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Biomedical subjects

L W Pickle

Publications and source records attributed to L W Pickle.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Dietary determinants of gastric cancer in south Louisiana inhabitants.

In south Louisiana, 391 recently diagnosed gastric cancer patients and an equal number of controls were interviewed. Questions asked covered residential and occupational histories, environmental exposures, tobacco use, diet, alcohol consumption, and pertinent demographic characteristics. Elevated relative risks were found for use of tobacco and alcohol products. Diet was found to be the main determinant of gastric cancer risk in south Louisiana. Both dietary patterns and dietary risk factors differed for blacks and whites, although fruits as a group and dietary vitamin C were found to exert strong protective effects for both blacks and whites. Consumption of smoked foods and homemade or home-cured meats increased risk of gastric cancer for blacks but not for whites. The findings are discussed in the light of the prevailing etiologic hypotheses.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Patterns of inheritance in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: assessment by M-mode and two-dimensional echocardiography.

To determine the mode of inheritance of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HC), 367 relatives from 70 families with HC were studied by M-mode and 2-dimensional echocardiography (2-D echo). Inspection of individual family pedigrees suggested that HC was genetically transmitted in 39 pedigrees (56%) and probably sporadic in 31 (44%). Of the 39 pedigrees with familial occurrence, 30 had patterns of inheritance that were most consistent with autosomal dominant transmission. A complex mathematical pedigree analysis determined that patterns of genetic transmission observed in the overall study group were not consistent with known models of autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive, or X-linked inheritance and did not support a unified concept of single-gene Mendelian transmission for all families. The proportion of first-degree relatives affected by HC was 22%, with HC most common in fathers of the proband and least common in offspring. About 20% of the affected relatives (10 of 53) appeared to have inherited a "subclinical" form of HC, in which the sole evidence of HC was the morphologic expression detectable only with echocardiography. Probands and affected relatives differed distinctly with regard to the expression of HC. Probands most often showed functional limitation (81%), subaortic obstruction at rest (53%), particularly diffuse distribution of left ventricular hypertrophy (59%) and marked septal thickening (mean 23 mm). In contrast, affected relatives were characterized by absence of functional limitation (72%) and subaortic obstruction (94%), localized and unusual sites of hypertrophy (60%) and only modest septal thickening (mean 17 mm).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic↗
PubMed1984

Geographic patterns of ethnic groups in the United States.

The geographic distributions of 11 major ethnic groups within the United States, based on 1960 census data, are illustrated by computer-generated state economic area maps. The Scandinavian, German, and Russian ethnic groups were similarly concentrated primarily in the North Central region, while the Irish, Polish, Other East European, and South European groups were clustered predominantly in the Northeast. Other ethnic groups had patterns which were different from either of the above. These maps correspond to the atlases of mortality from cancer and other diseases.

Demography↗
PubMed1984

Colorectal cancer in rural Nebraska.

A case-control interview study of colorectal cancer was conducted in two rural counties of eastern Nebraska to determine reasons for the elevated colon cancer mortality rates during 1950 to 1969. Comparison of the information provided by 86 colorectal cancer cases and 176 matched controls (or their next of kin) revealed an increased risk among persons of Czech background, with persons of Bohemian and Moravian extraction predominating in this area. The data suggest an interaction between Bohemian ancestry and certain dietary patterns in the pathogenesis of colon cancer in this region. Colon cancer risk was elevated among commercial beer drinkers regardless of their ethnic background, although Bohemians reported heavier consumption. An excess risk was also associated with intestinal polyps, reported more often by Moravians, and with familial occurrence of gastrointestinal and other cancers. Since 1969, the mortality and incidence rates for colon cancer in this area have declined, possibly as a consequence of acculturation of the American-born descendants of Czech immigrants.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1984

Diet in the etiology of oral and pharyngeal cancer among women from the southern United States.

A case-control interview study involving 227 women in North Carolina with oral cavity or pharyngeal cancer and 405 matched controls showed a protective effect of a usual adult diet high in fruits and vegetables. The relative risks of 0.65 for moderate and 0.52 for high (relative to 1.0 for infrequent) consumption of fruits and vegetables were statistically significant and remained after controlling for demographic characteristics, tobacco and alcohol use, relative weight, and intake of other food groups. Risks were lower with higher bread and cereal intake but higher for those women with the lightest weights, adjusted for height. The inverse associations between oral and pharyngeal cancer and intake of fruits and vegetables and intake of breads and cereals could not be attributed to an association with general nutritional status, since meat and fish consumption was related to an increased risk of oral and pharynx cancer. Moreover, dairy and egg consumption was generally unrelated to cancer risk. The reduction in risk with greater fruit and vegetable consumption is consistent with the hypothesis that vitamin C and/or beta-carotene intake is associated with a reduced risk of oral and pharyngeal cancer.

Aged↗
PubMed1983

Passive smoking and lung cancer.

Questions about the smoking habits of parents and spouses were asked in a case-control study involving 1338 lung cancer patients and 1393 comparison subjects in Louisiana, USA. Non-smokers married to heavy smokers had an increased risk of lung cancer, and so did subjects whose mothers smoked. There was no association between lung cancer risk and paternal smoking. The association with maternal smoking was found only in smokers and persisted after controlling for variables indicative of active smoking. It is not clear whether the results reflect a biological effect associated with maternal smoking or the inability to control adequately for confounding factors related to active smoking. This preliminary finding deserves further investigation.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1983

Information available from surrogate respondents in case-control interview studies.

Epidemiologic studies of fatal diseases often require that information be sought from relatives or friends of deceased or disabled patients. The authors have evaluated the ability of several types of surrogate respondents to provide information on the smoking, occupational, medical history, and demographic characteristics of their next of kin in three recent case-control studies involving interviews with 2606 individuals. The ability of the surrogates to provide this information varied by topic, degree of detail requested, race, sex, age, and study area, but was most affected by the type of respondent. Sibs were best able to respond to questions about the subject's immediate family or events that occurred during early life, while spouses and offspring were best able to describe events that occurred during adult life. Several recommendations are made to improve the design of future interview studies.

Black or African American↗
PubMed1983

Geographic distribution of motor neuron disease and correlation with possible etiologic factors.

Average annual age-adjusted motor neuron disease (MND) mortality rates were mapped for the first time at the county level in the continental United States. Although the great majority of the rates did not differ significantly from the US average, the highest mortality rates were generally found west of the Mississippi and the lowest rates east of the Mississippi. MND mortality was associated with rural farming and socioeconomic status but not with urbanization, physician-population ratios, lead or mercury exposure, or mortality rates of five kinds of cancer.

Female↗
PubMed1981

Snuff dipping and oral cancer among women in the southern United States.

A case-control study in North Carolina involving 255 women with oral and pharyngeal cancer and 502 controls revealed that the exceptionally high mortality from this cancer among white women in the South is primarily related to chronic use of snuff. The relative risk associated with snuff dipping among white nonsmokers was 4.2 (95 per cent confidence limits, 2.6 to 6.7), and among chronic users the risk approached 50-fold for cancers of the gum and buccal mucosa--tissues that come in direct contact with the tobacco powder. In the absence of snuff dipping, oral and pharyngeal cancer resulted mainly from the combined effects of cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption. The carcinogenic hazard of oral snuff is of special concern in view of the recent upswing in consumption of smokeless tobacco in the United States.

Black or African American↗
PubMed1980

Thyroid cancer in Connecticut, 1935-1975: an analysis by cell type.

Incidence data from the Connecticut Tumor Registry for the years 1935-1975 were examined for changing patterns in the rates of thyroid cancer and its four major cell types. Both males and females exhibited a 5-fold increase in age-adjusted thyroid cancer rates over the 41 years, with a nearly constant female:male ratio of 3:1. Papillary and follicular carcinomas were the cell types responsible for the upward trend. Birth cohort analysis revealed cohort effects, especially for females with papillary carcinoma. Age-specific incidence curves for the cohorts born after 1910 showed progressive increases in slope until the 1960 cohort, when the slope decreased. This pattern coincides with the widespread use of radiation therapy for benign conditions of the head and neck among children and adolescents from the early 1920s to the late 1950s. Fitting a logistic model to these data produced relative risks for successive birth cohorts which were consistent with the effects of radiation exposure.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1980

Optic disc neovascularisation in diabetic retinopathy: I. A system for grading proliferation at the optic nerve head in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy.

An anatomical taxonomy for neovascular proliferation of the optic nerve head in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy is presented. The technique consists in comparing (A) number of involved quadrants, (B) calibre of vessels, (C) neovascular density, (D) neovascular area, (E) plane of proliferation, and (F) fluorescein angiographic findings. A similar taxonomy is used to describe fibrous tissue proliferation at the disc. With these criteria a series of standard photographs have been utilised in a numerical grading system. This system has proved useful in documenting the natural history and response to photocoagulation therapy for diabetic disc neovascularisation.

Diabetic Retinopathy↗
PubMed1980

Optic disc neovascularisation in diabetic retinopathy: II. Natural history and results of photocoagulation treatment.

A follow-up study on 67 diabetic patients with new proliferation on the nerve head (neovascularisation of the disc and fibrous proliferation of the disc) was carried out for 4 years. The patients were randomly assigned for treatment with argon laser and xenon photocoagulation in only one eye, with the other eye serving as a control. The disc condition was periodically evaluated for NVD, FPD, and for the relations between them according to a grading taxonomy which was previously established. It was found that there were significant differences in NVD and FPD evolution between treated and untreated eyes. The various parameters concerned with these differences were observed, analysed, and correlated.

Adolescent↗