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R G Ziegler

Publications and source records attributed to R G Ziegler.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Diet and other risk factors for laryngeal cancer in Shanghai, China.

A population-based, case-control study of laryngeal cancer was conducted in Shanghai, China, during 1988-1990, in which 201 incident cases (177 males, 24 females) and 414 controls (269 males, 145 females) were interviewed. Cigarette smoking was the major risk factor, accounting for 86% of the male and 54% of the female cases. After adjusting for smoking, there was little increase in risk associated with drinking alcoholic beverages. Among men, cases more often reported occupational exposures to asbestos and coal dust. A protective effect was associated with the intake of fruits (particularly oranges and tangerines), certain dark green/yellow vegetables, and garlic, but there was an increased risk with the intake of salt-preserved meat and fish. The findings suggest that risk factors for laryngeal cancer in Shanghai resemble those in Western countries, and they provide further evidence that dietary factors play an important etiologic role.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Does beta-carotene explain why reduced cancer risk is associated with vegetable and fruit intake?

Increased intake of vegetables, fruits, and carotenoids and elevated blood levels of beta-carotene are consistently associated with reduced risk of lung cancer in epidemiologic studies. Epidemiologic research also suggests that carotenoids may reduce the risk of other cancers, although the evidence is less extensive and consistent. The simplest explanation is that beta-carotene is protective. However, the possible roles of other carotenoids, other constituents of vegetables and fruits, and associated dietary patterns have not been adequately explored. To evaluate these alternative hypotheses, we are undertaking three lines of research. (a) With dietary data from the 1987 National Health Interview Survey and the 1982-1984 Epidemiologic Follow-up of the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Study, we have determined which food groups and nutrients are highly correlated with vegetable and fruit intake. (b) We have developed and characterized a liquid chromatography method for optimal recovery and resolution of the common carotenoids in blood, specifically lutein, zeaxanthin, beta-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, alpha-carotene, and beta-carotene. (c) In a population-based case-control study of lung cancer in white men in New Jersey, we are assessing whether estimates of the intake of the individual carotenoids might produce stronger inverse associations than estimates of provitamin A carotenoids based on current food composition tables.

Carotenoids↗
PubMed1992

Evaluation of reversed-phase liquid chromatographic columns for recovery and selectivity of selected carotenoids.

Sixty commercially available and five experimental liquid chromatography columns were evaluated for the separation and recovery of seven carotenoid compounds. Methanol- and acetonitrile-based solvents (either straight or modified with ethyl acetate or tetrahydrofuran) were compared to determine which solvent systems and which columns provided better selectivity and recovery. Methanol-based solvents typically provided higher recoveries than did acetonitrile-based solvents. Polymeric C18 phases generally provided better selectivity for the difficult separation of lutein and zeaxanthin than did monomeric C18 phases.

Carotenoids↗
PubMed1991

Racial differences in the risk of invasive squamous-cell cervical cancer.

To investigate reasons for the higher rates of invasive squamous-cell cervical carcinoma among Blacks than Whites in the United States, we examined data from a case-control study of cervical cancer conducted in five geographic areas of the US, supplemented by incidence data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program, and hysterectomy prevalence data from the Cancer and Steroid Hormone Study. We observed only minor differences between Blacks and Whites in the magnitude of relative risks associated with a long interval since last Pap smear, multiple sexual partners, cigarette smoking, a higher number of births, and low levels of income and education. Thus, differences in the strength of associations contributed little to the higher incidence rare in Blacks, but the prevalence of these risk factors, except for cigarette smoking, was higher in Blacks than Whites. The SEER incidence rate ratio of 2.3 for Blacks compared to whites was increased to 2.7 when incidence rates utilized denominators corrected for prevalence of hysterectomy, while the rate difference increased from 14.9 to 25.8 cases per 100,000 person-years (PY). We estimated further that, after adjustment for prevalence of hysterectomy, the incidence rate for women at the lowest levels of exposure to the risk factors evaluated was 2.2 times higher in Blacks than Whites, but that the corresponding rate difference was only 2.2 cases per 100,000 PYs. Thus, our results suggest that racial differences in the prevalence of exposure to identified risk factors account for most of the difference in incidence rates. It remains to be determined what, as yet unidentified, aspects of lower socioeconomic status contribute to the higher incidence rate in Blacks.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Diet and the risk of in situ cervical cancer among white women in the United States.

A case-control study of women with incident in situ and invasive cervical cancer was conducted during 1982-83 in five US areas reporting to the Comprehensive Cancer Patient Data System: Birmingham, AL; Chicago, IL; Denver, CO; Miami, FL; and Philadelphia, PA. Controls were selected by random-digit dialing and matched to invasive cases on age, race, and telephone exchange. Of the white non-Hispanic in situ cases and controls identified, 229 (78 percent) and 502 (74 percent) were successfully interviewed. Diet was assessed by asking about the usual adult frequency of consumption of 75 food items and the use of vitamin supplements. Included were the major sources of the four micronutrients postulated to reduce the risk of cervical cancer: carotenoids, vitamin A, vitamin C, and folate. Weak inverse associations between risk of in situ disease and intake of carotenoids, vitamin C, folate, fruit, and vegetables/fruits were noted but, with further analysis, these seemed attributable to residual confounding by the multiple lifestyle-related risk factors for this disease and possibly to selection bias. Vitamin A and vegetable intake were unrelated to risk. Dark yellow-orange vegetable consumption and duration of multivitamin use were each strongly related to reduced risk of in situ disease (P for trend = 0.02 and 0.002, respectively) and need to be evaluated in other studies. The absence of persuasive protective effects for the four micronutrients and the similar findings from our analysis of invasive cervical cancer do not concur with other epidemiologic studies and suggest that the role of diet and nutrition in the etiology of cervical cancer is not yet resolved.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Diet and the risk of vulvar cancer.

In this case-control study, 201 case patients with vulvar cancer and 342 community control subjects responded to a 61-item food frequency questionnaire. Risk was unrelated to intake of dark green vegetables, citrus fruits, legumes, and vitamins A and C and folate. Risk increased modestly with decreased intake of dark yellow-orange vegetables; the relative risk for the lowest versus the highest quartile was 1.6. Analyses using preliminary determinations of the major carotenoids in common fruits and vegetables suggested that alpha carotene might be the protective constituent in dark yellow-orange vegetables. Intake of beta carotene and provitamin A carotenoids was unrelated to risk. Multivitamin users were at lower risk, compared to nonusers, but no trend was observed with increasing years of use, suggesting that this association was due to unmeasured differences in life-style factors. Risk increased irregularly with the number of cups of coffee consumed per week whereas consumption of alcohol was unrelated to risk.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Vegetables, fruits, and carotenoids and the risk of cancer.

Low intake of vegetables, fruits, and carotenoids is consistently associated with increased risk of lung cancer in both prospective and retrospective studies. In addition, low levels of beta-carotene in serum or plasma are consistently associated with the subsequent development of lung cancer. The simplest explanation is that beta-carotene is protective. Since retinol (preformed vitamin A) is not related in a similar manner to lung cancer risk, beta-carotene appears to function through a mechanism that does not require conversion into vitamin A. However, the importance of other carotenoids and other constituents of vegetables and fruit has not been adequately explored. Both prospective and retrospective studies suggest that vegetable and fruit intake may reduce the risk of cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, stomach, colon, rectum, bladder, and cervix. But because of fewer studies and less consistency among studies, the epidemiologic evidence is at present less persuasive than for lung cancer.

Carotenoids↗
PubMed1991

Ascorbic and dehydroascorbic acid measurement in human serum and plasma.

Plasma supplemented with ascorbic acid was prepared; the stability of these samples was characterized and the accuracy of the supplementation was established. Studies on the accuracy, precision, and sources of methodological bias in the measurement of ascorbic acid were summarized. Measurements of the ratio of ascorbic acid to dehydroascorbic acid in clinical samples was evaluated and was shown to be relatively constant in plasma taken from blood stored at 12 degrees C for 6 h. These results imply that whole blood has the capacity to maintain a constant ascorbic-dehydroascorbic acid ratio and suggest that this ratio may be of physiological significance.

Ascorbic Acid↗
PubMed1991

Dietary diversity in the US population, NHANES II, 1976-1980.

The extent of diversity in the diets of black and white adults (n = 11,658) aged 19 to 74 years was evaluated from 24-hour dietary recalls obtained in the second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Each 24-hour recall was evaluated for the consumption of items from the dairy, meat, grain, fruit, and vegetable groups (Food Group Score). A second scoring method (Serving Score) evaluated every recall for consumption of at least two servings each from dairy, meat, fruit, and vegetable groups and four servings from the grain group. Only a third of the population surveyed reported consuming foods from all the food groups on the survey day; less than 3% reported consuming foods from all food groups in at least the recommended amount. Blacks scored lower on both types of diet diversity scores than whites. Both types of diversity scores showed a significant trend to increase with increasing income and level of education. Failure to consume any foods from the dairy, meat, grain, fruit, and vegetable groups was reported by 24%, 6%, 5%, 46%, and 18%, respectively, of the population on the survey day. The proportion of the population consuming at least the desired number of servings from each of these food groups was 51%, 71%, 29%, 29%, 61%, respectively. The results emphasize the need for major public campaigns directed at increasing the diversity of US diets. Special target groups include minorities and those with limited income and formal education.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Food group intake patterns and associated nutrient profiles of the US population.

We developed a method for evaluating food group intake patterns using dietary recall data (n = 11,529) from the second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We used this method to examine the relationship of these food group intake patterns to nutrient intake and to selected biochemical indexes of nutritional status. We evaluated each 24-hour dietary intake recall for the presence or omission of five broad food groups--dairy, meat, grain, fruit, and vegetable. The five most prevalent patterns and the proportion of the population reporting them was as follows: all food groups, 33.6%; no fruit, 23.9%; no dairy and fruit, 9.0%; no dairy, 8.0%; and no fruit and vegetable, 5.6%. In the most prevalent pattern, all food groups were consumed; this was the only pattern that provided mean amounts of all of the key vitamins and minerals at levels greater than or equal to the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs). This pattern also was reported by the lowest proportion of individuals consuming less than 100% RDA of the key nutrients. Patterns in which both fruit and vegetables were consumed were associated with highest levels of serum vitamin C. The consistency of these results indicates that screening diets for food group consumption can quickly provide meaningful information about their quality.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Persistent themes: a naturalistic study of personality development in the family.

This pilot longitudinal study of normal children and their families examines the associations noted between behaviors appearing in early childhood and concerns expressed by the same youngster fifteen years later. These concerns were seen to be related to continuing transactions around a particular issue within the family system. A case description of the evolution of the particular patterns of one of the family systems studied and the details of their recurring negotiations includes an examination of two subsystems of the family unit: the mother-infant pair and the parenting couple. The impact of this family system's struggle upon the developing youngster and her personality as a late adolescent is discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

An objective method for the assessment of psychosocial problems in adolescents with epilepsy.

Psychosocial problems in adolescents with epilepsy have been of concern for many years, but have been difficult to assess. This article presents the multicenter development of the Adolescent Psychosocial Seizure Inventory (APSI), an empirically based self-report test patterned after the Washington Psychosocial Seizure Inventory, which is used to evaluate psychosocial problems in adults. After pilot work, 120 adolescents with epilepsy from five centers in North America took the APSI and were interviewed by professionals with respect to adequacy of adjustment in eight psychosocial areas. At least one parent or guardian was also interviewed. Interrater reliability of professional ratings in each area was established. Using an item-by-item, empirically based technique, eight psychosocial scales were developed as well as three validity scales. Reliability of the scales was established by both internal consistency and test-retest procedures. Results for each adolescent are presented in profile form. These results give a visual display of the types and extent of problems that likely would be identified in a detailed professional assessment. It is anticipated that the APSI will be of value in a variety of treatment and research contexts.

Adaptation, Psychological↗