reporting error cannot be ruled out. In most prospective studies, inverse associations have been weaker and imprecise because of small numbers of cases.

Strength of the relationships between three self-reported dietary intake instruments and serum carotenoids: the Observing Energy and Protein Nutrition (OPEN) Study.

Objective: To assess the strength of the relationships between serum carotenoids and three self-reported dietary intake instruments often used to characterize carotenoid intake in studies of diet and disease.

Design: Participants completed a Diet History Questionnaire (DHQ), two 24 h dietary recalls (24HR), a fruit and vegetable screener and a fasting blood draw. We derived dietary intake estimates of α-carotene, β-carotene, cryptoxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin and lycopene from each diet instrument and calculated sex-specific multivariate correlations between dietary intake estimates and their corresponding serum values.

Amount of time spent in sedentary behaviors and cause-specific mortality in US adults.

Background: Sedentary behaviors predominate modern life, yet we do not fully understand the adverse effects of these behaviors on mortality after considering the benefits of moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA).

Objective: We tested the hypotheses that higher amounts of overall sitting time and television viewing are positively associated with mortality and described the independent and combined effects of these sedentary behaviors and MVPA on mortality.

Design: In the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study, we examined 240,819 adults (aged 50-71 y) who did not report any cancer, cardiovascular disease, or respiratory disease at baseline.

A prospective cohort study of obesity and risk of oesophageal and gastric adenocarcinoma in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study.

Objective: The incidence of oesophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) has increased rapidly over the past 40 years and accumulating evidence suggests that obesity, as measured by body mass index (BMI), is a major risk factor. It remains unclear whether abdominal obesity is associated with EAC and gastric adenocarcinoma.

Design: Cox proportional hazards regression was used to examine associations between overall and abdominal obesity with EAC and gastric adenocarcinoma among 218 854 participants in the prospective NIH-AARP cohort.

Serum macrophage inhibitory cytokine-1 (MIC-1/GDF15): a potential screening tool for the prevention of colon cancer?

Background: Macrophage inhibitory cytokine-1 (MIC-1/GDF15) mediates nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) protection from colonic polyps in mice and is linked to the development of colorectal carcinoma in humans. Therefore, changes in serum MIC-1/GDF15 levels could predict the presence of premalignant colonic polyposis and assist in population screening strategies.

Methods: Serum MIC-1/GDF15 levels were measured in subjects in the Polyp Prevention Trial, in which NSAID use and colon cancer risk factors were defined.

Association of dietary fat intakes with risk of esophageal and gastric cancer in the NIH-AARP diet and health study.

The aim of our study was to investigate whether intakes of total fat and fat subtypes were associated with esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), gastric cardia or gastric noncardia adenocarcinoma. From 1995-1996, dietary intake data was reported by 494,978 participants of the NIH-AARP cohort. The 630 EAC, 215 ESCC, 454 gastric cardia and 501 gastric noncardia adenocarcinomas accrued to the cohort.

Using regression calibration equations that combine self-reported intake and biomarker measures to obtain unbiased estimates and more powerful tests of dietary associations.

The authors describe a statistical method of combining self-reports and biomarkers that, with adequate control for confounding, will provide nearly unbiased estimates of diet-disease associations and a valid test of the null hypothesis of no association. The method is based on regression calibration. In cases in which the diet-disease association is mediated by the biomarker, the association needs to be estimated as the total dietary effect in a mediation model.

Folate intake and risk of pancreatic cancer: pooled analysis of prospective cohort studies.

Background: Epidemiological studies evaluating the association between folate intake and risk of pancreatic cancer have produced inconsistent results. The statistical power to examine this association has been limited in previous studies partly because of small sample size and limited range of folate intake in some studies.

Methods: We analyzed primary data from 14 prospective cohort studies that included 319,716 men and 542,948 women to assess the association between folate intake and risk of pancreatic cancer.

Coffee intake and breast cancer risk in the NIH-AARP diet and health study cohort.

There are several biologic mechanisms whereby coffee might reduce breast cancer risk. Caffeine and caffeic acid, major coffee constituents, have been shown to suppress mammary tumor formation in animal models and to inhibit DNA methylation in human breast cancer cells, respectively. Coffee may also reduce risk through decreasing inflammation and influencing estrogen metabolism.

Socioeconomic deprivation impact on meat intake and mortality: NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study.

Objective: Previous studies have not examined potential interactions between meat intake and characteristics of the local environment on the risk of mortality. This study examined the impact of area socioeconomic deprivation on the association between meat intake and all-cause and cause-specific mortality after accounting for individual-level risk factors.

Methods: In the prospective NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study, we analyzed data from adults, ages 50-71 years at baseline (1995-1996).

Fatherhood and the risk of cardiovascular mortality in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study.

Background: Fertility potential and reproductive fitness may reflect a man's future health, given that over one-third of the male human genome is involved in reproduction. We sought to determine if offspring number predicts cardiovascular death in the US men.

Methods: Using data from the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study, 137,903 men (aged 50-71) without prior cardiovascular disease were followed-up for an average of 10.

Epithelial ovarian cancer and exposure to dietary nitrate and nitrite in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study.

Ovarian cancer is a leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States and it has the highest mortality rate of all gynecologic cancers. Internationally, there is a five-fold variation in incidence and mortality of ovarian cancer, which suggests a role for environmental factors, including diet. Nitrate and nitrite are found in various food items and they are precursors of N-nitroso compounds, which are known carcinogens in animal models.

Lifestyle factors and risk for new-onset diabetes: a population-based cohort study.

Background: Epidemiologic data on the combined influence of several lifestyle factors on diabetes risk are rare, particularly among older adults.

Objective: To examine how combinations of lifestyle risk factors relate to the 11-year risk for incident diabetes.

Design: Population-based prospective cohort study.

Health status, neighborhood socioeconomic context, and premature mortality in the United States: The National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study.

Objectives: We examined whether the risk of premature mortality associated with living in socioeconomically deprived neighborhoods varies according to the health status of individuals.

Methods: Community-dwelling adults (n = 566,402; age = 50-71 years) in 6 US states and 2 metropolitan areas participated in the ongoing prospective National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study, which began in 1995. We used baseline data for 565,679 participants on health behaviors, self-rated health status, and medical history, collected by mailed questionnaires.

Hormonal and reproductive factors and risk of postmenopausal thyroid cancer in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study.

Background: Worldwide, thyroid cancer incidence rates are higher among women than men. While this suggests a possible etiologic role of female sex hormones, clear associations between hormonal and reproductive factors and thyroid cancer have not been observed. However, few large prospective studies have been conducted.

Association between smoking and risk of bladder cancer among men and women.

Context: Previous studies indicate that the population attributable risk (PAR) of bladder cancer for tobacco smoking is 50% to 65% in men and 20% to 30% in women and that current cigarette smoking triples bladder cancer risk relative to never smoking. During the last 30 years, incidence rates have remained stable in the United States in men (123.8 per 100,000 person-years to 142.

Geographic variation in colorectal cancer survival and the role of small-area socioeconomic deprivation: a multilevel survival analysis of the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study Cohort.

Adverse socioeconomic conditions, at both the individual and the neighborhood level, increase the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) death, but little is known regarding whether CRC survival varies geographically and the extent to which area-level socioeconomic deprivation affects this geographic variation. Using data from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-AARP Diet and Health Study, the authors examined geographic variation and the role of area-level socioeconomic deprivation in CRC survival. CRC cases (n = 7,024), identified during 1995-2003, were followed for their CRC-specific vital status through 2005 and overall vital status through 2006.

Pre- and postfortification intake of folate and risk of colorectal cancer in a large prospective cohort study in the United States.

Background: A higher folate intake is associated with a decreased colorectal cancer risk in observational studies, but recent evidence suggests that excessive folate supplementation may increase colorectal cancer risk in some individuals. Therefore, mandatory folic acid fortification of grain products in the United States may have unintended negative consequences.

Objective: We examined the association between folate intake and colorectal cancer risk, including 8.

Dietary fiber and grain consumption in relation to head and neck cancer in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study.

Background: Dietary fiber and grain consumption may reduce the risk of head and neck cancer; however, the epidemiological evidence is limited. We investigated this relationship in the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-AARP Diet and Health Study.

Methods: Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate multivariable hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) to investigate dietary fiber and grain intake in relation to head and neck cancer.

Diabetes and thyroid cancer risk in the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study.

Background: We hypothesized that diabetes may play a role in thyroid cancer risk due to the parallel secular rise in diabetes prevalence and morbidity in the United States, the higher prevalence of thyroid disorders among diabetics compared with the general population, and the potential roles of metabolic syndrome, obesity, and diabetes as precipitating factors in cancer development.

Methods: We assessed the association between self-reported diabetes and the risk of differentiated thyroid cancer in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study, a prospective cohort of 200,556 women and 295,992 men, 50-71 years of age, in 1995-1996. Diabetes status and information on potential confounders was ascertained using a self-administered questionnaire.

Apolipoprotein E genotypes and the risk of Parkinson disease.

We examined apolipoprotein E (ApoE) genotypes in relation to Parkinson's disease (PD) among 786 cases and 1537 controls, all non-Hispanic Caucasians. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were derived from multivariate logistic regression models, adjusting for year of birth, sex, smoking status, daily caffeine intake, and family history of PD. Compared with participants with ApoE ε33, ε4 carriers (ε34/ε44) had significantly lower odds for having PD (OR, 0.

A prospective analysis of prolonged sitting time and risk of renal cell carcinoma among 300,000 older adults.

Purpose: Accumulating evidence suggests an etiologic role in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) for physical activity. However, it is unknown if prolonged sitting, which is thought to be distinct from too little moderate-vigorous physical activity, is an independent risk factor for RCC. The authors prospectively examined the relationship of prolonged sitting and risk of RCC among 289,512 women and men in the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study.