American journal of preventive medicine
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Obesity has been associated with breast cancer risk in the Caucasian population but the association remains unclear in the Hispanics. Previous studies conducted among Hispanics in the U.S. have shown inconsistent results. ⋯ These findings suggest that anthropometric factors may have different associations with breast cancer risk in Hispanic women than in Caucasian women. This study also shows the importance of considering the evolution of body shape throughout life.
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Smoking and overweight are principal determinants of poor health for which individual-level interventions are at best modestly effective. This limited effectiveness may be partly because these risk factors are patterned by parents' experiences preceding the individual's birth. ⋯ These findings raise the possibility that childhood abuse may not only adversely affect the health of the direct victim but may also affect health risk factors in her children decades after the original traumatic events.
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This paper provides highlights from a CDC-hosted meeting on opportunities for cancer prevention during midlife (roughly ages 45-64 years). Positive changes during this phase of life have the potential to prevent cancer incidence later in life, making this phase an opportune time for targeted prevention efforts to facilitate healthy aging and increased longevity. Risk and protective factors discussed during the meeting included exposure to radiation from medical imaging procedures, circadian disruption, chemical exposures, dietary factors, alcohol consumption, obesity, physical activity, diabetes, and the human microbiome. ⋯ Partnerships are also a key component to prevention efforts; community-based and nonprofit organizations, the healthcare system, research institutions, state health departments, and federal agencies were all noted as important partners in prevention efforts. Coordinated, multi-disciplinary efforts across multiple chronic diseases may provide opportunities for synergistic effects. Further, leveraging key partnerships and existing communication channels can maximize success and facilitate timely translation of research findings into public health practice.
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Studies of breast cancer in women and laboratory studies provide evidence that shift work involving circadian rhythm disruption is a probable human carcinogen. However, evidence linking shift work and other circadian disruption factors to prostate cancer risk is limited. ⋯ These results do not support associations of work schedule or insomnia frequency with prostate cancer mortality. The association between short sleep duration and higher risk of fatal prostate cancer only during the first 8 years of follow-up suggests that short sleep duration could affect later stages of prostate carcinogenesis.
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This article challenges the idea that cancer cannot be prevented among older adults by examining different aspects of the relationship between age and cancer. Although the sequential patterns of aging cannot be changed, several age-related factors that contribute to disease risk can be. For most adults, age is coincidentally associated with preventable chronic conditions, avoidable exposures, and modifiable risk behaviors that are causally associated with cancer. ⋯ Interventions that support healthy environments, help people manage chronic conditions, and promote healthy behaviors may help people make a healthier transition from midlife to older age and reduce the likelihood of developing cancer. Because the number of adults reaching older ages is increasing rapidly, the number of new cancer cases will also increase if current incidence rates remain unchanged. Thus, the need to translate the available research into practice to promote cancer prevention, especially for adults at midlife, has never been greater.