INTRODUCTION: Throughout the Eastern Mediterranean region, tobacco is used primarily in 2 forms: cigarette smoking and waterpipe smoking. Despite the fact that tobacco use is considered as a global public health threat, waterpipe smoking is reported to be growing in popularity, particularly among women. The objectives of this study are ...

Secondhand smoke is associated with a myriad of adverse health outcomes. Therefore, it is essential for clinicians to ask precise questions about exposures, particularly for children. We present 4 questions that incorporate several locations of exposure and provide a more comprehensive account of children's smoke exposures than maternal smoking alone.

OBJECTIVES: We compared a 4-limb bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) system, HBF 359 (Omron, Kyoto, Japan), and a 2-limb foot-to-foot device, BC 532 (Tanita, Tokyo, Japan), with the standard dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods for the measurement of body fat percentage (BF), skeletal muscle mass ...

Youth at familial risk for bipolar disorder (BD) show deficits in face emotion processing, but the neural correlates of these deficits have not been examined. This preliminary study tests the hypothesis that, relative to healthy comparison (HC) subjects, both BD subjects and youth at risk for BD (i.e., those with ...

BACKGROUND: TMPRSS6 A736V is associated with lower transferrin saturation (TS), hemoglobin (Hb), and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) levels in general adult populations. We sought to identify relationships of TMPRSS6 K253E, A736V, and Y739Y to iron, erythrocyte, and pica phenotypes in women with iron deficiency or depletion. METHODS: We tabulated observations ...

Abnormalities in type III collagen in the arterial walls cause certain familial intracranial aneurysms (IAs); however, it remains unknown whether COL3A1 variants contribute to the risk of sporadic IAs. To study whether COL3A1 variants are associated with sporadic IAs, the association of COL3A1 variants with sporadic IAs was tested in ...

A United States national sample of 20,962 participants (57% women, 44% blacks) from the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study provided general population estimates for electrocardiographic (ECG) abnormalities among black and white men and women. The participants were recruited from 2003 to 2007 by random selection ...

OBJECTIVE: Venous thromboembolism constitutes the leading cause of direct maternal mortality in the developed world. To date, there are no studies using magnetic resonance venography (MRV) to delineate the incidence and natural history of intraluminal filling defects in the postpartum period in patients with low thrombosis risk. STUDY DESIGN: This ...

BACKGROUND: Epidemiologic studies have reported a positive association between type 2 diabetes(T2D) and breast cancer risk, independent of body weight.METHODS: We investigated 40 genetic variants known to be associated with T2D in relation tobreast cancer risk among 2651 breast cancer cases and 2520 controls of African or Europeanancestry that were ...

The aim of this study was to investigate associations of two candidate gene SNPs of the endocannabinoid receptor type 1 gene (CNR1) with overweight, obesity and obesity-related traits in Chinese retired women. The study subjects were a subsample of the Taizhou Retiree Women Cohort, consisting of 2812 retired women aged ...

The aim of this analysis was to determine the relationship between monosodium glutamate (MSG) intake and change in hemoglobin (Hb) levels and the risk of anemia over 5 years in 1197 Chinese men and women who participated in the Jiangsu Nutrition Study (JIN). MSG intake and Hb were quantitatively assessed in ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The association between ischemic stroke and 2 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on chromosome 12p13, rs12425791 and rs11833579 appears inconsistent across different samples. These SNPs are close to the ninjurin2 gene which may alter the risk of stroke by affecting brain response to ischemic injury. The purpose of this ...

ABSTRACT Genetic polymorphisms in the promoter regions of FAS, FASL and CASP8 involved in apoptotic signaling pathway were thought to be associated with susceptibility to cancer. We hypothesized whether the functional genetic variants were associated with risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). A case-control study in a Chinese population ...

A cross-sectional study was conducted between August and September 2010 at the antenatal care clinic of the Araba Waeshreen Hospital (Geizera), central Sudan. Sociodemographic, medical, obstetric and use of pica information were gathered. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Haemoglobin levels were measured and blood films and stools were examined ...

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are debilitating for workers and costly for employers. Existing exposure assessment tools were modified for rapid job physical exposure and company organizational exposure assessment. These were augmented with injured worker interviews to "put the meet on the bones" in characterizing risk. These risk assessments are conducted ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Malaria in pregnant women has been shown to be associated with low birth weight, stillbirth and mortality in newborns. The WHO has adopted the use of sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) to control malaria, a disease which worsens the plight of pregnant women leading to low birth weight, stillbirths and increased ...

Epidemiological data suggest an association and a common pathogenetic link between male infertility and testicular germ cell tumor (TGCT) development. Genome-wide studies identified that TGCT susceptibility is associated with KITLG (c-KIT ligand), which regulates the formation of primordial germ cells, from which TGCT is believed to arise and spermatogenesis develops. ...

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: There is conflicting evidence regarding appropriate glycaemic targets for patients with type 2 diabetes. Here, we investigate the relationship between HbA(1c) and the risks of vascular complications and death in such patients. METHODS: Eleven thousand one hundred and forty patients were randomised to intensive or standard glucose control in ...

Anemia is highly prevalent globally, estimated at 40-50% in women of reproductive age. Prior studies have produced inconclusive evidence as to the association between maternal anemia and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). We conducted a systematic review of the literature containing associations between maternal anemia and small for gestational age (SGA) ...

Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is a cytokine with anti-inflammatory and B-cell-stimulating activity. IL-10 is expressed in human atherosclerotic plaques and studies have shown the involvement of IL-10 in the atherosclerotic process. The IL-10-1082G/A polymorphism is one of the most commonly studied polymorphisms in this gene because of its association with coronary heart ...

Glycemic control is an important issue in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and in diabetic pregnant women. We determined the reference intervals of glycated albumin (GA) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) as glycemic control markers in healthy Japanese pregnant women and analyzed their time courses and factors that influence these variables during ...

Abstract Background: Faecal immunochemical tests (FIT) are becoming widely used in colorectal cancer screening. Estimation of faecal haemoglobin concentration in a large group prompted an observational study on gender and age. Methods: A single estimate of faecal haemoglobin concentration was made using quantitative automated immunoturbidimetry. Potential reference intervals were calculated ...

BACKGROUND: Little is known about psychological after-effects of colposcopy and associated investigations and treatment in women with low-grade abnormal cervical cytology. We investigated psychological distress following colposcopy and related procedures. METHODS: Nine hundred and eighty-nine women aged 20-59 years with routine cytology showing low-grade abnormalities were recruited to the Trial of ...

Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified genetic variants associated with breast cancer. Most GWASs to date have been conducted in women of European descent, however, and the contribution of these variants as predictors in Japanese women is unknown. Here, we analyzed 23 genetic variants identified in previous GWASs and conducted ...

Abstract Aim. Serum γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT) is increasingly regarded as a marker of vascular function. However, the usefulness of this marker is in dispute. Gender and ethnic differences, as well as the serum level range where correlations with vascular function will emerge, may complicate the usefulness of GGT. The aim is ...

The objective of this study was to assess whether there is a bi-directional relationship between periodontal status and diabetes. Study 1 included 5,856 people without periodontal pockets of ≥ 4 mm at baseline. Relative risk was estimated for the 5-year incidence of periodontal pockets of ≥ 4 mm (CPI scores ...

To comprehensively evaluate the impact of recently identified colorectal cancer (CRC) variants at 1q41, 3q26.2, 8q23.3, 8q24.21, 10p14, 11q23.1, 12q13.13, 14q22.2, 15q13.3, 16q22.1, 18q21.1, 19q13.11, 20p12.3, and 20q13.33 on risk and CRC phenotype, the authors analyzed 8,878 cases and 6,051 controls from the United Kingdom ascertained in 1999-2007. The impact ...

  Background:  In the context of rising rates of postpartum hemorrhage and little data about its effect on women, this study aimed to describe the experiences of care, and the concerns and needs of women after a significant postpartum hemorrhage. Methods:  A cohort of 206 women with a primary postpartum ...

OBJECTIVE: To verify the prevalence of women with risk of fractures estimated by ultrasonometry of the calcaneus (UOC) in a population of elderly women and its association with clinical risk factors. METHODS: Cross-sectional study of which sample was randomly selected and submitted to a structured questionnaire about risk factors for ...

Several genome-wide studies have identified loci associated with reproductive traits, such as ages of menarche and menopause, in women of European ancestry. In this study, we investigated the relevance of these loci in minority United States Hispanic women. We utilized data from 3,468 women who were genotyped as a part ...

A recent genome-wide association study of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in European population has identified genetic variants in the regions of 2p21 (rs7579899), 11q13.3 (rs7105934) and 12q24.31 (rs4765623) conferred susceptibility to RCC. In our study, we assessed whether these polymorphisms are also associated with RCC risk in a Chinese population. ...

In order to determine the prevalence of thalassemia and hemoglobinopathies in different regions of northeast (NE) Thailand and Vientiane, Laos People's Democratic Republic (PDR), a total of 1,809 blood samples were collected consecutively from individuals attending antenatal care services at 11 community hospitals in different regions of NE Thailand and ...

Better glycemic control as reflected by lower hemoglobin A(1c) (HbA(1c)) level may prevent or slow progression of nephropathy in people with diabetes mellitus (DM). Whether a lower HbA(1c) level improves outcomes in people with DM and chronic kidney disease (CKD) is unknown. From all people with serum creatinine measured as ...

To identify risk variants for multiple myeloma, we conducted a genome-wide association study of 1,675 individuals with multiple myeloma and 5,903 control subjects. We identified risk loci for multiple myeloma at 3p22.1 (rs1052501 in ULK4; odds ratio (OR) = 1.32; P = 7.47 × 10(-9)) and 7p15.3 (rs4487645, OR = ...

BACKGROUND: The study's objective was to assess the predictive factors of anemia induced by chemotherapy in early breast cancer patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients treated by adjuvant or neo-adjuvant anthracyclin-based regimens with or without taxanes between 1998 and 2006 in a French university hospital were studied. Chemotherapy included. Anemia was ...

OBJECTIVE: Animal studies have allowed important insights into the role of the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) enzymes in atherosclerosis and hypertension, as well as in stroke. In this study we tested the hypothesis that the NOS1 and NOS3 genes, respectively encoding neuronal NOS (nNOS) and endothelial NOS (eNOS), influence stroke ...

The most common form of neurological injury in sickle cell anemia (SCA) is silent cerebral infarction (SCI). In the Silent Cerebral Infarct Multi-Center Clinical Trial (SIT Trial), we sought to identify risk factors associated with SCI. In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated the clinical history and baseline laboratory values and ...

Abstract The C3435T (Ile1142Ile) polymorphism of multidrug resistance gene (MDR1) has been implicated in leukemia risk, but the reported results were inconsistent. Here we performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the association between C3435T polymorphism and the risk of leukemia with all the case-control studies published before June 2011 according to ...

Previous clinical trials have evaluated the association between Parkin p.Ser167Asn (c.601G>A) variant and Parkinson's disease (PD) risk. However, the results remain conflicting rather than conclusive. Therefore, we performed this meta-analysis to assess whether pooled results show the association. We performed structured literature searches for studies addressing the association between the ...

BACKGROUND: Delays in care after abnormal cancer screening contribute to disparities in cancer outcomes. Women with psychiatric disorders are less likely to receive cancer screening and may also have delays in diagnostic resolution after an abnormal screening test. OBJECTIVE: To determine if depression and anxiety are associated with delays in ...

  The present research is aimed to introduce Heel-ball (HB) index from foot dimensions and determine whether this index exhibits sexual dimorphism. The study was conducted on a sample of 303 North Indian individuals (154 men, and 149 women) aged between 13 and 18 years. The stature, body weight, foot breadth ...

OBJECTIVE: The main objective was to investigate whether the prevalences of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and reduced appetite varied by gender in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients. We also evaluated whether these symptoms explain female-male difference in nutritional status. DESIGN: Cross section of baseline data of the Prospective Study of the Prognosis ...

BACKGROUND: Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is 1 of the most common and serious complications of diabetes, and is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. There is a paucity of data regarding gender-related differences in clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients hospitalized for DKA. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was ...

Objective: In patients with severe preeclampsia there is an increased risk of postpartum hemorrhage, but the hemodynamic changes associated with severe preeclampsia make the management of any kind of bleeding particularly troublesome. There are many pharmacological options for the management of postpartum hemorrhage, oxytocin being the first line of treatment. ...

Protein Z-dependent protease inhibitor (ZPI) is a 72-kDa single-chain serpin which inhibits the activated coagulation factors X and XI. Two nonsense polymorphisms of ZPI, R67X and W303X, were recently identified, and were linked with a prothrombotic state. Here we investigated the association of the R67X (728C>T) and W303X (1438G>A) variants ...

BACKGROUND: Established psychosocial risk factors increase the risk for experimentation among Mexican-origin youth. Now we comprehensively investigate the added contribution of select polymorphisms in candidate genetic pathways associated with sensation seeking, risk taking, and smoking phenotypes to predict experimentation. METHODS: Participants, (N=1,118 Mexican origin youth) recruited from a large population-based ...

Adiponectin is linked to reduced diabetes risk and may be antiatherogenic, yet clinical data show no consistent relationship with incident cardiovascular events, especially among women. To our knowledge, no prior prospective studies have evaluated adiponectin, including high-molecular-weight (HMW) adiponectin, and incident peripheral artery disease (PAD). We evaluated the relationship of ...

AIMS: To examine associations between personality and abnormal glucose regulation. METHODS: This cross-sectional study comprised 2152 men and 3143 women (43-66 years). Oral glucose tolerance test identified 316 men and 213 women with previously unknown impaired fasting glucose (IFG), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), IFG+IGT, or type 2 diabetes. Personality traits ...

African Americans experience a higher mortality rate and an excess burden of ESRD compared with Caucasians in the general population, but among those treated with dialysis, African Americans typically survive longer than Caucasians. We examined whether differences in inflammation may explain this paradox. We prospectively followed a national cohort of ...

The question of whether neighborhood environment contributes directly to the development of obesity and diabetes remains unresolved. The study reported on here uses data from a social experiment to assess the association of randomly assigned variation in neighborhood conditions with obesity and diabetes. From 1994 through 1998, the Department of ...