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Habitual Smoking (habitual + smoking)
Selected AbstractsCardiovascular Risk Factors in Subjects with Helicobacter pylori InfectionHELICOBACTER, Issue 2 2002Toshiharu Takashima Abstract Background. It has been proposed that Helicobacter pylori infection is related to cardiovascular disease, although this has not been fully investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate whether H. pylori in-fection is associated with cardiovascular risk factors. Subjects and Methods. One thousand six hundred and fifty people undergoing annual medical checks at Shimane Institute of Health Science between September 1998 and August 1999 were enrolled. Gender, age, body mass index, habitual smoking and drinking, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, serum level of total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC), blood glucose, leukocyte count and hemoglobin were compared between H. pylori seropositive and seronegative cases. Results. In H. pylori seropositive individuals, HDLC was significantly lower than that in seronegative individuals. After adjustment for possible confounding factors (gender, age, BMI, smoking and drinking habits), mean HDLC in H. pylori -seropositive and seronegative individuals were 56.1 and 58.2 mg/dl, respectively (p < .005). The percentage of the elderly (over 50 years old) individuals with HDLC < 35 mg/dl in H. pylori seropositive and seronegative groups were 7.4% and 4.7%, respectively (p < .001). In addition, the lower HDLC level was accompanied by an increased leukocyte count. Conclusion. Long-term infection with H. pylori may have an important role in decreasing the serum HDLC concentration. [source] Lack of Association of Alcohol Dependence and Habitual Smoking With Catechol-O-methyltransferaseALCOHOLISM, Issue 11 2007Tatiana Foroud Objective:, To test whether variation in the gene encoding the enzyme catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), which catalyzes the breakdown of dopamine and other catecholamine neurotransmitters, is associated with the risk for alcohol dependence and habitual smoking. Methods:, Single nucleotide polymophisms (SNPs) were genotyped in a sample of 219 multiplex alcohol-dependent families of European American descent from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA). Family-based tests of association were performed to evaluate the evidence of association between the 18 SNPs distributed throughout COMT, including the functional Val158Met polymorphism, and the phenotypes of alcohol dependence, early onset alcohol dependence, habitual smoking, and comorbid alcohol dependence and habitual smoking. Results:, No significant, consistent evidence of association was found with alcohol dependence, early onset alcohol dependence, habitual smoking or the comorbid phenotype. There was no evidence that the functional Val158Met polymorphism, previously reported to be associated with these phenotypes, was associated with any of them. Conclusion:, Despite the substantial size of this study, we did not find evidence to support an association between alcohol dependence or habitual smoking and variation in COMT. [source] Stress Hormone Dysregulation at Rest and After Serotonergic Stimulation Among Alcohol-Dependent Men With Extended Abstinence and ControlsALCOHOLISM, Issue 5 2001Robert M. Anthenelli Background: Alcohol dependence has been associated with long-lasting alterations in limbic-hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (LHPA) axis and serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine [5-HT]) function. Other conditions that are associated with alcoholism (cigarette smoking and antisocial personality disorder [ASPD]) have been linked with disturbances in these interrelated systems. We evaluated the stress hormone response to 5-HTergic stimulation in alcohol-dependent men with extended abstinence (average abstinence duration, 4.3 months) and controls to determine the relative contributions of alcoholism, cigarette smoking, and ASPD on baseline and provoked plasma cortisol and adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH) concentrations. Methods: One hundred nine alcohol-abstinent men with alcohol dependence (62%), habitual smoking (70%), and ASPD (43%) received d,l-fenfluramine (100 mg po) in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial. The group of recovering alcohol-dependent individuals included abstinent primary alcohol-dependent men and alcohol-dependent men with ASPD, whereas the group of non-alcohol-dependent men comprised healthy controls and non-alcohol-dependent men with ASPD. Plasma cortisol and ACTH levels were obtained at AM baseline and at half-hour intervals after drug administration. Subjective ratings of drug response and physiological measures were also obtained at baseline and every 30 min. Results: Abstinent alcohol-dependent men had significantly lower (approximately 20%) AM baseline plasma cortisol concentrations than non-alcohol-dependent men on both challenge days; however, no differences between the groups were observed with regard to resting AM plasma ACTH levels. After adjusting for these baseline differences, recovering alcohol-dependent men (area under curve = 35.6 ± 37.4 [,g/dl] × min) had a twofold greater cortisol response to fenfluramine than non-alcohol-dependent men (area under curve = 17.5 ± 32.5 [,g/dl] × min) (F= 5.1;df= 1,105;p < 0.03). The elevated cortisol response, which occurred primarily along the descending limb of the response curve, was paralleled by a nonsignificant statistical trend for alcohol-dependent men to also exhibit a greater ACTH response to fenfluramine at the 210-min (p < 0.07) and 240-min (p < 0.09) time points as compared with non-alcohol-dependent men. Cigarette smoking and ASPD did not affect hormonal responses, nor could the groups' subjective ratings and physiological measures be distinguished. Conclusions: Alcohol-dependent men with extended abstinence differed from age- and race-matched non-alcohol-dependent men in resting AM and fenfluramine-induced plasma cortisol levels. This dysfunction in glucocorticoid homeostatic mechanisms was associated with alcoholism and not with smoking or ASPD. We also observed a nonsignificant statistical trend for plasma ACTH levels to be elevated among alcohol-dependent men along the descending limb of the response curve. Alcohol-dependent men seemed to have inherited or acquired damage to 5-HT-regulated LHPA axis function, the precise mechanisms and sites of which remain to be determined. [source] Effect of familial history and smoking on common cancer risks in JapanCANCER, Issue 10 2007Takeshi Suzuki MD Abstract BACKGROUND Inherited genetic predispositions are important risk factors for the development of cancer in general. To determine genetic susceptibility for 14 common cancers, a case,control study of the impact of a family history of cancer in first-degree relatives was conducted. The authors further evaluated the effect modification by habitual smoking with adjustment for other confounding environmental factors. METHODS In total, 18,836 cancer cases and 28,125 age,matched and sex,matched controls, confirmed as being free of cancer, were recruited. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals were determined by multiple logistic regression analysis, including stratification by family history for 14 cancer sites and interactions with a smoking history. RESULTS The associations between family history and risk of cancer were generally stronger at the same sites than across cancer sites. Risks to first-degree relatives at the same sites were found to be significantly elevated with 8 of 14 cancer sites; especially high ORs were found for prostate and thyroid cancers. Some across-site associations were observed; in particular, a reciprocal association between breast and prostate cancer was found. The interaction between family history and smoking history for breast cancer was found to be statistically significant. There was no statistical evidence for the interactions in other sites, but among subjects with a family history, the ORs were found to be higher in smokers compared with nonsmokers. CONCLUSIONS The results of the current study support the hypothesis of a genetic susceptibility to cancers in family members. For breast cancer, the interaction between family history and smoking history was observed to be significant. Cancer 2007. © 2007 American Cancer Society. [source] | ||||||||||