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Biomedical subjects

G Heiss

Publications and source records attributed to G Heiss.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Menopausal change in serum cholesterol. Black/white differences in Evans County, Georgia.

The relationship between menopausal status and total serum cholesterol was examined cross-sectionally in a population of 40- to 54-year-old black and white women of Evans County, Georgia. The relationship differed in blacks and whites as assessed by a significant interaction term in linear regression. Controlling for age, Quetelet index, and smoking status, white postmenopausal women showed an estimated increase in total serum cholesterol of 25 mg/dl (p less than 0.001) compared with premenopausal whites, whereas black postmenopausal women showed no significant increase in total serum cholesterol compared with premenopausal blacks. The authors were unable to attribute the lack of menopausal effect in blacks to selection or measurement bias, nor did confounding or effect modification by obesity or social status negate their findings. Of six other populations in which menopausal influence on total serum cholesterol has been examined, only Pima Indians failed to show a significant increase.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

The ratio of plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol to total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol: age-related changes and race and sex differences in selected North American populations. The Lipid Research Clinics Program Prevalence Study.

The distribution of the ratios of plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) to total cholesterol (TC) and of HDL-C to low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) are presented for 6900 white and 495 black examinees greater than 4 years old. Measurements were obtained during the visit 2 survey of the Lipid Research Clinics (LRC) Program Prevalence Study, and correspond to a 15% random sample of 60,502 participants screened during the LRC visit 1 survey. Age-specific means, medians, and selected percentiles are given by sex and by gonadal hormone use in white women. Apparent in these cross-sectional data was a consistent age-related decline in the ratio of HDL-C to TC for white male participants, from a mean of 0.360 in the age group 5 to 9 to a mean of 0.211 in the age group 50 to 54. Thereafter the mean ratio increased slightly. In white women not using gonadal hormones the age-related decline in the ratio was only evident starting at the age group 35 to 39, from which it declines from 0.329 to 0.258 in the age group 55 to 59. White women using gonadal hormones showed very minor age-related changes in the HDL-C/TC ratio, varying around a mean of 0.300. The number of blacks examined was low and thus the racial comparisons must be interpreted with caution. For each gender, age-related trends were similar in black and white study participants. Black men, however, had a higher percentage of TC carried as HDL-C than white men in all age groups examined. Black women had a higher percentage of TC in HDL-C than white women only below age 20; in the adult age range no appreciable differences were seen. Pearson correlation coefficients between the lipid, lipoprotein, and lipoprotein ratios are presented. The ratio HDL-C/TC correlated highly with the ratio HDL-C/LDL-C (greater than 0.92 for all groups) and the former may be a more conveniently determined surrogate for the latter. Although not exhaustive regarding the information it conveys about a lipid pattern, the ratio HDL-C/TC has the advantage of summarizing complex associations into a single numerical approximation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Ischemic heart disease risk factors and twenty-year mortality in middle-age Evans County black males.

Ischemic heart disease (IHD) risk factors and 20-year mortality rates were studied in middle-aged Evans County black males. We hypothesized, a priori, that blood pressure, cholesterol, and smoking would be predictive of mortality in black males; that black-white differences in mortality would be due to differences in risk factor levels and not risk functions per se; and that social status would be associated with risk factor levels and would be a predictor of mortality. Multivariate analyses of cumulative risk of dying and time to death suggest that the major IHD risk factors are predictors of all-cause and IHD mortality in black males. Black-white differences in risk functions, specifically for cholesterol, were explained by social status: black males and lower social status white males had similar risk functions, different from those of higher social status white males. Black males and lower social status white males had almost identical survival curves, each less favorable than those of higher social status white males.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Black-white differences in plasma levels of apolipoproteins: the Evans County Heart Study.

Evans County black males had lower ischemic heart disease (IHD) prevalence, incidence, and mortality than white males. High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol was lower in IHD cases than in subjects without IHD. HDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein A-I (Apo A-I) were higher and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol, and Apo C-II were lower in black than white males. Of the black-white male HDL cholesterol difference, 22% was statistically explained by Apo A-I. Controlling for Apo C-II reduced the black-white differences in total cholesterol 87%, LDL cholesterol 44%, VLDL cholesterol 83%, and total triglyceride 83%. There were negative associations between Apo A-I and age, Quetelet index, and cigarettes smoked; the association between Apo A-I and alcohol was positive. Only body mass index and race were strong correlates of Apo C-II. The ratios of Apo A-I to Apo A-II and of HDL cholesterol to Apo A-II were higher in black than white males with adjustment for age, body mass, and cigarette and alcohol consumption. Thus black-white differences in total lipids, lipoprotein lipids, and lipoprotein apoproteins were observed, indicating a relatively antiatherogenic profile in black males only partially explained by known correlates.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

The constancy of parent-offspring similarity of total cholesterol throughout childhood and early adult life. The Lipid Research Clinics Program Prevalence Study.

In a cross-sectional study of 11,409 white parent-offspring pairs in five North American populations we examined the effect of age of the offspring on parent-offspring total cholesterol correlations. In general there were no differences in correlations by age of the offspring for the four types (by gender) of parent-offspring pairs. This was true within each of the five populations and for the average of all populations combined. For offspring from less than 2-29 years of age, these average age-specific correlations ranged from 0.17 to 0.42. Despite the considerable physiologic and environmental changes which influence cholesterol levels from birth to early adulthood, the strength of parent-offspring similarity shows no consistent pattern of change.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Smoking status and lipid levels in adults of different ethnic origins: the Jerusalem Lipid Research Clinic Program.

Jerusalem Lipid Research Clinic Program. International Journal of Epidermiology 1984; 13: 177-183. The relationship between cigarette smoking and plasma lipids and lipoproteins was examined in a random sample of 1115 male and 563 female adult participants in the Jerusalem Lipid Research Clinics Program. Differences in plasma lipids and lipoproteins, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and body mass index were demonstrated between the four country of origin groups in both sexes. Using multiple linear regression analysis, an inverse association was shown between smoking and HDL cholesterol, significant only in females (p less than 0.001). Potential confounding variables-Quetelet's index of body mass, alcohol consumption, age, and country of origin groups-revealed only a weak effect on the smoking-HDL-cholesterol association. Examination of an interaction between origin group and smoking showed the same smoking-lipid level association in each of the four country of origin groups, and in both sexes. A strong association was found between smoking and LDL-cholesterol only in females (p less than 0.01). Triglycerides and VLDL-cholesterol showed a weak association with smoking in this study.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Nonenzymatic glycosylation of proteins--a new tool for assessment of cumulative hyperglycemia in epidemiologic studies, past and future.

In conclusion, the discovery of nonenzymatic glycosylation of proteins has opened new horizons in all aspects of diabetes management and research. The field is young. Advances in the understanding of the role of this phenomenon in the pathogenesis of diabetic complications and in the quantitating of its occurrence in various bodily proteins, come monthly. The nonenzymatically glycosylated protein markers, because they offer increased internal validity and precision, afford significant advantages over the classical measures of hyperglycemia. By providing improved means of assessing cumulative hyperglycemia, they will contribute to a better understanding of the relationship of diabetes to its chronic complications. They may also lead to an appreciation that mild hyperglycemia plays a substantial causal role in diseases, such as cardiovascular, with which diabetes has been traditionally associated. A variety of nonenzymatically glycosylated proteins exist, applicable to different purposes. Stored sera may well allow their retrospective determination in studies conceived of and/or executed without an appreciation of their potential. It behooves epidemiologists interested in any aspect of diabetes or in diseases for which diabetes is a relevant study factor, to become familiar with the process, measurement, and potential value of nonenzymatic glycosylation of proteins.

Blood Glucose↗
PubMed1983

Effect of estrogen/progestin potency on lipid/lipoprotein cholesterol.

We studied 374 women taking oral contraceptives, 284 women taking estrogen preparations after menopause, and 1086 women taking no hormones, to determine the relation of plasma lipids and lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations to various types of estrogen/progestin formulations. Premenopausal women, using oral contraceptives containing a relatively low dose of estrogen combined with a medium or high dose of progestin (Norlestrin, Ovral, or Demulen) had a 24 per cent higher median concentration of low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol than did those not using hormones (P less than 0.05). Women using oral contraceptives that are high in estrogen and low in progestin (Enovid or Oracon) had significantly higher concentrations of high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol than did nonusers; those using Ovral, a low-estrogen and high-progestin formulation, had significantly lower levels of high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol. In postmenopausal women the use of estrogen was associated with concentrations of low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol that were 11 to 19 per cent below the levels in postmenopausal women who did not use hormones. The effects of estrogen-progestin balance on low-density and high-density lipoproteins may underlie the increased incidence of stroke and myocardial infarction in women of childbearing age who take oral contraceptives.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Predictors of systolic blood pressure response to treadmill exercise: the Lipid Research Clinics Program Prevalence Study.

We used multiple linear regression to study predictors of systolic blood pressure response (SBPR), i.e., the increase in pressure above baseline after 3, 6, and 9 min of treadmill exercise, in 4262 men and women. Predictors considered were usual SBP, the difference (delta SBP) between resting SBP and SBP immediately before exercise, age, education, obesity index, alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, preexercise heart rate and, in women, gonadal hormone use. In men, age, obesity index, and cigarette smoking were positively associated with SBPR and in women 20 to 49 years old, age, obesity index, and alcohol consumption were positively associated with SBPR. In women 50 years old or older, usual SBP was negatively associated with SBPR. In both men and women a larger delta SBP was associated with a smaller SBPR. These results help explain the considerable variation in SBPR, and the delta SBP results suggest that potential SBPR may, to certain extent, have a specific, finite range. The similarity of predictor variables for SBPR to predictor variables for hypertension is concordant with the previous observation that a high SBPR may foreshadow subsequent hypertension.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Alteration in blood pressures associated with combined alcohol and oral contraceptive use-the lipid research clinics prevalence study.

Alterations in systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels associated with combined oral contraceptive (OC) and alcohol use were investigated in white women 20-49 years of age from 10 North American Lipid Research Clinics study populations. OC users had systolic pressures 2-3 mm Hg higher than non-users, but no difference was noted for diastolic pressures. Among non-OC users, both systolic and diastolic blood pressures were positively associated with reported alcohol consumption, though participants reporting no alcohol use had blood pressures slightly higher than those reporting minimal intake. The blood pressure correlates of OC's and alcohol appeared to be independent, and systolic pressures levels were over 8 mm Hg higher in those reporting heavier alcohol intake and OC use than among those reporting minimal alcohol intake and no OC use.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Assessment of plasma total cholesterol as a test to detect elevated low density (beta) lipoprotein cholesterol levels (type IIa hyperlipoproteinemia) in young subjects from a population-based sample.

The measurement of plasma total cholesterol as a screening test for an increased plasma level of low density lipoprotein cholesterol (greater than age- and sex-adjusted 95th percentile) with a normal plasma triglyceride level (type IIa hyperlipoproteinemia) was assessed in 1325 young subjects, aged 6 to 19 years, from seven North American populations during the years 1972-1976. When the age- and sex-specific 95th percentile for total cholesterol was used as the cutpoint for hypercholesterolemia, almost one third of young subjects with type IIa hyperlipoproteinemia were undetected (false negatives), and 40% of the test results were falsely positive. Ninety-eight per cent of all non-type IIa subjects were correctly identified. Lowering the percentile cutpoint decreased the false negative results but increased the false positive results; increasing the cutpoint had an opposite effect. Females had higher percentile cholesterol values than males; when extrinsic, arbitrary cholesterol cutpoints (175-210 mg/100 ml) for screening were used, there were fewer false negative but more false positive results in the females than in the males. When the prevalence of type IIa hyperlipoproteinemia was increased from 5 to 50%, the false positive tests decreased from 40 to 2%. A two-step screening for hypercholesterolemia did not improve efficiency. The use of plasma total cholesterol as a test for type IIa hyperlipoproteinemia in a general population results in a relatively large number of false positive and false negative tests.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Alterations in clinical chemistry measures associated with oral contraceptive and estrogen use: the Lipid Research Clinics Program Prevalence Study.

The associations of current oral contraceptive (OC) or estrogen use and mean levels of a variety of clinical chemistry measurements have not been previously described in large, free-living populations. We compared mean fasting measurements of eight clinical chemistry tests (alkaline phosphatase, serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase [SGOT], total bilirubin, globulin, thyroxine, creatinine, uric acid and plasma glucose) adjusted for age, body mass, education, alcohol use, smoking and study population variation in approximately 1,500 white women from nine North American Lipid Research Clinic populations. Compared to hormone nonusers of the same age, OC users aged 20 to 39 years had significantly lower mean values of serum alkaline phosphatase, SGOT, total bilirubin and plasma glucose, while serum globulin, thyroxine and creatinine levels were significantly higher. Mean uric acid values were not significantly different. Estrogen users aged 50 to 69 years had significantly lower mean values of alkaline phosphatase and total bilirubin and significantly higher thyroxine and uric acid levels as compared to hormone nonusers aged 50 to 69 years.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Alterations of plasma lipid and lipoprotein levels associated with benzodiazepine use--the LRC Program Prevalence Study.

In a study of white adults from 10 North American Lipid Research Clinics populations, plasma lipid and lipoprotein levels in benzodiazepine (diazepam, chlordiazepoxide, flurazepam) users were compared to both the entire population of non-users and matched control non-users. Significantly higher plasma triglyceride and very low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and by one method of analysis, lower high density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were noted in male benzodiazepine users. No significant differences were noted in total plasma cholesterol or low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Alcohol and hypertension: epidemiologic and experimental considerations. The Lipid Research Clinics Program.

Most epidemiologic studies suggest that alcohol consumption is associated with increased blood pressure levels and an increased prevalence of hypertension. A review of experimental studies of the blood pressure effects of acute alcohol administration to man and acute and chronic administration to animals does not clearly support the epidemiologic findings, which suggest that other direct or indirect factors besides a simple pharmacologic effect of alcohol may be operative. Several endocrine and renal mechanisms have been postulated, and indirect factors related to both alcohol use and blood pressure pathogenesis cannot be firmly excluded. Preliminary data from the Lipid Research Clinics (LRC) population studies generally show a positive association between alcohol and blood pressure, although women and young men reporting no alcohol use had higher systolic pressures than those reporting low levels of alcohol intake. LRC findings also suggest that the blood pressure elevations associated with use of oral contraceptives appear to be independent of those associated with alcohol. Some preliminary epidemiologic findings and circumstantial evidence suggest that the alcohol-blood pressure relationship may be due in part to the timing of blood pressure measurement during physiologic alcohol withdrawal. Although further verification is needed, this hypothesis implies that the pattern of alcohol consumption and the interval between last use and blood pressure measurement may be as important as the amount of alcohol consumed in explaining the relationship between alcohol and blood pressure.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1981

Alcohol intake, cigarette smoking and plasma lipids and lipoproteins in 12--19-year-old children. The Collaborative Lipid Research Clinics Prevalence Study.

The relationship of alcohol intake to plasma lipids and lipoproteins was assessed in 1603 white children, ages 12-19 years, from six Lipid Research Clinics as part of the Lipid Research Clinics Collaborative Population Studies. Of the 1603 children, 933 came from a randomly recalled group and 660 from a group recalled because of elevated cholesterol or triglyceride or both (the hyperlipidemic recall group). Using multiple regression analysis, the relationships of lipoproteins (as dependent variables) to alcohol, smoking, age and body mass (as explanatory variables) are assessed in both recall groups. In the random recall group, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol was positively related to alcohol intake, independent of the other variables considered; for every ounce of alcohol intake, HDL cholesterol was 0.55 mg/dl higher in males and 1.04 mg/dl higher in females. HDL cholesterol was strongly and inversely related to smoking and body mass in both males and females and was inversely related to age in males. In females, plasma low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, triglycerides and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol were all positively related to alcohol intake. In the hyperlipidemic recall group of children, alcohol intake had a weak positive relationship with HDL cholesterol in males; in the females, for every ounce of alcohol intake, HDL cholesterol was higher by 1.5 mg/dl. Alcohol intake was positively related to triglyceride levels in hypertriglyceridemic male children. In each recall group, alcohol intake had a small, significant, positive association with HDL cholesterol levels in 12--19-year-old children, and a less consistent positive association with triglyceride and VLDL cholesterol. If low HDL cholesterol concentrations in children are undesirable, attention should first be focused reduction of smoking (inversely associated with HDL cholesterol) and weight (inversely associated with HDL cholesterol, positively associated with LDL cholesterol, triglyceride and VLDL cholesterol), as measures that may modify HDL cholesterol levels.

Adolescent↗