Search

Stool samples for fecal immunochemical tests (FIT) are collected in large numbers worldwide as part of colorectal cancer screening programs. Employing FIT samples from 1034 CRCbiome participants, recruited from a Norwegian colorectal cancer screening study, we identify, annotate and characterize more than 18000 DNA viruses, using shotgun metagenome sequencing. Only six percent of them are assigned to a known taxonomic family, with Microviridae being the most prevalent viral family. Linking individual profiles to comprehensive lifestyle and demographic data shows 17/25 of the variables to be associated with the gut virome. Physical activity, smoking, and dietary fiber consumption exhibit strong and consistent associations with both diversity and relative abundance of individual viruses, as well as with enrichment for auxiliary metabolic genes. We demonstrate the suitability of FIT samples for virome analysis, opening an opportunity for large-scale studies of this enigmatic part of the gut microbiome. The diverse viral populations and their connections to the individual lifestyle uncovered herein paves the way for further exploration of the role of the gut virome in health and disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public health systems should guarantee universal access to health care services, including cancer screening. We assessed whether certain population subgroups were underrepresented among participants in colorectal cancer screening with sigmoidoscopy and faecal immunochemical testing (FIT). Between 2012 and 2019, about 140 000 individuals aged 50 to 74 years were randomly invited to once‐only sigmoidoscopy or first round of FIT screening. Our study included 46 919 individuals invited to sigmoidoscopy and 70 019 to FIT between 2012 and 2017. We used logistic regression models to evaluate if demographic and socioeconomic factors and use of certain drugs were associated with participation. Twenty‐four thousand one hundred and fifty‐nine (51.5%) individuals attended sigmoidoscopy and 40 931 (58.5%) FIT screening. Male gender, young age, low education and income, being retired or unemployed, living alone, being an immigrant, long driving time to screening centre, and use of antidiabetic and psychotropic drugs were associated with low participation in both screening groups. Many of these factors also predicted low acceptance of colonoscopy after positive FIT. While male gender, young age and living alone were more strongly associated with nonparticipation in FIT than sigmoidoscopy, low education and income, being retired or immigrant and long driving time were more strongly associated with nonparticipation in sigmoidoscopy than FIT. In conclusion, participation was lower in sigmoidoscopy than FIT. Predictors of nonparticipation were similar between arms. However, low socioeconomic status, being an immigrant and long driving time affected participation more in sigmoidoscopy screening, suggesting that FIT may guarantee more equal access to screening services than sigmoidoscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective was to investigate associations between life-course adiposity and sex hormone concentrations: trajectory of adiposity from age 5 to 40 (premenopausal)/60 (postmenopausal women and men) in relation to levels of oestrone (E1), oestradiol (E2), sex hormone-binding globulins (SHBG), testosterone in 4801 premenopausal and 6019 postmenopausal women in the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and NHS II, and 2431 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. We used group-based trajectory models to identify groups within each cohort based on recalled somatotypes and reported BMI. Multivariate linear regression models were used to compare sex hormone concentration across different trajectory groups. The mean age at blood draw was 64·1 ± 8·1 years for men, 59·4 ± 6·0 for postmenopausal and 44·1 ± 4·6 for premenopausal women. In men, compared with the medium-stable group, lean-marked increase and medium increase groups had lower levels of SHBG (percentage difference: −17 and −9 %) and testosterone (−15 and −13 %). In postmenopausal women, compared with the medium-stable group, lean-marked increase and medium increase groups had higher levels of E1 (21 and 34 %) and E2 (45 and 68 %) but lower level of SHBG (–29 and −35 %). In premenopausal women, compared with the lean-moderate increase group, medium-stable/increase and heavy-stable/increase groups had lower levels of SHBG (–6 and −28 %). Attained adulthood adiposity and middle-life weight gain were associated with lower SHBG and testosterone in men, higher E1 and E2 and lower SHBG in postmenopausal women, and lower SHBG in premenopausal women. The study indicates the importance of maintaining a healthy body weight throughout life course for homoeostasis of sex hormones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]