ObjectivesTo assess the independent and joint associations of major chronic diseases and disease markers with cancer risk and to explore the benefit of physical activity in reducing the cancer risk associated with chronic diseases and disease markers.DesignProspective cohort study.SettingStandard medical screening program in Taiwan.Participants405 878 participants, for whom cardiovascular disease markers (blood pressure, total cholesterol, and heart rate), diabetes, chronic kidney disease markers (proteinuria and glomerular filtration rate), pulmonary disease, and gouty arthritis marker (uric acid) were measured or diagnosed according to standard methods, were followed for an average of 8.7 years.Main outcome measuresCancer incidence and cancer mortality.ResultsA statistically significantly increased risk of incident cancer was observed for the eight diseases and markers individually (except blood pressure and pulmonary disease), with adjusted hazard ratios ranging from 1.07 to 1.44. All eight diseases and markers were statistically significantly associated with risk of cancer death, with adjusted hazard ratios ranging from 1.12 to 1.70. Chronic disease risk scores summarizing the eight diseases and markers were positively associated with cancer risk in a dose-response manner, with the highest scores associated with a 2.21-fold (95% confidence interval 1.77-fold to 2.75-fold) and 4.00-fold (2.84-fold to 5.63-fold) higher cancer incidence and cancer mortality, respectively. High chronic disease risk scores were associated with substantial years of life lost, and the highest scores were associated with 13.3 years of life lost in men and 15.9 years of life lost in women. The population attributable fractions of cancer incidence or cancer mortality from the eight chronic diseases and markers together were comparable to those from five major lifestyle factors combined (cancer incidence: 20.5% v 24.8%; cancer mortality: 38.9% v 39.7%). Among physically active (versus inactive) participants, the increased cancer risk associated with chronic diseases and markers was attenuated by 48% for cancer incidence and 27% for cancer mortality.ConclusionsChronic disease is an overlooked risk factor for cancer, as important as five major lifestyle factors combined. In this study, chronic diseases contributed to more than one fifth of the risk for incident cancer and more than one third of the risk for cancer death. Physical activity is associated with a nearly 40% reduction in the cancer risk associated with chronic diseases.

Epidemiologic studies linking high serum iron with cancer risks are limited and inconclusive, despite evidence implicating body iron in human carcinogenesis. A cohort of 309,443 adults in Taiwan who had no history of cancer had serum iron levels tested at the time of recruitment (1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008). Initially measured iron levels were associated with subsequent cancer risk by linking individuals with the National Cancer Registry and National Death File. HRs were calculated by the Cox model. One third of males (35%) and one fifth of females (18%) had high serum iron (!120 mg/dL), which was associated with a 25% increase in risk for incidence of all cancers [HR, 1.25; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.16-1.35] and with a 39% increase in risk for mortality from all cancers (HR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.23-1.57). The relationship between serum iron and cancer risk was a J-shaped one, with higher cancer risk at both ends, either at lower than 60 mg/dL or higher than 120 mg/dL. At the higher end, cancer risk increased by 4% for every 10 mg/dL increment above 80 mg/dL, showing a dose-response relationship, with 60 to 79 mg/dL as a reference level. In a sensitivity analysis, the increases in risk were still observed after the first 5 years of cancer cases were excluded. Liver cancer risk was increased in HBV (À) non-hepatitis B carrier (3-fold) and HBV (þ) hepatitis B carrier (24-fold). Lifestyle risks such as smoking, drinking, or inactivity interacted synergistically with high serum iron and significantly increased the cancer risks. The liver (HR, 2.49; 95% CI, 1.97-3.16) and the breast (HR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.01-1.70) were the two major cancer sites where significant cancer risks were observed for serum iron either !120 mg/dL or !140 mg/dL, respectively. This study reveals that high serum iron is both a common disorder and a marker of increased risk for several cancers. Cancer Res; 74(22); 6589-97. Ó2014 AACR.

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This study aimed to identify the excess risks associated with diabetic patients with early kidney involvement (early diabetic kidney disease). The mortality risks of early diabetic kidney disease, defined as diabetes in early stages 1-3 chronic kidney disease (CKD), were assessed from a cohort of 512,700 adults in Taiwan participating in a health surveillance program from 1994-2008. Three related groups were identified and compared: diabetes without CKD, early diabetic kidney disease, and early CKD without diabetes. Deaths were ascertained through the National Death Registry. One-third of diabetics had early kidney disease, and approximately two-thirds of patients were classified with early CKD due to proteinuria. Patients with early diabetic kidney disease had more lifestyle risks such as inactivity or obesity, which characteristically amplified excess mortality by up to five times. The three-fold increase in all-cause mortality (hazard ratio 3.16) and a 16-year loss in life expectancy made early diabetic kidney disease a serious and yet often overlooked disease, with most patients unaware of their kidney involvement. Mortality for early diabetic kidney disease was nearly twice as high as that for early CKD (hazard ratio 2.01) or diabetes without CKD (hazard ratio 1.79). The 16-year life span loss is much worse than individually from early CKD (six years) or diabetes (ten years). Thus, identifying early proteinuria among diabetic patients and realizing the importance of reducing lifestyle risks like inactivity is a clinical challenge, but can save lives.

Background: Scattered patches of crocidolite, one form of asbestos, were found in the surface soil in the rural county of Da-yao in southwestern China. In 1983, researchers from the West China University of Medical Sciences (WCUMS) discovered that residents of two villages in Da-yao had hyperendemic pleural plaques and excessive numbers of pleural mesotheliomas. Aims: To review and summarise epidemiological studies, along with other relevant data, and to discuss the potential contribution to environmental risk assessment. Methods: This report is based on a review of several clinical/epidemiological studies conducted by WCUMS researchers since 1984, which included one cross sectional medical examination survey, one clinical/pathological analysis of 46 cases of mesothelioma, and three retrospective cohort mortality studies. Additional information acquired from reviewing original data first hand during a personal visit along with an interview of medical specialists from Da-yao County Hospital was also incorporated.Results: The prevalence of pleural plaque was 20% among peasants in Da-yao over 40 years of age in the cross sectional survey. The average number of mesothelioma cases was 6.6 per year in the 1984-95 period and 22 per year in the 1996-99 period, in a population of 68 000. For those mesothelioma cases that were histology confirmed, there were 3.8 cases/year in the first period and 9 cases/year in the second. Of the 2175 peasants in this survey, 16 had asbestosis. Lung cancer deaths were significantly increased in all three cohort studies. The annual mortality rate for mesothelioma was 85 per million, 178 per million, and 365 per million for the three cohort studies, respectively. The higher exposed peasants had a fivefold increased mesothelioma mortality compared to their lower exposed counterparts. There were no cases of mesothelioma in the comparison groups where no crocidolite was known to exist in the environment. In the third cohort study, almost one of five cancer deaths (22%) was from mesothelioma. The ratio of lung cancer to mesothelioma deaths was low for all three studies (1.3, 3.0, and 1.2, respectively). Conclusions: The observation of numerous mesothelioma cases at Da-yao was a unique finding, due mainly to their lifetime exposure to crocidolite asbestos. The finding of cases dying at a younger age and the relatively high ratio of mesothelioma cases to lung cancer could also be another unique result of lifetime environmental exposure to crocidolite asbestos. Although the commercial use of crocidolite has been officially banned since 1984, the incidence of mesothelioma has continued to show a steady increase, particularly among peasants. Since the latency of mesothelioma is approximately 30-40 years, the ban had little effect in the 1990s. The increased awareness and changes in diagnosis over time may also contribute to the increase. Furthermore, exposure to asbestos stoves and walls continued. The government implemented reduction of these exposures. However, from a public health standpoint, th...