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We examined whether secondhand smoke exposure during childhood was associated with cancer mortality in adulthood among never smokers. In the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study for Evaluation of Cancer Risk, we analyzed data from 45,722 Japanese lifetime nonsmokers aged 40–79 years with no history of cancer at baseline (1988–1990) who had completed a lifestyle questionnaire, including information on the number of family members who had smoked at home during their childhood (0, 1, 2, or ≥3 family members). A Cox proportional hazards model and competing-risks regression were used to calculate multivariable hazard ratios and subdistribution hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals for overall and site-specific cancer mortality according to the number of family members who smoked during the participant's childhood, after adjusting for potentially confounding factors. During a median follow-up period of 19.2 years, a total of 2,356 cancer deaths were documented. Secondhand smoke exposure was positively associated with the risk of mortality from pancreatic cancer in adulthood; the multivariable hazard ratio for having 3 or more family members who smoked (as compared with none) was 2.32 (95% confidence interval: 1.14, 4.72). Associations were not evident for total cancer risk or risk of other types of smoking-related cancer. In this study, secondhand smoke exposure during childhood was associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer mortality in adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Short and long sleep durations are associated with mortality outcomes. The association between sleep duration and mortality outcomes may differ according to sex and age., Methods: Participants of the Japan Public Health Center-based prospective study (JPHC Study) were aged 40-69 years and had completed a detailed questionnaire on lifestyle factors. Sex- and age-stratified analyses on the association between habitual sleep duration and mortality from all-causes, cardiovascular diseases (CVD), cancer and other causes included 46,152 men and 53,708 women without a history of CVD or cancer. Cox proportional hazards regression models, adjusted for potential confounders, were used to determine hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals., Results: Mean follow-up time was 19.9 years for men and 21.0 years for women. In the multivariable sex-stratified models, some categories of sleep durations ≥8 hours were positively associated with mortality from all-causes, CVD, and other causes in men and women compared with 7 hours. The sex- and age-stratified analyses did not reveal any major differences in the association between sleep duration and mortality outcomes in groups younger and older than 50 years of age. The only exception was the significant interaction between sleep duration and age in women for mortality from other causes., Conclusions: Sleep durations ≥8 hours are associated with mortality outcomes in men and women. Age may be an effect modifier for the association between sleep duration and mortality from other causes in women.

We examined associations between dietary diversity and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in 386 men and 413 women (age range, 60-79 years at baseline) who took part in the National Institute for Longevity Sciences-Longitudinal Study of Aging study from 1997 to 2000. Dietary intake was assessed using three-day dietary records and photographs. The Quantitative Index for Dietary Diversity was used to determine the dietary diversity among thirteen food groups. Dietary diversity score and each food intake were examined by sex-stratified tertiles, and hazard ratios (HR) were calculated to compare the risk for all-cause and cause-specific deaths across tertiles, after controlling for age, sex, body mass index, alcohol intake, smoking status, education, physical activity, and disease history. During a mean follow-up of 15.7 years, 289 subjects (36.2%) died. Compared to the subjects in the lowest tertile, the multivariate-adjusted HR for all-cause and cancer mortality was 0.69 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.51-0.94) and 0.57 (95% CI: 0.33-0.98), respectively (trend p < 0.05), in subjects in the highest tertile of dietary diversity. There were no significant associations between dietary diversity score and death from cardiovascular or cerebrovascular disease. Eating a variety of foods might contribute to longevity in older Japanese community dwellers.

Background: The effect of smoking on mortality in working-age adults remains unclear. Accordingly, we compared the effects of cigarette smoking and smoking cessation on total and cause-specific mortality in a Japanese working population. Methods and Results: This study included 79,114 Japanese workers aged 20-85 years who participated in the Japan Epidemiology Collaboration on Occupational Health Study. Deaths and causes of death were identified from death certificates, sick leave documents, family confirmation, and other sources. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated via Cox proportional hazards regression. During a maximum 6-year follow-up, there were 252 deaths in total. Multivariable-adjusted HRs (95% CIs) for total mortality, cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality, and tobacco-related cancer mortality were 1.49 (1.10-2.01), 1.79 (0.99-3.24), and 1.80 (1.02-3.19), respectively, in current vs. never smokers. Among current smokers, the risks of total, tobacco-related cancer, and CVD mortality increased with increasing cigarette consumption (P trend <0.05 for all). Compared with never smokers, former smokers who quit <5 and ≥5 years before baseline had HRs (95% CIs) for total mortality of 1.80 (1.00-3.25) and 1.02 (0.57-1.82), respectively., Conclusions: In this cohort of workers, cigarette smoking was associated with increased risk of death from all and specific causes (including CVD and tobacco-related cancer), although these risks diminished 5 years after smoking cessation.