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Biomedical subjects

A Agudo

Publications and source records attributed to A Agudo.

64 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Hospital versus neighbourhood controls in the assessment of dietary risk factors.

The selection of the best control group is a major concern in the design of any case-control study, because of its enormous implications on both interval validity and cost. We compare the dietary habits of hospital and neighbourhood control groups which had both been used in a case-control study on bladder cancer. The analysis is based on 485 matched sets. No differences were observed between the two groups in terms of nutrient consumption nor in consumption of specific foods or food groups. Alcohol consumption represents an exception. This may be attributed to the use of incorrect exclusion criteria given that alcohol consumption was not one of the major determinants of the original study. We conclude that, provided correct exclusion criteria are used, hospital controls may be a suitable as neighbourhood controls in the assessment of dietary risk factors in case-control studies in Spain.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Measuring human aging using a two-compartmental mathematical model and the vitality concept.

We calculated a theoretical vitality function as a reference curve, based on experimental results from 226 healthy individuals. This can be used to assess biological aging rates of geographically separate human populations. Only six parameters were used to assess vitality. Each parameter is associated with one of the two physiological compartments. We assume that one compartment keeps the system stable and the other maintains system fidelity. The results permit us to compare vitality curves within populations as well as to determine the age at which maximum vitality appears in each population. The differences between biological and chronological ages in each population and possible etiological interpretations are discussed. This mathematical model can be useful as a method to measure differences in aging rates and effects of aging in several human populations.

Journal Article↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Sociodemographic differences in adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern in Spanish populations].

OBJECTIVES: Lower social classes tend to eat a less healthy diet. The aim of this study was to compare adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern among different demographic and social groups in the adult population. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed in southern and northern regions of Spain in healthy volunteers (15,634 men and 25,812 women), aged 29-69 years, who were members of the European Prospective Investigation on Cancer cohort in Spain. Nine groups of food were included in the definition of the Mediterranean diet: vegetables and garden products, fruits, pulses, cereals, red meat, fish, olive oil, milk and milk products, and wine. Two techniques were used in the analysis: comparison of the mean daily intake of each group and calculation of an overall score for all the foods according to educational level and original social class. RESULTS: Groups with the lowest educational levels consumed more cereals and pulses and lower quantities of vegetables, olive oil (women), milk and milk products (men). Wine consumption was positively associated with education in women and was negatively associated in men. Calculation of a score to measure overall adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern eliminated differences according to each food category. No variations were found according to educational level, but small differences were found in original social class. The adherence score was lowest in young adults and women and was slightly higher in the south than in the north of Spain. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the Mediterranean dietary pattern is fairly uniform, at least in the adult population of the regions included in this study.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Survival of women with breast cancer in a hospital-based registry (1979-1991)].

We analyzed the survival of 268 women diagnosed with breast cancer between 1979 and 1991, registered at the Tumour Registry of the Hospital S. Jaume i Sta. Magdalena, Mataró (Barcelona). Relative survival rates at two, five and ten years were 0.84, 0.69 and 0.49, respectively. The largest difference in survival was observed in relation to the stage at the time of diagnosis. The survival was worse in women aged between 30 and 39 years and between 80 and 89 years. No significant differences were observed in survival in relation to the interval from first symptoms to diagnosis. The survival at 5 years shows some trend towards improvement during the period between 1979 and 1986.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Reliability of bulky DNA adducts measurement by the nuclease P1 32P-post-labelling technique.

The aim was to assess the reliability of bulky DNA adducts measurement by means of the 32P-post-labelling assay. The research design consisted of an intramethod reliability study. Buffy coats from 41 subjects were used to obtain two aliquots of 1-5 microg DNA for each subject; bulky DNA adducts were measured using the nuclease P1 32P-post-labelling technique. The reliability of the measurement was assessed by means of the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), the distribution of the differences between the two measurements and the limits of agreement. The estimated ICC was 0.977, with a 95% confidence interval between 0.921 and 0.977. The limits of agreement were +/- 0.44 (DNA adducts per 10(8) nucleotides). Only three subjects had differences lying out of such limits. Bulky DNA adduct levels measured by the 32P-post-labelling technique showed good reliability. Only one measurement is needed to use DNA adducts as a biomarker of exposure and, possibly, cancer risk. Besides, as a validation analysis, 32P-post-labelling measurements can be repeated in only 20-30% of samples.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Assessment of the age of atherosclerosis risk in population studies using a two factorial mathematical model.

The risk of atherosclerosis was assessed using a mathematical model of competition between LDL and HDL on 365 randomly selected persons. The results speak for the fact that the risk falls between the ages of 30 and 40 years for males, and 40 and 50 years for females. We are of the opinion that our procedure may be valid for sex comparison studies attempting to objectify the prevalence of atherosclerosis in population studies.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Objective assessment of biological aging in the human: results].

From a population sample of 139 healthy persons, six specially selected aging parameters were tested for their significance to vitality, by means of four mathematical models referring to the concept of vitality. As reference values, tm, is the age expressed in years when maximal vitality occurs, and the aging constant is beta, also known as an aging factor. Our results for tm extended from 16.6 to 39.6 years, depending on the respective mathematical model applied. We find a similar characteristic for the beta-values. A comparison with results in other publications on the subject, obtained by processing a considerably larger number of variables than we did, underlined the utility of our parameters. This is also shown by the quality of results we obtained by regression analysis, by the adjustment to the functions of the vitality concept and by the simplicity of the required laboratory methods of analysis.

Adult↗