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AbstractObjective??To examine the association between psychological factors and the risk of breast cancer prospectively in a non-Western population.Methods??Data from the Japan Collaborative Cohort (JACC) study were analyzed. From 1988 to 1990, 34,497 women aged 40?79 years completed a questionnaire on medical, lifestyle and psychosocial factors. The rate ratios (RRs) of their responses were computed by fitting to proportional hazards models.Results??During the mean follow-up period of 7.5 years, 149 breast cancer cases were documented. Those individuals who possessed ?ikigai? (Japanese term meaning something that made one?s life worth living) showed a significantly lower risk of breast cancer (multivariate-adjusted RR = 0.66; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.47?0.94). Those who perceived themselves as able to make decisions quickly also had a lower risk of breast cancer (multivariate-adjusted RR = 0.56; 95% CI = 0.36?0.87). The other factors investigated, including ease of anger arousal and self-perceived stress of daily life were not associated with breast cancer risk.Conclusions??Although further studies will be necessary to verify these findings, our results suggest that having ?ikigai? and being decisive decrease an individual?s subsequent risk of breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractObjective:??To determine the relationship of body mass index (BMI) and BMI changes during adulthood to lung cancer mortality in a large-sized Japanese cohort.Methods:??We followed 29,350 men for a maximum of 11 years in the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study for Evaluation of Cancer Risk (JACC Study), which was initiated from 1988 to 1990. Complementary log?log modeling was employed with age, smoking status, and family history of lung cancer as covariates. Anthropometric measurements used were BMI at baseline, BMI around age 20, and adulthood BMI loss defined between the two measurements. Independent effects of these three measurements on lung cancer mortality were evaluated by applying the method of generalized estimation equations to the model for adjustment of intra-individual correlation.Results:??Never smokers showed that high BMI both at baseline and around age 20 significantly predict lung cancer mortality (P< 0.05). Adulthood BMI loss significantly (P< 0.05) elevated the risk for lung cancer mortality among current smokers, implying their enhanced vulnerability to lung cancer risk among smokers.Conclusions:??The risk for lung cancer mortality is elevated by a mechanism related to smoking-induced weight loss during adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The aim of this study is to evaluate the magnitude of the aggregation of a stomach cancer history in parents and their offspring in comparison with that of a history at other sites. Methods We used the baseline data from the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study for Evaluation of Cancer Risk (JACC Study), which was initiated during 1988-1990 in Japan. Association of the cancer history of the subjects' parents with that of the subjects themselves and any of the subjects' siblings was evaluated with odds ratios (OR) by the crude and generalized estimating equations (GEE) technique for four sites: stomach, colorectum, liver, and lung/bronchus. Results The aggregation of a history of stomach cancer between parents and their offspring was evident with significant OR >2.5. The magnitude of the parent-offspring association of a disease history of the colorectum and liver was found to be greater than that for stomach cancer. Conversely, lung and bronchus cancer failed to demonstrate a significant aggregation. Conclusions The hereditary and environmental influences shared by parents and offspring are likely to play a strong aetiological role in colorectal or liver cancer versus a weaker but still significant role in stomach cancer. In contrast, the aetiological role of familial predisposition to lung cancer was indeterminate, which suggests a predominant role of non-familial factors in the development of lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]