Objective To investigate alcohol and illicit drug use in a cohort of dental undergraduates through to VT year. Setting A UK dental school (with a medical school comparison group). Subjects and methods A cohort of dental students anonymously completed a lifestyle questionnaire about drinking and smoking, illicit drug use, stress, anxiety and depression in the spring of 1995 and 1998 as second and final year undergraduate students respectively, and in the summer of 1999 after one year working as qualified dentists. A parallel cohort of medical students also anonymously completed the questionnaire at the same time points in their undergraduate course as for the dental students, and at the end of a year working as Pre-Registration House Officers (PRHOs). Results The proportion of dental students in Newcastle drinking above the recommended low risk limits of alcohol declined from 47% as second year students to 25% as final year students and then it increased to 41% as qualified dentists, whilst in medical students it steadily increased over the three time points of the survey (33% to 43% to 54%). A greater proportion of dental students were drinking at hazardous levels at all three time-points, compared with medical students. Experimentation with illicit drugs ranged from 47% as second year students to 54% as final year students and to 51% as dentists. The prevalence of illicit drug use in medical students was similar to that in dental students. Forty seven per cent of the dental student cohort as second year students, 67% as final year students and 16% as dentists suffered from possible pathological anxiety, compared with 47%, 26% and 30% in the medical student cohort. The proportion of dentists suffering from stress decreased from 72% as final year students to 19% as dentists. In the medical student group, the proportion increased from 32% as final year students to 39% as PRHOs. Conclusion This longitudinal study revealed that a high proportion of dental students from Newcastle continue to drink excessively and experiment with illicit drugs both as undergraduates and as practising

There is suggestive, but inconclusive, evidence that dietary factors may affect risk of cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract (UADT). In the context of the alcohol-related cancers and genetic susceptibility in Europe study, we have examined the association of dietary factors with UADT cancer risk. We have analyzed data from 2,304 patients with UADT cancer and 2,227 control subjects recruited in 14 centers in 10 European countries. Dietary data were collected through a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire that also assessed preferred temperature of hot beverages. Statistical analyses were conducted through multiple logistic regression controlling for potential confounding variables, including alcohol intake and smoking habits. Consumption of red meat (OR per increasing tertile 5 1.14, 95% CI: 1.05-1.25), but not poultry, was significantly associated with increased UADT cancer risk and the association was somewhat stronger for esophageal cancer. Consumption of fruits (OR per increasing tertile 5 0.68, 95% CI: 0.62-0.75) and vegetables (OR per increasing tertile 5 0.73, 95% CI: 0.66-0.81) as well as of olive oil (OR for above versus below median 5 0.78, 95% CI 0.67-0.90) and tea (OR for above versus below median 5 0.83, 95% CI 0.69-0.98) were significantly associated with reduced risk of UADT cancer. There was no indication that an increase in tea or coffee temperature was associated with increased risk of UADT overall or cancer of the esophagus; in fact, the association was, if anything, inverse. In conclusion, the results of this large multicentric study indicate that diet plays an important role in the etiology of UADT cancer. ' 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.Key words: diet; upper aerodigestive tract; esophagus; cancer In the European Union, cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx other than nasopharynx, larynx and esophagus, collectively referred to as cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract (UADT), are responsible, as a group, for 180,000 new cases per year, more than half of whom die from the disease. 1 Although there has been some limited progress in the treatment, there appears to be a better potential for primary prevention.2 Regular alcohol consumption and tobacco smoking are established causes of UADT cancer and their combined effects seem to be super-additive. [3][4][5] There is also evidence that higher consumption of nonstarchy vegetables and fruits is associated with reduced UADT cancer risk. However, the collective evidence regarding these dietary factors has been judged as ''probable,'' but not convincing. 5,6 We have exploited data from a large multicenter European case-control study in order to examine the association of selected dietary factors, including vegetables and fruits, with UADT cancer risk. We have also examined whether the preferred temperature of hot beverages, notably coffee and tea, is related to UADT cancer risk in general, or specifically to cancer of the esophagus. For the latter site, there is limited suggestive evidence for an increased risk following consumption of very hot...

Risk factors already identified as being important for UADT cancers in adults are also important influences on risk in younger adults. The implication of these results is that the public health message in preventing UADT cancers remains the same to young and old alike.

Introduction Several important issues for the established association between tobacco smoking and upper-aerodigestive tract (UADT) cancer risks include the associations with smoking by cancer subsite, by type of tobacco, and among never alcohol drinkers, and the associations with involuntary smoking among nonsmokers. Our aim was to examine these specific issues in a large scale case-control study in Europe. Methods Analysis was performed on 2,103 UADT squamous cell carcinoma cases and 2,221 controls in the Alcohol-Related Cancers and Genetic Susceptibility in Europe (ARCAGE) project, a multicenter case-control study in 10 European countries. Unconditional logistic regression was performed to obtain odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results Compared to never tobacco smoking, current smoking was associated with UADT cancer risks (OR=6.72, 95% CI 5.45–8.30 for overall; 5.83, 4.50–7.54 for oral cavity and oropharynx; 12.19, 8.29–17.92 for hypopharynx and larynx; 4.17, 2.45–7.10 for esophagus). Among never drinkers, dose-response relationships with tobacco smoking packyears were observed for hypopharyngeal and laryngeal cancers (ptrend = 0.01), but not for oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers (ptrend = 0.282). Among never smokers, ever exposure to involuntary smoking was associated with an increased risk of UADT cancers (OR=1.60, 95% CI 1.04–2.46). Conclusion Our results corroborate that tobacco smoking may play a stronger role in the development of hypopharyngeal and laryngeal cancers than that of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers among never drinkers and that involuntary smoking is an important risk factor for UADT cancers. Public health interventions to reduce involuntary smoking exposure could help reduce UADT cancer incidence.