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Biomedical subjects

B Vessby

Publications and source records attributed to B Vessby.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Evaluation of a biological marker of dairy fat intake.

We evaluated whether the adipose tissue content of 2 fatty acids of exogenous origin specific for ruminant fat, 15:0 and 17:0, reflect average long-term dairy fat consumption in free-living subjects. In 81 healthy women aged 30-77 y, we compared the relative content of these 2 fatty acids in subcutaneous adipose tissue with relative intake (% of total fat) based on four 1-wk weighed diet records made 3-4 mo apart and on a food-frequency questionnaire reflecting average past year consumption. The mean (+/-SD) daily milk fat intake was 20.0 +/- 9.1 g and fat from ruminant meat was 3.0 +/- 1.5 g according to food records, representing 29.2 +/- 8.9% and 4.6 +/- 2.2% of total fat, respectively. The intake of 15:0 and 17:0, which are 1.05% and 0.61% of milk fat and 0.43% and 0.83% of ruminant meat fat, was 0.22 +/- 0.10 and 0.15 +/- 0.06 g, respectively. Content of 15:0 and 17:0 in adipose tissue was 0.35% and 0.24% and relative dietary intake was 0.33% and 0.22% according to the food records and 0.32% and 0.21%, respectively, according to the food-frequency questionnaire. Correlation coefficients between 15:0 content in adipose tissue and intake from dairy foods only, according to food records, were 0.63 (Pearson) and 0.59 (Spearman); corresponding values for 17:0 were 0.42 and 0.45, respectively. Content of 15:0 and 17:0 in subcutaneous adipose tissue might be a valid biological marker of long-term milk fat intake in free-living individuals in populations with high consumption of dairy products.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1998

Effects of physical exercise on phospholipid fatty acid composition in skeletal muscle.

The effects of low-intensity exercise on the fatty acid composition in skeletal muscle and in serum were studied in 19 sedentary, middle-aged Swedish men. During a 10-wk period, all subjects were given a standardized diet with an identical fat composition. After 4 wk on this diet, they were randomly allocated to a daily exercise program (55% peak oxygen uptake) or to continue to live a sedentary life for the remaining 6 wk. Aerobic capacity (submaximal bicycle test) and peripheral insulin sensitivity (hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp) improved with training, whereas the body weight as well as the body composition (underwater weighing and bioimpedance) were unchanged. The proportions of palmitic acid (16:0) and linoleic acid [18:2(n-6)] and the sum of n-6 fatty acids [18:2(n-6), 20:3(n-6), 20:4(n-6)] were decreased in skeletal muscle phospholipids, whereas the proportion of oleic acid [18:1(n-9)] was increased, by training. The fatty acid profile in skeletal muscle triglycerides remained unchanged. We conclude that regular low-intensity exercise influences the fatty acid composition of the phospholipids in skeletal muscle, which hypothetically may contribute to changes of the skeletal muscle membrane fluidity and influence the peripheral insulin sensitivity.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Fatty acid composition in serum among males 4-16 years after myocardial infarction.

In a case-control study we compared men who had suffered a myocardial infarction with age-matched controls free from clinically apparent ischemic heart disease. Our main interest were differences in serum lipid and apolipoprotein concentrations. We found no significant differences between these two populations. The fatty acid composition of the serum cholesterol esters was studied as an indirect measure of the dietary fat quality. There were rather small differences with regard to the fatty acid composition between the survivor cases and the controls suggesting that the quality of the dietary fat was not better among the cases after the myocardial infarction than among the average male in Kiruna. The cases had a significantly higher proportion of palmitoleic acid (16:1 n-7, p < 0.004) than the controls, also after controlling for other biomedical risk factors. A high content of palmitoleic acid may be a marker of increased risk for coronary heart disease.

Apolipoproteins↗
PubMed1997

Stiffness of the common carotid artery in healthy 50-year-old subjects.

We examined whether, in a group of healthy 50 year-old subjects, there was a relation between the stiffness of the common carotid artery and risk factors for atherosclerosis and, further, if there was a sex difference in these healthy individuals. A group of 248 healthy subjects (123 men and 125 women), all 50 years of age, were examined. The elastic properties of the common carotid artery, measured in terms of stiffness index, were investigated with an ultrasound technique. Men had significantly higher stiffness index than women (5.46 +/- 1.32 vs. 5.04 +/- 1.05, P < 0.01). The arterial diameter was significantly larger in men. When comparing stiffness index in a subgroup of 38 men and women with similar arterial diameters, no significant difference in stiffness index was found. Multivariate analysis showed that smoking habits, measured as pack-years, insulin levels and the low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-/high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol ratio was independently significantly associated with the stiffness index. Sex did not emerge as a significant variable. In conclusion, there is a relation between the stiffness of the carotid arteries and risk factors for atherosclerosis such as smoking, insulin levels and LDL-/HDL-cholesterol ratio in healthy 50-year-old subjects. The stiffness is higher in men than in women, probably dependent on differences in arterial size and possibly also on risk factors.

Arteriosclerosis↗
PubMed1997

Age relations of cardiovascular risk factors in a traditional Melanesian society: the Kitava Study.

This study examined cross-sectional age relations of blood pressure, anthropometric indexes, serum lipids, and hemostatic variables in 203 subsistence horticulturists aged 20-86 y in Kitava, Trobriand Islands, Papua New Guinea. The population is characterized by extreme leanness (despite food abundance), low blood pressure, low plasma plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 activity, and rarity of cardiovascular disease. Tubers, fruit, fish, and coconut are dietary staples whereas dairy products, refined fat and sugar, cereals, and alcohol are absent and salt intake is low. Although diastolic blood pressure was not associated with age in Kitavans, systolic blood pressure increased linearly after 50 y of age in both sexes. Body mass index decreased with age in both sexes. Serum total cholesterol, triacylglycerol, low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol, and apolipoprotein B increased in males between 20 and 50 y of age, whereas high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol and apolipoprotein A-I decreased. There were no significant differences in these indexes with age in the few females studied. A slight linear age-related increase of lipoprotein(a) was present in males. Plasma fibrinogen, factor VII clotting activity, factor VIII clotting activity, and von Willebrand factor antigen increased with age in both sexes but plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 activity did not. The modest or absent relations between the indexes measured and age are apparently important explanations of the virtual nonexistence of stroke and ischemic heart disease in Kitava.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Treatment of homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia with low density lipoprotein apheresis: a 4 year follow-up study.

Hypercholesterolemia and elevated lipoprotein (a) (Lp[a]) levels are considered to be risk factors for the development and progression of premature atherosclerosis. The purpose of our report is to describe the effects of low density lipoprotein (LDL) apheresis (Liposorber system, Kanegafuchi Chemical Industrial Company LTD, Osaka, Japan) on serum lipoprotein concentrations and the clinical status in 2 male patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia. Compared with pretreatment values, the posttreatment concentrations of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and Lp(a) were significantly reduced by 50-60% (p < 0.0001). The concentration of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol was slightly affected. After one treatment session, LDL cholesterol and Lp(a) were decreased on average by 65% and then increased to reach about 70-75% of the pretreatment values before the next session. Prior to the treatment with LDL apheresis, each patient had suffered one myocardial infarction and had had 2 coronary angiographies. After treatment with LDL apheresis, neither cardiac complaints nor myocardial infarction were observed. The xanthomas were much decreased during the treatment or disappeared. We conclude that LDL apheresis can be continued safely and without major technical problems for several years. Apheresis effectively lowers the serum levels of total and LDL cholesterol. Furthermore, it reduces Lp(a), which is not influenced by lipid-lowering drugs. The reduction of LDL cholesterol and Lp(a) may delay the progression of the atherosclerotic process, thereby helping to reduce the risk of new episodes of coronary heart disease and thus extending the life expectancy in these patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Serum lipoproteins and apolipoproteins in children during the first five years of diabetes.

Serum lipoproteins and apolipoproteins were followed in 34 children during a period of 5 years from the onset of diabetes. The group did not differ in these respects from a healthy control group after 5 years of disease. The variation in serum triglycerides and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) triglycerides was more pronounced, some patients having high values. Serum triglycerides and VLDL lipids were significantly correlated to subcutaneous fat, measured as triceps and subscapular skinfolds. None of the patients had albuminuria, so lipid levels could not be related to renal albumin excretion. There was no significant correlation between any serum lipid and haemoglobin A1c.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Effects of LDL apheresis on blood rheology in two patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia.

Changes in haemorheological and lipid variables were investigated in 2 patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) treated with low-density lipoprotein (LDL) apheresis using dextran sulphate adsorbent. The immediate effect of LDL apheresis was a fall in plasma fibrinogen by 50%, total and LDL cholesterol by 60%, plasma viscosity by 12% and whole blood viscosity by 17%. Before the 12th treatment session, plasma fibrinogen concentration remained reduced by 22%, whole blood viscosity by 17% and the plasma viscosity by 11% compared with the initial values. Total and LDL cholesterol in plasma also remained reduced by about 50%. We conclude that LDL apheresis, using dextran sulphate adsorbent, improves blood rheology. The decrease in plasma fibrinogen concentrations, plasma viscosity and LDL cholesterol might be factors contributing to the improved haemorheological properties.

Adsorption↗
PubMed1997

Growth hormone (GH)-deficient men are more responsive to GH replacement therapy than women.

Thirty-six patients with adult-onset GH deficiency (GHD) were examined before and after 9 months of treatment with recombinant GH. The study was conducted as a double blind, placebo-controlled, 21-month trial with a cross-over design, with each treatment period lasting for 9 months. The same dose, adjusted for body surface area, was given to men (n = 21) and women (n = 15), and the effects on body composition and biochemical parameters were evaluated with respect to gender. The extent of GHD, assessed before therapy from basal GH secretion and GH release in response to provocative tests, did not differ between the two groups. The men, however, had higher serum insulin-like growth factor I concentrations than the women (mean +/- SD, 126 +/- 71 vs. 61 +/- 32 micrograms/L; P = 0.0003), less body fat, and greater lean body mass. Upon treatment, insulin-like growth factor I concentrations increased more in men than in women (by 305 +/- 136 and 198 +/- 96 micrograms/L, respectively; P = 0.02). The men lost more body fat than the women (7.4 +/- 4.1% vs. 3.3 +/- 3.8%; P = 0.002), whereas the difference in gain in lean body mass failed to reach statistical significance. Serum levels of total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprotein B, and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 decreased in the male group (P = 0.003, P = 0.03, P = 0.0009, and P = 0.01, respectively), but not in the females. Serum markers of bone formation, namely osteocalcin, procollagen type I, bone-specific alkaline phosphatase, and a marker of bone resorption, telopeptide of collagen type I, increased more markedly in men than in women. Lipoprotein(a) increased to a similar extent in the male and female groups. The data demonstrate that men and women with GHD display marked differences in their responsiveness to GH replacement therapy. These differences should be taken into consideration when optimizing the treatment of GHD patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Diet and dietary markers in Kiruna and Uppsala, Sweden--a comparison.

Because of a very high mortality in ischaemic heart disease in Kiruna, Sweden, a case-control study was undertaken to study risk factors (e.g. life style, hypertension, psycho-social factors, and diet and serum lipids). As part of this study the dietary habit, lipoproteins and composition of fatty acids in cholesterol esters in serum and adipose tissue triglycerides were studied in Kiruna and in an age-matched reference cohort in Uppsala. There were small, non-significant differences in these variables between cases and controls in Kiruna and between the Kiruna cohort and a reference cohort in Uppsala. Main differences in the inter-city comparison were low levels of gamma tocopherol in serum, high levels of palmitic acid (16:0) and low levels of linoleic acid (18:2 n-6) in serum cholesterol esters and adipose tissue triglycerides in Kiruna which suggest dietary differences and different anti-oxidative status in the two populations.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

The serum cholesterol ester fatty acid composition but not the serum concentration of alpha tocopherol predicts the development of myocardial infarction in 50-year-old men: 19 years follow-up.

A low serum tocopherol concentration and a low proportion of linoleic acid in plasma cholesterol esters have been reported to be associated with coronary heart disease. This study was undertaken to evaluate the predictive importance of the serum cholesterol ester fatty acid composition and serum tocopherol concentration in addition to established risk factors for myocardial infarction. The study comprised 2322 fifty-year-old men who participated in a health survey in 1970-1973 regarding risk factors for coronary heart disease. The proportions of myristic, palmitic, palmitoleic, and dihomogammalinolenic acid were significantly higher in 1970-1973 in subjects who suffered myocardial infarction during the following 19 years, while the proportion of linoleic acid was lower, than in those who remained healthy. Serum tocopherol did not differ significantly between the groups. LDL/HDL ratio, systolic blood pressure, and arachidonic acid/dihomogammalinolenic acid ratio were significant independent discriminators between cases and controls in a stepwise logistic regression analysis. This study suggests that middle-aged men who later develop a myocardial infarction are characterized not only by conventional risk factors but also by an altered fatty acid composition of serum cholesterol esters, with a low arachidonic to dihomogammalinolenic acid ratio, indicating reduced delta 5 desaturase activity. This may imply that changes in the quality of dietary fat intake, or an altered capacity to metabolize fatty acids in the body, could precede the development of coronary heart disease.

Biomarkers↗
PubMed1996

Lipoprotein composition and serum cholesterol ester fatty acids in nonwesternized Melanesians.

In this study, the relationships between dietary fat [as measured by serum cholesterol ester fatty acids (CE-FA)], age, smoking, body mass index, and serum lipids were analyzed in 151 subsistence horticulturalists, aged 20-86 yr, from Kitava, Trobriand Islands, Papua New Guinea. Their diet consists of tubers, fruit, coconut, fish, and vegetables with a negligible influence of western food and alcohol. Total fat intake is low [21% of energy (en%)], while saturated fat intake from coconuts is high (17 en%, mainly lauric and myristic acid). In multivariate analysis, 11-43% of the variation of the serum lipoprotein composition was explained by CE-FA, age, and smoking habits. The proportion of CE20:5n-3 explained much of the variation of triglycerides (TG, negative relation) and high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C, positive) in both sexes and serum apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1, positive) in the males. CE16:0 was positively related to TG and negatively related to HDL-C and ApoA1 in both sexes, and in males it related negatively to total cholesterol (TC) and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C). In males, negative relationships were present between CE18:2n-6 and TC and between CE14:0 and serum lipoprotein(a). Smoking was independently associated with lower ApoA1 in both sexes and with lower HDL-C and higher TG, TC, LDL-C, and apolipoprotein B in males. In conclusion, marine n-3 fatty acids and linoleic acid showed the same potentially beneficial relationships with lipoproteins and apolipoproteins as in western populations. The relations of palmitic acid to serum lipids may be explained in terms of endogenous fat synthesis at a low-fat intake, rather than reflecting its relative intake.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Insulin resistance syndrome in adolescents.

To explore whether the so-called insulin resistance syndrome can be identified in adolescents, serum insulin level was measured in 842 healthy Swedish adolescents (462 boys and 380 girls) and the values were related to current serum lipoprotein and apolipoprotein values (triglyceride [TG], total cholesterol [TC], high-density lipoprotein cholesterol [HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol [LDL-C], apolipoprotein [apo] A-I, apo B, and lipoprotein(a)), blood pressure (BP), and anthropometric measurements and previous physical growth. Mean serum insulin values were higher in 14-year-olds as compared with 17-year-olds and were highest in midpuberty. Adolescents with a high serum insulin had a higher attained height and weight during infancy and childhood. Obesity (body mass index [BMI] > 30 kg/m2) was found in 1% of both boys and girls, and hypertensive BP levels were found in 3% of the boys and 1% of the girls. Controlling for age, serum insulin correlated positively with BMI (r = .36 and .25 in boys and girls, respectively), TG (r = .32 and .14), LDL-C (r = .17 and .24), and apoB (r = .23 and .23) and negatively with HDL-C (r = -.13 and -.21). High serum insulin, TG, LDL-C, and BP and low HDL-C clustered in adolescents with high BMI. In conclusion, the findings of this study indicate that features typical of the insulin resistance syndrome are already present in adolescents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Gamma, but not alpha, tocopherol levels in serum are reduced in coronary heart disease patients.

OBJECTIVES: Low concentrations of alpha tocopherol are claimed to be associated with an increased prevalence of coronary heart disease. This study was undertaken to see whether measurements of serum tocopherol concentrations can contribute to discrimination between subjects with and without coronary heart disease. SETTING: All patients had been referred to the department of cardiology of the University Hospital in Uppsala, Sweden. SUBJECTS: Male patients (n = 69) below 60 years of age with coronary heart disease (CHD) and healthy age-matched reference subjects (n = 138) were compared. RESULTS: Lipid-corrected alpha tocopherol concentrations did not differ significantly between the groups, but the CHD group had a lower mean concentration of gamma tocopherol and a higher alpha/gamma ratio. In a stepwise logistic regression analysis, the LDL/HDL ratio was the best independent discriminator between the groups, followed by the proportion of palmitic acid in the cholesterol esters and the alpha/gamma tocopherol ratio. CONCLUSIONS: The lower gamma tocopherol concentration and the high ratio between alpha and gamma tocopherol in the CHD group indicate a difference in antioxidative status between CHD patients and healthy subjects. The lipid-lowering treatment of these CHD patients is far from optimal.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Serum alpha tocopherol concentrations and cholesterol ester fatty acid composition in 70-year-old men reflect those 20 years earlier.

OBJECTIVE: It has been suggested that low serum alpha tocopherol concentrations and a low proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the serum cholesterol esters may be associated with a high risk of developing coronary heart disease. DESIGN AND SUBJECTS: In this study the intraindividual reproducibility (biological 'tracking') of these variables was studied in 855 men at the ages of 50 and 70 years. RESULTS: The lipid adjusted tocopherol concentration was positively correlated (r = 0.28, P < 0.0001) between 50 and 70 years of age. Also the proportions of the serum cholesterol ester fatty acids were positively correlated between the same ages with r = 0.31 (P < 0.0001) for palmitic, r = 0.45 (P < 0.0001) for linoleic, and r = 0.58 (P < 0.0001) for arachidonic acid. The body weights of the men at 50 and 70 years of age were strongly correlated (r = 0.78, P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The tocopherol concentrations and the fatty acid composition are related to vitamin intake and to the dietary fat quality, respectively, and may be useful markers in prospective studies of diseases and of development of diseases. The correlations between the proportions of fatty acids and the body weights, respectively at the ages of 50 and 70 indicate, that changes in diet and body weight in men are probably relatively limited between these years.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Serum lipid values in adolescents are related to family history, infant feeding, and physical growth.

Total serum cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglycerides (TG), apolipoprotein A-I (apo A-I), apolipoprotein B (apo B), and lipoprotein (a) (Lp(a)) were analysed in 879 14- and 17-year-old healthy adolescents (477 boys and 402 girls), and related to family history of cardiovascular disease, early feeding, weight and length at birth, and physical growth during infancy and childhood. Mean TC was significantly higher in girls than in boys (4.4 and 4.2 mmol/l, respectively, both age-groups together). High TC values ( > 5.2 mmol/l) were more prevalent in girls than in boys: 14% and 17% compared to 6% and 12% in 14- and 17-year-old girls and boys, respectively. Mean TC and LDL-C values were lower during mid-puberty in both boys and girls while, in boys but not in girls, mean HDL-C values decreased and TG values increased successively with increasing pubertal stage. Girls who were taking oral contraceptives had higher mean values of TC (4.91/4.39 mmol/l), TG (1.32/0.83 mmol/l), and apo B (0.89/0.73 g/l). Boys with a family history of early deaths ( < 55 years) from myocardial infarction and girls with a family history of cerebral haemorrhage/thrombosis in fathers had higher mean values of TC (4.55/4.17 and 5.03/4.40 mmol/l, for boys and girls, respectively), LDL-C (2.84/2.47 and 3.08/2.56 mmol/l), and apo B (0.73/0.70 and 0.86/0.73 g/l). Adolescents with short duration of breast feeding ( < 6 months), or early introduction of infant formula, had higher mean values of TC (4.29/4.14 mmol/l) and apo B (0.72/0.68 g/l). There were no significant correlations between serum lipid values and body weight or length at birth, but adolescents with high LDL-C (upper quartile) seemed to have lower attained heights during infancy and childhood. In conclusion, this study shows that serum lipids in adolescence are primarily related to age and sex but also to early determinants like family history of cardiovascular diseases, infant feeding, and early physical growth.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

A comparison between the effects of gemfibrozil and simvastatin on insulin sensitivity in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and hyperlipoproteinemia.

In a double-blind, randomized crossover study, 29 patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and hyperlipoproteinemia were treated with gemfibrozil (1,200 mg/d) or simvastatin (10 mg/d) for 4 months. After gemfibrozil treatment, the insulin concentration was increased during the major part of the intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT) and during the hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp. Similar but less pronounced elevations were caused by simvastatin. Insulin sensitivity decreased by 27% and 28% during gemfibrozil and simvastatin treatment, respectively. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol was decreased with simvastatin treatment by 24%. The LDL cholesterol level was not changed by gemfibrozil, but very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol was reduced by 40%. The VLDL triglyceride concentration was reduced to a significantly greater extent by gemfibrozil. After gemfibrozil treatment, lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] was decreased by 24%, and the plasma free fatty acid (FFA) concentration was increased by 20% and skeletal muscle lipoprotein lipase activity (LPLA) by 37%. Although simvastatin more effectively decreased LDL cholesterol levels and the LDL to high-density lipoprotein (HDL) ratio, it cannot be claimed unreservedly that this drug is necessarily preferable in NIDDM patients. Gemfibrozil improved triglyceride removal and decreased VLDL concentrations, with qualitative changes in LDL. The apparent effects on insulin sensitivity are difficult to evaluate and need further study.

Aged↗