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D Kritz-Silverstein

Publications and source records attributed to D Kritz-Silverstein.

43 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Employment status and heart disease risk factors in middle-aged women: the Rancho Bernardo Study.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, an increasing number of women have been entering the labor force. It is known that in men, employment is related to heart disease risk, but there are few studies examining this association among women. METHODS: The relation between employment status and heart disease risk factors including lipid and lipoprotein levels, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting and postchallenge plasma glucose and insulin levels, was examined in 242 women aged 40 to 59 years, who were participants in the Rancho Bernardo Heart and Chronic Disease Survey. At the time of a follow-up clinic visit between 1984 and 1987, 46.7% were employed, primarily in managerial positions. RESULTS: Employed women smoked fewer cigarettes, drank less alcohol, and exercised more than unemployed women, but these differences were not statistically significant. After adjustment for covariates, employed women had significantly lower total cholesterol and fasting plasma glucose levels than unemployed women. Differences on other biological variables, although not statistically significant, also favored the employed women. CONCLUSIONS: Results of this study suggest that middle-aged women employed in managerial positions are healthier than unemployed women.

Adult↗

Plasma lipids and gallbladder disease.

The relation between plasma lipids and gallbladder disease was examined by using data collected between 1984 and 1987 from 1,303 Rancho Bernardo, California, women aged 50 years and older. In univariate analyses and after adjustment for age and body mass index, high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL cholesterol) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL cholesterol) were inversely related and triglyceride level was positively related to gallbladder disease. However, using multiple logistic regression, only LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, age, and body mass index were significantly related to a history of gallbladder disease, whereas HDL cholesterol was no longer associated with gallbladder disease. The risk of gallbladder disease increased with greater age, body mass index, and triglyceride level, but decreased with increasing LDL cholesterol level. Total amount of alcohol consumed per week, number of cigarettes smoked per day, and current estrogen use were not significantly associated with gallbladder disease. The relation of HDL cholesterol and LDL cholesterol to the risk of gallbladder disease requires further investigation.

Age Factors↗

The relationship between reproductive history and cholecystectomy in older women.

We examined the relationship of reproductive history to cholecystectomy in a population-based sample of 1093 women aged 50 years and older. Number of pregnancies ranged from 0 to 13. Age and obesity were each significantly and independently associated with an increased risk of cholecystectomy. When adjusted for differences in age and obesity, those who had had five or more pregnancies had a significantly increased risk of cholecystectomy. We conclude that an increased risk of gallbladder disease may follow either obesity or multiple pregnancies. One possibly unifying hypothesis for the obesity and pregnancy association is sustained hyperestrogenemia.

Aged↗

The effect of parity on the later development of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus or impaired glucose tolerance.

To determine the effect of parity on the later development of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus or impaired glucose tolerance, we studied a population-based sample of 1186 women at least 40 years of age; those who had been given a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus before the age of 40 or who had insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus were excluded from the study. On the basis of the World Health Organization's criteria, 714 had normal glucose tolerance, 326 had impaired glucose tolerance, and 146 had non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). After adjustment for age, obesity, and family history of diabetes, increased parity was associated with a significantly increased risk of both NIDDM (odds ratio, 1.16 [95 percent confidence interval, 1.04 to 1.29] per pregnancy) and impaired glucose tolerance (odds ratio 1.10 [95 percent confidence interval, 1.01 to 1.19] per pregnancy). Obesity, whether estimated by means of the body-mass index or the waist-hip ratio, was significantly associated with an increased risk of both NIDDM and impaired glucose tolerance, but this factor did not explain the association between parity and diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance; neither the maximal lifetime body-mass index nor the waist-hip ratio was significantly associated with parity in this cohort. We conclude that there is a slight increase in the risk of NIDDM or impaired glucose tolerance with increasing parity many years after childbearing and that this association is not explained by obesity.

Adult↗

Postmenopausal hormone use following a 3-year randomized clinical trial.

Postmenopausal women often discontinue estrogen therapy within the first year. No studies have examined reasons why women continue or discontinue hormone replacement therapy (HRT) after several years of use, when hormone side effects have subsided. We wanted to identify determinants of estrogen use after participation in a 3-year randomized placebo-controlled trial. The Postmenopausal Estrogen/Progestin Intervention (PEPI) study compared the effects of estrogen alone or in combination with one of three progestogens with placebo. Post-PEPI use of hormone therapy was ascertained 1-4 years after the trial in 775 (90%) of the originally enrolled women. Potential correlates of treatment decisions were identified from sociodemographic characteristics, medical histories, and clinical measures ascertained at baseline and during and after the trial. Among women who had been assigned to placebo during PEPI, post-PEPI hormone use was significantly less common in women who were adherent to placebo during PEPI, older, or of non-Caucasian ethnicity. Hormone use was positively associated with hysterectomy. Among women assigned to an active regimen during PEPI, post-PEPI hormone use was significantly more common in women who used hormones before PEPI and in women who were adherent to hormones during PEPI. Older age, less education, and being non-Caucasian predicted less hormone use. Post-PEPI hormone use was highest in San Diego and lowest in Iowa City. Women on placebo who lost more bone mineral density (BMD) were more likely to begin hormones than women with less bone loss. Lipids, blood pressure, and other cardiovascular risk factors had relatively little influence on hormone use. The main predictors of post-PEPI hormone use were those associated with use in the general population (education, ethnicity, geographical region, hysterectomy, and prior use/adherence).

Age Factors↗

Oophorectomy status and bone density in older, hysterectomized women.

INTRODUCTION: This study examined the long-term effects of hysterectomy, with and without bilateral oophorectomy, and treatment with estrogen replacement on bone mineral density in older hysterectomized women. METHODS: Subjects were 346 women 60-89 years of age, who were participants in the Rancho Bernardo Study and attended a follow-up clinic visit in 1988-1991. Bone density was measured at the ultradistal wrist, midshaft radius, lumbar spine and hip. RESULTS: Of these women, 182 had a hysterectomy with conservation of one or both ovaries and 164 had a hysterectomy with bilateral oophorectomy. Current estrogen users had the highest bone densities; those who never used estrogen replacement had the lowest. Only 9.1% of oophorectomized women, compared to 19.2% of those with ovarian conservation had never used estrogen (P < .01). After adjustment for covariates including estrogen replacement therapy, hysterectomized women with ovarian conservation had marginally higher bone densities at the wrist (P < .09) and spine (P < .06) than oophorectomized women. We found significant differences only among women currently using estrogen (P < .05 for wrist and P < .01 for spine densities, respectively). Bone density did not differ at any site by oophorectomy status among past or never users of estrogen. CONCLUSIONS: Hysterectomized women who use estrogen replacement therapy have better bone density, regardless of a bilateral oophorectomy. In addition, bilateral oophorectomy may not have a long-term negative effect on bone density; hysterectomized women who do not use estrogen appear to have equivalent bone density whether or not they had a bilateral oophorectomy.

Aged↗