PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

L Lapidus

Publications and source records attributed to L Lapidus.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Physical activity, obesity, and cardiovascular risk factors in children. The Belgian Luxembourg Child Study II.

Physical activity was measured in relation to cardiovascular (CV) risk factors in a randomly selected population of 1028 children from Province de Luxembourg in Belgium, a mainly rural area with a high prevalence of such risk factors among adults and children. Physical activity was estimated as participation in sport activities, a major indicator of leisure-time physical activity in schoolchildren, and physical inactivity was estimated as frequency and duration of television (TV) watching. Boys participated more frequently in sport activities than girls did (p = 0.001). A majority of the children watched TV daily. After age adjustment, bodyweight (girls, p < 0.012; boys, p < 0.027) and, in boys, body mass index (BMI) (p < 0.039) were related to days per week of TV watching. No significant relationships with other CV risk factors remained after adjustments for BMI. In analyses of independent contributions of age, TV watching, and sports activity on CV risk factors, age showed highly significant relationships. In boys, TV showed relationships with BMI (p < 0.04) and (borderline) with systolic blood pressure, independent of age and sports activity, whereas the latter was significantly related to subscapular skinfold (p < 0.04) and (borderline) with triceps skinfold and cholesterol. In girls, no significant independent contributions to risk factor associations were found. The father's education was directly associated with sports activities, whereas the mother being a housewife showed negative relationships to physical activity and positive to TV watching in their children, suggesting socioeconomic influence on the activity patterns of children. Furthermore, registrations suggested less physical activity in the most rural part of the area. It is concluded that children in this mainly rural area watch TV frequently. In boys, physical inactivity, measured both as TV watching and as registrations of sports activities, contributes independently to body fat mass. In girls, no contribution or weaker contributions of physical inactivity were found. This suggests that contributory factors leading to obesity might be different in girls and boys.

Belgium↗
PubMed1997

Estrogen replacement therapy decreases hyperandrogenicity and improves glucose homeostasis and plasma lipids in postmenopausal women with noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

Hyperandrogenicity in women is closely associated with insulin resistance and a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). Therefore, 25 postmenopausal women with NIDDM and sex hormone-binding globulin values less than 60 nmol/L, as an indicator of a moderate hyperandrogenicity, were treated with 2 mg 17-beta-estradiol orally for 3 months in a double-blind, cross-over, placebo-controlled trial. During the last 16 days of active treatment, 1 mg norethisterone acetate was added for 10 days for endometrial protection. Blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, insulin, c-peptide, lipoprotein profile, sex steroid hormones, GH, and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) were measured, and insulin sensitivity was determined by the euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp method. All metabolic measurements were taken at baseline and after 68 days of active or placebo treatment. Estradiol treatment, compared with the placebo period, was followed by a marked increase of sex hormone-binding globulin and a decrease of free testosterone. Blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, c-peptide, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and IGF-I decreased significantly (P < 0.01-P < 0.001), whereas high-density lipoprotein cholesterol rose (P < 0.001). In conclusion, estrogen replacement therapy in postmenopausal women with NIDDM ameliorated hyperandrogenicity, and this was accompanied by marked improvements in glucose homeostasis and lipoprotein profile.

Androgens↗
PubMed1996

Cardiovascular risk factors in children from the Belgian province of Luxembourg. The Belgian Luxembourg Child Study.

The Province of Luxembourg is an area in Belgium with a high prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus among adults. In the present study, children in the age groups 6-8, 8-10, and 10-12 years were selected at random from school classes (n = 1,028), with a participation rate of 70.3%. Anthropometric factors, blood pressure, and fasting blood glucose, plasma cholesterol, triglyceride, and insulin levels were measured in 1992. All anthropometric and metabolic variables increased with age, except for waist: hip circumference ratio in boys and cholesterol in girls. In the oldest group, girls who had passed menarche were taller and heavier and had greater skinfold, body mass index, insulin, and systolic blood pressure values but lower total cholesterol levels and waist: hip ratios than girls who had not passed menarche. Boys had lower skinfolds and higher waist: hip ratios than girls in all age groups, and were significantly shorter and lighter in the oldest age group. There was no difference in body mass index between the two sexes. Girls had higher triglyceride and insulin levels in the 10- to 12-year age group, lower blood glucose values in the 8-10 and 10-12 age groups, and lower diastolic blood pressures in the 8-10 age group. Obesity, blood glucose, triglycerides, insulin, and blood pressure were highly interrelated. Cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin, and blood pressure values were all among the highest of values previously reported in other studies. The deciles of body mass index above 50 appeared to be particularly elevated, suggesting that obesity, when present, was pronounced in this population of children. These findings suggest an accumulation of genetic susceptibility to cardiovascular disease and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus in this stable, ethnically homogeneous, and rather isolated part of continental Europe.

Anthropometry↗
PubMed1996

Mental distress, obesity and body fat distribution in middle-aged men.

Previous epidemiological studies have suggested that psychiatric symptoms are associated with obesity and abdominal distribution of body fat in women. The aim of the present study was to examine this in middle-aged men. In 1992 a cluster selected cohort of 1040 men born in 1944 (participation rate 79.9%) was examined. Registrations of symptoms of depression and anxiety, sleep disturbances, psychosomatic disease as well as degree of life satisfaction were analyzed in relation to body mass index (BMI) and the waist/hip circumference ratio (WHR). In univariate analyses both BMI and WHR correlated with these factors. BMI and WHR were, however, closely interrelated (p = 0.61), necessitating analyses of separate, independent relationships in multivariate analyses. When adjusted for WHR all the significant relationships with BMI disappeared. In contrast the WHR, adjusted for BMI, showed remaining significant associations with the use of anxiolytics (p = 0.018), hypnotics (p = 0.029), antidepressive drugs (p = 0.008), degree of melancholy (p = 0.002), and life satisfaction (p = 0.002, negative), difficulties to sleep (p = 0.014) and fall asleep (p = 0.047), tendency to wake up from sleep (borderline, p = 0.070) and dyspepsia (p < 0.001). Since smoking and alcohol are known to influence on the WHR, these factors were, in addition to BMI, entered into the analyses as confounding variables. The mentioned associations then remained statistical significant (use of hypnotics borderline, p = 0.074) except difficulties to fall asleep and tendency to wake up. It was concluded that in contrast to BMI, the WHR is associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety with associated sleep disturbances, as well as psychosomatic symptoms and dissatisfaction. It was hypothesized that the mechanism involved might be increased secretion of cortisol, directing storage fat to central adipose tissue depots.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1996

Subjectively experienced symptoms in relation to socio-economic factors in women.

As observed in a cross-sectional population study of 1,302 women, aged 44-66 years and representative of middle-aged women living in a Swedish city, symptoms and complaints were found to be unevenly distributed in the female population. Factors such as foreign origin, low education, different kinds of isolation such as not working outside of the home, being divorced or widowed seemed to be factors which increased the risk of experiencing different symptoms and complaints. When meeting a patient with a complaint it is important to take all possible causes into consideration including socio-economic factors.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

A comparative review of psychosocial and occupational environment in native Swedes and immigrants.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate potential differences in psychosocial status and work environment between native Swedes and immigrants living in Gothenburg, Sweden. A number of psychiatric, occupational and socio-economic factors were analysed by questionnaire in 1040 men born in 1944 out of 1302 selected. The immigrants (n = 182) who participated in the study used psychopharmacological drugs more extensively than native Swedes. They were more dissatisfied, had traits of depression, frequent sleeping problems, dyspepsia and headaches compared with the native Swedes. The immigrants were more often out of work, and those who were gainfully employed were more dissatisfied with their current work and their colleagues, had a lower influence on the work situation, felt a lower degree of work demands, more seldom attempted to alter their work situation when having problems, and had a more frequent desire to change their type of work. Furthermore, immigrants more often than Swedes were living under poor housing standards, indicating a low socio-economic status. They felt a low degree of time pressure and had more often experienced a serious life event compared to native Swedes. It was concluded that immigrants were more affected by psychiatric, occupational and socio-economic disabilities and handicaps than native Swedes, indicating that immigrants are a vulnerable group in Swedish society.

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMed1996

Reproductive history in relation to relative weight and fat distribution.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between reproductive history and body composition. DESIGN: Prospective population study in Sweden. SUBJECTS: 1462 randomly selected women representing five separate age cohorts (38, 46, 50, 54 and 60 at the 1968-1969 baseline examination) have been followed longitudinally. MEASUREMENTS: Relative weight, fat distribution, and fat cellularity were related to menarche, parity, lactation, menopause and oestrogen medication. RESULTS: Age of menarche did not show any association with subsequent fat distribution, nor did length of lactation time. On the other hand parity was positively associated to total as well as central obesity, and lactation time was positively associated to abdominal fat cell diameter. Premenopausal women showed higher mean body weight and hip circumference than postmenopausal women of the same age. Change from pre- to postmenopausal status was associated with increase of waist circumference as well as reduction of hip circumference, resulting in an increased waist-hip ratio (WHR). Oestrogen replacement suggested some postponement of this increase. CONCLUSION: Parity and menopause are the reproductive factors most associated with gradual changes in body fat distribution. Oestrogen medication seems to play an additional role in diminishing waist circumference increase and could thus contribute to decreased cardiovascular morbidity in women.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1996

The influence of occupational and social factors on obesity and body fat distribution in middle-aged men.

OBJECTIVE: The principal aim of the present study was to analyse possible associations between psychosocial and occupational factors with body mass index (BMI) and the waist-to-hip circumference ratio (WHR). DESIGN: A cohort study of data derived from questionnaires. SUBJECTS: 1040 men from a population sample of 1302 men born 1944. MEASUREMENTS: Occupational, social and leisure time conditions, smoking and alcohol habits as well as height, weight and waist-to-hip circumferences. RESULTS: In multivariate analyses, the BMI, when adjusted for the WHR, smoking and alcohol, was marginally associated with shift work and, negatively, with influence on the work situation. Such men were often married or cohabited, had a low educational level, felt little time pressure and watched TV frequently. In contrast men with elevated WHR, when adjusted for BMI, alcohol and smoking, seemed to be more often out of work, and to be less satisfied with work management. They were frequently divorced and lived under relatively poorer housing conditions, indicating a low socio-economic status, exercised seldom and had little leisure time activities. CONCLUSION: It was concluded that obesity (BMI) and centralisation of body fat stores (WHR) are differently associated to occupational and social factors as well as leisure time activities.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1995

Concentrations of blood, serum and urine components in relation to number of amalgam tooth fillings in Swedish women.

Altogether 1462 women aged 38, 46, 50, 54 and 60 yr were examined in 1968/69 in a combined medical and dental population study in Gothenburg, Sweden. Number of tooth surfaces restored with amalgam fillings was assessed. The examination was repeated in 1980/81 including a new dental examination. The results from a number of biochemical analyses of blood, serum and urine were analyzed for a possible statistical relationship to number of dental amalgam fillings. As emphasis has been put in the literature on special influence from amalgam on kidney function and on the immunological system, special attention was paid to variables which might reflect these functions in our analyses. When potential confounders were taken into consideration, no significant correlations remained which seemed to be of clinical importance. Specifically, amalgam fillings were not found to be associated with impairment of the kidney function or the immunological status.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Iron balance in menstruating women.

OBJECTIVES: To study factors determining iron balance in menstruating women by examining the relationships between total iron requirements, based on menstrual iron losses and basal iron losses, and serum ferritin concentration, transferrin saturation, blood haemoglobin concentration, bone marrow haemosiderin and absorption of iron from a test dose of ferrous sulphate (0.56 mg Fe). SUBJECTS: The study was made in 203 women all aged 38 years, randomly selected from the census register of Göteborg. The study was originally made in 1968-69. Serum ferritin in frozen sera was first analysed in 1978. Reanalyses, calibrated to the International Standard 80/602, and studies on the effect of storage of sera, were made in 1992. This allowed a complete re-examination of the importance of different determinants of iron balance in women. RESULTS: With increasing iron requirements there was an increase in iron absorption, and a decrease in serum ferritin concentration and transferrin saturation. Above a certain level of iron requirement there was a rather sudden decrease in haemoglobin concentration and in stainable iron in bone marrow smears, indicating the critical level of iron requirements in these women that could be balanced by an increased iron absorption from the present diet. This level represents the maximal adaptation to maintain iron balance in an iron-replete state that can be achieved with this diet and corresponds to a prevalence of iron deficiency of about 25%. CONCLUSIONS: The continuous regulation of iron absorption from iron deficiency to iron repletion has a critical balance point determined by the properties of the diet.

Absorption↗
PubMed1995

Familial trends of obesity through three generations: the Belgian-Luxembourg child study.

Province de Luxembourg in Belgium is an area with clustering of obesity as well as other risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. In this study, obesity was studied in a total of 1028 boys and girls in age-strata 6-8, 8-10, 10-12 years, selected at random from school classes. Participation rate was about 70%. Non-participants did not differ from participants in comparisons of school records of height and weight. Furthermore, information on birth weight, parents' height and weight was collected, as well as reported problems of obesity in grandparents. The results show a high prevalence of pronounced obesity in these children. BMIs were strongly correlated between the children and both parents. Furthermore, grandparents' obesity problems were related to the BMI of parents, and also to obesity indices in the children. Birth weights were related to current BMI of the children (in girls only for the youngest age-group), and to their mothers' BMI. It was concluded that obesity is prevalent in this area and can be traced through three generations, and seems to be discoverable already at birth. Energy intake is high and physical activity level is low in these children. However, statistical analyses suggest that familial factors exert a greater impact than environmental factors on the BMI of the children. These results, as well as the wide-spread, consistent familial clustering of obesity, traceable already at birth, suggest influence of strong genetic traits for obesity in this population.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

The quantitative relationship between "the metabolic syndrome" and abdominal obesity in women.

Abdominal obesity is closely associated with the presence of metabolic risk factors and elevated blood pressure in selected materials. This has, however, never been analyzed quantitatively in a non-selected cohort. Therefore, in a population-based study of 1462 Swedish women, four selected risk factors for non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and cardiovascular disease (CVD), serum triglycerides, blood glucose and systolic blood pressure and also serum insulin in a subsample, were examined in relation to regional and overall obesity. This was performed by subdividing the age adjusted sample into quintiles of waist to hip circumference ratio (WHR) or body mass index (BMI) as indicators of abdominal distribution of body fat and overall obesity, respectively. The risk factors serum triglycerides, blood glucose, blood pressure and serum insulin were defined as being elevated when the value of the risk factor was higher than the mean plus one or two standard deviations of the total age-adjusted cohort. The percentage of women with elevated risk factors according to this definition was then calculated in each of these quintiles. Having a risk factor which was elevated according to the definition was significantly correlated to WHR and BMI (p<0.0001) independent of age. The presence of one or several of these elevated risk factors was clearly higher than expected in the fifth quintile of WHR, and to a lesser extent in the fifth quintile of BMI while this was not the case in the lower quintiles of WHR and BMI. When studying the combination of the WHR and BMI, the presence of risk factors higher than the mean plus two standard deviations increased gradually with WHR in all five quintiles of BMI. A significant association was observed between WHR and presence of risk factors independent of BMI (p<0.0001) but BMI did not remain significantly correlated to presence of risk factors when controlling for WHR (p=0.09). These results indicate that abdominal distribution of body fat in women independently of general obesity is closely associated with metabolic risk factors including elevated blood pressure, a metabolic syndrome with increased risk for cardiovascular disease and non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus.

Abdomen↗
PubMed1994

Antihypertensive drugs and glucose metabolism: a comparison between a diuretic and felodipine, a new calcium antagonist, when added to a beta-blocker in non-diabetic hypertensive women.

Felodipine, a vascular selective antihypertensive calcium antagonist, was compared with hydrochlorothiazide, a diuretic, with respect to glucose tolerance. An open crossover study was performed comprising 16 non-diabetic hypertensive women (age range 59-75 years). The women continued to take a beta-blocker as a basal therapy. Each treatment period lasted three months. The blood pressure was similar irrespective of treatment. Blood glucose values were not significantly different during the oral glucose tolerance test. Serum insulin levels after glucose administration were lower when the patients were treated with felodipine than when taking hydrochlorothiazide. A possible explanation for this observation may be an increased insulin release as a consequence of treatment with a diuretic in order to maintain normal blood glucose levels during the glucose tolerance test. Felodipine appears preferable to hydrochlorothiazide as an addition to a beta blocker in hypertensive patients from a glucose metabolism point of view.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗
PubMed1994

Malignant disease observed in a cohort of women. A validation of Swedish Cancer Registry data.

A longitudinal study of altogether 1462 women aged 38 to 60 years started in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1968-69. Based on information from the population study and from the Swedish Cancer Registry 35 women had a history of malignant disease when initially examined in 1968-69. During a 12-year follow-up period a total of 79 malignant tumours developed in 73 women. A comparison was made between the 1988 Cancer Registry listing and the observations made in the population study. All but one out of 103 cases (99%) were registered in the Cancer Registry and all but one (99%) in the population study. It may be concluded that the accuracy of the population study registration as well as that of the Cancer Registry at that time were very high. This enables us to draw relatively safe conclusions from our own material when testing for risk factors.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Hemostatic and metabolic variables in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: To study whether a previously demonstrated increased morbidity in cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes mellitus in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is associated with certain hemostatic variables that are known to be markers for CVD. DESIGN: The study was a trans-sectional follow-up study from a cohort of women with PCOS. SETTING: The women with PCOS were recruited from hospital clinics and referents were randomized from a population study of women from the same area. PARTICIPANTS: The investigation involved 28 women aged 43 to 62 years diagnosed to have PCOS on ovarian histopathology at wedge resection 25 to 34 years previously and 56 referents who were matched by age and body mass index. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: In connection with a clinical investigation, the hemostatic variables fibrinogen, von Willebrand factor antigen, factor VII procoagulant activity, factor VII antigen, and plasminogen activator inhibitor as well as the metabolic variables serum insulin and serum triglycerides were assayed. RESULTS: There was a strong positive correlation between serum concentrations of triglyceride, basal insulin, and abdominal obesity on the one hand, and plasminogen activator inhibitor, fibrinogen, and von Willebrand factor on the other, among women with PCOS as well as among referents. There were significantly higher mean concentrations of fibrinogen and factor VII:Ag among referents, but the mean values of most hemostatic variables studied showed no differences between the groups. CONCLUSION: Women with an altered metabolic profile were also found to have affected hemostatic factors, but PCOS in itself did not seem to influence them.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Associations of serum lipid concentrations and obesity with mortality in women: 20 year follow up of participants in prospective population study in Gothenburg, Sweden.

OBJECTIVE: To examine association of different measures of serum lipid concentration and obesity with mortality in women. DESIGN: Prospective observational study initiated in 1968-9, follow up examination after 12 years, and follow up study based on death certificates after 20 years. SETTING: Gothenburg, Sweden. SUBJECTS: 1462 randomly selected women aged 38-60 at start of study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Total mortality and death from myocardial infarction as predicted by serum cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations, body mass index, and ratio of circumference of waist to circumference of hips. RESULTS: 170 women died during follow up, 26 from myocardial infarction. Serum triglyceride concentration and waist:hip ratio were significantly associated with both end points (relative risk of total mortality for highest quarter of triglyceride concentration v lower three quarters 1.86 (95% confidence interval 1.30 to 2.67); relative risk for waist:hip ratio 1.67 (1.18 to 2.36)). These associations remained after adjustment for background variables. Serum cholesterol concentration and body mass index were initially associated with death from myocardial infarction, but association was lost after adjustment for background variables. Serum triglyceride concentration and waist:hip ratio were independently predictive of both end points (logistic regression coefficient for total mortality for triglyceride 0.514 (SE 0.150), p = 0.0006; coefficient for waist:hip ratio 7.130 (1.92), p = 0.0002) whereas the other two risk factors were not (coefficient for total mortality for cholesterol concentration -0.102 (0.079), p = 0.20; coefficient for body mass index -0.051 (0.027), p = 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Lipid risk profile appears to be different in men and women given that serum triglyceride concentration was an independent risk factor for mortality while serum cholesterol concentration was not. Consistent with previous observations in men, localisation of adipose tissue was more important than obesity per se as risk factor in women.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Smoking--a risk factor for hypothyroidism.

Smoking is associated with a spectrum of disorders. Recent reports have shown decreased serum concentrations of thyrotropin in euthyroid smokers, and there is an association between smoking and development of goiter (toxic and euthyroid). In a 12-year follow-up of a randomly selected sample of women we found a strong association between smoking at the time of initial screening and later development of hypothyroidism, the relative risk for a female smoker to develop hypothyroidism being 3.9 (95% confidence interval 1.6-9.1). There was, however, no association between smoking habits at the end of the follow-up and hypothyroidism. This indicates that several women who developed hypothyroidism may have done so in association with a change in smoking habits.

Adult↗