Falls are a relevant economic burden to society. Efforts should be directed to economic evaluations of fall-prevention programmes aiming at reducing fall-related fractures, which contribute substantially to fall-related costs.

We investigated the relation of overweight and obesity with cancer in a population-based cohort of more than 145 000 Austrian adults over an average of 9.9 years. Incident cancers (n ¼ 6241) were identified through the state cancer registry. Using Cox proportional-hazards models adjusted for smoking and occupation, increases in relative body weight in men were associated with colon cancer (hazard rate (HR) ratio 2.48; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.15, 5.39 for body mass index (BMI) X35 kg m À2 ) and pancreatic cancer (HR 2.34, 95% CI: 1.17, 4.66 for BMI430 kg m À2 ) compared to participants with normal weight (BMI 18.5 -24.9 kg m À2 ). In women, there was a weak positive association between increasing BMI and all cancers combined, and strong associations with non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (HR 2.86, 95% CI: 1.49, 5.49 for BMIX30 kg m À2 ) and cancers of the uterine corpus (HR 3.93, 95% CI: 2.35, 6.56 for BMIX35 kg m À2 ). Incidence of breast cancer was positively associated with high BMI only after age 65 years. These findings provide further evidence that overweight is associated with the incidence of several types of cancer.

the Vorarlberg Health Monitoring and Promotion Program Study GroupBackground-There is evidence from recent studies that ␥-glutamyltransferase (GGT) is likely to be associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, few studies to date with sufficient sample size and follow-up investigated the association of GGT with CVD mortality. Methods and Results-The relation of GGT to the risk of death from CVD was examined in a cohort of 163 944 Austrian adults that was monitored for up to 17 years. To evaluate GGT as an independent predictor, Cox proportional hazards models were calculated, which adjusted for established risk factors. In both men and women, high GGT was significantly (PϽ0.001) associated with total mortality from CVD, showing a clear dose-response relationship. Adjusted hazard ratios (95% CI) per log GGT increase were 1.66 (1.40 to 1.98) in men and 1.64 (1.36 to 1.97) in women. In men, subgroup analyses showed that high GGT was positively associated with incident fatal events of chronic forms of coronary heart disease (Pϭ0.009), congestive heart failure (PϽ0.001), and hemorrhagic (Pϭ0.01) and ischemic stroke (PϽ0.001). No significant associations were observed for acute myocardial infarction (Pϭ0.16). In women, hazard ratios suggested associations in all subgroups; however, for hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke they were not statistically significant (Pϭ0.09 and Pϭ0.07, respectively). In addition, subgroup analyses stratified by age revealed a stronger relationship of GGT in younger participants. Hazard ratios for total CVD were 2.

These findings provide further evidence that elevated blood glucose is associated with the incidence of several types of cancer in men and women.

Tanja Stocks and colleagues carry out an analysis of six European cohorts and confirm that abnormal glucose metabolism is linked with increased risk of cancer overall and at specific sites.

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BACKGROUND: Blood lipid levels as part of the metabolic syndrome are thought to be linked to cancer risk. Few epidemiological studies have addressed the association between serum triglyceride (STG) concentrations and cancer risk. METHODS: Serum triglyceride concentrations were collected in a health investigation (1988 -2003). The analyses included 156 153 subjects (71 693 men and 84 460 women), with 5079 incident cancers in men and 4738 cancers in women, and an average of 10.6 years of follow-up. All malignancies were ascertained from the population cancer registry. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard models stratified by age and sex were used to determine adjusted cancer risk estimates and 95% confidence interval (95% CI). RESULTS: In men and women combined, higher STG concentrations were associated with increased risk of lung (4th vs 1st quartile: HR, 1.94; 95% CI, 1.47 -2.54), rectal (HR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.00 -2.44), and thyroid cancer (HR, 1.96; 95% CI, 1.00 -3.84). Serum triglyceride concentrations were inversely associated with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In men, STG concentrations were inversely associated with prostate cancer and positively with renal cancer. In women, STG concentrations were positively associated with gynaecological cancers. Stratification by BMI revealed a higher risk of gynaecological cancers in overweight than in normal weight women. No other associations were found. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the hypothesis that STG concentrations are involved in the pathogenesis of lung, rectal, thyroid, prostate, and gynaecological cancers.

There is growing evidence for an association between obesity and asthma, but little is known about the underlying mechanisms. We hypothesized that high plasma leptin and low plasma adiponectin concentrations might be related to asthma and allergies in children. Plasma leptin and adiponectin concentrations were measured in a cross‐sectional study involving 462 children aged 10 years. Information on disease symptoms and diagnosis was collected by parental questioning. Multivariate linear and logistic regression models were used to assess the association between biomarkers and disease. High leptin levels were associated with increased lifetime prevalence of asthma [odds ratio (OR): 3.76; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.42–9.92]. The relationship was particularly strong for non‐atopic asthma (OR: 5.51; 95% CI: 1.99–17.51). No associations were observed between plasma leptin levels and hay fever, and rhinoconjunctivitis. Low adiponectin levels were associated with increased prevalence of both symptoms of atopic dermatitis (OR: 3.23; 95% CI: 1.28–7.76) and ever‐diagnosed eczema (OR: 2.35; 95% CI: 1.13–4.89). In girls and non‐atopic children, stronger associations for both leptin and adiponectin levels with asthma than in boys and atopic children were observed. These results suggest that adipokines may contribute to increased asthma and allergy risk in obese subjects. Stronger associations among girls with non‐atopic asthma may indicate diverse pathological mechanisms.