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Aim: To examine the association between a healthy diet, assessed by the Healthy Diet Indicator (HDI), and cognitive decline in older adults. Methods: Data from 21,837 participants aged ≥ 55 years from 3 cohorts (Survey in Europe on Nutrition and the Elderly, a Concerted Action [SENECA], Rotterdam Study [RS], Nurses' Health Study [NHS]) were analyzed. HDI scores were based on intakes of saturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, mono- and disaccharides, protein, cholesterol, fruits and vegetables, and fiber. The Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status in NHS and Mini-Mental State Examination in RS and SENECA were used to assess cognitive function from multiple repeated measures. Using multivariable-adjusted, mixed linear regression, mean differences in annual rates of cognitive decline by HDI quintiles were estimated. Results: Multivariable-adjusted differences in rates in the highest versus the lowest HDI quintile were 0.01 (95% CI -0.01, 0.02) in NHS, 0.00 (95% CI -0.02, 0.01) in RS, and 0.00 (95% CI -0.05, 0.05) in SENECA with a pooled estimate of 0.00 (95% CI -0.01, 0.01), I² = 0%. Conclusions: A higher HDI score was not related to reduced rates of cognitive decline in European and American older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma ( HL) is more aggressive in Germany than in the United States ( US) and differences in treatment may lead to differences in population level survival. Patients diagnosed with HL in 11 German states in 1997-2006 were included in the analyses and were compared to similar analyses from patients in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database in the US. Period analysis was used to calculate 5-year relative survival for the time period of 2002-2006 overall and by gender, age and histology. Overall 5-year relative survival for patients with HL in Germany was 84·3%, compared to 80·6% for the US. Survival was highest in patients aged 15-29 years at 97·9% and decreased with age to 57·5% at age 60 + Survival for men and women, respectively, was 84·7% and 84·1% in Germany and 78·2% and 83·6% in the US. 5-year relative survival for patients diagnosed with HL in Germany was close to 100% for younger patients. Survival of HL patients in the US was lower than in Germany overall, but was comparable in older patients and in women. Population-based studies with longer follow-up are still needed to examine effects of late toxicity on long term survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Adulthood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a rare disease. In contrast to childhood ALL, survival for adults with ALL is poor. Recently, new protocols, including use of pediatric protocols in young adults, have improved survival in clinical trials. Here, we examine population level survival in Germany and the United States (US) to gain insight into the extent to which changes in clinical trials have translated into better survival on the population level. Methods: Data were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database in the US and 11 cancer registries in Germany. Patients age 15–69 diagnosed with ALL were included. Period analysis was used to estimate 5-year relative survival (RS). Results: Overall 5-year RS was estimated at 43.4% for Germany and 35.5% for the US (p = 0.004), with a decrease in survival with increasing age. Survival was higher in Germany than the US for men (43.6% versus 37.7%, p = 0.002) but not for women (42.4% versus 40.3%, p>0.1). Five-year RS estimates increased in Germany and the US between 2002 and 2006 by 11.8 and 7.3 percent units, respectively (p = 0.02 and 0.04, respectively). Conclusions: Survival for adults with ALL continues to be low compared with that for children, but a substantial increase in 5-year survival estimates was seen from 2002 to 2006 in both Germany and the US. The reasons for the survival differences between both countries require clarification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: We investigated survival in breast cancer patients by age group, focussing on those covered by screening programmes, using data from 12 European population-based cancer registries participating in the European Network for Indicators on Cancer Survival Working Group. Methods: We calculated period estimates of 5-year relative survival for 2000–2004 and examined the change in survival estimates for four age groups between 1990–1994 and 2000–2004. Trends in age specific incidence, survival and mortality were additionally compared to those in the United States based on results from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) programme. Results: Breast cancer survival uniformly increased particularly in areas with lower breast cancer survival for patients diagnosed in 1990–1994. With the exception of Geneva, Scotland and Estonia, the rise in survival was always larger among the younger age groups than in the 70+ age group and the age-gradient widened over time. The 5-year relative survival of patients aged 70 and above in the European registries was at least 7 percentage points lower than the 5-year relative survival of patients in the same age group in the US in 2000–2004. During the study period, incidence increased in all age groups and populations with a few exceptions, an observation paralleled by declining mortality. Conclusions: Results showed that some of the geographical differences in overall survival are even larger when considering age groups, in particular between Western and Eastern European countries. Furthermore, some of the differences in survival within the Northern and Western European areas could be due to variations in the implementation of screening programmes rather than economic inequalities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]