PubMed HealthSearch

Biomedical subjects

R R Wing

Publications and source records attributed to R R Wing.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Environmental and familial contributions to insulin levels and change in insulin levels in middle-aged women.

OBJECTIVE: To examine familial and environmental variables associated with elevated insulin levels and changes in insulin levels in healthy, premenopausal women. METHODS: A population-based sample of 518 women (aged 42 to 50 years) completed baseline assessments of weight, cardiovascular risk factors, exercise behaviors, and glucose and insulin levels (fasting and 2 hours after a glucose load); 495 of the women were reevaluated after 3 years. RESULTS: Plasma insulin levels were related to weight, activity level, race, body fat distribution, and weight gain since age 20 years. Parental history of either diabetes or hypertension was also related to elevated insulin levels, independent of body mass index, with the highest insulin levels occurring in those women with a parental history of both diseases. Increases in plasma insulin levels over the years of follow-up were related to weight gain. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that importance of using family history to identify women who may have elevated insulin levels and of intervening to prevent weight gain during middle age.

Adult

Behavioral treatment of severe obesity.

Behavioral approaches to obesity are usually employed in the context of short-term (10-20 wk) treatment interventions. These programs produce weight losses averaging 10 kg at the end of the program and 6.6 kg at 1-y follow-up. Improvements in long-term results may depend on a shift to a chronic disease model of obesity treatment, in which patients remain in ongoing care for extended periods of time. Highly structured diets and supervised exercise warrant further investigation as components of such a chronic disease approach to the treatment of severe obesity.

Behavior Therapy

Weight cycling and cardiovascular risk factors in obese men and women.

This study examined the relationship between weight cycling and cardiovascular risk factors in 101 obese men and 101 obese women. Weight cycling was defined in three ways by retrospective self-report: 1) number of previous weight losses of greater than or equal to 4.5 kg, 2) total weight lost in prior weight-loss attempts, and 3) the difference between highest and lowest weight as an adult. Cardiovascular risk factors included blood pressure, total and high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, fasting and 2-h glucose values, waist-to-hip ratio, and percent of dietary calories from fat. Results did not support the hypothesis that weight cycling increased cardiovascular risk factors in either men or women. Of 88 associations examined, only 7 showed differences with P less than 0.05 and of these, 6 were opposite in direction to that hypothesized. We conclude that warnings about the health hazards of repeated dieting may be premature.

Adult

Change in waist-hip ratio with weight loss and its association with change in cardiovascular risk factors.

We investigated whether weight loss decreases the waist-hip ratio (WHR) in overweight men and women, and whether changes in WHR relates to change in cardiovascular risk factors, independent of change in weight. Weight loss correlated significantly with decreases in the circumference of the waist and hips, and decreases in WHR in men and women. At comparable levels of weight loss, men had greater decreases in the waist, and smaller decreases in the hips than women, resulting in greater decreases in WHR. Cardiovascular risk factors improved significantly with weight loss. However, after controlling for weight loss, there was no evidence that change in WHR or change in circumference measures were related to change in risk factors. These data suggest that WHR is modifiable by weight loss, especially in men, but that change in WHR may not be independently related to changes in cardiovascular risk factors.

Adipose Tissue

Can physical activity mitigate the effects of aging in middle-aged women?

BACKGROUND: Aging is associated with an increased risk of women dying from coronary heart disease as well as from all causes combined. Alterations in the major biological risk factors for early coronary heart disease and all-cause mortality are frequently seen in aging. METHODS AND RESULTS: The present investigation tested the hypothesis that high levels of physical activity could protect against age-associated changes in biological risk factor levels. In the Healthy Women Study, 507 women were evaluated at study entry and 3 years later. Weekly physical activity level was measured at each examination via the Paffenbarger Physical Activity Questionnaire. During the 3-year period, women increased significantly in weight, blood pressure, levels of total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and insulin and decreased significantly in levels of total high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and HDL2-C. CONCLUSIONS: Consistent with the study hypothesis, women who reported higher levels of activity at baseline had less weight gain over time. Furthermore, women who increased their activity during the 3-year interval had the smallest increases in weight and tended to have the smallest decreases in total HDL-C and HDL2-C. The changes in lipids due to activity were largely independent of changes in body weight.

Aging

Psychosocial factors and complications of IDDM. The Pittsburgh Epidemiology of Diabetes Complications Study. VIII.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether psychosocial factors are associated with diabetic complications. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Questionnaires on quality of life, depressive symptomatology, and personality type were completed and a clinical assessment was performed. The study population was an incident cohort of childhood-onset insulin-dependent diabetic (IDDM) subjects whose duration of IDDM was greater than or equal to 25 yr (n = 175). RESULTS: Patients with macrovascular disease (P less than 0.01) or nephropathy (P less than 0.05) reported significantly poorer quality of life compared with those who were free from all complications. Patients with macrovascular disease also reported greater depressive symptomatology (P less than 0.05). Quality of life significantly deteriorated according to the presence of multiple (greater than or equal to 4) complications (P less than 0.001). Higher depression symptom scores were also related to the presence of greater than or equal to 4 complications (P less than 0.001). Those with multiple complications reported less type A behavior than those without any complications (P less than 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that psychosocial differences exist according to both the number and the type of diabetic complications present. Because poorer quality of life and symptoms of depression may both result form complications, prospective follow-up is needed to clarify their temporal interrelationships, and to determine whether type A personality affords any protection against complications or is diminished as a result of developing complications.

Adult

Lifetime prevalence of major depression and its effect on treatment outcome in obese type II diabetic patients.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the lifetime prevalence of major depression (MD) and its relation to glycemic control among a group of non-insulin-dependent (type II) diabetic subjects seeking obesity treatment and to determine whether a history of MD affected response to treatment. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Sixty-six obese subjects with type II diabetes (22 men, 44 women) completed the Inventory to Diagnose Depression-Lifetime Version before a 52-wk behavioral weight-control program. Weight, glycosylated hemoglobin, fasting blood glucose, and mood were assessed at pre- and posttreatment. RESULTS: Thirty-two percent of the subjects reported a history of MD. Neither a history of MD nor current depressive symptoms were associated with pretreatment glycemic control. However, a history of MD was related to treatment attrition (52.4 vs. 22.2%, P = 0.03). Subjects with and without a history of MD showed comparable improvements in weight, glycemic control, and mood. CONCLUSIONS: A history of MD among type II diabetic patients seeking obesity treatment was not related to pretreatment glycemic control but was associated with higher rates of attrition from treatment. Individuals with a history of MD who completed the program did not differ from those with no history of MD in response to treatment.

Adult

The effect of weight loss on change in waist-to-hip ratio in patients with type II diabetes.

This study sought to determine whether weight loss would alter body fat distribution in obese men and women with type II diabetes. Subjects were 60 women and 33 men who participated in a year-long weight loss program. Weight losses of women and men, respectively, averaged 13.4 kg and 16.8 kg at six months and 11.2 kg and 13.1 kg at one year. WHR decreased significantly in both genders: for women, WHR decreased from 0.95 at baseline to 0.93 at six months and 0.94 at one year; for men WHR decreased from 0.99 at baseline to 0.96 at six months and 0.96 at one year. Subjects with greater upper body obesity at baseline did not lose more weight than subjects with less upper body obesity, but they did have greater reductions in WHR at six months in both genders and at one year in men. The magnitude of WHR reduction was strongly related to the amount of weight lost in men, but was not related to weight loss in women. Improvements in fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and HbA1 were significantly related to weight loss, but not to reductions in WHR. Thus, participation in a weight loss program had beneficial effects on body fat distribution in patients with type II diabetes, but these changes in WHR were not independently associated with improvements in glycemic control.

Adipose Tissue

The good, the bad, and the ugly in diabetic diets.

In this article we have focused on the evolving pattern of nutritional management of the person with diabetes. Before the advent of insulin in 1922, it was sufficient to identify a meal plan that would keep people alive until they could be rescued from mortality due to diabetic ketoacidosis (the major killer of the era) by pharmacologic means. Now, the life expectancy of people with diabetes is close to that of the general population and focus has turned to combating the new threats of macrovascular disease and kidney failure. Over recent years the susceptibility of NIDDM patients to macrovascular events has been established and the twofold increase in risk of a heart attack in diabetic men is outshadowed by the four- to fivefold risk in diabetic women and the 13- to 17-fold greater risk in diabetics under the age of 30 years compared with their nondiabetic counterparts. The mechanism behind the susceptibility to macrovascular disease has generated a veritable plethora of investigations focusing on the atherogenic profile of diabetic dyslipidemia. Hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, and overtreatment of the diabetic with insulin have been claimed as contributors to the development of premature atherosclerosis. The hallmark of the diabetic dyslipidemia is the tendency to elevated VLDL triglyceride levels and the closely linked reduction in HDL cholesterol. Although there is some controversy on the relationship between triglyceride levels and the incidence of CAD, there is no doubt that HDL is an independent risk factor. It can now be safely said that elevated triglycerides are a risk factor in women and that in men elevated triglycerides constitute a risk factor if accompanied by a reduced HDL level. For these reasons, any approach to nutritional management of the diabetic must attempt not only to normalize glycemia but to make every effort to reduce the atherogenic profile. In the accompanying algorithm (Fig. 4), we consider the risk factors conducive to a reduction in life expectancy and offer a meal plan that is appropriate for the individual with diabetes. For the 80% of NIDDM patients who are obese, a diet with a reduction of 500 to 1000 kcal is in order and this may be achieved by a periodic VLCD. We examined carefully the controversy related to yo-yo dieting and support the notion that its effects in humans are not all that harmful. Ingestion of simple sugars in the high carbohydrate diet has negative effects both on carbohydrate and lipid metabolism.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Diabetes Mellitus

Potential for increasing high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, subfractions HDL2-C and HDL3-C, and apoprotein AI among middle-age women.

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) to be a strong predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. METHODS: Determinants of HDL-C and apoprotein AI concentrations were evaluated cross-sectionally in 1987 among 429 women, ages 45-54, from a population-based study of CVD risk factors through menopause (the Healthy Women Study, University of Pittsburgh). RESULTS: Subjects were healthy and not taking hormone replacement therapy. Results showed levels of HDL-C (mg/dl) to range from 23 to 117, HDL2-C from 0 to 53, HDL3-C from 16 to 66, and apoprotein AI from 87 to 204. Multivariate analyses which included age, cigarettes/day, alcohol intake (g/day), physical activity (Paffenbarger questionnaire), body mass index (BMI), and waist/hip ratio (WHR) showed that women who smoked greater than or equal to 20 cigarettes a day, reported little or no alcohol intake, expended less than 500 kcal/week, and were in the highest quintile of BMI and WHR had, on average, 33 mg/dl lower HDL-C than slender, nonsmoking women who drank moderately and exercised. HDL2-C showed a similar pattern, whereas the HDL3-C concentration had only a modest association with these factors. HDL-C was somewhat lower among women who had stopped menstruating than among premenopausal women. The apoprotein AI level was associated with alcohol intake (positively) and BMI (negatively). CONCLUSION: Theoretically, by raising their HDL-C by 10 mg/dl, women could reduce their CVD risk by as much as one-third (based on results from the Framingham Heart Study). As CVD is the leading cause of death among postmenopausal women, the potential impact of such a reduction in risk would be large.

Alcohol Drinking

A "family-based" approach to the treatment of obese type II diabetic patients.

Forty-nine obese diabetic patients with obese spouses (diabetic or nondiabetic) were randomly assigned to an alone or together condition. Patients in the alone group participated by themselves in a 20-week behavioral weight control program; their spouses attended assessment sessions only. Patients in the together group attended the program with their spouses; both were targeted for weight loss and taught social support strategies. Weight losses of patients treated alone and together did not differ significantly at posttreatment (19.9 vs. 19.1 lb) or 1-year follow-up (11.6 vs. 7.0 lb). However, there was a significant interaction of treatment and gender; women did better when treated with their spouses, whereas men did better when treated alone. A "family-based" approach was not effective for these obese Type II diabetic patients as a whole but may be helpful for women.

Adult

Diminished weight loss and behavioral compliance during repeated diets in obese patients with type II diabetes.

Compared weight losses during first and second bouts of a very low calorie diet (VLCD) and examined whether decreased compliance might in part explain the decrease in weight loss during the second bout. Forty-five Type II diabetic patients participated in a year-long behavioral weight-reduction program that incorporated a VLCD (400 to 500 kcal/day) during Weeks 1 to 12 and 28 to 40. Weight losses decreased dramatically from the first to the second VLCD (15.54 vs. 1.42 kg, p less than .0001). There was also markedly diminished adherence as assessed by weeks ketonuric, attendance, and completeness of self-monitoring records. The percentage of weeks subjects were in ketosis dropped from 61% during VLCD 1 to 13% during VLCD 2 (p less than .0001). Similarly, subjects attended significantly fewer treatment meetings during VLCD 2 and self-monitored less during VLCD 2 than during VLCD 1. Weeks ketonuric and initial weight accounted for 63% of the variance in weight loss during VLCD 1 (p less than .0001); weeks ketonuric and attendance predicted weight loss during VLCD 2 (p less than .0001), accounting for 54% of the variance. These results suggest the importance of behavioral factors in explaining poorer performance on a repeated diet.

Adult

Psychological, biological and health behavior predictors of blood pressure changes in middle-aged women.

A long-standing hypothesis is that feelings of anger and anxiety increase the risk for essential hypertension. Most studies examining this hypothesis have been cross-sectional in design or undertaken with men only. We tested this hypothesis along with determination of the other behavioral and biological predictors of increases in systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure from baseline to a follow-up examination 3 years later in a prospective study of 468 middle-aged women whose blood pressure at the baseline examination was less than 140/90 mmHg. Analyses showed that increases in the Spielberger Trait Anger Scale between the baseline and 3-year follow-up examination, as well as Framingham Tension scores (a measure of anxiety) at baseline, independently predicted an increase in SBP (P less than 0.01). Other factors that independently predicted an increase in SBP were baseline fasting insulin, parental history of hypertension and increases in body mass index and in alcohol intake across the 3 years of follow-up. Increases in the Spielberger Trait Anger Scores independently predicted increases in DBP (P less than 0.02), as did black race, increases in body mass index and hematocrit and decreases in potassium intake. Although menopausal status and hormone replacement therapy were unrelated to changes in blood pressure, postmenopausal women on hormone replacement therapy did show significant increases in DBP in the univariate analysis. Anxiety at baseline, along with parental history of hypertension, baseline fasting insulin and baseline body mass index, predicted a later onset of hypertension, i.e. on pharmacologic treatment for hypertension, in the univariate analysis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult

Psychological responses of obese type II diabetic subjects to very-low-calorie diet.

OBJECTIVE: Very-low-calorie diets have been shown to produce dramatic improvements in glycemic control in obese subjects with non-insulin-dependent (type II) diabetes. There have been no studies of the psychological responses of diabetic subjects to these diets. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This study examined changes in hunger, depression, and anxiety in 33 obese type II diabetic subjects who were randomly assigned to behavior modification programs that used either a balanced diet of 4185-6277 J/day (1000-1500 cal/day) throughout or included an 8-wk period of a very-low-calorie diet (1674 J/day or 400 cal/day of lean meat, fish, or fowl). Subjects completed the Beck Depression Inventory, the Spielberger State Anxiety Questionnaire, and self-report measures of hunger frequently throughout the 20-wk program. RESULTS: Both groups experienced significant improvements in depressive symptomatology, anxiety, and lessening of hunger during the course of the program, with no significant differences observed between the balanced diet and the very-low-calorie diet groups. CONCLUSIONS: Very-low-calorie diets, used in the context of a behavioral weight-control program, result in reductions in hunger and improvements in mood state comparable to those observed on more moderate weight-loss regimens.

Adult

Cross-sectional and longitudinal relationship of sodium-lithium countertransport to insulin, obesity and blood pressure in healthy perimenopausal women.

The objectives of this study were to assess the possible role of insulin as a regulator of red blood cell sodium-lithium countertransport and to examine the relationship of countertransport activity to change over time in insulin, blood pressure, and other variables. At baseline, countertransport was measured, and at baseline and after 2-3 years of follow-up, blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), lipids, fasting and two-hour plasma insulin and glucose were measured in 144 white healthy, premenopausal women, age 42-50 years. At baseline, using high and low categories of fasting insulin, triglycerides and BMI, countertransport was independently related to fasting insulin (P = 0.017), and triglycerides (P = 0.001), but not to BMI by analysis of variance. In similar analyses with fasting insulin, BMI, and countertransport, diastolic blood pressure was independently related only to countertransport (P = 0.003). Among the 73 who remained premenopausal after 2-3 year follow-up, baseline countertransport was significantly correlated with increases in fasting and two-hour insulin (r = 0.37, 0.38, P = 0.003, respectively), and these relationships remained significant after adjustment for change in BMI. Among subjects with high baseline countertransport, systolic blood pressure increased 5.6 mmHg compared with -2.2 mmHg with low countertransport, P = 0.001 after adjusting for baseline and change in BMI, triglycerides, and fasting and two-hour insulin. The data are consistent with a role for insulin and lipids in the regulation of sodium transport which may, in turn, play a role in blood pressure regulation. A relatively short follow-up in this healthy population suggests a relationship of baseline countertransport to changes in insulin metabolism, and blood pressure.

Adult

Weight gain at the time of menopause.

We studied prospectively the weight change and the effect of weight change on changes in coronary heart disease risk factors in a population-based sample of 485 middle-aged women. All women were studied first in 1983 to 1984, when they were premenopausal and aged 42 to 50 years, and then restudied in 1987. Women gained an average of 2.25 +/- 4.19 kg during this 3-year period; 20% of women gained 4.5 kg or more, and only 3% lost 4.5 kg or more. There were no significant differences in weight gain of women who remained premenopausal and those who had a natural menopause (+2.07 kg vs +1.35 kg). Weight gain was significantly associated with increases in blood pressure and levels of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and fasting insulin. Weight gain is thus a common occurrence for women at the time of menopause and is related to the changes in coronary heart disease risk factors observed during this period. Efforts to lose weight or to prevent weight gain may help to mitigate the worsening in coronary heart disease risk factors in middle-aged women.

Adult