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Background A possible connection between allergy and cancer has been suspected, but allergy-related conditions or atopy have been inconsistently associated with reduced risks of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. We investigated this association in a population-based case-control study and in a prospective study with prediagnostic blood specimens. Methods We carried out a population-based study of 3055 case patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and 3187 control subjects in Denmark and Sweden, including questionnaire information on allergy and blood specimens, and a nested case-control study within a prospective cohort of more than 400000 Finnish women. In the second study, serum specimens from the 198 case patients who developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma within a median of 8.9 years after the blood was drawn were matched with serum specimens from 594 control subjects. In both studies, laboratory-based evidence of allergy (atopy) was determined in serum on the basis of specific IgE reactivity to common inhalant allergens. Dissemination of disease was classified by the Ann Arbor system. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated by logistic regression. Results In the first study, ever having hay fever, but not other allergic conditions, was associated with a reduced risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. In particular, subjects with specific IgE reactivity in serum had a 32% (95% CI = 20% to 42%) lower risk of overall non-Hodgkin lymphoma than those without such reactivity. However, among case patients, dissemination of the disease was strongly inversely associated with specific IgE reactivity. In the second (i.e., prospective) study, no association was found between non-Hodgkin lymphoma and specific IgE reactivity, except possibly immediately before a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma ([greater than or equal to]10 years before diagnosis, OR = 1.00, 95% CI = 0.48 to-2.09; 5-9 years before, OR = 0.95, 95% CI = 0.50 to 1.84; 1-4 years before, OR = 0.33, 95% CI = 0.11 to 1.02; and Conclusion Allergy may not be causally associated with the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The inverse association observed in some case-control studies may arise because non-Hodgkin lymphoma suppresses the immunologic response to allergens.

OBJECTIVE--Our aim was to evaluate the predictive value of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), diabetes-associated autoantibodies, and other factors for development of clinical diabetes later in life. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS--In [...]

A blood test based on the E6 and E7 proteins from human papillomavirus types 16 and 18 is not very accurate in identifying women infected with the virus who may develop cervical cancer, according to a study of 550,000 women. Only 7% of the women who eventually developed cervical cancer had antibodies to these viral proteins in blood samples taken up to 20 years earlier. Some types of human papillomavirus have been linked to cervical cancer, especially types 16 and 18.

Background: Russia and other states of the former Soviet Union experienced a huge increase in syphilis beginning in the early 1990s. At first these epidemics were not well known in neighboring countries such as Finland. Study Design: In 1995 the incidence of syphilis in Finland doubled to 3.3/100,000 and a local cluster of 18 cases was detected in the city of Tampere. The reasons for this epidemic were analyzed and the occurrence of syphilis was carefully monitored up to 2001. Results: The main reason for the increased incidence in Finland was the import of syphilis from Russia; only a few cases were acquired from Estonia or elsewhere. The source partners of Finnish men who contracted syphilis abroad were mostly sex workers or other casual partners. Mobile prostitution to Finland was not involved in the transmission. Most syphilis cases were found sporadically in southern Finland, in areas where foreign travel is frequent. Secondary transmission in Finland was usually limited to one or two partners. The only isolated cluster was further away and developed due to unawareness of the risk of syphilis by the cases and local healthcare providers. From 1995 onward, syphilis was carefully monitored by national reporting and a special sexually transmitted disease (STD) surveillance network, and the incidence remained at a constant level even though travel to and from Russia more than tripled. Nationwide serologic surveillance in STD and maternity clinics and among blood donors showed no major changes in the prevalence of syphilis. Conclusion: An epidemic of syphilis imported mainly by heterosexual men from Russia caused one sporadic cluster in Finland in 1995. Thereafter, general awareness by the public and healthcare providers about the risks of contracting syphilis from abroad, in addition to effective use of national surveillance and notification systems, was needed to protect the country from further spread of syphilis to an endemic infection.

Previous studies have suggested that enterovirus infections during pregnancy may increase the risk of type 1 diabetes in the offspring. Our aim was to evaluate the role of first trimester enterovirus infections in a larger cohort of pregnant women. Two series of pregnant women were analyzed as follows: 948 women (series 1) and 680 women (series 2) whose child developed clinical diabetes before the ages of 15 or 7 years, respectively. An equal number of control women with a nondiabetic child was selected. Acute enterovirus infections were diagnosed by measuring IgM class antibodies against coxsackievirus B5 (series 1) and a mixture of coxsackievirus B3, coxsackievirus A16, and echovirus 11 antigens (series 2). In series 2, all sera were also analyzed for IgG class antibodies against an enterovirus peptide antigen. In addition, 152 randomly selected case-control pairs and all IgM-positive mothers' sera were tested for enterovirus RNA (series 2). In series 1, 3.1% of case women had IgM antibodies against coxsackievirus B5 antigen compared with 4.1% of control women (NS). In series 2, 7.1% of case and 5.3% of control women had IgM against the mixture of enterovirus antigens (NS). IgG class enterovirus antibodies did not differ between the groups. Enterovirus RNA was found only in one case woman (0.3%) of the subgroup of samples and in 5.7% of 70 IgM-positive women. The results suggest that enterovirus infection during the first trimester of pregnancy is not associated with increased risk for type 1 diabetes in the child., Enteroviruses have associated with type 1 diabetes in several but not all epidemiological studies, and they can also cause diabetes in animal models (1-3). Recent prospective studies have suggested thai [...]

Background: Seropositivity for several sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is often used as a surrogate measure of sexual behavior. The authors assessed the concomitant seropositivity for STIs in women. Goal: To estimate the excess of concomitant seropositivity for four STIs among fertile-aged women assuming no coinfections above what would be expected at random. Study Design: Antibodies to herpes simplex virus type 2, human papillomavirus type 16, HIV, Chlamydia trachomatis, and Treponema pallidum were determined from a random sample of 1110 pregnant women in Tallinn, Estonia. Results: A total of 310 combinations of the concomitant seropositivity were observed, whereas only 193 were expected by chance. Among persons seropositive for two STIs, 78 extra combinations were observed, whereas for three STIs, 35 extra combinations were observed. For four STIs, 3.8 extra combinations were found. Conclusions: Seropositivity to multiple STIs is not common. This fits the concept of different transmission probabilities and the spread of the STIs, and suggests that seropositivity alone should be used with caution as a surrogate to sexual behavior in women.

Background: Major risk factors for invasive cervical cancer include infection with human papillomavirus (HPV), infection with other sexually transmitted pathogens (e.g., Chlamydia trachomatis), and smoking. Since exposures to these risk factors can be related, the contribution of any single factor to cervical carcinogenesis has been difficult to assess. We conducted a prospective study to define the role of HPV infection in cervical carcinogenesis, with invasive cancer as an end point. Methods: A nested case-control study within a joint cohort of 700 000 Nordic subjects was performed. The 182 women who developed invasive cervical cancer during a mean follow-up of 5 years were matched with 538 control women on the basis of age and time of enrollment. Serum samples taken at enrollment were analyzed for evidence of tobacco use (i.e., cotinine levels); for antibodies against HPV types 16, 18, and 33; and for antibodies against C trachomatis. Relative risks (RRs) were estimated by use of conditional logistic regression. Results: Presence of antibodies against HPV in serum (seropositivity) was associated with an increased risk of cervical cancer, and adjustment for smoking and for C trachomatis seropositivity did not affect this finding (RR = 2.4; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.6-3.7). HPV16 seropositivity was associated primarily with an increased risk of squamous cell carcinoma (RR = 3.2; 95 % CI = 1.7-6.2). In contrast, risk associated with HPV18 seropositivity tended to be higher for cervical adenocarcinoma (RR = 3.4; 95% CI = 0.8-14.9). In populations with a low prevalence of antibodies against C. trachomatis, the HPV16-associated risk of cervical cancer was very high (RR = 11.8; 95% CI = 3.7-37.0); in contrast, in populations with a high prevalence of antibodies against C. trachomatis, no excess risk was found. Conclusion: Past infection with HPV16 increases the risk of invasive cervical squamous cell carcinoma, most clearly seen in populations with a low prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases. [J Natl Cancer Inst 1997; 89:1293-9]

Coxsackievirus B infections have been associated with clinical manifestation of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) in several studies, but their initiating role in the slowly progressing β-cell damage is not known. [...]

Abstract Objective--To study human papillomavirus type 16 in the aetiology of cervical carcinoma. Design--Within a cohort of 18 814 Finnish women followed for up to 23 years a nested case-control [...]

The Finnish Diabetes Prediction and Prevention Study Previous studies suggest that enterovirus infections may initiate and accelerate Β-cell damage years before the clinical manifestation of type 1 diabetes. We have [...]

HANNU PAJUNP[ddot{A}][ddot{A}] SIRKKA KEIN[ddot{A}]NEN-KIUKAANNIEMI OBJECTIVE -- The aim of this study was to assess mortality and causes of death in subjects with visual impairment caused by diabetic retinopathy (DR). Only [...]

An increasing incidence of type 1 diabetes has been reported from many countries, but the reason for this is not known. In Finland, the incidence is now twice as high [...]

Recently, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) consensus group published a new definition of metabolic syndrome for identifying individuals at high risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) (1). The high-sensitive measurement of [...]

Recent studies have suggested that vitamin D deficiency may increase the risk of type 1 diabetes (1). In Finland, the incidence of type 1 diabetes is the highest in the [...]