The ongoing legacy--the George W. Comstock Center for Public Health Research and Prevention.

Benign breast disease (BBD) is a risk factor for breast cancer and may have a heritable component. Deficient DNA repair has been implicated in breast cancer etiology and may exert its effect before BBD, a known precursor. The association between allelic variants in DNA repair genes and BBD was examined in a cohort of women in Washington County, Maryland. BBD was defined by two criteria: (a) a physician diagnosis of BBD or fibrocystic disease and/or (b) a benign breast biopsy. 3,212 women without BBD at baseline were genotyped for 12 candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms in seven DNA repair genes. Of these women, 482 subsequently reported a diagnosis of BBD. The Cox model was used to calculate hazard ratios (HR). Variant alleles of XRCC1 Arg194Trp (rs1799782) and ERCC4 Arg415Gln (rs1800067) were significantly associated with BBD [HR, 1.36; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 1.06‐1.74 and HR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.09‐1.76, respectively]. Similar estimates were also observed for each of the BBD criterion used. The BBD association for ERCC4 was even stronger among women with a family history of breast cancer (HR, 2.68; 95% CI, 1.52‐4.66; Pinteraction = 0.02). This study suggests that variant alleles in DNA repair genes may modify BBD risk, a potential intermediate marker of breast cancer risk, particularly among high‐risk subgroups. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2009;18(1):346–50 Advance Access Oct 2, 2012 2009 Jan; 18(1): 346-350 Anthony Alberg, PhD, MPH Wen Hong (Linda) Kao, PhD, MHS Judith Hoffman-Bolton Under the leadership of Dr. Naresh Punjabi, through funding from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, a series of studies are being conducted to examine the relationship between sleep apnea, chronic disease and health outcomes. Methodological innovations are pursued in collaborations with biostatisticians Swihart, Crainiceanu and Caffo. The following studies have been completed, and publications are ongoing: • GlycOSA study, a multicenter randomized controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of continuous positive airway pressure in improving glycemic control in type 2 diabetic patients with newly diagnosed obstructive sleep apnea. • The Sleep Heart Health Study (SHHS), a multicenter cohort study to determine cardiovascular and other consequences of sleep‐ disordered breathing. Results have demonstrated associations with hypertension, stroke, heart disease and mortality. • The Heart Biomarker Evaluation in Apnea Treatment (HeartBEAT) study, a multicenter randomized controlled trial to compare the effects of nocturnal supplemental oxygen and positive airway pressure versus optimized medical management on biomarkers of cardiovascular risk. • SOMNOS (Study of sleep, obesity and metabolism), a study to determine how moderate sleep apnea affects glucose metabolism. SOMNOS 2 is currently recruiting patients to participate to examine whether abnormalities in sleep due to a condition called sleep apnea are related to glucose metabolism and how use of positive airway pressure (PAP) affects metabolism.