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Biomedical subjects

S Graham

Publications and source records attributed to S Graham.

At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Lactation and breast cancer. Evidence for a negative association in premenopausal women.

The authors report a case-control study of breast cancer based on an analysis of data collected by interview between the years 1957-1965 from women residing in the communities of Buffalo and Kenmore, New York. Prior reproductive factors, including a detailed lactation history, were examined for 453 white females with breast cancer and 1,365 white females without breast cancer who were selected randomly from the population of Buffalo and Kenmore. There is evidence of a negative association between length of nursing and breast cancer risk in premenopausal women which is not seen in the postmenopausal women. This apparent "protective" effect of lactation persists after statistical control for the potential confounding factors of age, parity, age at first pregnancy, age at menarche, and education. Cases are more likely than controls to have reported unsuccessful lactations due to "insufficient milk." The findings of this study, in conjunction with the authors' review of previously published studies that have examined prior lactation as related to breast cancer risk, suggest that there may be an independent negative association between nursing and subsequent breast cancer risk in premenopausal women. Whether this means that breast feeding is protective or that some women who are unsuccessful at lactation are at increased risk for subsequent breast cancer is not clear. A detailed reanalysis of existing data and more careful attention to detailed prior breast function/dysfunction in future studies are recommended.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Assessing nutrient intake with an abbreviated dietary interview.

There is considerable interest in developing a means of assessing dietary intake of specific nutrients with minimal time and expense in epidemiologic studies. Using data from 1,682 individuals who were interviewed using an extensive food frequency dietary history, the authors examined the question of how many foods might be minimally required in order to estimate specific nutrient intakes for epidemiologic purposes. Nutrient indices were constructed for vitamins A and C, dietary fiber, fat, protein, and total calories based on 128 foods included in the interview. They found that a large fraction of the variability of nutrient intake in this population could be explained by a small number of foods. An abbreviated dietary history ascertaining the intake of as few as 15-20 food items may be all that is required in order to test the association between disease outcome and the intake of a single nutrient.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1985

Allergy-related diseases and cancer: an inverse association.

This paper presents the results of a retrospective study that examines the association of cancer with a history of asthma, hay fever, hives, and other allergy-related diseases. This study is based on interview data collected from 13,665 cancer cases and 4,079 nonneoplastic controls who were admitted to Roswell Park Memorial Institute from 1957 to 1965. Although there is a general tendency for the age- and cigarette smoking-adjusted odds ratios associated with a history of asthma and hay fever to be less than 1, for both males and females, there is stronger evidence for a decreased risk of cancer associated with a history of hives and other allergy-related diseases. Decreased risks associated with a history of hives and other allergies are seen in males for oral cancer, cancers of the lung, larynx, digestive system, urinary system, and cancers of all sites combined and in females for cancers of the digestive system, reproductive system, in particular, cancer of the cervix, and cancers of all sites combined. None of the few odds ratios over 1 associated with a history of any allergy-related condition are statistically significant (alpha = 0.05). These findings suggest that individuals with allergy-related disorders may be at decreased risk of cancer, although reasons for cautious interpretation of the findings are emphasized. Prospective studies of carefully defined allergic disease cohorts are needed.

Asthma↗
PubMed1985

Lifetime occupational exercise and colon cancer.

The authors used data on patients aged 30-79 years admitted to the Roswell Park Memorial Institute in Buffalo, New York, 1957-1965, to compare the amount of lifetime occupational physical activity for 210 white male patients with cancer of the colon and 276 white male patients with cancer of the rectum to the lifetime occupational physical exercise of 1,431 patients with nonneoplastic nondigestive diseases. The authors found that risk of cancer of the colon increased with increasing amount and proportion of time in jobs involving only sedentary or light work. This relationship was not found for rectal cancer. These findings corroborate those of Garabrant et al. (Am J Epidemiol 1984; 119:1005-14). The strength of the associations presented here and the dose-response relationship indicate that limited physical activity could be an important etiologic factor. More inquiries need to be undertaken to study exercise in relation to other factors, such as diet, in colon cancer risk.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

An inquiry into the epidemiology of melanoma.

The authors conducted a study of 404 melanoma patients and 521 control patients of both sexes at Roswell Park Memorial Institute. As have previous investigators, they found that higher risk attaches to upper socioeconomic status, as measured by occupation and education, lightness of complexion and hair, and amount of blue in the admixture of eye color. The authors also found a higher risk among individuals who reacted to sun exposure by burning, blistering, or freckling rather than by tanning. A particular concern was to measure risk associated with exposure to the sun. As have two other investigators, they found that risk decreased with increasing exposure, suggesting either that individuals continually exposed to the sun have less risk because of tanning, or that susceptibles purposely avoid sun exposure, or both. The fact that melanoma occurs with greater frequency on sites exposed to the sun suggests that sun exposure plays a part. These studies showed a dose-response increase in risk (odds ratios of up to 4 for males and over 6 for females) with increases in number of traits possessed, such as light complexion, and burning or freckling in response to sun exposure. This is consistent with the authors' earlier finding of a strong familial aggregation of melanoma.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Comparison of three methods of teaching women how to perform breast self-examination.

This paper presents results from an experimental study designed to evaluate the relative effectiveness of three methods of teaching women how to do breast self-examination (BSE). Frequency of BSE, confidence in examination performance, proficiency of BSE technique, and lump detection performance were the main outcome variables assessed. The three training methods compared in this study were provision of a pamphlet describing how to do BSE, having women view a videotape depicting proper performance of BSE, and having women practice doing BSE on a life-like breast model. Results showed that passive methods of BSE instruction such as the use of pamphlets or films were of little value in helping women develop the tactile skills necessary for proficient BSE. Three months after training, it was found that lump detection performance, as measured on silicone breast models, was significantly higher among those women who had been given an opportunity to practice doing the breast examination on a breast model with corrective feedback given by a BSE instructor. The opportunity to practice doing the examination with corrective feedback on performance appears to be a critical variable in the acquisition of BSE skill.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Lysis of human cytomegalovirus infected fibroblasts by natural killer cells: demonstration of an interferon-independent component requiring expression of early viral proteins and characterization of effector cells.

We investigated the susceptibility of cells infected with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) to lysis by human natural killer (NK) cells, examining in particular its relationship to sequential viral protein expression, interferon (IFN), and the nature of the effector cells. HCMV-infected fibroblasts were lysed by peripheral blood mononuclear cells from normal seronegative individuals. The effector cells were large granular lymphocytes of Leu-7+, Leu-11+, and to a lesser extent Leu-7- phenotype. Depletion studies suggested they were the same population of NK cells that lyse uninfected fibroblasts, but a subset of NK cells that lyse K562 cells. HCMV-infected cells treated with phosphonoformate and cells infected for 16 hr that only express the nonstructural HCMV immediate early and early proteins and not the late (structural) proteins were susceptible to lysis by IFN-pretreated effector cells, whereas cells expressing immediate early antigens alone were not. This enhanced susceptibility to lysis was associated with increased effector:target binding in target cell binding assays, and was competitively inhibited by uninfected fibroblasts in cold target competition assays. It was independent of IFN release from the infected target cells or effector cells. These results suggest that the increased susceptibility to lysis by NK cells produced by a human herpes virus HCMV i) is manifest when early viral proteins are expressed, ii) is related to enhanced expression of a target structure likely to be present on uninfected fibroblasts, and iii) has a major component that is independent of IFN.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Dietary fat consumption and survival among women with breast cancer.

An historical prospective study was conducted to examine the relationship of dietary fat intake to disease progression and length of survival of 953 women with breast cancer. Estimates of monthly fat intake were based on patient responses about usual frequency of consuming 33 foods and beverages prior to symptom onset. Average estimated monthly fat intake did not vary by stage of disease at diagnosis. When controlling for disease stage and patient age at diagnosis, the estimated risk of death at any time increased 1.4-fold for each 1,000 g in monthly fat intake. Separate analysis by disease stage showed this association to be most pronounced for subjects with advanced disease. The need for future studies to incorporate clinical and pathologic factors in the analysis, to distinguish between sources of dietary fat intake, and to ascertain dietary patterns subsequent to breast cancer diagnosis was noted.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Use of dual responses to increase validity of case-control studies.

It has been demonstrated that randomly distributed inaccuracy of dichotomous reports in case-control studies biases estimates of the effects of exposure toward one. We show that a simple procedure involving the use of dual exposure reports may lessen this bias. The use of this procedure is illustrated with a data set in which the actual relative risk associated with dichotomous exposure is 4.0. We observe that, if exposure is reported with 60% accuracy and the observed relative risk is approximately 1.3, an additional set of equally accurate exposure reports can be used to uncover an assessed relative risk as high as 1.7. The supplementing of exposure reports with 90% accuracy by an additional set of equally accurate reports can be used to uncover an assessed relative risk as as high as 1.7. The supplementing of exposure reports with 90% accuracy by an additional set of equally accurate exposure reports can increase the observed relative risk from 3.0 to as high as 3.9. We conclude that using dual reports could be valuable in strengthening the inference of case-control studies assessing the effects of dietary, occupational, or other exposures.

Disease↗
PubMed1984

Dietary vitamin A and lung cancer risk: an analysis by histologic subtypes.

A case-control study was conducted based on 427 white males with lung cancer of the squamous, small cell, and adenocarcinoma histologic subtypes and 1,094 white male controls admitted to Roswell Park Memorial Institute between the years 1957 and 1965. The relation between selected dietary factors and lung cancer risk was examined for each histologic subtype while controlling for past cigarette use. Dietary vitamin A was found to be negatively associated with risk for squamous cell and small cell carcinoma, but not for adenocarcinoma of the lung. No significant association was observed, however, between dietary vitamin C, fats, or fiber and any of the lung cancer subtypes. These results suggest that the apparent protective effect of vitamin A in lung cancer may be histologic type-specific.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1984

Effects of sex and label on performance ratings, children's test scores, and examiners' verbal behavior.

The effects of sex and label on performance ratings, test scores, and verbal behavior were examined. Forty preschool children were randomly assigned by sex to one of four expectancy conditions: normal male, normal female, developmentally delayed male, and developmentally delayed female. All children were, in fact, nonhandicapped and had no diagnosis or record of learning problems. Ten examiners were randomly assigned one child from each of the four expectancy conditions. After hearing a description (labeled or nonlabeled) of the child's developmental status, each examiner administered the Animal House and Block Design subtests of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence to their respective child. Directions for administering the subtests were modified by encouraging the examiner to prompt the child verbally when necessary. The examiner rated the child's overall performance and scored the two subtests. Each testing session was video taped so that verbal prompts could be counted. The results of a multivariate analysis of variance indicated that the child's sex and the interaction between sex and label did not influence performance ratings, test scores, or the examiners' verbal behavior. The label "developmentally delayed," however, had a negative impact on children's test scores and performance ratings. The number of verbal prompts was not differentially affected by the child's developmental status.

Child↗
PubMed1984

Epidemiology of retinoids and cancer.

A variety of in vitro and in vivo inquiries suggests that retinoids of various sorts may reduce the risk of cancer at various sites. Epidemiologic studies done by a number of different investigators similarly show a reduction in risk with increases in ingestion of vitamin A-containing diets. These reductions in risk are primarily of the squamous cell types of cancer: lung, larynx, mouth, cervix, and bladder cancers. Retinoids, particularly beta-carotene, may have a risk-reducing function for such sites. However, evidence has also been found that retinoids under certain conditions may increase the risk of prostate cancer as well as of Hodgkin's disease and leukemia. It is not an impossibility that, although beta-carotene could reduce risk under most circumstances, under certain other circumstances it could increase risk for different cancers. Obviously, more research is necessary, particularly with the carotenoids.

Beverages↗