Number of siblings and the risk of solid tumours: a nation-wide study

We analysed the effects of number of siblings on the risk of solid tumours using the Swedish Family-Cancer Database, including population-based information on over 11 million individuals and more than 178 000 cancer patients diagnosed between 1958 and 2004. Incidence rate ratios (RRs), estimated by Poisson regression models, were adjusted for age, sex, birth cohort, area of residence and socioeconomic status. Having eight or more siblings vs none increased the risk of stomach cancer (RR=1.83, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.44–2.34). Anal cancer diagnosed before age 40 showed the strongest association with the total siblings (RR=3.27, 95% CI, 2.04–5.26 for five or more siblings vs none). Endometrial (RR=0.76, 95% CI, 0.70–0.82), testicular (RR=0.71, 95% CI, 0.62–0.82), skin cancer (RR=0.82, 95% CI, 0.69–0.97) and melanoma (RR=0.72, 95% CI, 0.65–0.79) showed strong decreased risks for five or more siblings vs none. Prostate cancer risk for those with five or more older siblings vs none was 1.38 (95% CI, 1.23–1.55). Having five or more younger siblings was most strongly associated with stomach cancer (RR=1.59, 95% CI, 1.29–1.95) and melanoma (RR=0.68, 95% CI, 0.59–0.79). We conclude that sibship characteristics are strong correlates of cancer risk at several sites; plausible interpretations include socioeconomic status

Processos de subjetivação e relações micropolíticas do modo de atenção psicossocial

This article aims to problematize the micropolitical relationships produced in the Psychosocial Care Center (caps), Alegrete-RS, focusing on ethical principles in relation with customers and teamwork, identifying similarities and differences with the propositions of psychosocial care. This study follows a qualitative, descriptive and analytical approach. Interviews were conducted with users and workers, as well as participant observation. Aspects of subjective mobilization, innovation and the creation of relationships that produce ruptures in institutional practices were found, increasing subjectivation, negotiation, agency, resistance, and invention of various relationship and interaction devices in society, producing existential territories in the psychosocial care perspective. Micropolitical relations serve as agents for the production of meaning and the valorization of knowledges and enhancement of knowledge meaning, featuring an ethical stance regarding relationsEl artículo tiene como objetivo problematizar las relaciones micropolíticas producidas en el Centro de Atención Psicosocial (caps) de Alegrete-RS, enfoncando los principios éticos de las relaciones de los trabajadores con la clientela y en el trabajo en equipo, identificando las aproximaciones y los distanciamientos con las propuestas de atención psicosocial. Se trata de un estudio de abordaje cualitativo, descriptivo y analítico. Se realizaron entrevistas con los usuarios y trabajadores, y observación participante. Se encontraron aspectos de movilización subjetiva, innovación y creación de relaciones que producen rupturas en las prácticas institucionales, potencializando la subjetivación, los agenciamientos, las resistencias y la invención de diversos dispositivos de relación e interacción en la sociedad, produciendo territorios existenciales en la perspectiva de la atención psicosocial. Las relaciones micropolíticas trabajan para agenciar procesos de producción de sentido y valorización de los saberes, caracterizando una postura ética en el ámbito de las relacionesO artigo objetiva problematizar as relações micropolíticas produzidas no Centro de Atenção Psicossocial (caps), de Alegrete-RS, com foco nos princípios éticos da relação dos trabalhadores com a clientela e no trabalho em equipe, identificando aproximações e distanciamentos com as proposições da atenção psicossocial. Trata-se de um estudo de abordagem qualitativa, descritiva e analítica. Realizaram-se entrevistas com usuários e trabalhadores, e observação participante. Encontraram-se aspectos de mobilização subjetiva, inovação e criação de relações que produzem rupturas nas práticas institucionais, potencializando subjetivação, agenciamentos, resistências e invenção de dispositivos diversos de relação e interação na sociedade, produzindo territórios existenciais, na perspectiva da atenção psicossocial. As relações micropolíticas trabalham para agenciar processos de produção de sentido e valorização de saberes, caracterizando uma postura ética no âmbito das relaçõe

A physical analysis of the Y chromosome shows no additional deletions, other than Gr/Gr, associated with testicular germ cell tumour

Testicular germ cell tumour (TGCT) is the most common malignancy in men aged 15–45 years. A small deletion on the Y chromosome known as ‘gr/gr' was shown to be associated with a two-fold increased risk of TGCT, increasing to three-fold in cases with a family history of TGCT. Additional deletions of the Y chromosome, known as AZFa, AZFb and AZFc, are described in patients with infertility; however, complete deletions of these regions have not been identified in TGCT patients. We screened the Y chromosome in a series of TGCT cases to evaluate if additional deletions of Y were implicated in TGCT susceptibility. Single copy Y chromosome STS markers with an average inter-marker spacing of 128 kb were examined in constitutional DNA of 271 index TGCT patients. Three markers showed evidence of deletions, sY1291, indicative of ‘gr/gr' (eight out of 271; 2.9%), Y-DAZ3 contained within ‘gr/gr' (21 out of 271; 7.7%) and a single deletion of the marker G66152 was identified in one TGCT case. No other markers demonstrated deletions. While several regions of the Y chromosome are known to be deleted and associated with infertility, our study provides no evidence to suggest regions of Y deletion, other than ‘gr/gr', are associated with susceptibility to TGCT in UK patients

A common biological basis of obesity and nicotine addiction

J. Kaprio ja J. Tuomilehto työryhmien jäseniä (yht. 281).Peer reviewe

Mining the human phenome using allelic scores that index biological intermediates

J. Kaprio ja M-L. Lokki työryhmien jäseniä.It is common practice in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to focus on the relationship between disease risk and genetic variants one marker at a time. When relevant genes are identified it is often possible to implicate biological intermediates and pathways likely to be involved in disease aetiology. However, single genetic variants typically explain small amounts of disease risk. Our idea is to construct allelic scores that explain greater proportions of the variance in biological intermediates, and subsequently use these scores to data mine GWAS. To investigate the approach's properties, we indexed three biological intermediates where the results of large GWAS meta-analyses were available: body mass index, C-reactive protein and low density lipoprotein levels. We generated allelic scores in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, and in publicly available data from the first Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium. We compared the explanatory ability of allelic scores in terms of their capacity to proxy for the intermediate of interest, and the extent to which they associated with disease. We found that allelic scores derived from known variants and allelic scores derived from hundreds of thousands of genetic markers explained significant portions of the variance in biological intermediates of interest, and many of these scores showed expected correlations with disease. Genome-wide allelic scores however tended to lack specificity suggesting that they should be used with caution and perhaps only to proxy biological intermediates for which there are no known individual variants. Power calculations confirm the feasibility of extending our strategy to the analysis of tens of thousands of molecular phenotypes in large genome-wide meta-analyses. We conclude that our method represents a simple way in which potentially tens of thousands of molecular phenotypes could be screened for causal relationships with disease without having to expensively measure these variables in individual disease collections.Peer reviewe