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Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in children is associated with a distinct neonatal cytokine profile. The basis of this neonatal immune phenotype is unknown but potentially related to maternal-fetal immune receptor interactions. We conducted a case-control study of 226 case child-mother pairs and 404 control child-mother pairs to evaluate the role of interaction between HLA genotypes in the offspring and maternal killer immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) genotypes in the etiology of childhood ALL, while considering potential mediation by neonatal cytokines and the immune-modulating enzyme arginase-II (ARG-II). We observed different associations between offspring HLA-maternal KIR activating profiles and the risk of ALL in different predicted genetic ancestry groups. For instance, in Latino subjects who experience the highest risk of childhood leukemia, activating profiles were significantly associated with a lower risk of childhood ALL (odds ratio [OR] = 0.59; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.49-0.71) and a higher level of ARG-II at birth (coefficient = 0.13; 95% CI, 0.04-0.22). HLA-KIR activating profiles were also associated with a lower risk of ALL in non-Latino Asians (OR = 0.63; 95% CI, 0.38-1.01), although they had a lower tumor necrosis factor-α level (coefficient = −0.27; 95% CI, −0.49 to −0.06). Among non-Latino White subjects, no significant association was observed between offspring HLA-maternal KIR interaction and ALL risk or cytokine levels. The current study reports the association between offspring HLA-maternal KIR interaction and the development of childhood ALL with variation by predicted genetic ancestry. We also observed some associations between activating profiles and immune factors related to cytokine control; however, cytokines did not demonstrate causal mediation of the activating profiles on ALL risk.

Background Pilocytic astrocytoma (PA) is the most common pediatric brain tumor. PA has at least a 50% higher incidence in populations of European ancestry compared to other ancestral groups, which may be due in part to genetic differences. Methods We first compared the global proportions of European, African, and Amerindian ancestries in 301 PA cases and 1185 controls of self-identified Latino ethnicity from the California Biobank. We then conducted admixture mapping analysis to assess PA risk with local ancestry. Results We found PA cases had a significantly higher proportion of global European ancestry than controls (case median = 0.55, control median = 0.51, P value = 3.5x10-3). Admixture mapping identified 13 SNPs in the 6q14.3 region (SNX14) contributing to risk, as well as three other peaks approaching significance on chromosomes 7, 10 and 13. Downstream fine mapping in these regions revealed several SNPs potentially contributing to childhood PA risk. Conclusions There is a significant difference in genomic ancestry associated with Latino PA risk and several genomic loci potentially mediating this risk.

To describe the incidence and impact of neck injuries among electric utility workers.Rates of neck injuries per 10,000 employee-years were calculated for various demographic and occupational factors using data from an injury surveillance database established among 17 electric utility companies over the period 1995-2007.The overall rate of neck injuries was 13.3. Male workers had a slightly higher rate than females, and younger workers (30) had the highest neck injury rates. Trade/craft workers experienced the highest rates of neck injuries, whereas office-based experienced the lowest. The majority of neck injuries (69%) were sprain/strains and resulted in less than 1 lost day of work (76.7%).The occurrence of neck injuries in the electric utility workforce varies widely with respect to age, sex, and occupational groups with different characteristics, activities, and work environments. Industry-wide surveillance allows easier identification of injury patterns and risk factors of various injury types and facilitates the development of targeted prevention and intervention strategies to reduce the occurrence of these injuries.

The objective of the present review was to examine the potential association between animal fat intake and breast cancer. We conducted a meta-analysis and review of epidemiological cohort studies, including data reported in the Pooling Project publication of Prospective Studies of Diet and Cancer. Random- and fixed-effects models were utilised to generate summary relative risk estimates (SRRE), and sensitivity and influence analyses were conducted. In the meta-analysis that included data reported in the Pooling Project publication of prospective cohorts (n 8) and subsequent publications of cohort studies (n 3), no significant association was observed comparing the highest category of animal fat intake with the lowest (SRRE 1·03; 95 % CI: 0·76, 1·40). Similarly, no significant association between a 5 % increment of energy from animal fat intake and breast cancer (SRRE 1·02; 95 % CI 0·97, 1·07) was observed in the meta-analysis of these studies. In conclusion, the results of the present quantitative assessment are not supportive of a positive independent association between consumption of animal fat and breast cancer, although findings may be sensitive to the type of dietary instrument used in cohort studies.

Few physical activity (PA) questionnaires were designed to measure the lifestyles and activities of women. We sought to examine the test-retest reliability of a PA questionnaire used in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study. Differences in reliability were also explored by important covariates.Participants (n = 1092) were postmenopausal women aged 50-79 yr, randomly selected from the baseline sample of participants in the WHI Observational Study. The WHI PA questionnaire collects usual frequency, duration, and pace of recreational walking, frequency, and duration of other recreational activities or exercises (mild, moderate, and strenuous), household, and yard activities. Approximately half of the women (n = 569) repeated questions on recreational PA, the other half (n = 523) repeated questions related to household and yard activities (mean 3 months apart). Test-retest reliability was assessed with kappa and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC 1,1).Overall, questions on recreational walking, moderate recreational PA, and strenuous recreational PA had higher test-retest reliability (weighted kappa range = 0.50-0.60) than questions on mild recreational PA (weighted kappa range = 0.35-0.50). The ICC 1,1 for moderate to strenuous recreational PA was 0.77 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.73-0.80), and the total recreational PA was 0.76 (95% CI = 0.71-0.79). Substantial reliability was observed for the summary measures of yard activities (ICC 1,1 = 0.71; 95% CI = 0.66-0.75) and household activities (ICC 1,1 = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.55-0.66). No meaningful differences were observed by race/ethnicity, age, time between test and retest, and amount of reported PA.The WHI PA questionnaire demonstrated moderate to substantial test-retest reliability in a diverse sample of postmenopausal women.

Background Occupational sprain and strain injuries are one of the most common types of nonfatal occupational injuries and a significant source of lost workdays. This study examines factors associated with severe work-related sprain/strain injuries to the back, shoulder, and knees. Methods A synthetic case–control study was performed (controls were selected from the same pool of utility workers as cases). Cases included all electric utility workers who had experienced a severe work-related sprain/strain injury to the back, knee, or shoulder. Primary controls were selected from all workers who had sustained a minor injury. Secondary controls were selected from employees with a minor sprain/strain injury to the back, knee, or shoulder. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Results Workers 41 years and older were more likely to have experienced severe shoulder sprain/strain injuries [Age 41–50: OR = 3.62, 95% CI: 1.71–7.65; age 51 and older: OR = 4.49, 95% CI: 1.89–10.67] and severe back sprain/strain injuries [Age 41–50: OR = 1.70, 95% CI: 1.06–2.33; age 51 and older: OR = 1.5, 95% CI: 0.90–2.52]. Line workers and maintenance workers had an increased risk of serious sprain/strain injuries. Gender and day of week were not significantly associated with sprain/strain injuries. Discussion Though this study is limited by available data, future studies may benefit from this preliminary examination of occupational and demographic characteristics associated with serious sprain/strain injuries among electric utility workers. Am. J. Ind. Med. 52:210–220, 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

To compare cancer mortality rates in Amazon cantons (counties) with and without long-term oil exploration and extraction activities. Mortality (1990 through 2005) and population census (1990 and 2001) data for cantons in the provinces of the northern Amazon Region (Napo, Orellana, Sucumbios, and Pastaza), as well as the province with the capital city of Quito (Pichincha province) were obtained from the National Statistical Office of Ecuador, Instituto Nacional del Estadistica y Censos (INEC). Age- and sex-adjusted mortality rate ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated to evaluate total and cause-specific mortality in the study regions. Among Amazon cantons with long-term oil extraction, activities there was no evidence of increased rates of death from all causes (RR = 0.98; 95% CI = 0.95–1.01) or from overall cancer (RR = 0.82; 95% CI = 0.73–0.92), and relative risk estimates were also lower for most individual site-specific cancer deaths. Mortality rates in the Amazon provinces overall were significantly lower than those observed in Pichincha for all causes (RR = 0.82; 95% CI = 0.81–0.83), overall cancer (RR = 0.46; 95% CI = 0.43–0.49), and for all site-specific cancers. In regions with incomplete cancer registration, mortality data are one of the few sources of information for epidemiologic assessments. However, epidemiologic assessments in this region of Ecuador are limited by underreporting, exposure and disease misclassification, and study design limitations. Recognizing these limitations, our analyses of national mortality data of the Amazon Region in Ecuador does not provide evidence for an excess cancer risk in regions of the Amazon with long-term oil production. These findings were not consistent or supportive of earlier studies in this region that suggested increased cancer risks.

The relationship between meat consumption and breast cancer has been the focus of several epidemiological investigations, yet there has been no clear scientific consensus as to whether red or processed meat intake increases the risk of breast cancer. We conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis incorporating data from several recently published prospective studies of red or processed meat intake and breast cancer. In the meta-analysis utilising data from the Pooling Project publication (includes data from eight cohorts) combined with data from nine studies published between 2004 and 2009 and one study published in 1996, the fixed-effect summary relative risk estimate (SRRE) for red meat intake (high v. low) and breast cancer was 1·02 (95 % CI 0·98, 1·07; P value for heterogeneity = 0·001) and the random-effects SRRE was 1·07 (95 % CI 0·98, 1·17). The SRRE for each 100 g increment of red meat was 1·04 (95 % CI 1·00, 1·07), based on a fixed-effects model, and 1·12 (95 % CI 1·03, 1·23) based on a random-effects model. No association was observed for each 100 g increment of red meat among premenopausal women (SRRE 1·01; 95 % CI 0·92, 1·11) but a statistically significant SRRE of 1·22 (95 % CI 1·04, 1·44) was observed among postmenopausal women using a random-effects model. However, the association for postmenopausal women was attenuated and non-significant when using a fixed-effects model (SRRE 1·03; 95 % CI 0·98, 1·08). The fixed- and random-effect SRRE for high (v. low) processed meat intake and breast cancer were 1·00 (95 % CI 0·98, 1·01; P value for heterogeneity = 0·005) and 1·08 (95 % CI 1·01, 1·16), respectively. The fixed- and random-effect SRRE for each 30 g increment of processed meat were 1·03 (95 % CI 1·00, 1·06) and 1·06 (95 % CI 0·99, 1·14), respectively. Overall, weak positive summary associations were observed across all meta-analysis models, with the majority being non-statistically significant. Heterogeneity was evident in most analyses, summary associations were sensitive to the choice of analytical model (fixed v. random effects), and publication bias appeared to have produced slightly elevated summary associations. On the basis of this quantitative assessment, red meat and processed meat intake does not appear to be independently associated with increasing the risk of breast cancer, although further investigations of potential effect modifiers, such as analyses by hormone receptor status, may provide valuable insight to potential patterns of associations.