Showing papers on "Body mass index published in 1985"

The Influence of Body Fat Distribution on the Incidence of Diabetes Mellitus: 13.5 Years of Follow-up of the Participants in the Study of Men Born in 1913

Abstract: In a prospective study of risk factors for ischemic heart disease, 792 54-yr-old men selected by year of birth (1913) and residence in Goteborg, Sweden, agreed to attend for questioning and a number of anthropometric and other measurements in 1967. Thirteen and one-half years later, these baseline findings were reviewed in relation to the number of men who had subsequently developed diabetes mellitus. This analysis focused on the importance of abdominal adipose tissue distribution, measured as the waist-to-hip circumference ratio, as a predictor for development of diabetes. Even when the confounding effect of body mass index, as a measure of the total body fat mass, was accounted for, the waist-to-hip ratio was positively and significantly associated with the risk for diabetes. These results from a prospective study strongly support previous cross-sectional findings indicating that not only the degree of obesity but also the localization of fat is a risk factor for diabetes.

Health Implications of Overweight and Obesity in the United States

Abstract: The second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found that 26% of U.S. adults, or about 34 million people aged 20 to 75 years, are overweight. The survey used a body mass index of 27.8 kg/m2 or greater for men and 27.3 or greater for women to define overweight. Prevalence of overweight increases with advancing age and is generally much higher among black women than among white women. Women below the poverty line have a much higher prevalence of overweight between ages 25 and 55 years than women above the poverty line. Multivariate analysis indicates that for women race and poverty status are independent predictors of overweight. Hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes are commoner in overweight persons than in persons who are not overweight. The relative risk of hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes is greater in overweight adults aged 20 to 45 years than it is in overweight persons aged 45 to 75 years. This observation is consonant with mortality data, suggesting that being overweight during early adult life is more dangerous than a similar degree of overweight in later adult life.

The development of benign prostatic hyperplasia among volunteers in the normative aging study

Abstract: This study describes the development of benign prostatic hyperplasia among 2,036 volunteers in the Veterans Administration Normative Aging Study, a longitudinal study of human aging situated in Boston. Men were followed from enrollment in the study (between 1961 and 1970) until their last examination prior to May 15, 1982. Two indications of benign prostatic hyperplasia were considered: 1) a clinical diagnosis made at a uniform physical examination, and 2) surgical treatment. Incidence rates for both a clinical diagnosis and surgery for benign prostatic hyperplasia increased through the eighth decade. Life table analysis estimated the lifetime probability of surgical treatment to be 0.29. Known risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes as well as marital and socioeconomic status, religion, cigarette smoking and alcohol and coffee consumption were evaluated as risk factors. Controlling for age in proportional hazards models, statistically significant predictors of surgery were prior clinical diagnosis, lower socioeconomic status, Jewish religion, and not currently smoking cigarettes; whereas only body mass index was a significant predictor of a clinical diagnosis. Although a prior clinical diagnosis was an important predictor of surgery (adjusted odds ratio 3.52, 95% confidence interval = 1.93-6.42), this diagnosis is neither sensitive nor specific in its association with surgery.

Insulin and blood pressure in obesity.

Abstract: To assess factors in overweight persons that account for a tendency toward hypertension, 33 very obese women, 26 to 77 years of age, were studied. Blood pressures in these 33 women varied from low normal to mildly hypertensive. None of them had taken medication for high blood pressure, and none had diabetes mellitus. The effect of independent variables--age, body mass index (weight/height2), fasting serum glucose levels, fasting serum insulin levels, and 24-hour urinary sodium excretion--on systolic and diastolic blood pressure was assessed. There was no correlation between sodium excretion and blood pressure. Age did not correlate with diastolic blood pressure but did correlate with systolic blood pressure when body mass index, serum glucose level, and insulin level were controlled. Diastolic blood pressure correlated with body mass index and serum glucose level, but only the latter remained significant when all independent variables were considered together. Both systolic and diastolic blood pressure were found to be significantly related to fasting serum insulin level (r = 0.47, p = 0.005 and r = 0.68, p less than 0.001) even when age, weight, and serum glucose level were controlled (r = 0.41, p = 0.025 and r = 0.62, p less than 0.001 respectively). The relation between serum insulin and blood pressure was more pronounced in those women with a family history of hypertension. These data indicate that insulin may play a major role in the regulation of blood pressure in obesity and that the previously accepted relation of weight to blood pressure may depend on blood levels of insulin.

Body Mass Index as a Predictor of Cancer in Men

Abstract: In this prospective study 8,006 Japanese men, age 45-68 years, were examined between 1965 and 1968. Their height and weight were measured and they were asked for their weight at age 25. After a surveillance period of almost 15 years, 646 incident cases of the following cancers were identified: 104 stomach, 101 colon, 101 lung, 96 prostate, 63 rectum, and 181 cancers of other sites. Body mass index (BMI = weight/height2) at time of examination and weight gain since age 25 were positively associated with an increased risk for colon cancer in subjects age 55 or older at the time of examination. No other cancer had a significant positive association with either BMI at the time of examination or with weight gain since age 25. In contrast, a low BMI at examination and weight loss since age 25 were associated with an increased risk for stomach cancer, whereas only weight loss since age 25 was associated with an increased risk for lung cancer. These two cancers accounted for the overall significant association of weight loss with total cancer incidence.

Is hypertension more benign when associated with obesity

Abstract: To determine the effect of obesity on prognosis in hypertensive subjects, a population of 1727 men 50 to 79 years of age was dichotomized by baseline body mass index (less than 27 and greater than or equal to 27 kg/m2) and systolic blood pressure (less than 160 and greater than or equal to 160 mm Hg). After 9 years of follow-up, age-adjusted all-cause, cardiovascular, and ischemic heart disease mortality rates were highest in the nonobese hypertensive subjects. The relative risk for mortality associated with a systolic blood pressure of 160 mm Hg or higher was significantly increased only in the nonobese group, with the largest difference in relative risk between obese and nonobese for ischemic heart disease. Results were consistent after separately excluding those with a history of heart disease, diabetes, current use of antihypertensive medication, and cigarette smoking, and those who died within 2 years of the baseline examination. When the independent effect of risk factors, including age, plasma cholesterol level, cigarette smoking, use of antihypertensive medication, and personal history of heart disease or diabetes was assessed with the Cox model, systolic blood pressure was a significant independent predictor of all-cause, cardiovascular, and ischemic heart disease death only in the nonobese subjects. We do not exclude an adverse effect of raised blood pressure in the obese. However, these data suggest that the prognosis is poorer in leaner hypertensive patients than in those who are overweight.

Overweight and changes in weight throughout adult life in breast cancer etiology a case-control study

Abstract: Numerous epidemiologic studies have found body size to be a significant risk factor in the etiology of breast cancer. In an Israeli study population of 1,065 breast cancer patients, 964 surgical controls, and 981 neighborhood controls, height and weight at three periods (age 18, "most of adult life," and recent) were ascertained. The authors analyzed these parameters and body mass index (weight/height) for each period, as well as body mass index changes throughout life, controlling for age, menstrual status, and ethnic origin. Odds ratios were determined for three body mass index categories: 19.1-23, 23.1-27, and 27.1+, with a relative risk of 1 for body mass index less than or equal to 19. Their results show an increase in risk for breast cancer with greater recent body mass index among postmenopausal women aged 60+ (n = 461 for breast cancer, n = 414 for surgical controls, n = 401 for neighborhood controls). Crude odds ratios for the breast cancer/surgical control comparison are 1.23, 1.58, and 2.20, respectively, for each body mass index category; for the breast cancer/neighborhood control comparison 2.16, 2.44, and 2.99, respectively. Odds ratios adjusted for confounding factors (ages at menarche, first birth, and menopause; number of births; years of education; previous benign breast disease; and family history of breast cancer) are 1.17, 1.44, and 2.38, respectively (breast cancer/surgical control); and 1.78, 1.92, and 2.53, respectively (breast cancer/neighborhood control). Overweight does not emerge as a risk factor for breast cancer among premenopausal or younger postmenopausal women. Weight loss from most of adult life to recent weight appears to be protective, since mean loss in the 60+ age category is greater in both control groups than in breast cancer patients. In addition, breast cancer patients aged 60+ gained more weight during adult life than controls, and premenopausal breast cancer patients gained less weight than controls (for both comparisons, p less than or equal to 0.05, breast cancer vs. all controls combined.

Thermic effect of food at rest, during exercise, and after exercise in lean and obese men of similar body weight.

Abstract: The thermic effect of food at rest, during 30 min of cycle ergometer exercise, and after exercise was studied in eight lean (mean +/- SEM, 10 +/- 1% body fat, hydrostatically-determined) and eight obese men (30 +/- 2% body fat). The lean and obese mean were matched with respect to age, height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) to determine the relationship between thermogenesis and body composition, independent of body weight. All men were overweight, defined as a BMI between 26-34, but the obese had three times more body fat and significantly less lean body mass than the lean men. Metabolic rate was measured by indirect calorimetry under four conditions on separate mornings, in randomized order, after an overnight fast: 3 h of rest in the postabsorptive state; 3 h of rest after a 750-kcal mixed meal (14% protein, 31.5% fat, and 54.5% carbohydrate); during 30 min of cycling and for 3 h post exercise in the postabsorptive state; and during 30 min of cycling performed 30 min after the test meal and for 3 h post exercise. The thermic effect of food, which is the difference between postabsorptive and postprandial energy expenditure, was significantly higher for the lean than the obese men under the rest, post exercise, and exercise conditions: the increments in metabolic rate for the lean and obese men, respectively, were 48 +/- 7 vs. 28 +/- 4 kcal over 3 h rest (P less than 0.05); 44 +/- 7 vs. 16 +/- 5 kcal over 3 h post exercise (P less than 0.05); and 19 +/- 3 vs. 6 +/- 3 kcal over 30 min of exercise (P less than 0.05). The thermic effect of food was significantly negatively related to body fat content under the rest (r = -0.55), post exercise (r = -0.66), and exercise (r = -0.58) conditions. The results of this study indicate that for men of similar total body weight and BMI, body composition is a significant determinant of postprandial thermogenesis; the responses of obese are significantly blunted compared with those of lean men.

Framingham disability study: relationship of disability to cardiovascular risk factors among persons free of diagnosed cardiovascular disease

Abstract: The relationship between physical disability and cardiovascular risk factors among persons free of diagnosed cardiovascular disease was examined Between 1948 and 1951, a cohort of adult, Framingham, Massachusetts, residents was assembled for a longitudinal examination of cardiovascular disease Twenty-seven years after the participants' initial examination (between 1976 and 1978), members of the cohort who were still participating in the Framingham Heart Study were interviewed to ascertain their self-assessed ability to perform various physical activities A score on the cumulative disability index was assigned to 2,021 persons free of diagnosed cardiovascular disease Analyses controlled for noncardiovascular health conditions which were identified as related to disability Among women, both long-term and current hypertension and body mass index, as well as diabetes, were associated with disability Among men, long-term hypertension was related to disability Age-specific analyses indicated that, for women, current hypertension was statistically significantly related to disability in the middle and oldest age groups; long-term hypertension was related to disability in the middle age group Both long-term and current measures of diabetes in the oldest age group and long-term measure of cigarette use in the middle age group of women were also related to disability Age-specific analyses among men indicated that the only statistically significant risk factor was long-term hypertension in the youngest age group Cholesterol was not related to disability Results suggest that certain cardiovascular risk factors should be considered in efforts to understand further the development of disability

Plasma lipoprotein levels in treated and untreated hypertensive men and women. The National Heart Foundation of Australia Risk Factor Prevalence Study.

Abstract: Experimental studies have reported that common antihypertensive drugs such as diuretics, beta-blockers, and methyldopa have adverse effects on plasma lipids and lipoproteins. To investigate whether such effects can be observed in the general population, plasma lipid and lipoprotein levels were compared in subjects receiving antihypertensive treatment, subjects with untreated high blood pressure, and subjects with normal blood pressure in a random sample of 5603 subjects screened in a national study of risk factor prevalence in Australia. In both sexes, high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol was lower in the group receiving treatment than in the others (p less than 0.001). In men, triglycerides (TG) (p less than 0.001) and the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol (TC/HDL cholesterol) (p less than 0.05) were higher in the group receiving treatment. In both sexes, the differences in plasma lipids and lipoproteins between treated and untreated hypertensive groups were independent of age, body mass index, alcohol consumption, and smoking. More than 40% of the treated or untreated hypertensive men and women had elevated total cholesterol (TC greater than 252 mg/dl) or an elevated TC/HDL cholesterol ratio (greater than 6.0). In men receiving antihypertensive treatment, the prevalence of an elevated TC/HDL cholesterol ratio was significantly greater than in men with untreated high blood pressure (p less than 0.01). The results of this study suggest that the effects of antihypertensive treatment on plasma lipids and lipoproteins can be observed in population lipid and lipoprotein levels. Even before treatment, a large proportion of high blood pressure patients have a significant plasma cholesterol abnormality, which may be aggravated by conventional antihypertensive therapy.

Epidemiology of Obesity in Relation to Health Hazards

Abstract: Examination of total mortality in relation to Metropolitan Relative Weight among 2223 men followed for 30 years in the Framingham Heart Study shows that the duration of follow-up influences the nature of the relationship. During the first 6 years, among nonsmokers, mortality and weight had an inverse relation, but as time goes on the relation becomes U-shaped with a minimum mortality at a relative weight of 100% to 109%. Similar relations are found among men who smoke. Time trends in national mortality rates, however, do not show a direct relation to national trends in mean body mass index. Caution is necessary in relating to the effects of changes in obesity levels in populations to indices of health and longevity.

Is the relationship between blood pressure and cardiovascular risk dependent on body mass index

Abstract: The relationship between blood pressure and cardiovascular mortality according to body mass index has been analyzed in two French prospective studies: the Paris Prospective Study, composed of 7,704 men aged 40-53 years examined in 1967-1972, and the Investigations Pre-Cliniques Study, made up of 19,618 men aged 40-69 years who underwent a checkup in 1970-1980. In the Paris Prospective Study, during a mean follow-up of 11.2 years, 241 cardiovascular deaths occurred, while in the Investigations Pre-Cliniques Study, with a mean follow-up of 7.6 years, 262 cardiovascular deaths occurred. A Cox survival analysis was performed on the data of each study to test the interaction of blood pressure and body mass index in the prediction of cardiovascular risk. Both analyses demonstrate a significant negative interaction, suggesting that a decreasing trend of the relative risk of cardiovascular death with increasing body mass index is better supported by the data than a constant relative risk. These results might have some bearing on the problem of the management of hypertension in overweight subjects.

A survey of heights and weights of adults in Great Britain, 1980

Abstract: A survey of the heights and weights of a sample representative of the adult population of Great Britain aged 16 to 64 years was conducted in 1980. At the same time a questionnaire was administered to everyone in the sample so that sub-groups could be identified and their measurements compared. Tables of the heights and weights by sex and age are given, including a breakdown of heights by social class. The mean height of 20-30-year-old men was 175.7 cm and of 20-30-year-old women 161.7 cm. The difference in heights in these age groups between men in social class I/II and in class IV/V was about 3 cm, in women about 2 cm. Tables of weight for height for each age group and each sex are presented; average height, weight and body mass index are also provided for different regions of Great Britain. Persons living in Wales are shorter than others; those living in Scotland are the second shortest group. Persons living in the south of England are around 1 cm taller than those living in the north.

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus in a large group of South African Indians.

Abstract: The prevalences of diabetes mellitus and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) among 866 Indians living in the Chatsworth area of Durban were determined. The study group was selected by cluster sampling and the participants underwent a modified glucose tolerance test (GTT) (determination of fasting and 2-hour plasma glucose levels after a 75 g glucose load). On the basis of the revised World Health Organization criteria the overall prevalence of diabetes mellitus was 11% and of IGT 5,8%. Of the 368 men, 7,6% were found to have diabetes mellitus and 7,1% IGT; the prevalence of diabetes mellitus was much greater among women (13,5%), while there was less IGT (4,8%). Subjects with diabetes mellitus were significantly older (mean 50,7 years) than those with a normal GTT (mean 30,9 years), but of similar age distribution compared with the IGT group (mean 46 years). Subjects with a normal GTT had a significantly lower mean body mass index (22,1 +/- 2,8) compared with diabetic subjects (26,1 +/- 5,2) or the IGT group (25,8 +/- 6,6). Obesity was commonly associated with both diabetes mellitus and IGT, particularly among women.

Factors associated with the development of diabetes in the micronesian population of nauru

Abstract: A longitudinal study of 266 adult residents of the Pacific Island of Nauru (1975-1976 and 1982) has shown an annual incidence of noninsulin-dependent diabetes of 1.6 per cent per annum. Factors associated with the subsequent development of glucose intolerance were determined by means of regression techniques. The two-hour, post-load plasma glucose concentration was the factor most consistently associated with subsequent glucose intolerance. Other predictors were found to vary in their importance between the sexes. In males, the fasting plasma triglyceride concentration and blood pressure showed a weaker association, and body mass index was of marginal significance. In contrast, in females, two-hour plasma insulin concentration, plasma uric acid concentration, body mass index, and fasting plasma glucose concentration showed a significant association. These findings are discussed in light of the results of similar studies in other populations.

Androgyny in fat patterning is associated with obesity in adolescents and young adults.

Abstract: Recent work suggests that android or male-type obesity is characterized by fat cell enlargement on the trunk and upper body. This implies adult differences in patterns of body fat distribution may have developmental origins connected with differences in maturation or age of onset of obesity. To investigate this, we studied adolescent females (N = 455, 12 years), males (N = 527, 14 years) and young adults (N = 393 females and N = 413 males, 17 years) of the US Health Examination Survey. Five skinfolds and five maturity indicators were available. Individuals were classed as normal weight, overweight or obese on the basis of the body mass index (WT/HT2). Fat patterning was studied by principal components analysis of the log residual skinfold thickness at the five sites, which revealed trunk/extremity and upper/lower trunk fat distribution components in all sex/age groups studied. The means of both components were significantly (P less than 0.05) greater in obese than in normal weight individuals indicating that obesity in adolescence and young adulthood consists of fat concentrated on the upper aspect of the trunk. The effect was independent of maturity, which was a significant correlate of the trunk/extremity patterning component only and in males only. Advanced physiological maturity is probably not a determinant of adult patterns of body fat distribution, but obesity which occurs in adolescence may be.

Atherosclerosis precursors in Finnish children and adolescents. II. Height, weight, body mass index, and skinfolds, and their correlation to metabolic variables.

Abstract: . In a Finnish Multicentre Study, height, weight and skinfold thicknesses were measured in 3-, 6-, 9-, 12-, 15- and 18-year-old children (N = 3,596). Height and weight percentiles superimposed on the current Finnish growth charts were above the standards in 6—15-year-old boys and 3–12-year-old girls. Triceps skinfold thickness percentiles (10 % and 90 %) appeared to be closest to British values and below American values. Weight, body mass index (BMI) and skinfold thicknesses showed good intercorrelations (up to .90) except in young boys. Height had a low positive correlation with BMI (.28 to .36) and with skinfold thickness (23 to .36) in the age groups 6–12 years. BMI and subscapular skinfold seem to be useful obesity indicators. No consistent correlations were seen between physical variables and serum LDL- or total cholesterol and apoprotein B concentrations. There was a slight negative correlation between the physical variables and serum HDL-cholesterol. Apoprotein A1 correlated negatively to all obesity indicators in 12-year-old girls. Serum triglycerides showed slight positive correlation to physical variables. BMI and skinfolds had a low to moderate correlation with insulin (.21–.51) mainly in the three oldest age groups. On the ground of BMI and skinfold rneasurements we have reason to believe that the prevalence of obesity at 3–18 years of age is similar in Finland as in other countries in Europe.

Fat distribution of overweight persons in relation to morbidity and subjective health

Abstract: The association between fat distribution, morbidity and subjective health was studied in 95 overweight adult men and 210 overweight adult women. Retrospective morbidity data were taken from a continuous morbidity registration made by general practitioners over a period of maximally 17 years. In addition information about subjective health and weight history was obtained from a self-administered questionnaire. Anthropometric measurements were taken and, on the basis of waist-hip and waist-thigh circumference ratios, subjects were classified into upper body segment obesity, intermediate obesity, and lower body segment obesity. It was found that, adjusted for age and body mass index, a high waist-thigh circumference ratio was a risk factor for hypertension and for gout or diabetes in women and arthrosis in men. A low waist-thigh ratio was associated with a high prevalence of varicose veins in women. The associations of waist-hips circumference ratio with morbidity were less pronounced, with the exception of hypertension in men. Information from the questionnaire revealed that persons with upper body segment obesity (especially men) felt less healthy and had more health complaints. These findings were more pronounced for subjects less than 50 years of age than for those of 50 years and older. The weight histories suggest that women with lower body segment obesity had a longer history of obesity than women with upper body segment obesity. This was not found in men. It is concluded that classification of obesity on the basis of circumference ratios is useful for the evaluation of health hazards of overweight subjects.

Effect of Habitual Physical Activity on Regulation of Insulin-stimulated Glucose Disposal in Older Males

Abstract: The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of differences in habitual level of physical activity on insulin action in healthy males between 60 and 75 years of age. The study population consisted of 20 non-obese individuals with normal glucose tolerance: 13 older subjects (68 +/- 4 years) not exercising regularly and 7 older subjects (66 +/- 3 years) who exercised regularly. Measurements were made of body mass index (BMI), percentage body fat by underwater weighing, maximal O2 consumption by bicycle ergometry (VO2max), and insulin-stimulated glucose disposal by the insulin clamp technique. The results demonstrated that insulin-stimulated glucose disposal was significantly increased (P less than 0.001) in the normal older subjects who exercised regularly. Furthermore, a direct relationship (r = 0.74, P less than 0.001) existed between maximal aerobic capacity and in vivo insulin action, which was independent of either BMI or percentage body fat. These data are consistent with the view that the extensive variation previously noted in in vivo insulin-stimulated glucose disposal of older subjects is related to differences in habitual physical activity.

The relationship of cardiovascular risk factors to the prevalence of coronary heart disease in newly diagnosed Type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes

Abstract: The relationship of cardiovascular risk factors to the prevalence of coronary heart disease was examined in 133 newly diagnosed Type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetic patients (70 men, 63 women) aged from 45 to 64 years and in 144 randomly selected non-diabetic control subjects (62 men, 82 women) of the same age. The prevalence of coronary heart disease in diabetic patients, defined by symptoms and ischaemic ECG abnormalities in resting or exercise ECG, was more than threefold that in non-diabetic subjects. In multiple logistic analyses (including age, history of smoking, hypertension (+/-), serum cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, 2-h post-glucose serum insulin, body mass index and diabetes (+/-)) carried out separately for men and women, diabetes showed an independent, significant association to coronary heart disease in both sexes. In addition, age and hypertension had a borderline association to coronary heart disease in men, whereas smoking and high 2-h postglucose serum insulin level showed a significant association in women.

Cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides during puberty: the oslo youth study

Abstract: The relationships of serum total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and fasting triglycerides (adjusted for body mass index, wt/ht2) with stages of pubertal development were examined in a Norwegian population of 920 adolescents, aged 10 to 16 years. For 13- and 14-year-olds, all five stages of Tanner's maturity index were represented. For the whole population, total serum cholesterol showed a larger decrease when related to sexual maturity stage than to chronologic age. For females, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides increased significantly when related to age in years; this was not found when related to the maturity index. Triglycerides showed a larger increase when related to chronologic age in males as compared with sexual maturity stage. Both among 13- and 14-year-old males, the most mature had significantly lower values for total cholesterol than the least mature. For 12-year-old males, HDL cholesterol decreased significantly with increasing sexual maturation. Among females, the more mature 12-year-olds had significantly lower values for total cholesterol compared with the less mature. Early maturing 13-, 14- and 15-16-year-olds had lower levels of HDL cholesterol compared with late maturers. These findings suggest that age in years may be a poor index of development in adolescents and that a measure of physiologic developmental age should be included in epidemiologic studies of serum lipids among adolescents.

Similarity of blood pressure in blacks, whites and Asians in England: the Birmingham Factory Study.

Abstract: Factory workers aged 16-64 years were screened for ethnic differences in blood pressure. The 78% response rate was evenly spread between whites (439 men; 164 women), black West Indians (173 men; 101 women) and Asians (172 men). Mean systolic and diastolic pressures by age decade in men were similar in all three groups, but there was a modest excess of both higher and lower blood pressures in blacks and Asians. Older black women had higher blood pressures than whites, but body mass indices were 2-5 kg/m2 greater. Multiple regression analysis revealed no significant effect of ethnic group on either systolic or diastolic blood pressure variance and that the higher pressures in black women were accounted for by differences in age and body mass index. The influence of body mass index was more marked on diastolic than systolic pressure. In men, alcohol intake and a family history of hypertension had small independent positive effects on systolic pressure. The lack of black/white difference in blood pressure differs from the United States results and may be due to the similarity in social class of participants. This should be confirmed in further population samples with larger numbers of black (and Asian) subjects.

An anthropometric assessment of Huntington's disease patients and families.

Abstract: An anthropometric investigation was designed to evaluate patterns of physical deterioration in Huntington's disease (HD). In this study a comprehensive set of measurements was taken including height, weight, body circumferences, skinfold thickness, and craniofacial, linear, and breadth components of the body, on 44 normal, 26 affected, and 70 at-risk individuals between 14 and 88 years of age. The anthropometric data were converted to z-scores using standards to adjust for age and sex differences. These scores were then adjusted for inter-family variation. There were significant differences among normal and affected individuals for all dimensions of body mass, as well as for several craniofacial and linear components of the body. Several significant differences were also found between normals and particular age cohorts of at-risk persons. HD gene carrier status was further assessed by factor analysis of the adjusted scores.

Aerobic Capacity, Obesity, and Atherosclerotic Risk Factors in Male Adolescents

Abstract: Correlations between aerobic capacity, obesity, and atherosclerotic risk factors were evaluated in adolescents with low-to-moderate levels of physical fitness. Subjects with higher levels of fitness had a more favorable risk profile with decreased body mass index, lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure and plasma triglyceride levels, and higher plasma high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels. Simple linear regression analysis revealed an association between body mass index and blood pressure, plasma triglyceride and plasma high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol. The level of aerobic fitness as determined by exercise duration was also associated with the same atherosclerotic risk factors. However, multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated that body mass index provided the largest explanation, by those variables examined, of the interindividual variance in blood pressure, plasma triglyceride, and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol. Aerobic fitness contributed only minimally to the variation in these risk factors. These findings suggest that if aerobic conditioning is used to modify atherosclerotic risk factors, it should be accompanied by a reduction in weight in adolescents with low-to-moderate levels of physical fitness.

Anthropometric discrimination among affected, at‐risk, and not‐at‐risk individuals in families with Huntington disease

Abstract: An earlier report showed significant differences among Huntington disease (HD) patients, controls, and particular age cohorts of at-risk persons for several dimensions of body mass and for several linear and craniofacial components of the body. In this investigation a function was derived from a stepwise discriminant analysis of the affected and unaffected groups, and used to classify the at-risk individuals according to HD gene carrier status. The function, comprised of body mass index, subscapular skinfold, head length, and sitting height, classified 95% of the controls and 87% of the affected individuals correctly. Approximately 80% of the individuals at-risk were classified with 80% or greater certainty. We propose that anthropometric variables may prove to be a powerful tool for basic research in HD and the derived discriminant function has potential clinical value as a diagnostic and preclinical diagnostic aid. We emphasize that corroborative testing on other sample populations of HD families is required before these techniques are utilized. Also, it is imperative that the anthropometric protocol include appropriate standardization of the raw measurement data.

The Tromsø heart study: coronary risk factors and their association with living conditions during childhood.

Abstract: We examined the relation between questionnaire answers concerning living conditions during childhood and coronary risk factors in 7405 men and 7247 women. Poverty during childhood was positively associated with age-adjusted levels (p less than 0.05) of total cholesterol and percentage of current smokers (men only) and negatively associated with body height. When cholesterol was adjusted for age, body mass index, leisure time physical activity, coffee and alcohol consumption, and cigarette smoking there was a significant linear trend in women (p less than or equal to 0.0001) but not in men (p = 0.224). Analysing only subjects born in Troms county, giving a more homogeneous population, the linear trend became significant (p = 0.011) for men also. We conclude that childhood poverty followed by a high standard of living operates, at least partly, as a risk factor for coronary heart disease through conventional risk factors.