The objective of this study was to assess toileting behaviors in community dwelling women. Women 18 years old or older were recruited through a national registry of research volunteers. They were asked to complete validated questionnaires assessing urinary symptoms and toileting behaviors, specifically place preference for voiding, convenience voiding, delayed voiding, straining during voiding and position preference for voiding. The PPBC (patient perception of bladder condition) was administered to assess the participant impression of bladder health. Analyses were done to determine the prevalence of each toileting behavior reported to occur sometimes or more often as well as differences in toileting behaviors in women with vs without self-perceived bladder problems based on the PPBC response. The 6,695 women who completed the questionnaires were 18 to 89 years old (mean ± SD age 41.4 ± 15). Of the women 79.9% identified as white and 71.0% were college educated. Of the women 6,613 (98.8%) reported a place preference for voiding. The 3,552 women (53.1%) who reported a bladder problem were more likely to report convenience voiding, delayed voiding and strained voiding behaviors. While 6,657 women (99.4%) reported sitting to void at home only 5,108 (76.2%) reported sitting when using public toilets. Certain toileting behaviors, of which some may be considered unhealthy, were common in this sample of women and most were associated with a perception of bladder problems. Voiding positions other than sitting were frequently used when away from home. These data have important implications for defining bladder health and implementing behavior based interventions for women with lower urinary tract symptoms.

BACKGROUND.: Prior studies suggest that obese men have lower prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) levels than leaner men. Caucasian (CA) men also may have lower PSA levels than African‐American (AA) men, but the relevance of body size to racial disparities in PSA levels is unclear. The association between body mass index (BMI) and height on PSA and percentage of free PSA (%fPSA) was investigated within AA and CA men without a prior prostate cancer diagnosis.METHODS.: AA (n = 150) and CA (n = 149) men of similar socioeconomic status completed an extensive in‐person interview and donated blood. PSA and %fPSA levels were compared across race, BMI, and height categories after adjusting for age and other factors.RESULTS.: PSA levels decreased with increasing BMI (PSA = .72, .69, .67, .59 ng/mL for BMI 18.5 to <25, 25 to <30, 30 to <35, and ≥35, respectively; P_trend = .18), and trends were significant among men less than age 60 years (PSA = .81, .76, .66, .59, respectively; P_trend = .02). fPSA also significantly decreased with BMI among men <60 years (P_trend = .04). In contrast, %fPSA was not associated with BMI. However, %fPSA increased 27% across height categories (P_trend = .02). PSA levels were significantly lower among CA men (PSA_AA = 0.87, PSA_CA = 0.63 ng/mL; P < .01), whereas %fPSA levels did not differ by race. Also, associations between body size and PSA or %fPSA did not significantly differ by race, and adjustment for BMI and height had no effect on the racial disparity in PSA (PSA_AA = 0.87, PSA_CA = 0.63 ng/mL; P < .01).CONCLUSIONS.: The data suggest that race, BMI, and height are independently associated with PSA and %fPSA levels. Cancer 2006. © 2006 American Cancer Society.

Background: Cruciferous vegetables are the primary source of isothiocyanates and other glucosinolate derivatives that are known to induce phase II detoxifying enzymes, including glutathione S-transferases (GSTs). Objective: We investigated the independent and combined effects of cruciferous vegetable intake and the GSTP1 Ile¹⁰⁵Val genetic polymorphism on breast cancer risk. Design: Analyses included 3035 cases and 3037 population controls who were participating in the Shanghai Breast Cancer Study and for whom diet and genetic data were complete (87% of cases and 85% of controls). Results: With the use of multivariate logistic regression, the GSTP1 Val/Val genotype was significantly associated with greater breast cancer risk (OR = 1.50; 95% CI: 1.12, 1.99). The association was significantly greater in premenopausal women (OR = 1.69; 95% CI: 1.17, 2.43) than in postmenopausal women (OR = 1.20; 95% CI: 0.74, 1.92). Total cruciferous vegetable intake was not significantly associated with breast cancer risk, although subjects reporting greater turnip (P for trend < 0.001) and Chinese cabbage (P for trend = 0.049) intakes had a significantly lower postmenopausal breast cancer risk. Women with the GSTP1 Val/Val genotype and low cruciferous vegetable intake had a breast cancer risk 1.74-fold (95% CI: 1.13, 2.67) that of women with the Ile/Ile or Ile/Val genotype. This effect of low cruciferous vegetable intake and the Val/Val genotype was seen predominantly among premenopausal women (OR = 2.08; 95% CI = 1.20, 3.59). Conclusions: Cruciferous vegetable intake consistent with high isothiocyanate exposure may reduce breast cancer risk. Cruciferous vegetable intake also may ameliorate the effects of the GSTP1 genotype.