Biomedical subjects

R Kaaks

Publications and source records attributed to R Kaaks.

93 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

PubMed1987

Frequency of infections among rheumatoid arthritis patients, before and after disease onset.

The self-reported frequency of genitourinary and bronchopulmonary infections in postmenopausal women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and in postmenopausal women with osteoarthritis and/or soft tissue rheumatism was compared. Neither before, nor after the onset of joint disease was a higher frequency reported by the RA patients. The previously established increased mortality from infectious disease among RA patients might be due to a more severe infectious disease course, leading to an increased case-fatality rate.

Aged↗

PubMed1987

Colorectal cancer and the intake of nutrients: oligosaccharides are a risk factor, fats are not. A case-control study in Belgium.

A case-control study was carried out in the populations of two Belgian provinces that differed in food consumption habits, particularly fat intake. There were 453 colonic and 365 rectal cancer cases and 2,851 population controls. There were no significant differences in the average intake of the major nutrients, with the exception of carbohydrates; patients had a larger intake, limited to oligosaccharides. In both provinces, in males and females having cancer of the colon or the rectum, the intake of linoleic acid was lower than among controls; for dietary fibers, a smaller intake was observed among patients in one province. The relative risks were computed for four levels of daily intake of each nutrient. A positive trend was found for oligosaccharides in all subgroups, and a negative trend was found for polysaccharides, the latter for colon cancer patients only. There was a constant and significant negative trend for linoleic acid, with a similar negative trend for dietary fiber. None of these trends were affected by further adjustment for total calorie intake. For several vitamins and minerals, less marked, less constant effects were observed. They tended to be negative for vitamin B1, vitamin B6, and iron; they were positive for retinol and vitamin B2.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The effect of wartime conditions and the 1944-45 'Dutch famine' on recalled menarcheal age in participants of the DOM breast cancer screening project.

In a retrospective cohort study on 21,067 women who participated in the DOM project, a breast cancer screening programme, age at menarche was studied in relation to the 'Dutch Famine' at the end of the Second World War. Menarche showed a delay during the entire war period, disrupting a secular trend pattern in both urban and rural areas. This delay could be explained by circumstances of general dearth and food rationing. The data did not show a clear effect of famine exposure over and above effects related to the entire war period. Where age at menarche is a risk factor for breast cancer, effects due to a modest limitation of caloric intake such as accomplished by the food rationing may be more relevant as to its public health impact on cancer risk reduction than any additional effects due to outright starvation as occurred during the 'hungerwinter'.

Age Factors↗