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Biomedical subjects

M Ferraroni

Publications and source records attributed to M Ferraroni.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Induced abortions and risk of ectopic pregnancy.

The relationship between induced abortions and subsequent risk of ectopic pregnancy has been analysed using data from a case-control study conducted in Milan, Italy. The cases were 158 women with a diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy confirmed by laparoscopy or laparotomy, admitted to a network of university and general hospitals. Two control groups were selected. The first one (obstetric controls) included 243 women who gave birth at term (more than 37 weeks gestation) to healthy infants at the same hospitals where the cases had been identified. The second control group (non-obstetric controls) was a random sample of 158 women of comparable age interviewed in the same calendar period, admitted to hospital for a broad spectrum of acute, non-gynaecological or obstetric conditions. A total of 35 out of 158 cases (22%) reported one or more previous induced abortions; the corresponding figures were 29 out of 243 (12%) obstetric controls and 29 out of 158 (18%) non-obstetric ones. The risk of ectopic pregnancy was higher in women reporting induced abortions: the estimated multivariate relative risks (relative risk) for any induced abortions were 2.9 [95%, confidence interval (CI) 1.6-5.3] in comparison with obstetric controls and 2.5 (95% CI 1.2-5.0) in comparison with women admitted to hospital for other conditions. The risk increased with number of induced abortions, being, compared to women with no induced abortion, 13.1 (95% CI 3.2-54.5) and 3.8 (95% CI 1.1-12.7) in women reporting two or more induced abortions when the comparison groups were respectively obstetric and non-obstetric controls. This study shows an increased risk of ectopic pregnancy after induced abortion.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Abortion, Induced↗
PubMed1995

Prevalence of chronic diseases in alcohol abstainers.

We used data from the 1983 Italian National Health Survey, based on 58,462 adults ages 25 years and over who are representative of the general Italian population, to compare the prevalence of 16 major chronic diseases or groups of diseases in alcohol abstainers (ex- and never-drinkers combined) and current drinkers. We found elevated odds ratios among alcohol abstainers for diabetes, hypertension, myocardial infarction, other heart diseases, anemias, gastroduodenal ulcer, cholelithiasis, liver cirrhosis, urolithiasis, and renal insufficiency.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Number of siblings and subsequent gastric cancer risk.

The number of siblings is an indirect indicator of living and, possibly, dietary conditions in childhood and adolescence. The relationship between the number of siblings and subsequent gastric cancer risk was analysed using data from a case--control study conducted in Italy between 1985 and 1992 on 723 cases of incident, histologically confirmed gastric cancer and 2,024 controls in hospital for acute, non-neoplastic, non-digestive tract disorders. After allowance for age and sex, there was a significant trend of increasing gastric cancer risk with increasing number of siblings (P < 0.01). Compared with subjects with no siblings, the relative risk (RR) was 1.1 for those with one, 1.3 for 2, 1.4 for 3-6 and 1.7 for 7 or more siblings. The association was stronger in subjects above the age of 60: the RR for > or = 5 siblings was 1.8, as compared with 1.2 for younger subjects. These patterns of trends are consistent with the hypothesis that domestic crowding and deprivation in childhood and adolescence is a correlate of subsequent gastric cancer risk, and offer therefore interesting clues to our understanding of the process of gastric carcinogenesis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Influence of some covariates on the reproducibility of an Italian semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire.

We studied the influence of age, sex, education and time between interviews on the reproducibility of a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) developed in Italy for a case-control study on cancers of the breast and digestive tract. The questionnaire had been administered twice to 452 Italian men and women and included the weekly consumption of 77 food items or groups of foods, seven summary questions and three questions on some general dietary habits. Spearman correlation coefficients for the 77 dietary items plus the seven summary questions did not differ between males (median 0.61) and females (median 0.58), volunteers younger than 50 years (median 0.58) and aged 50 or more (median 0.59), volunteers with fewer than 10 years of education (median 0.58) and with 10 or more (median 0.59). A slightly higher Spearman correlation coefficient was found when the two interviews were conducted 5-6 months apart (median 0.60) or more than 6 (median 0.59) than when less than 5 (median 0.55). Similarly, Pearson correlation coefficients for the intake of 27 nutrients or micronutrients, plus caloric intake, computed from the FFQ showed no differences between males (median 0.65) and females (median 0.64), two age groups (median 0.67 for subjects aged < 50 years and 0.65 for those aged > or = 50), and two educational levels (median 0.68 for < 10 years and 0.65 for > or = 10 years). The median Pearson correlation coefficient for nutrients was slightly higher for those subjects who were interviewed with the planned interval (5-6 months, median 0.71) than when the interval was shorter (median 0.57) or longer (median 0.64).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Pelvic endometriosis: reproductive and menstrual risk factors at different stages in Lombardy, northern Italy.

AIM: To analyse the relationship between reproductive and menstrual factors and different stages of pelvic endometriosis. METHODS: Between 1987 and 1990 a case-control study of risk factors for pelvic endometriosis was conducted. Cases comprised 376 women (median age 32 years) with pelvic endometriosis confirmed by laparoscopy or laparotomy admitted to any one of three clinics in Lombardy, northern Italy. A total of 129 (34.3%) of these women were at stage 1, 76 (20.2%) at stage 2, 96 (25.5%) at stage 3, and 75 (19.9%) at stage 4, according to the American Fertility Society revised classification of endometriosis. Controls comprised 522 women admitted to hospital for acute conditions. RESULTS: The risk of endometriosis decreased with increasing number of births. The estimated odds ratios (OR) were similar in different stages of the disease: for example, compared with nulliparous women, the OR of endometriosis at stage 1 was 0.1 in women who reported two or more births and the corresponding values were respectively 0.1, 0.2, and 0.2 for endometriosis at stages 2, 3, and 4. Cases reported fewer induced abortions than controls: the estimated ORs compared with no induced abortion were 0.4, 0.5, 0.2, and 0.2 in women who reported one or more induced abortions for subsequent stages of endometriosis. Women with irregular menstrual cycles were at less risk of the disease: compared with women who reported lifelong regular cycles the estimated ORs were 0.3, 0.5, 0.5, and 0.3 for disease stages 1-4 respectively. No consistent association emerged between the ages at menarche and at first delivery and the risk of endometriosis. CONCLUSIONS: This analysis provides further evidence that reproductive and menstrual factors are associated with the risk of endometriosis. The observation that early and late stages of the disease share similar epidemiological characteristics suggests an epidemiological (and pathogenetic) continuum between various stages of the disease.

Abortion, Induced↗
PubMed1994

Smoking in Italy, 1990-1991.

Smoking prevalence and patterns in Italy were analyzed using data from the 1990-1991 Italian National Health Survey, based on a sample of 27, 135 males and 28,854 females aged 15 years or over, randomly selected within strata of geographic area and size of the place of residence and of the household, in order to be representative of the general Italian population. Overall, 26.9% of the Italians aged 15 years or over described themselves as current smokers (37.2% males, 17.4% females), and 14.0% as ex-smokers (22.2% males, 6.4% females). The difference in smoking prevalence between males and females was 65% below age 45, but increased substantially with increasing age up to 5-fold above age 65. Moderate smokers (< 15 cigarettes per day) were 12.6% of males and 10.4% of females, intermediate smokers (15 to 24 cigarettes per day) 17.7% of males and 5.5% of females, and heavy smokers (> or = 25 cigarettes per day) 6.3% of males and 1.5% of females. Pipe or cigar smokers were 0.6% of males. The average number of cigarettes per smoker per day was 16.6 (17.9 for males, 14.0 for females). The overall smoking prevalence of 26.9% was the lowest registered since 1949, thus confirming the long-term steady decline of smoking, particularly among males. Smoking prevalence, however, has remained constant over the last 15 years among females, after substantial rises in previous calendar years. These falls in overall self-reported smoking prevalence were reflected in declines of legal sale figures (-15% between 1986 and 1991), although it is difficult to quantify the impact of smuggling on total tobacco consumption. Thus, at least part of the falls in self-reported tobacco consumption is attributable to increased underreporting. In males, but not in females, smoking was less frequent in northern (and wealthier) areas of the country, and in more educated individuals. The opposite pattern was observed in females, indicating that even more educated Italian women have not yet recognized the accumulated evidence on the health consequences of smoking. These patterns in smoking are reflected by recent trends in lung cancer, which show some decline in males but persistent upward trends in females, although still on much lower absolute values.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Contraceptive methods and risk of pelvic endometriosis.

The relation between contraceptive methods and risk of pelvic endometriosis has been analyzed in a case-control study. Cases were 376 women with laparoscopically or laparotomically confirmed pelvic endometriosis admitted to a network of Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics in Lombardy, Northern Italy. Controls were 522 women admitted for acute non-gynecological and non-obstetrics conditions to the same hospitals where cases had been identified. A total 153 women (40.3%) out of the 377 cases and 154 (29.7%) out of the 522 controls reported ever oral contraceptive (OC) use: the corresponding relative risk (RR) was 1.6 (95% confidence interval, CI, 1.2-2.2). The risk was restricted to ex-OC users (RR 1.7, 95% CI 1.3-2.4), the estimated RR for current users being 0.9 (95% CI 0.5-1.9). No clear relation emerged with duration, recency and latency of OC use and risk of endometriosis. In comparison with never IUD users, the risk for ever users was 1.3 (95% CI 0.6-2.8), and no clear relation emerged with duration of use. Likewise, no association was observed between barrier method of contraception and risk of endometriosis (RR ever vs never users 0.5, 95% CI 0.3-1.4). The role of selection and other biases should be considered in the interpretation of epidemiological data on the role of OC on the risk of endometriosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Selected micronutrient intake and the risk of colorectal cancer.

The relationship between estimated intake of selected micronutrients and the risk of colorectal cancer was analysed using data from a case-control study conducted in northern Italy. The study was based on 828 patients with colon cancer, 498 with rectal cancer and 2,024 controls in hospital for acute, non-neoplastic, non-digestive tract diseases. Relative risks (RRs) of intake quintiles were computed after allowance for age, sex and other major potential confounding factors, including an estimate of total energy intake. No apparent trend in risk across intake quintiles was evident for retinol, vitamin D, methionine and calcium. For beta-carotene, ascorbic acid, vitamin E and folate there was a trend of a protective effect with increasing consumption: the RR for the highest versus the lowest quintile was 0.32 for beta-carotene, 0.40 for ascorbic acid, 0.60 for vitamin E and 0.52 for folate. These inverse associations were similar for colon and rectal cancer, and consistent across strata of sex and age. When simultaneous allowance was made for all these micronutrients, besides other covariates, the only persistent protective effects were for beta-carotene (RR = 0.38 for the highest quintile) and ascorbic acid (RR = 0.52). Whether this reflects a specific, or stronger, effect of these micronutrients, rather than problems of collinearity between micronutrients or other limitations of the data, remains open to discussion. Still, this study suggests that specific micronutrients may exert an independent protective effect against colorectal carcinogenesis.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

A reduced questionnaire to investigate the Mediterranean diet in epidemiologic studies.

We evaluated the performance of two reduced dietary questionnaires (RDQ). They were derived from a more complex questionnaire used to investigate the relation between diet and gastric cancer in a case-control study recently concluded in Italy. The full dietary questionnaire (FDQ) used in that study included 181 questions on the frequency/portion size of consumption of 146 different foods and drinks. Two different RDQs were defined, including subgroups of the original food items able to reproduce at least 90% (RDQ90) or 75% (RDQ75), respectively, of the total variability captured by the FDQ on the nutrient intake of controls. Each RDQ provided estimates of nutrients highly correlated with the estimates produced by the FDQ. For different quintiles of nutrient intake, we compared the estimated relative risk obtained by means of the RDQs and the FDQ. For various nutrients, the differences in relative risks were relatively minor, below 20%, but were larger for protein and beta-carotene. These analyses indicate that a RDQ is able to quantify adequately various aspects of the Italian diet for the purpose of epidemiologic inference.

Case-Control Studies↗
PubMed1994

Alcohol drinking and prevalence of self-reported gallstone disease in the 1983 Italian National Health Survey.

We studied the relation between alcohol drinking and gallstone disease, using data from the 1983 Italian National Health Survey. This survey included information on 58,462 adults age 25 years and over (27,912 males and 30,550 females), randomly selected within strata of geographical area, size of the municipality of residence, and size of the household. The prevalence of gallstone disease or cholecystectomy was 2.4% among males and 4.8% among females. Compared with alcohol abstainers, the relative risk of gallstone disease, controlling for age, sex, education, smoking, and body mass index, was 0.83 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.73-0.92] for occasional and regular moderate drinkers (< 25 ml of ethanol per day), 0.67 (95% CI = 0.59-0.77) for intermediate drinkers (25-50 ml per day), and 0.58 (95% CI = 0.47-0.70) for heavy drinkers. This inverse association was consistent across strata of age, sex, and body mass index.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Reproducibility of an Italian food frequency questionnaire for cancer studies: results for specific food items.

To evaluate the reproducibility of a quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) used in a case-control study on cancer of the breast, ovary and digestive tract, we compared the result of a 98-item questionnaire administered twice at an interval of 3-10 months (median = 5.4 months) to 452 volunteers (144 males and 308 females, median age = 50 years) from three Italian provinces (Pordenone, Genoa and Forlí). Spearman correlation coefficients (r) for intake frequency of 87 dietary items ranged from 0.35 ("chicken or turkey, boiled") to 0.84 ("wine"). Most coefficients were between 0.60 and 0.80, only two being below 0.40 and five equal or above 0.80 (mean r = 0.59). The concordance of the two measurements tended to be somewhat better for alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, bread, cereals and first courses, fruits and summary questions at the end of each section of the questionnaire than for side dishes, sweets and desserts. Also, the reproducibility of 11 subjective questions, such as those concerning the amount of fat in seasoning and the intake of garlic or salt, seemed to be high. Age, sex, educational level of the volunteers and interval between the two FFQ did not have a large or systematic impact on the concordance of the two measurements. In conclusion, the present study has shown a good level of reproducibility of our questionnaire and has provided a few important hints on ways of improving the description of various food items.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

HDL-cholesterol and breast cancer: a joint study in northern Italy and southern France.

The goal of the present study is to evaluate HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) as a marker of breast cancer (BC) risk. It is based on several epidemiological and biological studies and is justified by the rising incidence of breast cancer throughout the world. A hospital-based study on host-related risk factors and breast cancer, conducted with similar methods in northern Italy and southern France, provided the biological data, the information on the established BC risk factors and on nutrition for 307 cases and 329 controls. This data set allowed for a thorough analysis of the relationship of HDL-C with established risk factors for BC and also of its association with BC at the time of diagnosis. Most of our findings on HDL-C determinants in the control sample are comparable to previous studies. The BC risk factors associated with reproductive life correlate with HDL-C levels: the protective factors are associated with a lower level of HDL-C and inversely. The same is true for nutritional factors such as alcohol. For these determinants, the trend is similar for cases and controls, and HDL-C level appears to be related to oestrogen metabolism. Thus it may be considered as a marker of BC risk. Our results indicate that high HDL-C levels should be especially checked in women aged > or = 60 years, or in premenopausal women presenting a low BMI, or in postmenopausal women with an early menopause.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed1992

Risk factors for ectopic pregnancy: an Italian case-control study.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze risk factors for ectopic pregnancy in a population at low risk for the disease. METHODS: Between September 1989 and February 1991 in Milan, we conducted a case-control study on 120 cases of ectopic pregnancy and 209 controls. The control subjects gave birth at term (more than 37 weeks' gestation) to healthy infants on randomly selected days at the same hospitals where the cases had been identified. RESULTS: The risk of ectopic gestation was about 40% higher in smokers than in controls, and the risk estimates increased with the number of cigarettes smoked per day (chi 2(1) trend 4.21, P = .04) and the duration of smoking (chi 2(1) trend 7.31, P < .01). However, smoking was not associated with the risk of ectopic pregnancy after adjustment for potential confounding factors (including history of pelvic inflammatory disease) in a multivariate analysis (relative risks [RRs] for ten or fewer and more than ten cigarettes per day versus no smoking were 0.8 and 1.1, respectively; chi 2(1) trend 0.10, P = not significant). Infertility problems or difficulty in conception were reported by 32% of the cases and 10% of the controls; the corresponding multivariate RR was 4.7 (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.3-9.5). A history of abdominal surgery was associated with about double the risk of ectopic pregnancy (multivariate RR 2.4, 95% CI 1.4-4.2). Similar estimates were found when the analysis was performed considering various types of surgery separately such as appendectomy, cesarean delivery, and other abdominal surgery. Finally, the risk of ectopic pregnancy was higher in women reporting a history of pelvic inflammatory disease (RR 2.7, 95% CI 0.9-8.7) and increased with the number of sexual partners (chi 2(1) trend 4.51, P = .03). CONCLUSIONS: Problems of infertility or difficulties in conception, history of pelvic inflammatory disease/salpingitis, and abdominal surgery are the main risk factors for ectopic pregnancy in this Italian study. Sexual habits also appear to have some independent effect.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

[Trends in mortality from respiratory tract tumors in Italy, 1969-1987].

Trends of Italian death certification for cancers of the lung, larynx, pleura and nasal sinuses were analyzed for both sexes in the period from 1969 to 1987. For lung and laryngeal cancer, the analyses have been conducted for broad geographical areas within Italy (North, Center and South). Mortality rates for males aged 35-44 years consistently decreased in the North; increased until the late 1970's, and then decreased in the Center; and consistently increased in the South. In the 45-54 age group, mortality rates peaked in all areas between the late 1970's and the early 1980's, subsequently decreasing. For ages over 54 years, the rates continued to increase even in the 1980's. Female lung cancer rates increased in all areas and in all age groups over 35 years. In the 25-34 years old age group the rates decreased in the North and tended to increase in the Center and in the South. Below age 50, the increases were proportional in the three areas, while for older ages the increase was greater in the North both in absolute and proportional terms. Cohort effects showed a general increase for the generations born up to 1930, in both sexes and in all geographical areas. Different trends were observed for cohorts born after 1940: decreasing for both sexes in the North, and steady for men and increasing for women in the other areas. From the mid 1970's, laryngeal cancer standardized rates for 35-64 age group decreased, or at most remained constant, in all geographical areas. The decreasing tendency was more marked in men. Larynx cancer cohort effects for men were at a maximum for cohorts born around 1990, decreasing thereafter. In women, cohort effects appeared to consistently decrease. Overall rates of pleural cancer mortality increased during the period 1969-1987, and the sex ratio was stable, from 1980 onwards, at a value of about 2.4. Cohort effects showed, for pleural cancer, a general increase for all the cohorts. The increase was particularly apparent in male cohorts born after 1930. Overall mortality rates for cancer of the nasal sinuses was rather stable in both sexes from 1975 onwards. However, in the 35-64 year age group, mortality rates increase for males and decreased for females.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Height and the prevalence of chronic disease.

The relationship of stature with the prevalence of 18 chronic diseases or groups of diseases was analysed using data from the 1983 Italian National Health Survey, based on a sample of 63,859 individuals aged 20 or over randomly selected within strata of geographical area, size of the place of residence and of the household in order to be representative of the Italian population. Rate ratios (RR) were computed using multiple logistic regression, including terms for sex, age, geographical area, education and smoking. For 15 out of 18 diseases or groups of diseases the RR was below unity in the highest quartiles of height, and the inverse trends with stature were significant for 11 (diabetes, RR 0.90 for highest vs lowest quartile; heart disease, RR 0.92; chronic bronchitis and emphysema, RR 0.84; bronchial asthma, RR 0.70; anaemias, RR 0.70; liver cirrhosis, RR 0.62; urolithiasis, RR 0.76; renal insufficiency, RR 0.71; arthritis, RR 0.89; psychiatric and neurological disorders, RR 0.82). None of the diseases considered showed significant direct trends with height, but hypertension (RR 1.09 for the highest vs lowest quartile), haemorrhoids or varices (RR 1.09) and cancers (RR 1.22) tended to be elevated in the highest quartile of height. The generalised inverse relationship between height and prevalence of chronic disease suggests that poorer nutrition in childhood and adolescence is an unfavourable indicator for the subsequent occurrence of several diseases. Major exceptions were hypertension and varices, two conditions highly dependent on the pattern of health care utilization, and cancer.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Socio-demographic determinants of stopping smoking from Italian population-based surveys.

Frequency and determinants of smoking cessation were analysed using data from two Italian National Health Surveys, conducted in 1983 and 1986-87 on samples of 89,753 and 77,155 individuals respectively, randomly selected within strata of region of residence, size of the municipality and of the household, in order to be representative of the general Italian population. Overall stopping ratios or "quit ratios" (i.e., ratios between ex- and ever-smokers) were 20.5% for males and 9.0% for females in the 1983 survey, and rose to 23.2 and 11.9% respectively in 1986-87. With reference to age, stopping rates were slightly higher for females than for males below age 35, but considerably higher for males in each subsequent age group, particularly in middle age. Ratios were apparently higher for the most recent survey for both sexes and each subsequent age group. After standardisation for age, "quit ratios" in both sexes were directly related with education. Cessation of smoking was more common in northern (and richer) areas of the country, and positively associated with the prevalence of smoking-related chronic diseases. The major, and most discouraging, finding from these analyses is the absolute low rate of stopping in Italy as compared to northern America or northern Europe, although some positive tendency towards increasing cessation was evident between the early and the late 1980s. These tendencies, together with some recent drops in smoking prevalence in younger women, first observed after decades of increase, indicate a change at least in attitudes towards reporting smoking, and hence social acceptance of the habit.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Smoking habits and risk of benign breast disease.

The relationship between smoking habits and the risk of benign breast disease (BBD) was analyzed using data from a case-control study conducted between 1981 and 1983 in the greater Milan area, Northern Italy. Cases (n = 288) were women with histologically confirmed BBD (203 dysplasia, 85 benign tumours) referred to the National Cancer Institute of Milan for biopsies. Controls were women (n = 291) seen on selected days for a cytological smear for cervical cancer in outpatient clinics of the same Institute. No consistent association emerged between various indicators of smoking habits (smoking status, number of cigarettes smoked per day, duration of smoking) and the risk of BBD. Compared with never smokers the relative risk (RR) of all BBD combined was 0.7 (95% confidence interval, Cl: 0.4-1.3) in exsmokers, 1.4 (95% Cl: 0.8-2.5) in smokers of less than 10 cigarettes per day, and 1.1 (95% Cl: 0.7-1.7) in smokers of 10 or more cigarettes per day. There was some suggestion that the risk may be below unity post-menopause, but the relative risks for smokers were not statistically different in pre- (RR = 1.2; 95% Cl: 0.8-1.8) and post-menopausal (RR = 0.6; 95% Cl: 0.2-1.7) women. The risk of benign tumours (chiefly fibradenoma) was higher in current smokers, but this finding was not statistically significant (RR = 1.5; 95% Cl: 0.9-2.6) and the highest risks were observed in the strata of lighter smokers and those with shorter duration of smoking. Overall these results fail to support a negative association between smoking habits and benign breast disease.

Adenofibroma↗