Paracetamol use is associated with increases with many cancers

This study was published in the International Journal of Cancer 2002 Jan 1;97(1):96-101

Study title and autors:

Cancer risk in persons receiving prescriptions for paracetamol: a Danish cohort study.

Friis S, Nielsen GL, Mellemkjaer L, McLaughlin JK, Thulstrup AM, Blot WJ, Lipworth L, Vilstrup H, Olsen JH.

Institute of Cancer Epidemiology, Danish Cancer Society, Copenhagen, Denmark. friis@cancer.dk

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11774249

Cancer incidence among 39,946 individuals receiving prescriptions for paracetamol was compared with expected incidence with individuals who did not receive paracetamol prescriptions over a 9 year period.

The study found, that compared to people who did not take paracetamol;

• Esophagus cancer was 90% higher in people who took paracetamol.
• Lung cancer was 60% higher in people who took paracetamol.
• Liver cancer was 50% higher in people who took paracetamol.
• Kidney cancer was 60%  higher in people who took paracetamol.
• Bladder cancer was 10%  higher in people who took paracetamol.

This study reveals that paracetamol use is associated with increases with many cancers. 

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Rising diarrhea rates linked to statins

This paper was published in Medical Hypotheses 2009 Dec;73(6):1045-7. Epub 2009 Aug 4

Study title and authors:

Clinically important interaction between statin drugs and Clostridium difficile toxin?

McGuire T, Dobesh P, Klepser D, Rupp M, Olsen K.

College of Pharmacy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-6045, United States. trmcguir@unmc.edu

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19656639

Clostridium difficile associated disease (CDAD), a common type of antibiotic associated diarrhea, is increasing in frequency and is now occurring more commonly in younger patients who are relatively healthy and may not be receiving antibiotics.

This paper investigated the factors which may have caused the rise in Clostridium difficile associated disease and found:

• Gastric acid suppression, particularly via proton pump inhibitors (Losec, Prevacid, Nexium, Kapidex) is a risk factor for the development of Clostridium difficile associated disease.
• A statin trial demonstrated an increased rate of Clostridium difficile associated disease in patients receiving statins compared to non-statin controls.

Mcguire concludes that the weight of the evidence leads to the hypothesis that statins interact with Clostridium difficile toxin causing an increase in the rate and severity of Clostridium difficile associated disease (diarrhea).

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High carbohydrate and fibre consumption is linked to an increase in endometrial cancer

This study was published in the American  Journal of Epidemiology 2007 Oct 15;166(8):912-23

Study title and authors:
Dietary carbohydrates, glycemic index, glycemic load, and endometrial cancer risk within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort.

Cust AE, Slimani N, Kaaks R, van Bakel M, Biessy C, Ferrari P, Laville M, Tjønneland A, Olsen A, Overvad K.
Nutrition and Hormones Unit, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France. annec@health.usyd.edu.au

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17670911

The associations of dietary carbohydrates, dietary glycemic load, and dietary fiber with endometrial cancer risk were analyzed among 288,428 women over a 6.4 year period with a total of 1,842, 995 person years of follow up.

The study found:

• For every 100 grams per day rise in carbohydrate consumption there is a 61% increased risk of endometrial cancer.
• For every 50 units per day rise in glycemic load there is a 40% increased risk of endometrial cancer.
• For every 10 gram per day rise in fibre consumption there is a 27% increased risk of endometrial cancer.

This study shows that a higher carbohydrate and fibre consumption is linked to an increase in endometrial cancer.

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Red meat and eggs decrease the risk of pancreatic cancer

This study was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology 2002 May 1;155(9):783-92

Study title and authors:

Prospective study of diet and pancreatic cancer in male smokers.

Stolzenberg-Solomon RZ, Pietinen P, Taylor PR, Virtamo J, Albanes D.

Nutritional Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892-7232, USA. rs221z@nih.gov

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11978580

This study examined the connection between diet and pancreatic cancer in 27,111 male smokers aged 50-69.

The study found:

• The men who ate the most wheat products had a 23% increased risk of pancreatic cancer than the men who ate the least wheat products.
• The men who ate the most fried meat had a 2% decreased risk of pancreatic cancer compared to the men who ate the least fried meat.
• The men who ate the most red meat had a 5% decreased risk of pancreatic cancer compared to the men who ate the least red meat.
• The men who ate the most eggs had a 14% decreased risk of pancreatic cancer compared to the men who ate the least eggs.

This study shows that wheat increases the risk of pancreatic cancer, whereas red meat and eggs decrease the risk of pancreatic cancer.

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Higher carbohydrate and fibre consumption leads to increased rates of breast cancer

This study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2009 Jan;89(1):283-9

Study title and author:

Dietary carbohydrates, fiber, and breast cancer risk in Chinese women.

Wen W, Shu XO, Li H, Yang G, Ji BT, Cai H, Gao YT, Zheng W.

Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37203-1738, USA. wanqing.wen@vanderbilt.edu

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19056583

The objective of the study was to evaluate the association of carbohydrates and dietary fibre with breast cancer risk. A total of 74,942 women aged 40-70 were involved in the study which lasted over 7 years.

The study found:

• Women who ate the most carbohydrate had a 22% increased rate of breast cancer compared to the women who ate the least carbohydrate.
• Women who ate the most fibre had a 9% increased rate  of breast cancer compared to the women who ate the least fibre.

This study found that increased dietary carbohydrate and fibre leads to higher rates of breast cancer.

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Red meat and dietary cholesterol offer protection from pancreatic cancer

This study was published in the International Journal of Cancer 2009 Sep 1;125(5):1118-26

Study title and authors:

Meat and fat intake and pancreatic cancer risk in the Netherlands Cohort Study.

Heinen MM, Verhage BA, Goldbohm RA, van den Brandt PA.

Department of Epidemiology, Nutrition and Toxicology Research Institute Maastricht, Maastricht University, The Netherlands. mirjam.heinen@epid.unimaas.nl

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19452526

This study examined the relationship between pancreatic cancer risk and intake of fresh meat, eggs, total fat, and different types of fat. The diets of 120,852 men and women were analyzed over a 13.3 year period.

The study found:

• Those that consumed the most meat had a 24% decreased rate of pancreatic cancer compared to those that consumed the least meat.
• Those that consumed the most red meat had a 46% decreased rate of pancreatic cancer compared to those that consumed the least red meat.
• Those that consumed the most pork had a 25% decreased rate of pancreatic cancer compared to those that consumed the least pork.
• Those that consumed the most eggs had a 16% decreased rate of pancreatic cancer compared to those that consumed the least eggs.
• Those that consumed the most fat had a 5% decreased rate of pancreatic cancer compared to those that consumed the least fat.
• Those that consumed the most meat fat had a 37% decreased rate of pancreatic cancer compared to those that consumed the least meat fat.
• Those that consumed the most dietary cholesterol had a 27% decreased rate of pancreatic cancer compared to those that consumed the least dietary cholesterol.

This study reveals that red meat, fat and dietary cholesterol offer protection from pancreatic cancer.

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Statin treatment increases cardiovascular diseases in diabetics by 31%

This study was published in Diabetes 2009 Apr;58(4):926-33

Study title and authors:

C-reactive protein and 5-year survival in type 2 diabetes: the Casale Monferrato Study.

Bruno G, Fornengo P, Novelli G, Panero F, Perotto M, Segre O, Zucco C, Deambrogio P, Bargero G, Perin PC.

Department of Internal Medicine, University of Torino, Torino, Italy. graziella.bruno@unito.it

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19074985

The objective of the study was to determine to what extent various diabetic risk factors and diabetic treatments influence 5-year cardiovascular death rates and total death rates in type 2 diabetic individuals. The study lasted for 5 years, with 11,717 years of observation on 2,381 subjects with type 2 diabetes.

The study found after 5 years:

• Those with C-reactive protein levels above 3 mg/l had an increase of 51% in total death rates and an increase of 44% in death from cardiovascular diseases compared to those with C-reactive protein levels below 3 mg/l. High fat diets can reduce dangerous C-reactive protein levels see here.
• Those with high blood sugar levels (HbA1-C) had an increase of 10% in total death rates and an increase of 19% in death from cardiovascular diseases compared to those with lower blood sugar levels. High fat diets can reduce dangerous high blood sugar levels see here.
• Those with LOW levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol had an increase of 8% in total death rates and an increase of of 1% in death from cardiovascular diseases compared to those with higher levels of HDL cholesterol. High fat diets raise the levels of the good HDL cholesterol see here.
• Those who were been treated with anti-diabetic drugs had an increase of 9% in total death rates and an increase of 24% in death from cardiovascular diseases compared to those who were not treated with anti-diabetic drugs.
• Those who were receiving insulin treatment had an increase of 81% in total death rates and an increase of 129% in death from cardiovascular diseases compared to those who were not receiving insulin treatment.
• Those who were taking statins had an increase of 2% in total death rates and an increases of 31% in death from cardiovascular diseases.

This study reveals many health risk factors linked with diabetes and higher death rates including high levels of C-reactive protein and blood sugar, and treatment with anti-diabetic drugs and statins.

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