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Biomedical subjects

L H Lumey

Publications and source records attributed to L H Lumey.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Exposure to famine during gestation, size at birth, and blood pressure at age 59 y: evidence from the Dutch Famine.

We compared blood pressure of individuals (mean age 59 y) born in western Holland between January 1945 and March 1946 (mothers exposed to the Dutch Famine before or during gestation; n = 359) to blood pressure of unexposed individuals born before or conceived after the famine (n = 299) or same-sex siblings of subjects in series 1 or 2 (n = 313). Mean (SD) systolic and diastolic blood pressure were 140.3 (20.3) and 85.8 (11.0) mmHg, respectively; prevalence of hypertension (prior diagnosis of hypertension or with measured systolic/diastolic blood pressure above 140/90 mmHg) was 61.8%. Birth weight was inversely related to systolic (-4.14 mmHg per kg; 95% confidence interval (CI) -7.24, -1.03; p < 0.01) and diastolic (-2.09 mmHg per kg; 95% CI -3.77, -0.41; p < 0.05) blood pressure and to the prevalence of hypertension (odds ratio 0.67 per kg, 95% CI: 0.49, 0.93) (all age- and sex-adjusted). Any famine exposure of at least 10 weeks duration was associated with elevated systolic (2.77 mmHg; 95% CI 0.25, 5.30; p < 0.05) and diastolic (1.27 mmHg; 95% CI -0.13, 2.66; p = 0.08) blood pressure and with hypertension prevalence (odds ratio 1.44; 95% CI 1.04, 2.00; p < 0.05) in age- and sex-adjusted models. Exposure to famine during gestation may predispose to the development of hypertension in middle age.

Birth Weight↗
PubMed2005

Genital herpes simplex virus infection and perinatal transmission of human immunodeficiency virus.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the risk of perinatal human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission in HIV-infected women clinically diagnosed with genital herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection during pregnancy. METHODS: This retrospective analysis included 402 HIV-infected pregnant women who enrolled from 1994-1999 in a multicenter prospective cohort study in New York City, who delivered a liveborn singleton infant with known HIV infection status, and who had information on diagnosis of genital HSV infection during pregnancy. Study participants were determined to have genital HSV infection during pregnancy by documentation of clinical diagnosis. RESULTS: Forty-six (11.4%) of the study participants delivered HIV-infected infants. Twenty-one (5.2%) had clinical diagnosis of genital HSV infection in pregnancy. Six (28.6%) of the 21 HIV-infected women with a clinical diagnosis of genital HSV infection delivered an HIV-infected infant. In univariate analyses, HIV-infected pregnant women with clinical diagnosis of genital HSV infection during pregnancy had a significantly increased risk of perinatal HIV transmission (odds ratio 3.4, 95% confidence interval 1.3-9.3; P = .02). When other factors associated with perinatal HIV transmission were included in a logistic regression model (lack of zidovudine therapy during pregnancy or delivery, prolonged rupture of membranes, and preterm delivery), clinical diagnosis of genital HSV infection during pregnancy remained a significant independent predictor of perinatal HIV transmission (adjusted odds ratio 4.8, 95% confidence interval 1.3-17.0; P = .02). CONCLUSION: Clinical diagnosis of genital HSV infection during pregnancy in HIV-infected women may be a risk factor for perinatal HIV transmission. If future studies confirm this association, therapy to suppress genital HSV reactivation during pregnancy may be a strategy to reduce perinatal HIV transmission.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Intrauterine famine exposure and body proportions at birth: the Dutch Hunger Winter.

BACKGROUND: Fetal programming of adult disease may be a long-term effect of fetal nutrition. Expected short-term effects include changes in body size and proportions at birth. The specific responses of fetal growth to acute undernutrition at varying points in pregnancy are still unclear. METHODS: We abstracted all birth records of infants born in two midwife training schools in the western Netherlands between 1 October 1944 and 31 March 1946, and compared infants whose mothers were exposed to the Dutch famine of 1944-1945 during specific trimesters of pregnancy with control infants born in 1943. We considered birthweight (BWT), crown-to-heel length (CHL), head circumference (HC), and ratio and regression-adjusted measures of these parameters. RESULTS: BWT, CHL, and HC declined with famine exposure late in pregnancy. Changes in WT for CHL paralleled changes in WT alone in size and direction. Results for HC were inconsistent, varying by choice of body size adjustor (WT or CHL), and by method of adjustment (ratio or regression). BWT, CHL, and HC did not change with first trimester famine exposure. CONCLUSION: Even under famine conditions, birth size and body proportions vary only with late pregnancy exposure. HC for body size has the added disadvantage that late pregnancy exposure effects vary drastically with choice of measure. We do not recommend the use of birth size or body proportions as a proxy for fetal nutritional status in the study of adult disease.

Birth Weight↗
PubMed2004

Acute undernutrition is not associated with excess of females at birth in humans: the Dutch hunger winter.

It has been suggested that maternal undernutrition results in adjustment of the sex ratio at birth, favouring females. We tested this hypothesis using births during the Dutch Hunger Winter of 1944-1945, an acute severe famine of seven months' duration. There was no evidence of an excess of female births among deliveries of human infants exposed to famine in any period in gestation. Indeed, among deliveries to women maximally exposed to famine prior to conception, there was an excess (odds ratio = 1.31, 95% CI 1.09-1.58; p = 0.004) of male offspring. Our data do not provide any support for acute and severe maternal undernutrition as a trigger for an increase in female conceptions or in male foetal deaths in human populations.

Cohort Studies↗
PubMed2004

Adherence to a low-fat diet in men with prostate cancer.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate, in a feasibility study, the adherence to a low-fat diet by men with prostate cancer. Evidence is growing that a low-fat diet affects the development and course of prostate cancer. To design preventive and therapeutic interventions, it is important to know whether men will adhere to these nutritional recommendations, particularly when motivated by the diagnosis of prostate cancer. METHODS: Men with elevated prostate-specific antigen levels, most of whom were recently treated for prostate cancer, were randomized to one of four dietary regimens for which they received nutritional counseling: a low-fat diet (15% fat or less) with supplements (vitamin E and selenium), a low-fat diet (15% fat or less) without the supplements, the supplements alone, and a control group. Adherence was evaluated by the change in weight, fat intake, free fatty acids, cholesterol, high-density and low-density lipoproteins, and triglycerides during a 12-month period. RESULTS: The mean age of the 48 participants was 66 years. For those counseled about a low-fat diet, the mean change in the percentage of energy (kilocalories) in the diet from fat was greater after 3 months (-8.6% versus +2.1%, P <0.001) and 12 months (-9.8% versus -1.6%, P = 0.001). Three months after starting the intervention, those randomized to low-fat dietary counseling had lost 2 kg, on average, compared with 0.8 kg lost by those who did not receive this counseling (P = 0.09). At 12 months, those receiving low-fat counseling had lost 2.8 kg, on average, compared with 0.5 kg gained among the other groups (P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: With appropriate counseling, men with prostate cancer can adhere to a low-fat dietary intervention for a 12-month period.

Aged↗
PubMed2003

Energy restriction early in life and colon carcinoma risk: results of The Netherlands Cohort Study after 7.3 years of follow-up.

BACKGROUND: This study evaluated the effects of severe undernutrition during adolescence and subsequent colon carcinoma risk. METHODS: The authors evaluated The Netherlands Cohort Study on Diet and Cancer (NLCS) among 62,573 women and 58,279 men aged 55-69 years at baseline. Information on diet and risk factors was collected by questionnaire in 1986. Additional information was collected concerning residence during the hunger winter (1944-1945), the World War II years (1940-1944), and father's employment status during the economic depression of 1932-1940, which were used as indicators of exposure. After 7.3 years of follow-up, 807 colon carcinoma cases (388 females and 419 males) were available for analysis. RESULTS: Multivariate analysis showed that both men and women who had lived in a western city in 1944-1945 had a decreased colon carcinoma risk (men: relative risk [RR] = 0.85, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.62-1.16; women: RR = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.59-1.09). No association between colon carcinoma risk and urban versus rural residence was found during the war years (1940-1944). Having an unemployed father during the economic depression (1932-1940) was also associated with a small decrease in colon carcinoma risk for men (RR = 0.90, 95% CI =0.62-1.31) and women (RR = 0.75, 95% CI 0.49-1.14). In subgroup analyses, a decreased colon carcinoma risk for men and women who were in their adolescent growth spurt and living in a western city during the hunger winter of 1944-1945 was noted (men: RR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.31-1.65; women: RR = 0.88, 95% CI = 0.40-1.96). No associations were statistically significant because of the limited study size. CONCLUSIONS: In the current study, a weak inverse relation was found between energy restriction early in life and subsequent colon carcinoma risk for men and women. However, these findings need replication in a larger study.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Prospective risk of fetal death in singleton, twin, and triplet gestations: implications for practice.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prospective risk of fetal death in singleton, twin, and triplet pregnancies and to compare this risk with fetal and neonatal death rates. METHODS: We analyzed 11,061,599 singleton, 297,622 twin, and 15,375 triplet gestations drawn from the 1995-1998 National Center for Health Statistics linked birth and death files. Prospective risk of fetal death was expressed as a proportion of all fetuses still at risk at a given gestational age and compared with fetal death rate. Fetal death risk and neonatal death rates were represented graphically for singletons, twins, and triplets. RESULTS: The prospective risk of fetal death at 24 weeks was 0.28 per 1000, 0.92 per 1000, and 1.30 per 1000 for singletons, twins, and triplets, respectively. At 40 weeks, the corresponding risk was 0.57 per 1000 and 3.09 per 1000 for singletons and twins, respectively and, at 38 or more weeks, 13.18 per 1000 for triplets. Plots of gestation-specific prospective risk of fetal death and neonatal mortality converged for singletons and twins at term but crossed for triplets at approximately 36 weeks' gestation. CONCLUSION: Prospective risk of fetal death is greater for triplets and twins than for singletons and greater for triplets than for twins during the third trimester. The pattern corroborates with uteroplacental insufficiency as a suspected underlying mechanism. When prospective risk of fetal death exceeds neonatal mortality risk, delivery might be indicated. When this model is used, this data set suggests that it might be reasonable to consider delivery of twins by 39 weeks and triplets by 36 weeks to improve perinatal outcome.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Chemoprevention strategies for prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is the most common male malignancy in western countries. Although primary prevention of prostate cancer is not possible, screening using prostate-specific antigen (PSA) may eliminate prostate cancers by definitive treatments. Prevention of clinically detectable prostate cancer requires earlier chemoprevention interventions. Because prostate cancer is histologically present in 30-50% of 30- to 50-year-old men, effective chemoprevention needs to inhibit not only prostate carcinogenesis but also growth and progression of these cancers. A prostate carcinogenesis animal model has been used to screen chemopreventive agents; inhibitory effects were found with 9-cis-retinoic acid, dehydroepiandrosterone, fluasterone, and the Bowman-Birk inhibitor and an isoflavone mixture which both occur in soy. Such results can be used to select agents for clinical trials. Besides large-scale long-duration prevention trials, trials of short/intermediate duration using smaller cohorts prior to or following radical prostatectomy may provide excellent and cost-effective approaches for chemopreventive agent efficacy testing. Intervention prior to surgery allows measurements of intervention agents and intermediate end-points in the prostate. These peri-surgical trials only assess inhibition of growth and progression of preexisting cancer, not real preventive effects, but they focus on clinically significant cancers. Such trials are an essential step in the development of antiprostate cancer chemoprevention agents.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed2001

Energy restriction in childhood and adolescence and risk of prostate cancer: results from the Netherlands Cohort Study.

This study investigated the association between prostate cancer risk and energy restriction during childhood. The authors examined the hypothesis among 58,279 men aged 55-69 years enrolled in the Netherlands Cohort Study on Diet and Cancer. Information on diet and risk factors was collected by questionnaire in 1986. Additional information was collected on residence during the Dutch Hunger Winter (1944-1945) and the World War II years (1940-1944) and father's employment status during the economic depression of 1932-1940, used as indicators of exposure. A case-cohort approach was used. After 7.3 years of follow-up (through December 1993), 903 prostate cancer cases were available for analysis. Analyses were carried out for all prostate cancer cases. The prostate cancer rate ratio for men who had lived in a western Netherlands city in 1944-1945 was 1.15 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.80, 1.31), and the rate ratio for men who had lived in a western rural area in 1944-1945 was 1.30 (95% CI: 0.97, 1.73). Residence during the war years (1940-1944) and father's employment in 1932-1940 showed no relation to prostate cancer risk. In subgroup analyses in which exposure before, during, and after the adolescent growth spurt was evaluated, the same pattern as that of the overall data was shown. The authors found no evidence for the hypothesis that energy restriction early in life decreases prostate cancer risk later in life.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Chemoprevention trials in men with prostate-specific antigen failure or at high risk for recurrence after radical prostatectomy: Application to efficacy assessment of soy protein.

This article discusses the basic elements of chemoprevention trial designs using cohorts of men following radical prostatectomy who either have prostate-specific antigen (PSA) failure indicative of recurrence or are at high risk for recurrence (positive surgical margins, extracapsular extension, seminal vesicle invasion, positive lymph nodes, Gleason score of greater than or equal to 8, preoperative serum PSA less than 20 ng/mL). Two ongoing randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials with soy protein as intervention in these 2 populations are described. In the trial with men at high risk for recurrence, participants started intervention within 4 months after surgery and were followed for up to 2 years; primary endpoints were PSA failure rate and time-to-PSA failure. In the trial with men with PSA failure (PSA 0.1 to 2.0 ng/mL), participants received treatment for 8 months and the primary endpoint is rise in PSA over time. The strengths and limitations of these designs are discussed and interim experience using studies with soy protein as the intervention agent are summarized.

Cohort Studies↗
PubMed2000

The relationship between maternal and offspring birth weights after maternal prenatal famine exposure: the Dutch Famine Birth Cohort Study.

We examined the impact of famine-induced changes in maternal birth weight (MBW) on the association between MBW and offspring birth weight (OBW). Women born before, during, and after the Dutch Famine of 1944-1945 were interviewed at ages 41 to 46 years. Women (n = 582) and their children (n = 1,111) were included in the analysis if both mother and child were singleton and the child was not delivered preterm. Mean birth weight (BW) of women with first-trimester exposure (n = 110) was 154 g higher (p = 0.008), and mean BW of women with third-trimester exposure (n = 138) was 251 g lower (p < 0.001) than mean BW of unexposed women (n = 302). First-born offspring of women with first-trimester exposure were 72 g heavier (95% confidence interval [CI], -57 to 201; p = 0.27), and offspring of women with third-trimester exposure were 43 g lighter (95% CI, -170 to 79; p = 0.47) than offspring of unexposed women. Among unexposed women, each 100 g increase in MBW was associated with 25 g (95% CI, 12 to 37) increase in OBW (adjusted for maternal age, smoking, weight, and height and offspring sex). This association was attenuated in famine-exposed women (first-trimester change in OBW = 20 g per 100 g MBW; 95% CI, -1 to 41; third-trimester change in OBW = 14 g per 100 g MBW; 95% CI, -9 to 37). When MBW and trimester of maternal famine exposure were considered in a joint model, there was no independent effect of trimester of maternal famine exposure on OBW. Associations were less consistent for later-born offspring. We conclude that maternal prenatal famine exposure does not affect the association between maternal and offspring BW. Trimester of exposure was not a determinant of OBW, other than through its effect on MBW. Nevertheless, acute famine may impact on second-generation BW distributions indirectly, through its effect on the distribution of MBW.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1999

Diet in adolescence and the risk of breast cancer: results of the Netherlands Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVES: In The Netherlands, part of the population experienced food restriction and severe famine during World War II. The purpose of this study was to study the effects of severe undernutrition during adolescence on the risk of breast cancer later in life. METHODS: We examined the hypothesis in the Netherlands Cohort Study on diet and cancer (NLCS), among 62,573 women aged 55-69 years. Baseline information on diet and other risk factors was collected with a questionnaire in 1986. Information was collected on residence in the Hunger winter (1944-1945) and War years (1940-1944) and fathers' employment status in 1932-1940 as indicators of exposure. After 6.3 years of follow-up, 1009 incident breast cases were available for analysis. RESULTS: In multivariate case-cohort analysis, residents of the western part of the country in 1944-1945 had an increased breast cancer risk (western city RR = 1.1, 95% CI: 0.9-1.4, western rural area RR = 1.5, 95% CI: 1.1-1.9). For the War years (1940-1944) we found no association between breast cancer risk and urban vs. rural residence. Women whose fathers were unemployed during the Depression years (1932-1940) had a non-significant decrease in breast cancer risk (RR = 0.9, 95% CI: 0.7-1.2). Exposure to energy restriction during the adolescent growth spurt or during the period between menarche and birth of the first child did not change the RRs substantially. CONCLUSIONS: We found no clear evidence in this study for the hypothesis that energy restriction in adolescence leads to a decreased breast cancer risk.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Alcohol use and prostate cancer in U.S. whites: no association in a confirmatory study.

BACKGROUND: In a recent study among U.S. men with prostate cancer, alcohol consumption was associated with an increase in prostate cancer risk. This finding could have considerable public health implications. We therefore set out to confirm the reported association in a study of comparable scale, using the same alcohol exposure categories. METHODS: The association was evaluated in a case-control study of 699 white prostate cancer cases and 2,041 matched controls, admitted between 1977-1991 to 20 U.S. hospitals. RESULTS: No association was seen between prostate cancer and alcohol intake comparing ever, current, and former to never drinkers, not even for the highest reported level of alcohol consumption. CONCLUSIONS: Our failure to confirm the reported association agrees with the findings of most studies that, within a wide range of alcohol intake, there is no relation between alcohol consumption and prostate cancer. However, some studies suggest that alcoholics may have an increased prostate cancer risk. This needs further exploration.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Prenatal cocaine exposure and school-age intelligence.

Assessments of the possible consequences of prenatal exposure to cocaine have been limited by lack of control for socio-demographic confounders and lack of follow-up into the school years. We evaluated intelligence at ages 6-9 years in 88 children from a cohort of 280 born between September 1, 1985 and August 31, 1986 and identified at birth as cocaine-exposed, and in a group of unexposed (n = 96) births of comparable gender and birthweight. IQ scores did not differ between children with and without prenatal exposure to cocaine (mean 82.9 vs. 82.4, difference = 0.5 points, 95% CI-3.1, 4.1); results were unchanged with adjustment for child height, head circumference and prior residence in a shelter or on the street, and for caregiver IQ and home environment (mean difference = 2.2 points, 95% CI-1.5, 5.8).

Black or African American↗
PubMed1998

Compensatory placental growth after restricted maternal nutrition in early pregnancy.

This study examined the effects of undernutrition in pregnancy on fetal and placental growth among infants born in 1944-1946 in The Netherlands, including infants born during the war-induced Dutch famine of 1944-1945. There was an increase in placental weight, but not in birthweight, in infants whose mothers' nutrition was compromised around conception or in the first trimester of pregnancy. Therefore, the placental index was also increased. Compared to pre-famine controls, the relative increase after first trimester exposure to undernutrition was larger in the northern part of the country (5.2 per cent, 95 per cent confidence interval 1.4, 9.0) where nutritional deprivation was presumably moderate compared to the west (3.5 per cent, 95 per cent confidence interval 0.2, 7.2) where nutritional deprivation was severe. The increase in placental weight is interpreted as compensatory for the reduction in maternal caloric intake. Whereas this suggests that pregnancy undernutrition can stimulate compensatory placental growth, the latter was only seen after first trimester undernutrition, which does not affect infant size at birth. For these infants, therefore, birthweight is not an appropriate proxy measure of undernutrition in pregnancy. These factors need to be considered in future studies relating pregnancy nutrition to adult health outcomes.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Parakeets, canaries, finches, parrots and lung cancer: no association.

The relationship between pet bird keeping and lung cancer according to exposure to tobacco smoking was investigated in a case-control study in hospitals of New York City and Washington, DC, USA. Newly diagnosed lung cancer cases (n = 887) aged 40-79 years were compared with 1350 controls with diseases not related to smoking, of the same age, gender and date of admission as the cases. The prevalence of pet bird keeping was 12.5% in men and 19.1% in women. There was no association between ever keeping a pet bird and lung cancer in never smokers (men adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 0.70, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.15-3.17; women, 1.32, 95% CI 0.65-2.70), or in smokers and non-smokers combined, after adjustment for ever smoking (men: 1.28, 95% CI 0.88-1.86; women: 1.17, 95% CI 0.83-1.64; all: 1.21, 95% CI 0.95-1.56). Risk did not increase in relation to duration of pet bird keeping. Cases and controls kept similar types of birds. There was a tenfold increase of lung cancer risk associated with smoking among non-bird keepers (adjusted OR = 9.15). There was no indication of a synergism, either additive or multiplicative, between smoking and pet bird keeping with respect to lung cancer risk. Either alone or in conjunction with smoking, keeping parakeets, canaries, finches or parrots is not a risk factor for lung cancer among hospital patients in New York and in Washington, DC.

Animals↗