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Biomedical subjects

F Kauffmann

Publications and source records attributed to F Kauffmann.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

Total circulating IgE and FEV1 in adult men. An epidemiologic longitudinal study.

Epidemiologic data relating total circulating immunoglobulin E (IgE), an objective marker of allergy, to cross-sectional and longitudinal FEV1 as well as to methacholine bronchial hyperresponsiveness were obtained from 310 French adult men surveyed five years apart. Skin prick test responses to common aeroallergens, IgE level, and bronchial hyperresponsiveness were assessed at the end of the follow-up. IgE level was not associated with PD20 to methacholine. Cross-sectionally, age and height-adjusted FEV1 score was inversely related to total IgE level (regression coefficient of FEV1 score on Log[IgE] beta = -.20; p = 0.02). Stratified analysis showed that IgE level was associated with FEV1 score only in nonsmokers (beta = -0.52; p less than 0.001), an association that remained after exclusion of asthmatics. Longitudinally, five-year FEV1 decline was related to IgE in nonsmokers (regression coefficient of FEV1 decline on Log[IgE] beta = 19.9; p = 0.03) and exsmokers (beta = 18.9; p = 0.06) but not in current smokers. The relationship persisted, even if with lesser significance, among exsmokers after exclusion of asthmatics (beta = 17.2) and further exclusion of skin prick test-positive men (beta = 18.8). Whether IgE production also reflects factors other than allergy, possibly nonallergic inflammation, needs further investigations.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Relationship of upper airways disorders to FEV1 and bronchial hyperresponsiveness in an epidemiological study.

Associations of upper airways disorders (UAD) with forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and bronchial methacholine response were studied, taking smoking habits into account. We used epidemiological data drawn from a population of 324 men, aged 27-58 yrs. Lower FEV1 level was related to hay fever (p = 0.01), usual (p = 0.01) and chronic (p = 0.02) rhinitis and common cold on the day of examination (p = 0.04). Allowance for the major potential confounding factor, tobacco smoking, showed similar results. Bronchial methacholine response was heightened in men reporting hay fever compared to those without (p = 0.01) but also in men reporting chronic rhinitis (p = 0.06), a group which did not exhibit skin prick test positivity more often than other subjects. Exclusion of asthmatics and taking into account smoking and skin prick test positivity yielded mostly similar results. Our data support the hypothesis of an association between lung impairment, as assessed by lower FEV1 and bronchial hyperresponsiveness to methacholine, and different types of UAD, allergic or not.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

In utero exposure to parental smoking, cotinine measurements, and cord blood IgE.

The relationship between parental smoking and cord blood IgE has been studied in a survey conducted in 99 unselected newborn infants with a sensitive tests for IgE and cotinine as a biologic marker to validate smoking data. For both cord blood cotinine and maternal urine continine creatinine ratio (CCR), significantly higher levels were observed for smokers compared to nonsmokers. Furthermore, among nonsmokers, passive smokers had significantly higher cotinine levels than true nonsmokers, which demonstrates that cord blood may be used to assess active as well as passive maternal smoking. No association was observed in this study between cord blood IgE and maternal smoking assessed by questionnaire (geometric means of cord blood IgE levels were 0.11 IU/ml for newborn infants of smoking mothers and 0.12 IU/ml for newborn infants of nonsmoking mothers). The same observations were drawn from the analysis of cord blood IgE and cotinine levels, with correlation coefficients of -0.005 for cord blood CCR and 0.003 for maternal CCR. Additional studies are needed to determine whether maternal smoking is causally related to cord blood IgE and by which mechanisms.

Cotinine↗
PubMed1991

Relationships of haptoglobin level to FEV1, wheezing, bronchial hyper-responsiveness and allergy.

The relationships of haptoglobin level to respiratory and allergic parameters have been assessed in an epidemiological study conducted in a working population surveyed twice 5 years apart. At the first survey conducted in 892 working men, haptoglobin level was significantly related to FEV1 (r = -0.18; P less than 0.001) and smoking habits. After adjustment for smoking, a history of wheezing was significantly related to lower haptoglobin level. A second survey conducted in 304 men of the original sample 5 years later confirmed that haptoglobin was related to FEV1 (r = -0.21; P less than 0.001) and that wheezing was significantly related to hypohaptoglobinaemia (lower decile; P = 0.04). Men who exhibited bronchial hyper-responsiveness to methacholine had haptoglobin levels 0.35 g/l higher than those who did not (P = 0.01). Haptoglobin level was unrelated to IgE level and skin prick tests. These results support the hypothesis of the role of inflammation in both lower lung function and bronchial hyper-responsiveness. They suggest that some heterogeneity exists within subjects with a history of wheezing.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Blood eosinophilia and FEV1. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses.

A previous cross-sectional analysis of 1980 data from a population of working men in the Paris area has shown a significant relationship of blood eosinophilia to a reduced FEV1 among nonsmokers, remaining after excluding men with a history of asthma. In the present report, we reexamine this relationship, after taking into account asthma, bronchial hyperresponsiveness, and positive skin prick tests, using data collected in 1985 in a subsample of 363 men from the initial population. Blood eosinophilia, defined by 5% or more eosinophils or by 250 or more eosinophils per cubic millimeter appeared to be associated with a lower FEV1, primarily in nonsmokers. A difference of approximately 0.40 L was observed in never-smokers with eosinophilia (greater than or equal to 5% of eosinophils) compared with those without. This association persisted after exclusion of subjects with atopy, asthma, and bronchial hyperresponsiveness. Longitudinally, no significant association was observed between 1980 eosinophilia and the annual FEV1 decline between 1980 and 1985, even in nonsmokers. The results of our cross-sectional analyses suggest that asthma or asthma-like disorder does not explain the association between eosinophilia and FEV1. The role of eosinophil in respiratory disorders may go beyond its intervention in allergy. Further longitudinal studies are needed to better understand discrepancies between cross-sectional and longitudinal data and whether eosinophilia is a risk factor for chronic air-flow limitation.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Relationships of total IgE level, skin prick test response, and smoking habits.

Epidemiologic observations on 331 men showed that increased serum IgE concentration was associated with a wheal response to skin prick testing, but also to an erythema response in the absence of any wheal, and to heavy smoking. The association between IgE and the various skin prick test responses remained after taking into account smoking and asthma.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Respiratory symptoms and lung function in relation to passive smoking: a comparative study of American and French women.

Results are reported from a parallel analysis of the association of passive smoking with respiratory symptoms and lung function (FEV1, FVC and FEV1/FVC) in 2220 US and 3855 French women from the general population examined over the same time period using similar methods. Age, city, educational level, occupational exposure and height (for lung function) were taken into account. In the US survey, being a never smoker married to a current or former smoker was significantly associated only with wheezing compared to being a true never smoker. A borderline significant association between passive smoking and dyspnoea was observed among women older than 40 in the French survey. No association was observed with cough or phlegm production. Passive smoking was significantly related to lower FVC and FEV1 values among French women 40 years or more, even among those without a history of wheeze or asthma. However, even among US women older than 40 years of age, there was no significant association between passive smoking and level of lung function. Better housing conditions, higher divorce rates, more frequent exposure to passive smoking in childhood, and different selection factors for active smoking in the US compared to France might explain the lack of association of current spousal smoking habits with lower lung function in American women.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Familial factors related to lung function in children aged 6-10 years. Results from the PAARC epidemiologic study.

Familial factors related to lung function between six and 10 years of age have been studied among 1,160 children whose both parents were examined in 1975 in the French PAARC (Pollution Atmosphérique et Affections Respiratoires Chroniques) Cooperative Study. The three indices FVC (forced vital capacity), FEV1 (forced expiratory volume in one second), and FEF25-75 (forced expiratory flow between 25 and 75 per cent of the vital capacity) were studied after adjustment for sex, town, age, and height (and weight for children's FVC and FEV1). Maternal (but not paternal) smoking was associated with a significant decrease in FEV1 and FEF25-75, but not in FVC. Familial resemblance was observed for all indices between children and parents and between siblings. None of the environmental factors considered (i.e., parental smoking or education) or body habitus explained the familial resemblance observed. Conversely, after taking into account the aggregation between siblings, associations between children's lung function and parental characteristics (smoking, lung function) remained significant. Parental-children correlations exhibited an increasing temporal trend with increasing age of the children. All but one correlation for FVC, FEV1, and FEF25-75 residuals of children with mothers' residuals were higher in the oldest age group compared with the youngest age group at the 0.10 level. Furthermore, correlations between siblings of opposite sex were significantly lower than correlations between siblings of like sex, especially for FEV1/FVC and FEF25-75/FVC. Results suggest that different growth patterns between boys and girls may be a critical factor in the study of lung function familial resemblance.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1989

[The autonomic nervous system in sudden infant death syndrome. Analysis of heart rate and sinusal variability on Holter monitoring of infants who died].

To evidence abnormality of cardiac control by the autonomic nervous system in the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) we retrospectively analysed the Holter recordings and cardiopneumograms of 19 infants (11 boys, 8 girls) of mean +/- SD age 2.3 +/- 1.5 months who had subsequently died of SIDS. Two infants were regarded as normal and the reference diagnoses in the remaining 17 infants were: apparent life threatening event (8), SIDS siblings (8) and prematurity (1). At the time of death the age was 4.2 +/- 2 months. Each of these infants was matched with three control infants in term of postnatal age, gestational age and reference diagnosis, but without SIDS at follow-up of at least one year. Nine hours of Holter recordings (9 p.m. to 6 a.m.) were analysed in term of mean heart rate and sinus oscillations waves. To differentiate between short oscillations of 4 to 6 RR, which are induced by respiration and reflect vagal activity, and long oscillations of 20 to 32 RR, which reflect both neurogenic sympathetic and vagal activity, we used a new method which measures the number and the amplitude in milliseconds of each type of oscillations. The results are expressed as the logarithm of the product of these two variables. Heart rate, correlated to age in both groups, is higher in the deceased infants group (141 +/- 14 mn and 135 +/- 15; p less than 0.05: analysis of covariance with age as an independent variable). Short oscillations, also correlated to age, are lower in the deceased infants group (3.35 +/- 0.59 and 3.65 +/- 0.61; p less than 0.05: analysis of covariance with age).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Arrhythmia, Sinus↗
PubMed1989

The relation between snoring and smoking, body mass index, age, alcohol consumption and respiratory symptoms.

Potential risk factors for snoring were studied in a population of 457 middle-aged men. Eversnoring was reported by 60% of the men and snoring with an age of onset before or equal to 20 years by 13%. Eversnoring was significantly related to older age, higher body mass index and smoking habits. Alcohol consumption, estimated by questionnaire and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase was unrelated to a history of snoring. Logistic regression showed that snoring was independently associated with age, body mass index and smoking habits. An exposure-effect relationship clearly appeared between tobacco consumption and snoring. After adjustment for smoking habits, none of the upper or lower respiratory symptoms was significantly related to snoring.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Leukocyte count and bronchial hyperresponsiveness.

The relationship of total and differential blood leukocyte counts with bronchial methacholine response was studied in a population-based sample of 324 men. Geometric mean total leukocyte counts were significantly higher in reactors (6567 cells/mm3) than in nonreactors (5732 cells/mm3; p = 0.003). After adjusting for smoking habits, a factor contributing to both an elevation in peripheral leukocyte count and an increased level of airway responsiveness, reactor status remained significantly associated with leukocyte count. This association also persisted after controlling, with a logistic model, for atopy and common cold (marker of infection) and after excluding men with a history of asthma, chronic bronchitis, or low FEV1. Study of the differential leukocyte counts has shown that an increase was present for almost every type of leukocyte, and particularly evident for neutrophils. Whether these findings reflect an association between bronchial hyperresponsiveness and cellular inflammation needs more investigation.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

The relation of respiratory symptoms and ventilatory function to moderate occupational exposure in a general population. Results from the French PAARC study of 16,000 adults.

Data from the French PAARC (Pollution Atmosphérique et Affections Respiratoires Chroniques) study were used to assess the effect of a priori moderate occupational exposure to dust, gases or chemical fumes on the prevalence of respiratory symptoms and ventilatory function. In this community-based population, without households 'headed' by manual workers, 34% of the 8692 men and 23% of the 7772 women, 25-59 years of age, ever occupationally active, reported some exposure. The studied relationships were adjusted for age, height, smoking habits, socio-occupational class, education and air pollution by logistic or linear regression methods. For men and women, some 50% increase (p less than 0.01) in chronic cough, chronic bronchitis, dyspnoea grade 2 and wheezing prevalence was observed in the exposed group compared to the never exposed, with the strongest association for wheezing. FEV1 and FEF25-75% were not associated with occupational exposure. Among men, FEV1/FVC and FEF25-75%/FVC were significantly lower (p less than 0.001 and p less than 0.05) among the exposed compared to never exposed, but FVC was significantly greater (p less than 0.05). Among women, occupational exposure was significantly related to a lower FEV1/FVC in the subgroup with a history of asthma or wheezing. Results suggest that occupational exposures of relatively low intensity, encountered in the non-industrial work places may constitute a non-negligible risk for respiratory health.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Relation of perceived nasal and bronchial hyperresponsiveness to FEV1, basophil counts, and methacholine response.

Perceived nasal and bronchial hyperresponsiveness to tobacco smoke and cold air were assessed in 912 working men in the Paris area. Baseline lung function measurements and peripheral leucocyte counts with standard differential counts were performed. At least one perceived nasal or bronchial hyperresponsiveness symptom was reported by 15.7%. Current smoking was significantly less frequent among those with cough induced by tobacco smoke. Rhinitis induced by cold air was associated with lower FEV1 (p less than 0.01) and the association remained after adjustment for smoking, asthma, and wheezing (p = 0.06). Symptoms induced by cold air were related to circulating basophils. Neither perceived nasal nor perceived bronchial hyperresponsiveness was significantly related to the airway response to methacholine in a sample of the group (n = 324) surveyed again five years later. The result suggest that the symptom of rhinitis provoked by cold air is a possible "new" risk factor or marker for chronic airflow limitation.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Seasonal patterns of circulating basophils.

The seasonal patterns of circulating basophils were investigated in a sample of 33,000 French subjects, aged 20-60 years. Circannual variations (minimum in October, maximum in July) which might be related to pollens were observed. Periods with cold weather (temperature below 0 degrees C) correlated to a temporary rise in basophils.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

[Risk factors of smoking in 11-to-16-year-old adolescents].

The risk factors for smoking have been studied by a self administered questionnaire in 710 boys and 1,233 girls aged 11 to 16 amongst young French school children in the department of Yvelines. The percentage of smokers in this age group was estimated at 15.4%. Comparison of smokers (7.1 cigarettes per day on average) and non-smokers shows an association between smoking in boys and or/girls and the age of the subject, smoking habits of parents, brothers, sisters, members of the family or best friends, socioeconomic status of the parents, one parent families, attitudes and attention of the parents, religious observance, type and area of the school and authorization of smoking in the school yards. Assessed independently the only relationships to tobacco smoking actually were age, smoking habits of best friends, parents, brothers and sisters, and in girls only (for whom the sample size was larger) type and area of the school and one parent families. These results suggest that interventions that are aimed at decreasing smoking amongst the young, should take into account not just individuals, but the young as a group and the familial environment.

Adolescent↗