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Fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake is considered as probably protective against overall cancer risk, but results in previous studies are not consistent for thyroid cancer (TC). The purpose of this study is to examine the association between the consumption of fruits, vegetables, fruit juices and differentiated thyroid cancer risk within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. The EPIC study is a cohort including over half a million participants, recruited between 1991 and 2000. During a mean follow-up of 14 years, 748 incident first primary differentiated TC cases were identified. F&V and fruit juice intakes were assessed through validated country-specific dietary questionnaires. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using Cox regression models adjusted for potential confounding factors. Comparing the highest versus lowest quartile of intake, differentiated TC risk was not associated with intakes of total F&V (HR: 0.89; 95% CI: 0.68–1.15; p-trend = 0.44), vegetables (HR: 0.89; 95% CI: 0.69–1.14; p-trend = 0.56), or fruit (HR: 1.00; 95% CI: 0.79–1.26; p-trend = 0.64). No significant association was observed with any individual type of vegetable or fruit. However, there was a positive borderline trend with fruit juice intake (HR: 1.23; 95% CI: 0.98–1.53; p-trend = 0.06). This study did not find any significant association between F&V intakes and differentiated TC risk; however a positive trend with fruit juice intake was observed, possibly related to its high sugar content.

Summary: The role of socioeconomic status in hip fracture incidence is unclear. In a diverse population of elderly, higher education was found to be associated with lower, whereas living alone, compared to being married/cohabiting, with higher hip fracture risk. Educational level and marital status may contribute to hip fracture risk. Introduction: The evidence on the association between socioeconomic status and hip fracture incidence is limited and inconsistent. We investigated the potential association of education and marital status with hip fracture incidence in older individuals from Europe and USA. Methods: A total of 155,940 participants (79 % women) aged 60 years and older from seven cohorts were followed up accumulating 6456 incident hip fractures. Information on education and marital status was harmonized across cohorts. Hip fractures were ascertained through telephone interviews/questionnaires or through record linkage with registries. Associations were assessed through Cox proportional hazard regression adjusting for several factors. Summary estimates were derived using random effects models. Results: Individuals with higher education, compared to those with low education, had lower hip fracture risk [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.84, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.72–0.95]. Respective HRs were 0.97 (95 % CI 0.82–1.13) for men and 0.75 (95 % CI 0.65–0.85) for women. Overall, individuals living alone, especially those aged 60–69 years, compared to those being married/cohabiting, tended to have a higher hip fracture risk (HR = 1.12, 95 % CI 1.02–1.22). There was no suggestion for heterogeneity across cohorts (Pheterogeneity > 0.05). Conclusions: The combined data from >150,000 individuals 60 years and older suggest that higher education may contribute to lower hip fracture risk. Furthermore, this risk may be higher among individuals living alone, especially among the age group 60–69 years, when compared to those being married/cohabiting. © 2015, International Osteoporosis Foundation and National Osteoporosis Foundation.

Background: The relation between vitamin D status and lymphoma risk is inconclusive. Objective: We examined the association between prediagnostic plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] and lymphoid cancer risk. Design: We conducted a study nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort of 1127 lymphoma cases and 1127 matched controls with a mean follow-up time of 7.1 y. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate multivariable-adjusted incidence rate ratios of lymphoma risk in relation to plasma 25(OH)D. Season-standardized and season-specific 25(OH)D quartiles were used. We also analyzed 25(OH)D as a continuous variable and used predefined cutoffs. Results: No statistically significant association between plasma 25(OH)D and overall lymphoid cancer risk was observed. A positive association for B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma was noted only in those with a diagnosis made during the first 2 y of follow-up (P-heterogeneity = 0.03), which suggests the possibility of reverse causality. Further analysis restricted to participants with >= 2y of follow-up time showed a significant association between 25(OH)D and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) (n = 161): adjusted incidence rate ratios were 0.40 (95% CI: 0.18, 0.90; P-trend = 0.05) and 0.31 (95% CI: 0.13, 0.76; P-trend = 0.03) for the top compared with the bottom season-standardized and season-specific quartiles, respectively. Data on dietary vitamin D intake provided further support for the observed association (incidence rate ratio: 0.33; 95% CI = 0.12, 0.89; P-trend = 0.006). Conclusions: Our findings do not support a protective role of high 25(OH)D concentration in lymphoid cancers overall. However, they suggest that higher concentrations of 25(OH)D are associated with a reduced risk of CLL.

Background/objectives:Evidence from prospective studies is consistent in showing an inverse association between dietary fibre intake and risk of ischaemic heart disease (IHD), but whether dietary fibre from various food sources differ in their effect on IHD risk is less clear. The objective of this study was to assess the associations of total and food sources of dietary fibre with IHD mortality in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Heart study.Subjects/methods:Participants were 306 331 men and women from eight European countries. Dietary fibre intake was assessed using centre or country-specific diet questionnaires and calibrated using a 24-h diet recall.Results:After an average follow-up of 11.5 years, there were 2381 IHD deaths among participants without cardiovascular disease at baseline. The calibrated intake of dietary fibre was inversely related with IHD mortality; each 10 g/day was associated with a 15% lower risk (relative risk (RR) 0.85; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.73-0.99, P=0.031). There was no difference in the associations of the individual food sources of dietary fibre with the risk of IHD mortality; RR for each 5 g/day higher cereal fibre intake was 0.91 (CI: 0.82-1.01), RR for each 2.5 g/day fruit fibre intake was 0.94 (CI: 0.88-1.01) and RR for each 2.5 g/day vegetable fibre intake was 0.90 (95% CI: 0.76-1.07).Conclusion:A higher consumption of dietary fibre is associated with a lower risk of fatal IHD with no clear difference in the association with IHD for fibre from cereals, fruits or vegetables.European Journal of Clinical Nutrition advance online publication, 23 May 2012; doi:10.1038/ejcn.2012.51.