Showing papers by "Honglei Chen published in 2002"

Intakes of vitamins E and C, carotenoids, vitamin supplements, and PD risk.

Abstract: Background: Oxidative damage has been implicated in the pathogenesis of PD. Limited and mostly retrospective epidemiologic data suggest a reduction or no change in risk of PD associated with high vitamin E intake. Objective: To examine prospectively the associations between intakes of vitamins E and C, carotenoids, vitamin supplements, and risk of PD. Methods: The authors documented the occurrence of PD within two large cohorts of men and women who completed detailed and validated semiquantitative food frequency questionnaires. A total of 371 incident PD cases were ascertained in the Nurses’ Health Study, which comprised 76,890 women who were followed for 14 years, and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, which comprised 47,331 men who were followed for 12 years. Results: Neither intake of total vitamins E or C or use of vitamin E or vitamin C supplements or multivitamins was significantly associated with risk of PD. The risk of PD, however, was significantly reduced among men and women with high intake of dietary vitamin E (from foods only). The pooled multivariate relative risk (RR) comparing individuals in the highest quintile with those in the lowest quintile was 0.68 (95% CI, 0.49 to 0.93). Consumption of nuts was also significantly associated with a reduced risk of PD (for ≥5/week vs Conclusions: Use of vitamin supplements and high intake of carotenoids do not appear to reduce the risk of PD. The reduction in risk of PD associated with high dietary vitamin E intake suggests that other constituents of foods rich in vitamin E may be protective. Alternatively, moderate amounts of vitamin E may reduce risk of PD, but this benefit may be lost with higher intakes.

Nutrient intakes and adenocarcinoma of the esophagus and distal stomach.

Abstract: We studied the relationship between nutrient intakes and adenocarcinoma of the esophagus and distal stomach among 124 esophageal adenocarcinoma cases, 124 distal stomach cancer cases, and 449 controls in a population-based case-control study in eastern Nebraska. The residual method was used to adjust nutrient intake quartiles or tertiles for energy intake. We observed significant inverse associations with risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma for dietary intakes of total vitamin A [highest vs. lowest quartile, multivariate odds ratio (OR) = 0.5, P for trend = 0.05], β-cryptoxanthin (OR = 0.5, P = 0.05), riboflavin (OR = 0.5, P = 0.01), folate (OR = 0.5, P = 0.03), zinc (OR = 0.5, P = 0.05), dietary fiber (OR = 0.5, P = 0.05), protein (OR = 0.5, P = 0.02), and carbohydrate (OR = 0.4, P = 0.02). For distal stomach cancer, only vitamin C (OR = 0.6, P = 0.04), dietary fiber (OR = 0.4, P = 0.007), and carbohydrate (OR = 0.4, P = 0.004) were inversely associated with risk. Our analyses showed significant interactio...

Diet and Parkinson's disease: a potential role of dairy products in men.

Abstract: Diet may play a causative role in Parkinson's disease (PD), but potential associations between diet and PD risk rarely have been assessed in prospective studies We investigated associations between food intakes and PD risk in two large prospective cohorts in which 210 incident PD cases in men and 184 in women were documented A positive association was found between dairy intake and PD risk in men (relative risk [RR] comparing extreme categories, 18; p trend = 0004), but not in women (RR, 11; p trend = 09) No other food groups were associated with PD risk in either men or women Further analyses among men showed significant positive associations with PD risk for intakes of several dairy foods as well as dairy calcium (RR, 15; p trend = 002), dairy vitamin D (RR, 16; p trend = 0004), dairy protein (RR, 16; p trend = 001), and lactose (RR, 18; p trend = 0002), but not dairy fat (RR, 11; p trend = 04) Intakes of calcium, vitamin D, and protein from other dietary or supplemental sources were not related to PD risk in men Our results suggest that higher intake of dairy products may increase the risk of PD in men; however, this finding needs further evaluation, and the underlying active components need to be identified

Diet and risk of adult glioma in eastern Nebraska, United States.

Abstract: Objective: To investigate potential associations between diet and adult glioma. Methods: We conducted a population-based case–control study of adult glioma in eastern Nebraska. Nutrient and food group intakes were estimated for 236 glioma cases and 449 controls using information obtained from a food-frequency questionnaire. Results: After adjusting for potential confounders, inverse associations with risk of adult glioma were observed for intakes of dark yellow vegetables (highest quartile versus lowest: OR = 0.6, p trend = 0.03) and beans (OR = 0.4, p trend = 0.0003), but no associations were seen for dietary sources of preformed nitrosamines or high-nitrate vegetables. Our nutrient analysis revealed significant inverse associations between risk of adult glioma and dietary intake of pro-vitamin A carotenoids (highest quartile versus lowest: OR = 0.5, p trend = 0.005), α-carotene (OR = 0.5, p trend = 0.01), β-carotene (OR = 0.5, p trend = 0.01), dietary fiber (OR = 0.6, p trend = 0.048) and fiber from beans (OR = 0.5, p trend = 0.0002). We observed no significant associations with risk of adult glioma for intakes of other nutrients or compounds including nitrate, nitrite, vitamin C, vitamin E, saturated fat, cholesterol, dietary fiber from grain products, or fiber from fruit and vegetables. Conclusion: Our study does not support the N-nitroso compound hypothesis, but suggests potential roles for carotenoids and possibly other phytochemicals in reducing risk of adult glioma.

Waist Circumference and Weight Change Are Associated With Disability Among Elderly Hispanics

Abstract: Background. Studies have suggested that both high and low body mass index (BMI) and weight change are related to functional disability in elderly populations. Elderly Hispanics have a high prevalence of both obesity and disability, yet few studies have examined their interrelationship in this population. Therefore, we examined these relationships in a mostly Puerto Rican group of Hispanic elders. Methods. We investigated associations between a three-level disability score created from responses to a questionnaire on activities of daily living and BMI, waist circumference (WC), and weight change since age 50, using the proportional odds model in a cross-sectional study of 763 elderly Hispanics, aged 60 to 92 years, residing in Massachusetts. Results. After adjusting for potential confounders, men with a WC � 109.3 cm (vs � 90 cm), or with a reported weight loss of � 0.32 to � 0.01 kg/year, or a weight gain � 0.55 kg/year since age 50 (vs relatively stable weight, � 0.01 to � 0.21 kg/year [y]) were each significantly associated with an approximately threefold higher risk for greater disability. Women with a BMI � 35 kg/m 2 were almost four times as likely to have higher disability as those with a BMI of 20 to 25 kg/m 2 . Compared with women with a WC � 85.2 cm, those with a WC of 91.5 to 106.6 cm were two times more likely, and those with a WC � 106.6 cm were five times more likely, to have higher disability scores. Compared with relatively stable weight ( � 0.05 to � 0.23 kg/y), weight gain � 0.23 kg/year was associated with a twofold higher risk of greater disability among women. When BMI and WC were included in the same model, WC, but not BMI, remained significantly associated with disability. Conclusions. Abdominal obesity (WC � 109.3 cm for men, or WC � 91.5 cm for women) and weight gain � 0.55 kg/year after age 50 in men or � 0.23 kg/year in women may increase the risk of disability among elderly Hispanics.