title: Population attributable risk for pancreatic cancer in Northern Italy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To provide data on the impact of known risk factors on pancreatic cancer burden, we estimated the population attributable risks (PARs) in the Italian population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were derived from a case-control study conducted in Northern Italy between 1991 and 2008, including 326 case patients with incident pancreatic cancer and 652 hospital control subjects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found that 13.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 6.3-20.8) of pancreatic cancers were attributable to tobacco smoking, 13.0% (95% CI, 2.7-23.2) were attributable to heavy alcohol drinking, 9.7% (95% CI, 5.3-14.1) were attributable to diabetes, 11.9% (95% CI, -8.0 to 31.8) were attributable to a low adherence to Mediterranean diet, and 0.6% (95% CI, -1.8 to 2.9) were attributable to a family history of pancreatic cancer. The PARs for tobacco smoking increased up to 25.7% when we considered it jointly with alcohol, up to 21.7% with diabetes, and up to 24.8% with low Mediterranean diet adherence. For all the risk factors considered, the PARs were higher in men than in women, the differences being particularly evident for heavy alcohol consumption and for a low Mediterranean diet adherence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that an appreciable proportion of pancreatic cancers could be avoided in this Italian population by intervention on a few selected modifiable lifestyle factors.
authors.affiliation: From the *Department of Epidemiology, IRCCS-Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Milan, †Unit of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, IRCCS-CRO Aviano National Cancer Institute, Aviano (PN); and ‡Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rosato
authors.forename: Jerry
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Polesel
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bosetti
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Serraino
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Negri
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: La Vecchia
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D064829:Alcohol Abstinence; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D004032:Diet / Q000009:adverse effects; D038441:Diet, Mediterranean; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D010375:Pedigree; D065840:Protective Factors; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000453:epidemiology; D016540:Smoking Cessation; D000074606:Smoking Prevention