The relationship between estrogen levels and diets of Caucasian American and Oriental immigrant women

Goldin, Barry R.; Adlercreutz, Herman; Gorbach, Sherwood L.; Woods, Margo N.; Dwyer, Johanna T.; Conlon, Thomas P.; Bohn, E. E.; Gershoff, Stanley N.

doi:10.1093/ajcn/44.6.945

Cited by 224 publications

(84 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…The decreased levels of serum E2 that we and Goldin et al (1986) have found in low-risk Asian women could well explain the further divergence of the age-specific breast cancer incidence rates in postmenopausal Japanese women compared to American white women. It is, therefore, important that the discrepancy between these results and those of Hayward et al (1978) be resolved.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 62%

“…Hayward et al (1978) found no difference between the postmenopausal plasma El levels of British women (n = 30) and of Japanese women in Tokyo (n = 29), and plasma E2 levels were 11% lower in the British women. Goldin et al (1986) also found no differences in plasma El levels between American white (n = 10) and Asian women who had recently immigrated to Hawaii (n = 8); they did, however, find a three-fold increase in E2 levels in the American women.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

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Serum oestrogen levels in postmenopausal women: comparison of American whites and Japanese in Japan

Shimizu

Ross²,

Bernstein³

et al. 1990

Br J Cancer

156

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Summary Serum oestrone (El), oestradiol (E2) and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) levels were studied in postmenopausal Japanese women in Japan (n = 91) and postmenopausal American white women (n = 38). The Japanese women were deliberately chosen to be from a rural agricultural area in order to get samples which represent as closely as possible the traditional Japanese 'lifestyle' that gave rise to the low rates of breast cancer in Japan. El levels were 47%, and E2 levels 36%, greater in the American women; these differences were only reduced to 43% and 27% after adjustment for the lower weight of the Japanese. These results were all statistically highly significant. There was little difference in SHBG levels between the Japanese and the American women. These results for El and E2 could be an important part of the explanation why Japanese and American breast cancer rates continue to diverge further after the menopause.There is considerable evidence that oestrogens are involved in the aetiology of breast cancer and that increased blood levels of oestrogen in postmenopausal breast cancer patients are one marker of high risk (Key & Pike, 1988;Bernstein et al., 1990). The incidence rates for breast cancer in Japan are substantially lower than those in the USA and European countries (Muir et al., 1987), and some systematic pathological and clinical differences between breast cancer diagnosed in Japan and western countries have been reported (Wynder et al., 1963;Chabon et al., 1974). These observations suggest that there may be important differences in endocrine function among residents in these areas, but there are surprisingly few data on blood hormone levels in healthy populations from these countries. We report here a study comparing serum oestrogen and sex-hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) levels of post-menopausal Japanese women in Japan to those of white women in the USA. Subjects and methodsThe Japanese subjects were volunteers residing in rural areas of Miyagi, a prefecture in north-east Japan. These women were mainly from rice farming families. We first contacted them at a general medical screening clinic for the healthy elderly sponsored by their farmer's union, informing them of the purpose of our study and asking for their cooperation. The subjects in the USA were American non-Latino volunteers from a retirement community in Southern California, who had a blood sample drawn during a well-patient visit to a local health clinic. All women had to have intact ovaries, be postmenopausal, and be 60 to 70 years of age. Ninety-one women were sampled in Japan; 38 women were sampled in California. Women with any past or present endocrine disease, or who had used steroid hormones during the previous 12 months, or had more than 12 months total use of steroid hormones, were excluded.All subjects were asked to provide information on a series of factors related to breast cancer risk and, possibly, to hormonal status, including ages at menarche, menopause, and first full-term pregnancy, number of children, and present h...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 62%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Serum oestrogen levels in postmenopausal women: comparison of American whites and Japanese in Japan

Shimizu

Ross²,

Bernstein³

et al. 1990

Br J Cancer

156

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“…For example, British women aged 35-44, have been found to have oestradiol concentrations 36% higher on average than those of Chinese women of the same age (Key et al, 1990). Comparisons of premenopausal Western women with Asian women living in Japan (MacMahon et al, 1974;Hayward et al, 1978;Gray et al, 1982) or China (Bernstein et al, 1990), or recent migrants to Hawaii (Goldin et al, 1986), have also, in general, found lower oestrogen levels in the group of women at lower risk of breast cancer. In post-menopausal women it has been found that American whites have oestradiol levels three times those of recent Asian migrants to Hawaii (Goldin et al, 1986).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Comparisons of premenopausal Western women with Asian women living in Japan (MacMahon et al, 1974;Hayward et al, 1978;Gray et al, 1982) or China (Bernstein et al, 1990), or recent migrants to Hawaii (Goldin et al, 1986), have also, in general, found lower oestrogen levels in the group of women at lower risk of breast cancer. In post-menopausal women it has been found that American whites have oestradiol levels three times those of recent Asian migrants to Hawaii (Goldin et al, 1986). Similar results have been found in a comparison of rural Japanese women and white women living in southern California (Shimizu et al, 1990).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of a low-fat high-carbohydrate diet on plasma sex hormones in premenopausal women: results from a randomized controlled trial

Boyd

Lockwood²,

Greenberg³

et al. 1997

Br J Cancer

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Summary We are conducting a long-term randomized controlled trial to determine if intervention with a low-fat high-carbohydrate diet reduces breast cancer risk. The present study examines the effects of 2 years of dietary intervention on serum sex hormone levels in premenopausal women. Subjects with extensive mammographic densities were enrolled in a dietary intervention trial. The intervention involved intensive individual counselling aimed at reducing total dietary fat to 15% of calories. Control subjects received general advice about diet but were not counselled to change their fat intake. Serum sex hormone levels were measured in 220 premenopausal subjects at entry and 2 years after randomization. Two years after randomization oestradiol levels were 20% (70 pmol 1-1) lower (P = 0.04) and progesterone levels were 35% (1.0 nmol 1-1) lower (P = 0.004) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels were 7% (1 IU) higher (P = 0.38) in the intervention group than in the control group. The FSH-oestradiol ratio was 13% higher in the intervention group (P= 0.18). Samples analysed accounting for the timing of the blood sample in relation to the menstrual cycle showed that, in the intervention group, oestradiol and progesterone levels were lower and FSH levels higher in subjects with blood samples taken more than 30 days after the last menstrual period.Because of the strong evidence linking ovarian hormonal activity to breast cancer risk, these results suggest that a low-fat high-carbohydrate diet may reduce risk of breast cancer by reducing exposure to ovarian hormones that are a stimulus to cell division in the breast.

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“…Elevated serum estrogen levels and increased urinary excretion rates of estrone, estradiol, and estriol have been detected in breast cancer patients compared with controls (118). Postmenopausal women living in countries with a higher risk of breast cancer, such as the United States or United Kingdom, have elevated levels of urinary and/or serum estrogens compared with women living in countries with a lower risk of breast cancer, such as Japan, China, and Singapore (120)(121)(122)(123).…”

Section: Cancermentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the human health effects of chemical mixtures.

Carpenter

Arcaro

Spink

2002

Environ Health Perspect

324

198

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Most research on the effects of chemicals on biologic systems is conducted on one chemical at a time. However, in the real world people are exposed to mixtures, not single chemicals. Although various substances may have totally independent actions, in many cases two substances may act at the same site in ways that can be either additive or nonadditive. Many even more complex interactions may occur if two chemicals act at different but related targets. In the extreme case there may be synergistic effects, in which case the effects of two substances together are greater than the sum of either effect alone. In reality, most persons are exposed to many chemicals, not just one or two, and therefore the effects of a chemical mixture are extremely complex and may differ for each mixture depending on the chemical composition. This complexity is a major reason why mixtures have not been well studied. In this review we attempt to illustrate some of the principles and approaches that can be used to study effects of mixtures. By the nature of the state of the science, this discussion is more a presentation of what we do not know than of what we do know about mixtures. We approach the study of mixtures at three levels, using specific examples. First, we discuss several human diseases in relation to a variety of environmental agents believed to influence the development and progression of the disease. We present results of selected cellular and animal studies in which simple mixtures have been investigated. Finally, we discuss some of the effects of mixtures at a molecular level.

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The relationship between estrogen levels and diets of Caucasian American and Oriental immigrant women

Cited by 224 publications

References 17 publications

Serum oestrogen levels in postmenopausal women: comparison of American whites and Japanese in Japan

Serum oestrogen levels in postmenopausal women: comparison of American whites and Japanese in Japan

Effects of a low-fat high-carbohydrate diet on plasma sex hormones in premenopausal women: results from a randomized controlled trial

Understanding the human health effects of chemical mixtures.

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