Contemporary public health questions concern ways-of-living that affect the incidence of site-specific cancers. Recent epidemiological evidence has associated sedentary work and leisure- time activities with increased risk of colon and breast cancer; and long-time suspicion links overweight and serum endocrine patterns with colon, breast, prostate, and other cancers. Unique databases offer opportunities to study these questions among 35,000 U.S. college alumni(ae) followed from 1962 to date and 6,000 San Francisco Bay Area longshoremen followed from 1951 to date. Lifestyle and personal characteristic -- e.g. sedentariness of work and leisure time, overweight-for-height, weight change in middle life, cigarette smoking, and familial patterns of chronic disease -- are being examined for relationships to incidence of non-fetal and fatal cancers of the colon, rectum, prostate, pancreas, lung, and breast. Resources include: 1) college student data of 1916-1950 from physical examination, social, and athletic records; 2) contemporary alumni data since 1962 on the same study subjects from mail questionnaire responses pertaining to exercise, body size, other lifestyle elements, personal health, and family disease patterns; and 3) annual cause-specific mortality certification from 1916 to date. Also: 4) longshoremen data from multiphasic health examinations of 1951 and 1961; 5) annual work assignments by energy demands of these workers from 1951 through 1972; and 6) their death certificate assessments of 1951 through 1972. A recently returned questionnaire has updated the alumni follow-up to 27 years, while survey of annual job assignments and mortality records will extend the longshoremen follow-up to 35 years. Multivariate analysis will examine absolute measurements and changing patterns of physical activity, body size, and other lifestyle characteristics. Subjects are being classified as to physical activity by type, frequency, intensity, duration, kilocalorie expenditure, and metabolic activity index. Expected numbers of cancer cases offer statistical power sufficient to test hypotheses of physical activity and body size as causation for cancers of the colon, rectum, pancreas, lung, and prostate. Contemporary alumni (ae) questionnaires also will initiate prospective observations that will extend beyond the dates of this proposed project period.
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