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Biomedical subjects

K L Edwards

Publications and source records attributed to K L Edwards.

31 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Heritability of factors of the insulin resistance syndrome in women twins.

The insulin resistance syndrome (IRS) is characterized by a combination of interrelated coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors, including low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels, obesity and increases in triglyceride (TG), blood pressure, small low-density lipoprotein particles (LDL), and both fasting and postload plasma insulin and glucose. Using factor analysis, we previously identified 3 uncorrelated factors that explained 66% of the variance among these variables, based on data from women participating in examination 2 of the Kaiser Permanente Women Twins Study in Oakland, CA during 1989-1990. The factors were interpreted as: 1) body mass/fat distribution, 2) insulin/glucose, and 3) lipids: TG, HDL-C, LDL peak particle diameter. In this analysis, heritability of each of the factors was estimated based on data from 140 monozygotic and 96 dizygotic pairs of non-diabetic women twins. Heritability estimates were calculated using the classical approach, the analysis of variance (ANOVA) approach, and the maximum likelihood approach. For the body mass/fat distribution factor heritability estimates suggest moderate genetic influences; 0.61 (P < 0.001), 0.14 (P > 0.05), and 0.71 (P < 0.001), respectively. The insulin/glucose factor appeared to be highly heritable, with estimates of 0.87, 0.92, and 0.57 (all P < 0.001), respectively. The heritability estimates for the lipid factor were moderate and consistent across methods: 0.25 (P < 0.10), 0.32 (P < 0.05), and 0.30 (P < 0.05), respectively. These results are consistent with genetic influences on each of the 3 "factors," and suggest that both genetic and environmental effects are involved in the clustering of IRS risk factors.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Small, dense low density lipoproteins, the insulin resistance syndrome and noninsulin-dependent diabetes.

The role of small, dense LDL as a risk factor for coronary heart disease is becoming well established. Several atherogenic mechanisms have been proposed to explain this relationship, including the association of small, dense LDL with the insulin resistance syndrome. A variety of studies, including large epidemiologic investigations, have now demonstrated that a predominance of small, dense LDL is one of the constellation of interrelated risk factors that characterize the insulin resistance syndrome. Recent results using a multivariate factor analysis approach have also shown that this set of risk factors can be simplified into three or four uncorrelated components that may provide new insights into the mechanisms underlying the syndrome and its association with disease. Furthermore, a number of cross-sectional studies and one prospective study have shown that small, dense LDL is a risk factor for noninsulin-dependent diabetes itself, and that this association may also be attributable to the insulin resistance syndrome.

Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2↗
PubMed1995

Prospective study of small LDLs as a risk factor for non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus in elderly men and women.

BACKGROUND: The excess risk of atherosclerosis among patients with non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) is well documented. However, the presence of conventional risk factors cannot fully account for this excess risk, and the underlying mechanism remains to be elucidated. The present study prospectively evaluated the role of small LDL, a known risk factor for coronary heart disease, as a risk factor for the development of NIDDM. METHODS AND RESULTS: The study was based on a nested case-control sample of 204 elderly men and women from Kuopio, Finland. LDL subclasses were characterized by size with 2% to 14% polyacrylamide gels produced by recently developed methods. Logistic regression analysis showed that subjects with a predominance of small LDL (LDL subclass phenotype B) had a greater than two fold increased risk for developing NIDDM over the 3.5-year follow-up period. This association was independent of age, sex, glucose intolerance, and body mass index but was not independent of fasting triglyceride or insulin levels. Further, an increase of 5A in LDL diameter was associated with a 16% decrease in risk of NIDDM, and a composite variable of LDL diameter and triglyceride and HDL cholesterol concentrations, identified by principal-components analysis, was also associated with NIDDM. These associations may be attributable to the role of small LDL as a marker for insulin resistance. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to demonstrate that a predominance of small LDL particles is a risk factor for the future development of NIDDM, and it implies that small LDL contributes to risk of coronary heart disease in prediabetics.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Evidence for genetic influences on smoking in adult women twins.

The purpose of the present study was to examine genetic influences on smoking behavior in women twins, and to compare the results before and after adjusting for environmental covariates. Subjects were participants in the Kaiser Permanente Women Twins Study in Oakland, California. Exam 1 (1978-1979) included 434 pairs of women, and exam 2 (1989-1990) included 352 pairs of women. For comparison with a previous study in male twins, pairwise concordance ratios (OCR) for smoking status between monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins were calculated. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was also used to assess the association of smoking behaviors between co-twins, adjusting for age, education, and frequency of contact. At exam 1, OCR's were consistent with previous results in male twins, and supported genetic influences on smoking initiation (OCR = 1.6; 95% Confidence Interval (95% CI) = 1.0, 2.3) and maintenance (OCR = 1.8; 95% CI = 1.3, 2.4). In contrast to the males, however, no clear evidence for genetic influences on smoking intensity or never smoking were present. The adjusted logistic regression models appeared to confirm the findings from the pairwise comparisons. The results were similar for exam 2. These results are consistent with modest genetic influences on smoking initiation and maintenance. Differences between these results and those for the male twins suggest possible genetic-environmental interactions.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Multivariate analysis of the insulin resistance syndrome in women.

The insulin resistance syndrome (IRS) is characterized by a constellation of interrelated coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors, including dyslipidemia, obesity, central obesity, elevated systolic blood pressure, and hyperinsulinemia. Factor analysis was used to investigate the clustering of these risk factors in individuals by examining the correlational structure among these variables. Data from 281 genetically unrelated nondiabetic women who participated in exam 2 (1979 to 1980) of the Kaiser Permanente Women Twins Study were used. Factor analysis reduced 10 correlated risk factors to 3 uncorrelated factors, each reflecting a different aspect of the IRS: factor 1 (increased body weight, waist circumference, fasting insulin, and glucose), factor 2 (increased postload and fasting glucose and insulin and systolic blood pressure), and factor 3 (larger low-density lipoprotein particles, decreased plasma triglycerides, and increased high-density lipoprotein). Together, the factors explained nearly 66% of the total variance in the data. Thus, factor analysis defined three distinct aspects of the IRS in this sample of nondiabetic women. These factors may reflect separate underlying mechanisms of the syndrome, each of which may also be involved in CHD risk.

Blood Glucose↗
PubMed1989

Sjogren's syndrome. Its contribution to neuropsychiatric syndrome in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis.

The neuropsychiatric status of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) was contrasted to that of patients with PBC and accompanying Sjogren's syndrome and to a matched group of normal controls. The subjects with PBC + Sjogren's syndrome had a more profound impairment on a battery of psychometric tests than did the subjects with PBC alone. In addition, they more frequently met the criteria for a psychiatric diagnosis of anxiety disorder than did those with PBC alone.

Anxiety Disorders↗
PubMed1988

A stretch-activated anion channel in tobacco protoplasts.

Stretch-activated ion channels have been described in animal cells, where they might serve as mechanoreceptors, baroreceptors or osmoreceptors, as well as in yeast and bacteria, where osmoregulatory functions have been suggested. Here we report a large conductance, stretch-activated, anion-selective channel in protoplasts of a higher plant, tobacco, and discuss its possible role in osmoregulation.

Ion Channels↗
PubMed1987

Inflammatory bowel disease: psychiatric status of patients before and after disease onset.

Compared to normal controls, individuals with Crohn's Disease manifest an increased prevalence of anxiety, depression and panic disorder occurring at any time in their life. Only panic disorder had an excess prevalence in Crohn's disease relative to community dwelling normals prior to the time of disease onset. Individuals with ulcerative colitis did not demonstrate an increased prevalence of psychiatric disorder before or after disease onset. The results suggest that there is a higher prevalence of psychiatric disorder in patients with Crohn's Disease relative to the normal population and that a small but significant percentage of individuals with Crohn's Disease may have a psychiatric disturbance which predates their medical illness.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Vulnerability to alcoholism in men: a behavior-genetic perspective.

The psychological and biological characteristics associated with the vulnerability to alcoholism are reviewed. The predisposing features can be accounted for on the basis of deviations in empirically established temperament traits, thereby supporting the viability of a behavior-genetic perspective for elucidating the susceptibility to alcoholism. The temperament perspective also has heuristic value for improving our understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms that link the genetic predisposition to overt behavior. In addition, the temperament approach has ramifications for the prevention and treatment of alcoholism, as well as for clarifying the etiology and classification of certain other psychiatric disorders. The questions of what may be inherited in alcoholism and how this information can be usefully applied to enhance our knowledge of alcoholism etiology, prevention and clinical management are addressed.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed1984

Alcoholic denial: a biopsychological interpretation.

A theory of the origins and mechanisms of denial, which is frequently characteristic of alcoholics, is proposed on the basis of a biopsychological rather than a psychodynamic model of emotion. The biopsychological approach views denial as a consequence of a developmental defect in the apperception of interoceptive stimuli and in the appraisal of the significance of environmental events. Three hypotheses must be substantiated in order to support this theory: (1) alcoholics were physiologically unstable in arousal regulation; (2) alcoholics cannot cognitively discriminate interoceptive cues and physiological states; and (3) alcoholics cognitively underestimate emotion-laden events in their lives. Research which demonstrates the validity of these hypotheses is reviewed and implications for future research and treatment strategies are discussed.

Alcoholism↗