Impact of parity on the incidence of ovarian cancer subtypes: a population-based case-control study

Background Parity is known to have a protective effect as regards ovarian cancer, but its effect on the different histological subtypes of ovarian cancer is not well known. The impact of parity on the incidence of ovarian cancer subtypes was studied. Material and methods All Finnish women diagnosed 1994-2013 with ovarian cancer for the first time were included. Altogether, 5412 cases of ovarian cancer were identified in the Finnish Cancer Registry and stratified according to morphology into serous, mucinous, endometrioid, clear cell and others. Five age-matched controls were randomly selected for each case from the Finnish National Population Registry. Data on postmenopausal hormonal therapy were derived from the Registry of Prescribed drugs and used as cofactors. Multivariate conditional logistic regression for matched case-control data was used to examine the associations between parity parameters and ovarian cancer risk. Results Parous women had lower risk than nulliparous women in getting ovarian cancer of any type under age of 55 years. The odds ratio (OR) for serous cancer was 0.65 (95% confidence interval 0.56-0.77), for mucinous cancer 0.66 (0.52-0.83), for endometrioid cancer 0.52 (0.40-0.68), for clear-cell cancer 0.30 (0.19-0.46) and for other types 0.59 (0.43-0.80). In women aged 55 or older, the respective ORs were 0.86 (0.75-0.99), 0.78 (0.57-1.07), 0.61 (0.47-0.79), 0.44 (0.29-0.66) and 0.74 (0.57-0.95), adjusted for hormone therapy. Number of childbirths was associated with a trend toward reduction of risk, especially in serous and clear-cell cancers. Higher age at first birth was associated with higher risk of clear-cell cancer but otherwise age at first or last birth did not have an impact on the incidence of cancer subtypes. Conclusions Childbirths decrease the risk of all histologic subtypes of epithelial ovarian cancer in women in premenopausal and postmenopausal age.Peer reviewe

The effect of length of birth interval on the risk of breast cancer by subtype in grand multiparous women

BackgroundThe length of interval between successive childbirths (birth interval) might influence the incidence of breast cancer, either by stimulating or by inhibiting the factors that are responsible for the initiation of breast cancer or its early development.MethodsThis is a case-control study nested in a cohort of 47,479 Finnish grand-multiparous (GM) women born after 1934, and registered as having had at least five births before 2013. The 1354 women with breast cancer diagnosis were compared with controls (1:5) matched by parity and date of birth of the mother. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios of the risk of ductal and lobular breast cancer subtypes associated with each of the intervals between the 1st and 5th birth, stratified by age at diagnosis. Age at first and last birth before index date were used as covariates.ResultsIncreased intervals between the 1st and 5th births were associated with an increased risk of lobular breast cancer. In contrast, regarding ductal cancer, premenopausal women with shorter length of interval (Peer reviewe

Grain Yield Stability of Early Maize Genotypes

The objective of this study was to estimate grain yield stability of early maize genotypes. Five early maize genotypes namely Pool-17, Arun1EV, Arun-4, Arun-2 and Farmer's variety were evaluated using Randomized Complete Block Design along with three replications at four different locations namely Rampur, Rajahar, Pakhribas and Kabre districts of Nepal during summer seasons of three consecutive years from 2010 to 2012 under farmer's fields. Genotype and genotype × environment (GGE) biplot was used to identify superior genotype for grain yield and stability pattern. The genotypes Arun-1 EV and Arun-4 were better adapted for Kabre and Pakhribas where as pool-17 for Rajahar environments. The overall findings showed that Arun-1EV was more stable followed by Arun-2 therefore these two varieties can be recommended to farmers for cultivation in both environments

Parity, menopausal hormone therapy, and risk of ovarian granulosa cell tumor – A population-based case-control study

Objective: Adult-type ovarian granulosa cell tumors (AGCTs) are hormonally active neoplasms with limited epidemiological data available. We evaluated the effect of parity and postmenopausal hormone therapy (HT) use on the risk of AGCT in a population-based case-control setting. Methods: We identified all women diagnosed with AGCT during 1994–2015 (n = 505) from the Finnish Cancer Registry. For each case, five controls matched for age were selected from the National Population Registry, which also provided data on parity and ages at deliveries. Information on postmenopausal HT by different regimens (estradiol-only, sequential estrogen-progestin and continuous estrogen-progestin) was obtained from nationwide Prescription Register. The association between parity, ages at deliveries, HT use, and AGCT incidence was evaluated by odds ratios (ORs) using a conditional logistic regression model and stratified by age at index date (<55 years or ≥ 55 years). Results: Parity and age at first or last delivery had no significant effect on AGCT risk. Systemic postmenopausal HT had been used by 20.4% of women who were later diagnosed with AGCT. The risk for subsequent AGCT was significantly decreased among users of estradiol-only therapy for at least five years (OR 0.28; 95% confidence interval 0.08–0.94) and continuous estradiol-progestin therapy for 6 months to 5 years (0.23; 0.08–0.71). Conclusions: Unlike in epithelial ovarian cancer, AGCT development is not clearly associated with parity, and users of postmenopausal HT do not seem to carry an excess risk for AGCT formation.acceptedVersionPeer reviewe

The impact of a household biogas programme on energy use and expenditure in East Java

Biogas has been promoted as a renewable, cleaner and cheaper energy source. While there are several initiatives promoting the use of biogas, credible analyses of its effects on the use of alternative energy sources and energy related expenditure are limited. This study uses panel data from households engaged in dairy farming in rural East Java to assess the impact of a household level programme, which promotes the construction of digesters that produce biogas, on energy use and expenditures. Both a difference-in-difference analysis and a pipeline comparison show that the use of digesters leads to a sharp reduction in energy related expenditures and a reduction in the use of firewood and liquefied petroleum gas. However, without subsidies, the payback period of between 11 and 14 years, albeit based only on reductions in energy costs accruing from investing in a digester, is perhaps too long to justify the investment

National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic

Changing collective behaviour and supporting non-pharmaceutical interventions is an important component in mitigating virus transmission during a pandemic. In a large international collaboration (Study 1, N = 49,968 across 67 countries), we investigated self-reported factors associated with public health behaviours (e.g., spatial distancing and stricter hygiene) and endorsed public policy interventions (e.g., closing bars and restaurants) during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic (April-May 2020). Respondents who reported identifying more strongly with their nation consistently reported greater engagement in public health behaviours and support for public health policies. Results were similar for representative and non-representative national samples. Study 2 (N = 42 countries) conceptually replicated the central finding using aggregate indices of national identity (obtained using the World Values Survey) and a measure of actual behaviour change during the pandemic (obtained from Google mobility reports). Higher levels of national identification prior to the pandemic predicted lower mobility during the early stage of the pandemic (r = −0.40). We discuss the potential implications of links between national identity, leadership, and public health for managing COVID-19 and future pandemics.publishedVersio