Constitutional, biochemical and lifestyle correlates of fibrinogen and factor VII activity in Polish urban and rural populations.
(1/6397)
BACKGROUND: Fibrinogen and factor VII activity are known to be related to atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease, but population differences in clotting factors and modifiable characteristics that influence their levels have not been widely explored. METHODS: This paper examines correlates of plasma fibrinogen concentration and factor VII activity in 2443 men and women aged 35-64 in random samples selected from the residents in two districts in urban Warsaw (618 men and 651 women) and from rural Tarnobrzeg Province (556 men and 618 women) screened in 1987-1988, and assesses which characteristics might explain urban-rural differences. Fibrinogen and factor VII activity were determined using coagulation methods. RESULTS: Fibrinogen was 12.9 mg/dl higher in men and 14.1 mg/dl higher in women in Tarnobrzeg compared to Warsaw. Factor VII activity was higher in Warsaw (9.2% in men and 15.3% in women). After adjustment for selected characteristics, fibrinogen was higher in smokers compared to non-smokers by 28 mg/dl in men and 22 mg/dl in women. In women, a 15 mg/dl increase in HDL-cholesterol was associated with a 10 mg/dl decrease in fibrinogen (P < 0.01). After adjustment for other variables, a higher factor VII activity in Warsaw remained significant (a difference of 9.4% in men and 14.8% in women). Lower fibrinogen in Warsaw remained significant only in women (15.4 mg/dl difference). CONCLUSIONS: The study confirmed that sex, age, BMI, smoking and blood lipids are related to clotting factors. However, with the exception of gender differences and smoking, associations between clotting factors and other variables were small and of questionable practical importance. (+info)
The PRIME study: classical risk factors do not explain the severalfold differences in risk of coronary heart disease between France and Northern Ireland. Prospective Epidemiological Study of Myocardial Infarction.
(2/6397)
We are studying the contribution of risk and genetic factors, and their interaction, to the development of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and other cardiovascular endpoints. The study is prospective, based in three centres in the south, east and north of France and in Northern Ireland. A total of 10,592 men aged 50-59 years were recruited from 1991 to 1993, and examined for evidence of IHD at baseline. Subjects are followed annually by questionnaire. Clinical information is validated from hospital and GP records. Demographic characteristics were similar in all four centres. Body mass index was highest in Strasbourg (mean 27.4 kg/m2 vs. 26.3 kg/m2 in Toulouse and Belfast), but total cholesterol, triglyceride and fibrinogen were highest in Belfast. In Belfast, 6.1% reported having had a coronary angiogram, compared to 3.0% in Toulouse. Conversely, 13.8% in Toulouse reported taking lipid-lowering drugs vs. 1.6% in Belfast. As predicted, a history of myocardial infarction (MI) was highest in Belfast (6.1%) and lowest in Toulouse (1.2%). Some 7.1% of Belfast men reported a medical diagnosis of angina vs. 1.5% in Toulouse. Subjects showing evidence of pre-existing IHD will be studied prospectively but treated in the analysis as an additional variable. These results provide a measure of reassurance that these cohorts are representative of the communities from which they are drawn and provide a reliable baseline for prospective evaluation and cross-sectional comparisons. The levels of the classical risk factors found in this study, particularly when examined in combination, as multiple logistic functions based on previous British studies, are very similar between centres and cannot explain the large differences in the incidence of IHD which exist. Additional risk factors may help explain, at least in part, the major differences in incidence of IHD between these study centres. (+info)
Why do short term workers have high mortality?
(3/6397)
Increased mortality is often reported among workers in short term employment. This may indicate either a health-related selection process or the presence of different lifestyle or social conditions among short term workers. The authors studied these two aspects of short term employment among 16,404 Danish workers in the reinforced plastics industry who were hired between 1978 and 1985 and were followed to the end of 1988. Preemployment hospitalization histories for 1977-1984 were ascertained and were related to length of employment between 1978 and 1988. Workers who had been hospitalized prior to employment showed a 20% higher risk of early termination of employment than those never hospitalized (rate ratio (RR) = 1.20, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.16-1.29), and the risk increased with number of hospitalizations. For workers with two or more preemployment hospitalizations related to alcohol abuse or violence, the rate ratios for short term employment were 2.30 (95% CI 1.74-3.06) and 1.86 (95% CI 1.35-2.56), respectively. An unhealthy lifestyle may also be a determinant of short term employment. While it is possible in principle to adjust for lifestyle factors if proper data are collected, the health-related selection of workers requires careful consideration when choosing a reference group for comparative studies of cumulative occupational exposure. (+info)
Reliability of information on physical activity and other chronic disease risk factors among US women aged 40 years or older.
(4/6397)
Data on chronic disease risk behaviors and related variables, including barriers to and attitudes toward physical activity, are lacking for women of some racial/ethnic groups. A test-retest study was conducted from July 1996 through June 1997 among US women (n = 199) aged 40 years or more who were white, black, American Indian/Alaska Native, or Hispanic. The sample was selected and interviews were conducted using a modified version of the methods of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. For behavioral risk factors such as physical inactivity, smoking, and low fruit and vegetable consumption, group prevalences were generally similar between interviews 1 and 2. However, kappa values for selected physical activity variables ranged from 0.26 to 0.51 and tended to be lower for black women. Discordance was low for variables on cigarette smoking and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (kappa = 0.64-0.92). Discordance was high (kappa = 0.33) for low consumption of fruits and vegetables. Additional variables for barriers to and access to exercise ranged widely across racial/ethnic groups and in terms of measures of agreement. These methods illustrate an efficient way to sample and assess the reliability of data collected from women of racial/ethnic minority groups. (+info)
Factors influencing tackle injuries in rugby union football.
(5/6397)
OBJECTIVES: To assess the influence of selected aspects of lifestyle, personality, and other player related factors on injuries in the tackle. To describe the detailed circumstances in which these tackles occurred. METHODS: A prospective case-control study was undertaken in which the tackling and tackled players ("the cases") involved in a tackle injury were each matched with "control" players who held the same respective playing positions in the opposing teams. A total of 964 rugby matches involving 71 senior clubs drawn from all districts of the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) were observed by nominated linkmen who administered self report questionnaires to the players identified as cases and controls. Information on lifestyle habits, match preparation, training, and coaching experience was obtained. A validated battery of psychological tests assessed players' trait anger and responses to anger and hostility. The circumstances of the tackles in which injury occurred were recorded by experienced SRU coaching staff in interviews with involved players after the match. RESULTS: A total of 71 tackle injury episodes with correct matching of cases and controls were studied. The following player related factors did not contribute significantly to tackle injuries: alcohol consumption before the match, feeling "below par" through minor illness, the extent of match preparation, previous coaching, or practising tackling. Injured and non-injured players in the tackle did not differ in their disposition toward, or expression of, anger or hostility. Some 85% of tackling players who were injured were three quarters, and 52% of injuries occurred when the tackle came in behind the tackled player or within his peripheral vision. Either the tackling or tackled player was sprinting or running in all of these injury episodes. One third of injuries occurred in differential speed tackles--that is, when one player was travelling much faster than the other at impact. The player with the lower momentum was injured in 80% of these cases. Forceful or crunching tackles resulting in injury mostly occurred head on or within the tackled player's side vision. CONCLUSIONS: Attention should be focused on high speed tackles going in behind the tackled player's line of vision. Comparative information on the circumstances of the vast majority of tackles in which no injury occurs is required before any changes are considered to reduce injuries in the tackle. (+info)
Cancer incidence in the south Asian population of England (1990-92).
(6/6397)
Cancer incidence among English south Asians (residents in England with ethnic origins in India, Pakistan or Bangladesh) is described and compared with non-south Asian and Indian subcontinent rates. The setting for the study was areas covered by Thames, Trent, West Midlands and Yorkshire cancer registries. The study identified 356 555 cases of incident cancer (ICD9:140-208) registered between 1990 and 1992, including 3845 classified as English south Asian. The main outcome measures were age specific and directly standardized incidence rates for all cancer sites (ICD9:140-208). English south Asian incidence rates for all sites combined were significantly lower than non-south Asian rates but higher than Indian subcontinent rates. English south Asian rates were substantially higher than Indian subcontinent rates for a number of common sites including lung cancer in males, breast cancer in females and lymphoma in both sexes. English south Asian rates for childhood and early adult cancer (0-29 years) were similar or higher than non-south Asian rates. English south Asian rates were significantly higher than non-south Asian rates for Hodgkin's disease in males, cancer of the tongue, mouth, oesophagus, thyroid gland and myeloid leukaemia in females, and cancer of the hypopharynx, liver and gall bladder in both sexes. The results are consistent with a transition from the lower cancer risk of the country of ethnic origin to that of the country of residence. They suggest that detrimental changes in lifestyle and other exposures have occurred in the migrant south Asian population. (+info)
Exposure to indoor background radiation and urinary concentrations of 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine, a marker of oxidative DNA damage.
(7/6397)
We investigated whether exposure to indoor [gamma]-radiation and radon might be associated with enough free radical formation to increase urinary concentrations of 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), a sensitive marker of DNA damage, due to a hydroxyl radical attack at the C8 of guanine. Indoor radon and [gamma]-radiation levels were measured in 32 dwellings for 6 months by solid-state nuclear track detectors and thermoluminescent dosimeters, respectively. Urine samples for 8-OHdG determinations were obtained from 63 healthy adult subjects living in the measured dwellings. An overall tendency toward increasing levels of 8-OHdG with increasing levels of radon and [gamma]-radiation was seen in the females, presumably due to their estimated longer occupancy in the dwellings measured. Different models were considered for females, with the steepest slopes obtained for [gamma]-radiation with a coefficient of 0.500 (log nmol/l of 8-OHdG for each unit increase of [gamma]-radiation on a log scale) (p<0.01), and increasing to 0.632 (p = 0.035), but with larger variance, when radon was included in the model. In conclusion, there seems to be an effect of indoor radioactivity on the urinary excretion of 8-OHdG for females, who are estimated to have a higher occupancy in the dwellings measured than for males, for whom occupational and other agents may also influence 8-OHdG excretion. ree radicals; [gamma]-radiation; radon. (+info)
Age, sex, and smoking are predictors of circulating insulin-like growth factor 1 and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 3.
(8/6397)
PURPOSE: Insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) and its major binding protein (IGF-BP3) have recently been implicated in the pathogenesis of several malignancies. However, anthropometric and lifestyle predictors of these hormones have not been elucidated. Here we report the results of a cross-sectional study. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study examines the relationship of a series of epidemiologic parameters (age, sex, height, body mass index, smoking, alcohol consumption, and coffee drinking) with IGF-1 and IGF-BP3 in a sample of 130 healthy adults. RESULTS: We observed that serum levels of IGF-1 are higher, whereas levels of IGF-BP3 are lower, in men than in women. In addition, serum levels of IGF-1 are independently and negatively associated with age and positively associated with pack-year history of smoking. Finally, serum levels of IGF-BP3 are independently and negatively associated with the number of cigarettes smoked per day or pack-year history of smoking. CONCLUSION: Age, sex, and smoking are independent predictors of IGF-1 and/or IGF-BP3. The influence of these epidemiologic variables on the pathogenesis of disease states associated with IGF-1 and IGF-BP3 warrants further exploration. (+info)