There is increasing epidemiological evidence for a role of allergic/ atopic disorders in cancer development. However, findings have been inconsistent, which may be partly due to differences in defining allergy and the associated atopic disorders. The use of a biological marker for atopy may enhance the exploration of the association with cancer risks. To examine the association of atopy with common malignancies, we compared the prevalence of atopy in 318 patients with prostate cancer, 381 patients with breast cancer, 196 patients with lung cancer, 477 patients with colorectal cancer and 4,271 controls in a case-control analysis of participants of 2 prospective studies conducted in Saarland, Germany. Data on physician-diagnosed atopy-related diseases (asthma, hay fever and atopic dermatitis) were obtained by self-administered questionnaire. Allergen-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) was assessed among cases and controls to define atopy. We observed a significantly increased risk of prostate cancer (odds ratio (OR) 1.35, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.00-1.83) and a tentatively, statistically not significant increased risk of breast cancer (OR 1.20, 95% CI 0.87-1.66) and lung cancer (OR 1.29, 95% CI 0.87-1.92) with specific IgE positivity. No consistent associations were found with atopyrelated diseases. Our findings are consistent with other epidemiological evidence suggesting an increased risk of prostate cancer with atopy and indicate a complex association between atopy/atopyrelated diseases and cancer risk that varies by type of atopy-related disorders and the particular type of cancer under consideration. The effect on cancer risk by atopy, defined by IgE reactivity, may differ from the effect by atopy-related clinically defined diseases such as asthma, hay fever and atopic dermatitis. ' 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Prevalence of EPI increases with age and seems to be tentatively higher in men than in women. However, smoking seems to be an independent risk factor for EPI and SEPI whereas ACE-inhibitor intake might be a protective factor. The latter finding may even point to new options in the treatment of chronic pancreatitis.

Women and men reaching old age in the forthcoming years have more unfavourable lifetime risk factor profiles than earlier birth cohorts. These patterns might have substantial implications for the future burden of chronic disease.

The lifetime prevalence of AD is considerably lower in the elderly compared with the prevalence reported among younger adults in recent studies. Adults with a longer duration of school education appeared to have a higher risk for atopic diseases.

Research on the social determinants of health has demonstrated robust correlations between several social factors, health status, and life expectancy. Some of these factors could be modifi ed through policy intervention. National-level public policies explicitly based on population health research are in various stages of development in many Western countries, but in spite of evident need, seemingly not at all in the United States. Because research shows such a strong association between education and good health, we offer evidence to show that at least two pressing problems in American society, namely the uneven distribution of educational attainment and health disparities linked to socioeconomic position, may be ameliorated through policy initiatives that link quality early childhood care, child development programs, and parental training in a seamless continuum with strengthened K-12 education.The central tenet of research on the social determinants of health holds that, in all populations studied to date, health is distributed unevenly, following a gradient that is a function of social and economic advantage (Evans and Stoddart 1994). The gradient does not just represent differences between people at the top and the bottom of the socioeconomic scale, but is continuous across even relatively small differences in social advantage. The gradient is steepest in countries such as the United States where there are large differences between people on measures of early childhood experiences, education, income, and housing quality. It is much less steep in countries such as Sweden, where income differences are smaller and policies that promote social integration and support have been normative for decades.