Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

A Population-Based Dietary Inflammatory Index Predicts Levels Of C-Reactive Protein In The Seasonal Variation Of Blood Cholesterol Study (Seasons), Nitin Shivappa, Susan E. Steck, Thomas G. Hurley, James R. Hussey, Yunsheng Ma, Ira S. Ockene, Fred Tabung, James R. Hebert

Yunsheng Ma

OBJECTIVE: To perform construct validation of the population-based Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) using dietary data from two different dietary assessments and serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) as the construct validator.

DESIGN: Using data derived from (i) three 24 h dietary recalls (24HR) at baseline and at the end of each subsequent quarter (i.e. up to fifteen over a year) and (ii) a 7 d dietary recall (7DDR) measured at baseline and then quarterly, regression analyses were conducted to test the effect of the DII score on serum hs-CRP as dichotomous (3 mg/l), while controlling for important potential confounders.

SETTING: Existing …

Gender Differences In The Fagerström Test For Nicotine Dependence In Korean Americans, Sun Kim, (Julia) Hua Fang, Joseph R. Difranza, Douglas M. Ziedonis, Grace X. Ma

Hua Julia Fang

Introduction: This study was conducted to compare gender differences in the psychometric properties of the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND).

Methods: The sample comprised 334 Korean immigrants (97 women and 237 men) who reported daily smoking for the past 6 months. Item-by-item responses and exploratory factor analyses (EFA) were compared by gender. Promax rotation was selected based on findings from previous studies suggesting correlated factors.

Results: Compared with men, women smoked fewer cigarettes per day, were more likely to smoke when ill in bed, and were less likely to smoke frequently in the morning. The entire sample and men …

Socioeconomic Status And Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Sharon Stein Merkin, Ricardo Azziz, Teresa E. Seeman, Ronit Calderon-Margalit, Martha L. Daviglus, Catarina I. Kiefe, Karen A. Matthews, Barbara Sternfeld, David S. Siscovick

Catarina I. Kiefe

BACKGROUND: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common metabolic-endocrine disorder in women and is associated with a number of metabolic morbidities. We examined the association of PCOS and its components with socioeconomic status (SES) over the life course to explore the role of the environment on the development of PCOS.

METHODS: Participants included 1163 women, aged 34-39, from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Women's Study, examined at year 16 of the CARDIA study (2001). PCOS was defined according to the 1990 National Institutes of Health (NIH) criteria.

RESULTS: Logistic regression models, adjusted for age, body mass …

Obesity And Diabetes In Vulnerable Populations: Reflection On Proximal And Distal Causes, Lucy M. Candib

Lucy M. Candib

Around the world obesity and diabetes are climbing to epidemic proportion, even in countries previously characterized by scarcity. Likewise, people from low-income and minority communities, as well as immigrants from the developing world, increasingly visit physicians in North America with obesity, metabolic syndrome, or diabetes. Explanations limited to lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise are inadequate to explain the universality of what can be called a syndemic, a complex and widespread phenomenon in population health produced by multiple reinforcing conditions. Underlying the problem are complex factors-genetic, physiological, psychological, familial, social, economic, and political-coalescing to overdetermine these conditions. These interacting …