Biomedical subjects

M L Slattery

Publications and source records attributed to M L Slattery.

138 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

PubMed1988

The effect of nutritional factors on sex hormone levels in male twins.

Dietary intake has been hypothesized as being associated with several hormonally related cancers including prostate, breast, ovarian, and endometrial cancer. Because diet may affect hormones directly, it is logical to examine the effects of dietary factors on hormone production and levels. Therefore, a set of 72 male MZ and 83 male DZ twin pairs was ascertained from the Utah birth certificates. A quantitative food frequency questionnaire was administered and blood samples were drawn for hormonal assays. Heritability estimates for hormonal levels were calculated indicating a range from no heritability for sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), estrone, and testosterone glucuronide to 70% for androstanediol glucuronide and luteinizing hormone. To examine nutritional factors, the difference in hormone and SHBG levels between each MZ twin and his co-twin were correlated with the difference in nutrient intake. Weight and obesity were significantly correlated with plasma testosterone and follicle stimulating hormone. Fat intake showed a significant association with testosterone. Androstanediol glucuronide, a steroid that reflects tissue formation of dihydrotestosterone, was inversely correlated with caloric intake, theobromine and caffeine. Testosterone glucuronide exhibited significant correlations with calories and vitamin A. This study suggests that dietary intake affects plasma sex-steroid levels in men.

Diet↗

PubMed1988

Lifestyle and blood pressure levels in male twins in Utah.

Healthy male monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs (MZ pairs = 77; DZ pairs = 88) were studied to assess the effect of dietary intake, physical activity, physical fitness, body mass index (BMI), sum of the triceps and subscapular skinfold measurements, alcohol and caffeine consumption, and smoking patterns on blood pressure. Data on physical activity, detailed dietary intake, medical history, and demographics were obtained from a questionnaire. A bicycle ergometer was used to estimate level of fitness; other medical information was ascertained from physical examination. After normalizing the study variables, intraclass correlations for BMI and the sum of the triceps and subscapular skinfold measurements were higher in MZ than in DZ twin pairs (BMI: MZ r = 0.76, DZ r = 0.48; skinfolds: MZ r = 0.73, DZ r = 0.28), as were VO2max(MZ r = 0.63, DZ r = 0.25) and post-bike heart rate (MZ r = 0.69, DZ r = 0.19). Both systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) had high heritability estimates (SBP = 0.60, and DBP = 0.66). Using factor analysis, four major lifestyle factors were identified and categorized as: 1) dietary intake; 2) a factor heavily weighted by cigarette smoking, alcohol and caffeine consumption; 3) fatness; 4) physical activity and physical fitness. Adjustment for these factors did not alter heritability estimates for either SBP or DBP.

Blood Pressure↗

PubMed1988

Calcium and colon cancer: a review.

The role of dietary calcium as a protective factor in the etiology of colon cancer is reviewed by examining data from ecological and analytical epidemiological studies. Biological evidence that explains the mechanisms whereby calcium intake could alter risk of developing colon cancer is also presented. The data reviewed here in general support the hypothesis that dietary calcium is linked to colon cancer in a protective manner, and that it may be one component in the etiology of colon cancer which alters an individual's risk of developing the disease.

Adult↗

PubMed1988

Trends in coronary heart disease mortality and food consumption in the United States between 1909 and 1980.

This study is an ecological comparison of coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality trends and trends in food consumption in the United States population between 1909 and 1980. CHD mortality data were obtained from published vital statistics. National food disappearance data, compiled regularly by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), were the primary source of dietary information used. Food balance sheets and USDA household survey data were used for corroborative purposes. Dietary data were analyzed to observe trends in the per capita consumption of calories and fat; to determine the contribution of major food groups to both calories and fat; and to determine the effect of substitutions within those food groups on consumption of calories and fat. Dietary substitutions towards less-saturated fatty acids support the hypothesized relationship between dietary fat and CHD. These changes preceded CHD mortality changes by 10-20 y.

Coronary Disease↗

PubMed1988

Physical fitness and cardiovascular disease mortality. The US Railroad Study.

The relation between physical fitness and cardiovascular disease mortality was examined in US railroad workers, as a part of the Seven Countries Study. A cohort of 3,043 white, middle-aged men initially aged 22-79 years were first examined in 1957-1960 and re-examined in 1962-1964. Men with clinically diagnosed cardiovascular disease (n = 465) were excluded from this study. This cohort was followed until death or 1977. Mortality was monitored through the Railroad Retirement Board. Physical fitness was ascertained by a sub-maximal treadmill test administered in a Pullman Car converted to a survey laboratory. Exercise heart rate was directly and significantly related to coronary heart disease mortality, cardiovascular disease mortality, and all-cause mortality after adjusting for age. These relations were greatly attenuated when adjusted for blood pressure level. The risk for coronary heart disease when an exercise test heart rate of 135 beats per minute was compared with a rate of 105 beats per minute was 1.43, after adjusting for age, and 1.20, after adjusting for blood pressure, serum cholesterol levels, and smoking, as well as age. Results from this study suggest that middle-aged men with lower levels of physical fitness, as shown by higher sub-maximal exercise test heart rates, are at greater risk of dying of coronary heart disease, cardiovascular disease, and all causes in an average follow-up of 20 years. This greater risk is largely due to higher blood pressure levels.

Adult↗

PubMed1988

Dietary calcium intake as a mitigating factor in colon cancer.

A population-based case-control study was conducted in Utah to test the hypothesis that calcium decreases the risk of developing colon cancer. A total of 231 cases and 391 controls were identified and interviewed between 1979 and 1982. A quantitative food frequency instrument was used to ascertain individual dietary intake two years prior to diagnosis for the cases and two years prior to interview for the controls. Calcium, calcium per 1,000 calories, and total dairy product consumption were used as indicators of dietary calcium intake. Categories of dietary intake were determined by the distribution of these variables in the control population. A protective effect was observed for males for intake of calcium (odds ratio (OR) = 0.48), calcium per 1,000 calories (OR = 0.35), and total diary products (OR = 0.49). The magnitude of the protective effect from calcium intake increased after adjusting for intake of calories (OR = 0.41), protein (OR = 0.31), and fat (OR = 0.46). Calcium provided less of a protective effect in females, with the odds ratio for calcium being 0.50, 0.55, and 0.56 after adjusting for calories, protein, and fat, respectively. Risk associated with calories, protein, and fat also increased after adjusting for calcium. Of interest is an odds ratio of 5.30 in males for protein after adjusting for calcium. A biologic mechanism is presented to help explain the role of calcium in the development of colon cancer.

Adult↗

PubMed1988

Physical activity, diet, and risk of colon cancer in Utah.

A population-based case-control study was used to assess the relations of physical activity and diet to the development of colon cancer in Utah. Data were obtained for a reference period of two years prior to interview for controls (204 females and 180 males) and two years prior to the date of diagnosis for cases (119 females and 110 males). Both leisure time and occupational activities were ascertained by level of intensity and were converted to calories expended per week for analysis. Dietary data were obtained from a quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Physical activity and dietary data were divided into quartiles based upon the distribution in the study population for analyses. Total physical activity was protective against the development of colon cancer for both males (odds ratio (OR) = 0.70) and females (OR = 0.48) when high and low quartiles of activity were compared. Intense physical activity was the component of activity that had the greatest protective effect for males (OR = 0.27); a similar relation was seen for females (OR = 0.55). The observed relation between physical activity and colon cancer was not confounded by dietary intake of calories, fat, or protein, nor was the diet and colon cancer relation confounded by physical activity (odds ratios for calories, protein, and fat in males were 2.40, 2.57, and 2.18, respectively). Assessment of the interrelations among physical activity, diet, and colon cancer suggests that physical activity modifies colon cancer risk associated with diet.

Adult↗

PubMed1987

The inter-relationships of physical activity, physical fitness, and body measurements.

While several measures of physical activity have been used in research, it is not clear how these measures relate to each other or to measures of fitness and fatness. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships of three commonly used indicators of physical activity to determine how they relate to each other as well as to measures of physical fitness and anthropometric measurements related to body fatness. Data from white adult men working for U.S. railroad companies in 1957 to 1960, who were free of pre-existing cardiovascular disease (N = 2,356), were used to study these relationships cross-sectionally. Total and intense leisure time activity and occupational activity were directly related to caloric intake. Total leisure time activity was inversely related to exercise test heart rate and directly related to body mass index, but not related to resting heart rate or skinfold thickness. Intense leisure time activity was significantly related to all fitness measures and not significantly related to fatness. Caloric intake was directly related to measures of fitness and inversely related to fatness. Occupational activity was directly related to measures of fitness and body mass index, and inversely related to skinfold thickness. These results provide a better understanding of methods appropriate to ascertaining physical activity in epidemiologic research as well as assisting in the comparison of results from studies which have used different physical activity indicators.

Adult↗

PubMed1985

Ischemic heart disease: footprints through the data.

This study addresses the question of whether the rise in ischemic heart disease mortality has been just "a paper epidemic" as asserted in an earlier issue of this journal. Age-standardized death rates, proportions expected to die, mean ages at death, and cause specific contributions to changes in overall life expectancies were calculated for acute and chronic ischemic heart disease and for males and females for the years 1931 to 1980 using published vital statistics data. These multiple analyses reveal: a true epidemic of acute ischemic heart disease has occurred, affecting males exclusively or to a greater degree than females and it is now on the decline, fairly stable and more nearly comparable mortality for both males and females for chronic ischemic heart disease, and continuing problems of classification obscure the true levels of mortality for both the acute and chronic entities.

Acute Disease↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Epidemiology of low total plasma cholesterol concentration among young adults: the CARDIA study. Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults.

BACKGROUND: Data on stability of plasma total cholesterol levels and its determinants among young adults are lacking. Knowledge of factors associated with low levels of plasma total cholesterol during young adulthood may help clarify the nature of associations between hypocholesterolemia and health or illness. METHODS: Tracking of plasma total cholesterol was investigated using data from the baseline (1985-1986), Year 5 (1990-1991), and Year 7 (1992-1993) examinations of the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study. Lifestyle (including dietary), physiological, medical, and psychological correlates of plasma total cholesterol were examined cross-sectionally at baseline using ANCOVA and multivariate logistic regression. The attributes of participants with persistently low plasma total cholesterol level after 7 years (i.e., remaining below the 10th percentile of sex- and race-specific distributions) were also examined. RESULTS: The cohort in this analysis comprised 720 black men, 922 white men, 899 black women, and 944 white women who were between the ages of 18 and 30 years at baseline. Between 44 and 52% of those with plasma total cholesterol levels below the 10th percentile remained below the same percentile 7 years later. Among black men, a difference of 1 SD in age [3.7 years; odds ratio (OR) = 0.69; 95% CI = 0.52-0.91] and a difference of 1 SD in systolic blood pressure (10.5 mm Hg; OR = 0.73; 95% CI = 0.54-0.97) were independently associated with lower odds, respectively, of being in the lowest 10th percentile of the plasma total cholesterol distribution. Also among black men, current smoking and more calories from carbohydrates were associated with nonsignificantly higher odds of low total cholesterol level. Among white men, a 1 SD older age (3.4 years; OR = 0.78; 95% CI = 0.61-1.00) and a 1 SD higher physical fitness (118 sec; OR = 1.41; 95% CI = 1.09-1.82) predicted lower and higher odds, respectively, of low plasma total cholesterol. Among black women, a 1 SD difference in albumin (0.3 g/dL; OR = 0.80; 95% CI = 0.63-1.03) was related to lower odds of low plasma total cholesterol. Among white women, the factors independently associated with low plasma total cholesterol were body mass index (OR for a difference in 4.0 kg/m2 = 0.73; 95% CI = 0.54-1.00) and gamma-glutamyl transferase (OR for an increase in 9.6 IU/L = 0.41; 95% CI = 0.18-0.93). The independent predictive factors of stably low total cholesterol levels were age and uric acid among black men (both inversely related) and age, Framingham Type A Behavior (inversely), and calories from carbohydrates (positively related) among white men. CONCLUSION: Young adults with low plasma total cholesterol level have characteristics generally associated with good cardiovascular health. However, adverse attributes such as current cigarette smoking (notably among black men) may confound future associations between low total cholesterol and disease.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Cynical hostility in adult male twins.

The heritability of hostility as measured by the Cook and Medley Ho scale was assessed in an adult male sample of 60 monozygotic and 61 dizygotic twin pairs. For the total Ho scale, as well as its health predictive component, the results were consistent with a moderate genetic effect. Results are discussed in terms of genetic and environmental influences on the development of this trait, and possible genetic contributions to the association between hostility and subsequent health.

Hostility↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Dietary intake as a risk factor for cancer of the exocrine pancreas.

Data from 149 cases with pancreatic cancer and 363 control subjects in Utah were obtained from proxy respondents to assess the associations between dietary intake and the development of pancreatic cancer. After adjusting for cigarette smoking status and alcohol and coffee consumption, we observed that foods containing large amounts of fat from all sources increased risk of pancreatic cancer in men [odds ratio (OR), 3.41; 95% CI, 1.59-7.29]. Further division of fat by source of food showed that high intake of bacon and sausages (OR for upper tertile, 2.77; 95% CI, 1.34-5.72) as well as large intakes of fatty foods other than meat or dairy products (OR for upper tertile, 2.80; 95% CI, 1.33-5.89) increased risk of pancreatic cancer in men; high levels of intake of red meat, chicken, fish, and dairy foods did not increase risk of pancreatic cancer in either men or women. In women, fat from nonmeat and nondairy sources also increased risk of pancreatic cancer (OR for upper tertile, 3.44; 95% CI, 1.35-8.78). Although no protective effect was observed among men who consumed large amounts of fruits, vegetables, or high fiber foods, we did observe a protective effect in women for these foods (OR for upper tertile of fruit consumption, 0.37; 95% CI, 0.18-0.81; OR for upper tertile of vegetable consumption, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.13-0.74; and OR for upper tertile of fiber consumption, 0.28; 95% CI, 0.12-0.67). Findings from this study support the hypothesis that diets high in fat contribute to the development of pancreatic cancer.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adenocarcinoma↗