The relationship between cigarette smoking and the risk of endometrial neoplasms

A series of therapeutic and educational workshops were conducted with women nursing home residents with the twin goals of improving self-esteem and self-reliance, and facilitating community building and networking. Alongside these workshops were nursing home staff trainings whereby staff were encouraged to articulate their needs and those of resident women in productive ways.     

The relationship between religious activities and cigarette smoking in older adults

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between religious activities and cigarette smoking in community-dwelling older adults. METHODS: Cigarette smoking and religious activities were assessed in a probability sample of 3968 persons age 65 years or older participating in the Duke Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (EPESE) survey. Participants were asked if they currently smoked, if they ever smoked, and how many cigarettes per day they smoked. Attendance at religious services, participation in private religious activities (prayer or Bible study), and use of religious media (religious TV or radio) were also assessed. Data were available for Waves I-III of the survey (1986, 1989, and 1992). Analyses were controlled for age, race, sex, education, alcohol use, physical health, and in the longitudinal analyses, smoking status at prior waves. RESULTS: Cross-sectional analyses revealed that participants who frequently attended religious services were significantly less likely to smoke cigarettes at all three waves. Likewise, elders frequently involved in private religious activity were less likely to smoke (Waves II and III). Total number of pack-years smoked was also inversely related to both attendance at religious services and private religious activities. Watching religious TV or listening to religious radio, on the other hand, was not related to smoking at Waves I and II nor to total pack-years smoked, but was positively related to current smoking at Wave III. Among those who smoked, number of cigarettes smoked was inversely related to frequency of attendance at religious services (Wave I), private religious activities (Wave III), and religious TV/radio (Waves II and III). Retrospective and prospective analyses revealed that religiously active persons were less likely to ever start smoking, not more likely to quit smoking. CONCLUSIONS: Religiously active persons are less likely to smoke cigarettes, and if they do smoke, smoke fewer cigarettes. Given the association between smoking and disease, and the widespread prevalence of both smoking and religious activity, this finding has implications for public health.     

The relationship between body weight concerns and adolescent smoking.

Although a number of factors have been found to predict smoking status among adolescents, few researchers have examined how belief in smoking as a weight-control strategy may be related to smoking in this high-risk population. With the goal of discovering whether belief in smoking as a weight-control strategy predicted smoking status, the present investigation surveyed 659 Black and White high school students. Analyses showed that among regular smokers, 39% of White female and 12% of White male smokers reported using smoking to control their appetite and weight. Although belief in smoking as a weight-control strategy did not predict regular smokers versus never smokers, the weight-belief item reliably separated experimental smokers from regular smokers. The survey also revealed that White female restrained eaters were the most likely to actually use smoking as a weight-control strategy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maternal smoking, body mass index, and neural tube defects

The Swedish health registries were used to investigate a possible effect on the incidence of neural tube defects (NTDs) of maternal smoking and maternal body mass index (BMI) (kg/m2). Among 1,199,701 infants born in 1983-1993 with known smoking exposure in early pregnancy, 621 infants with NTDs were selected. After controlling for year of birth, maternal age, parity, education level, BMI, and immigrant status (yes/no), a highly significant, protective effect of maternal smoking on the incidence of NTDs was found. The adjusted odds ratios (OR) and (95% confidence intervals (CI)) for maternal smoking among infants with NTDs (total), anencephaly, and spina bifida were 0.75 (0.61-0.91), 0.49 (0.28-0.85), and 0.76 (0.61-0.95), respectively. A protective dose-response effect of smoking was indicated but was not statistically significant. The association between NTDs and maternal BMI found in earlier studies was supported. Women with BMI >26.0 were found to be at higher risk of having an infant with NTD compared with women in other BMI classes (adjusted OR=1.35, 95% CI 1.00-1.83). For women with BMI > or =29, the corresponding odds ratio was 1.29 (0.81-2.05). No obvious explanation was found, either for the detected association between NTDs and BMI, or for the protective effect of maternal smoking.     

The relationship between smoking and body weight in a population of young military personnel.

Evidence indicates that middle-aged smokers weigh less than nonsmokers and that smoking cessation reliably produces weight gain, but recent studies have questioned the weight control "benefits" of smoking in younger populations (the time that people typically initiate smoking). The relationship between smoking and body weight was evaluated in all U.S. Air Force Basic Military Training recruits during a 1-year period (n?=?32,144). Those who smoked prior to Basic Military Training (n?=?10,440) were compared to never smokers or experimental smokers. Results indicated that regular-current smoking had no relationship to body weight in women (p? >?.05) and a very small effect in men (p?     

The association between cigarette smoking and ocular diseases

Tobacco smoke is composed of as many as 4,000 active compounds, most of them toxic on either acute or long-term exposure. Many of them are also poisonous to ocular tissues, affecting the eye mainly through ischemic or oxidative mechanisms. The list of ophthalmologic disorders associated with cigarette smoking continues to grow. Most chronic ocular diseases, with the possible exception of diabetic retinopathy and primary open-angle glaucoma, appear to be associated with smoking. Both cataract development and age-related macular degeneration, the leading causes of severe visual impairment and blindness, are directly accelerated by smoking. Other common ocular disorders, such as retinal ischemia, anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, and Graves ophthalmopathy, are also significantly linked to this harmful habit. Tobacco smoking is the direct cause of tobacco-alcohol amblyopia, a once common but now rare disease characterized by severe visual loss, which is probably a result of toxic optic nerve damage. Cigarette smoking is highly irritating to the conjunctival mucosa, also affecting the eyes of nonsmokers by passive exposure (secondhand smoking). The dangerous effects of smoking are transmitted through the placenta, and offspring of smoking mothers are prone to develop strabismus. Efforts should be directed toward augmenting the campaign against tobacco smoking by adding the increased risk of blindness to the better-known arguments against smoking. We should urge our patients to quit smoking, and we must make them keenly aware of the afflictions that can develop when smoke gets in our eyes.     

The temporal relationship between emotional distress and cigarette smoking during adolescence and young adulthood.

Empirical evidence regarding the causal nature of the relationship between emotional distress and tobacco use in male and female adolescents provides support for both the distress-to-use and the use-to-distress hypotheses. Using a cross-lagged model with 3 waves of data from 2,961 adolescents followed into young adulthood, the authors tested the hypothesis that this relationship changes over time. As hypothesized, emotional distress in Grade 10 was associated with increased smoking in Grade 12 for both boys and girls. Smoking in Grade 12 was in turn associated with increased emotional distress in young adulthood. The addition of 3 third factors (rebelliousness, deviance, and family problems) to the model did not alter the results. Results suggest that the relationship between tobacco use and emotional distress is a dynamic one in which distress initially leads to use but then becomes exacerbated by it over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Time perspective in socioeconomic inequalities in smoking and body mass index.

Objective: To determine if time perspective plays a mediating role in the relationship between socio-economic position (SEP) and both smoking and body mass index (BMI). Design: 2000 adults aged 18 years and over were randomly selected from the edited electoral register for the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England and sent a postal questionnaire. Two reminders were sent. Main outcome measures: Socio-economic position was measured using the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) of the area of residence. Time perspective was measured using the Consideration of Future Consequences Scale (CFCS). Smoking and BMI were self-reported. Results: Full data was available for 804 individuals (response rate: 40.2%). After controlling for age, gender and health status, IMD was significantly associated with BMI, smoking status and CFCS score (p     

The influence of cigarette smoking on the association between body weight and mortality. The Framingham Heart Study revisited

PURPOSE: To calculate for two measures of obesity, the Metropolitan Relative Weight (MRW) and body mass index (BMI), the value at which minimum mortality occurs. This was done to retest the hypothesis, in the Framingham Heart Study data, that the association between obesity and mortality can be obscured by an interaction between the measure of obesity and smoking. In the original analysis of the Framingham data it was suggested that there was a U- or J-shaped relationship between MRW and death in smokers but a linear relationship in nonsmokers. The design and setting were those of the NHLBI Framingham Heart Study. METHODS: The 5209 members of the Framingham Heart Study underwent a baseline examination in 1948-1952 (Exam 1) and they were reexamined at approximately two-year intervals over a 30-year period. The study included both men (n = 2336) and women (n = 2873) in the age range of 28 to 62 years. After excluding persons with missing baseline data, the analytic sample size was 5163. Additional analyses were conducted by deleting persons with cardiovascular disease (CVD) at baseline (n = 135), the sample used by the original paper by Garrison and colleagues, and persons who died within the first four years of follow-up (n = 62). The main outcome measures consisted of thirty-year survival through Exam 16, approximately in 1980, as influenced by MRW or BMI, age, and smoking status at baseline (Exam 1). RESULTS: We were able to show that the sample sizes of male nonsmokers were too small to test the hypothesis within age groups < 40 and 40-49 years. In men ages 50-62 there was a significant age-adjusted quadratic relationship between BMI or MRW, and risk of death. The estimated BMI at the minimum risk of death for smokers (24.5) and nonsmokers (23.8) were not statistically different. Identical results were found for MRW (minimum: smokers = 112.5, nonsmokers = 111.4). In men and women ages 28-62 there appeared to be a u- or j-shaped relationship between the 30-year crude mortality rate and MRW. After excluding persons with missing data, CVD at baseline, and persons who died within the first four years of follow-up, the age adjusted estimated BMI value at the minimum risk of death was nearly identical for men and women and for smokers and nonsmokers (Men: smokers = 22.8, nonsmokers = 22.8; Women: smokers = 22.9, nonsmokers = 23.3). Additionally, the estimates of the minimum were always below the mean. Identical results were found without deleting persons with CVD at baseline and deaths in the first four years of follow-up. Identical results were found for MRW. CONCLUSIONS: Reanalysis of the Framingham Heart Study data does not support the hypothesis that there is an interaction between smoking and measures of obesity. Moreover, the estimated BMI or MRW at the minimum risk of death was similar for men and women smokers and nonsmokers alike even after deleting prevalent cases of CVD and deaths within the first four years of follow-up.     

The association between cigarette smoking and selected HIV-related medical conditions

OBJECTIVE: To clarify the effect of cigarette smoking on the development of conditions associated with HIV infection. DESIGN: Prospective and retrospective cohort study, with interview and examination twice a year since 1988. METHODS: Data on 516 HIV-infected men from cohorts of homosexual and bisexual men in San Francisco, Denver and Chicago, who were repeatedly interviewed and examined between 1988 and 1992, were analysed. After excluding men who did not have well-defined dates of seroconversion and those who were classified as ex- or intermittent smokers, 232 men remained for analysis: 106 were smokers and 126 were non-smokers. Univariate and Kaplan-Meier survival analyses were performed to assess the relationship between cigarette smoking and loss of CD4+ T-lymphocytes, diagnosis of any AIDS-defining illness, and specific diagnosis of Kaposi's sarcoma, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), oral candidiasis, hairy leukoplakia, and community-acquired pneumonia. RESULTS: By univariate analyses, cigarette smoking was not associated with clinical AIDS, loss of CD4+ cells, Kaposi's sarcoma or PCP, but was significantly associated with oral candidiasis [relative risk (RR), 1.32; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.02-1.70], hairy leukoplakia (RR, 1.51; 95% CI, 1.15-1.99), and community-acquired pneumonia (RR, 2.62; 95% CI, 1.30-5.27). Dose-response effect was also evident for these three conditions (all P < 0.01). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis indicated no association between cigarette smoking and time of progression to clinical AIDS, Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), or PCP (P = 0.62, 0.54 and 0.11, respectively) but showed that cigarette smokers developed oral candidiasis, hairy leukoplakia, and pneumonia more quickly than non-smokers (P = 0.031, 0.006 and 0.009, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Cigarette smoking was not associated with an increased likelihood or rate of developing KS, PCP or AIDS, but was associated with developing community-acquired pneumonia, oral candidiasis, and hairy leukoplakia in these HIV-infected men.     

The economic costs associated with body mass index in a workplace

This study was undertaken to determine if a progressive correlation exists between body mass index (BMI), health care costs, and absenteeism and to identify an economically optimal BMI. We studied 3,066 First Chicago NBD employees by using health risk appraisals and personnel data. Analysis was completed for those employees with and without a risk for BMI. People at risk for BMI are more likely to have additional health risks, short-term disability and illness absence, and higher health care costs than those not at risk for BMI. A "J-shaped" curve between health care costs and BMI exists, with the low point occurring at about 25 to 27 kg/m2. We concluded that indirect and direct costs to an employer increase with increasing BMI. Employers may benefit from helping employees achieve a healthy weight. The initial target population should be those who are at highest risk of complications from obesity.     

Association between cigarette smoking and lipid peroxidation in a controlled feeding study

BACKGROUND: Cigarette smoke may promote atherogenesis by producing oxygen-derived free radicals that damage lipids. However, evidence in support of this hypothesis is inconsistent because most studies did not control for aspects of diet (antioxidants and lipid substrate) that may confound the association between smoking and measures of lipid peroxidation. METHODS AND RESULTS: The relationships between cigarette smoking and two measures of lipid peroxidation, breath ethane (an in vivo assay) and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS, an in vitro assay), were examined in 123 adults (11% of whom were smokers) participating in a controlled feeding study. After 3 weeks of controlled feeding on a common diet (36% total fat, 14% saturated fats, 6% polyunsaturated fats, and 12% monounsaturated fats), breath and fasting serum samples were collected for measurement of ethane and TBARS, respectively. Baseline characteristics of smokers and nonsmokers were similar, including several indices related to diet and nutritional status (albumin, cholesterol, body mass index, and oxygen radical-absorbing capacity). Cigarette smokers had significantly higher breath ethane (8.88 versus 1.71 pmol/L; P<.0001) and TBARS (24.0 versus 20.7 micromol/mL; P=.008) than nonsmokers. The interval between breath collection and the time the last cigarette was smoked was significantly and inversely correlated with breath ethane. Neither measure of lipid peroxidation was associated with measures of serum cholesterol or albumin, body mass index, or serum oxygen radical-absorbing capacity. CONCLUSIONS: Cigarette smokers have higher rates of in vivo and in vitro lipid peroxidation. These results support the hypothesis that the atherogenic effects of smoking are mediated in part by free radical damage to lipids.     

Evidence that suggests a negative association between cigarette smoking and learning performance

The results of this study indicate that tobacco smoking may have a deleterious effect on the learning process. One hundred and fifteen male volunteers were assessed on four learning tasks. Those Ss who smoked in excess of 12 cigarettes per day did significantly less well, as a group, than nonsmokers and light smokers on three of the four learning tests.     

The relationship of cigarette prices and no-smoking bylaws to the prevalence of smoking in Canada

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to analyze the association of cigarette prices and no-smoking bylaws with the prevalence of smoking. METHODS: Data on individual smoking status were taken from two national household surveys in Canada. Current cigarette price, the 1-year and 10-year increase in price, and the extent of local restrictions on public smoking were added to the model. Logistic regression was used to estimate the odds of being a smoker. RESULTS: The odds ratio for being a smoker was 1.21 where no-smoking by-laws were relatively infrequent and 1.26 when cigarettes were relatively inexpensive, after adjusting for individual age, sex, education, and marital status. CONCLUSIONS: Both cigarette prices and no-smoking bylaws are effective in controlling smoking; either alone will likely have less impact than the two measures together.     

The Troms? Study: body height, body mass index and fractures

Tall persons suffer more hip fractures than shorter persons, and high body mass index is associated with fewer hip and forearm fractures. We have studied the association between body height, body mass index and all non-vertebral fractures in a large, prospective, population-based study. The middle-aged population of Troms?, Norway, was invited to surveys in 1979/80, 1986/87 and 1994/95 (The Troms? Study). Of 16,676 invited to the first two surveys, 12,270 attended both times (74%). Height and weight were measured without shoes at the surveys, and all non-vertebral fractures in the period 1988-1995 were registered (922 persons with fractures) and verified by radiography. The risk of a low-energy fracture was found to be positively associated with increasing body height and with decreasing body mass index. Furthermore, men who had gained weight had a lower risk of hip fractures, and women who had gained weight had a lower risk of fractures in the lower extremities. High body height is thus a risk factor for fractures, and 1 in 4 low-energy fractures among women today might be ascribed to the increase in average stature since the turn of the century. Low body mass index is associated with a higher risk of fractures, but the association is probably too weak to have any clinical relevance in this age category.     

Inflammatory breast cancer and body mass index

PURPOSE: No studies have investigated the etiology of inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), the most lethal form of breast cancer. Because high body mass index (BMI) is associated with decreased risk of premenopausal breast cancer but increased risk of postmenopausal breast cancer, we evaluated whether high BMI was a risk factor for IBC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In a case-comparison study, we matched by ethnicity and registration date 68 IBC patients treated at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center from 1985 to 1996 with 143 patients with non-IBC and 134 patients with cancer at sites other than the breast or reproductive tract (non-breast cancer). The non-breast cancer group was used in lieu of a population-based, healthy control group, which was not available. RESULTS: IBC patients were younger at menarche and the time of their first live birth than non-IBC and non-breast cancer patients. The proportion of premenopausal IBC patients was higher than the proportion of premenopausal women in the comparison groups, although differences were not significant. There were no differences in height, but IBC patients were heavier (77.6 kg) than non-IBC (70.0 kg) and non-breast cancer patients (68.0 kg). After adjusting for other factors, women in the highest BMI tertile (BMI > 26.65 kg/m2) relative to the lowest tertile (BMI < 22.27) had significantly increased IBC risk (IBC v non-IBC, odds ratio [OR] = 2.45, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.05 to 5.73; IBC v non-breast cancer, OR = 4.52, 95% CI = 1.85 to 11.04). This association was not significantly modified by menopausal status and was independent of age at menarche, family history of breast cancer, gravidity, smoking status, and alcohol use. CONCLUSION: Our investigation showed that high BMI was significantly associated with an increased risk of IBC. This association did not vary by menopausal status, although IBC patients were more likely to be premenopausal. Confirming our findings and identifying other IBC risk factors may provide directions for future research on the aggressive nature of IBC.     

Relationship between body mass index and transvaginal ultrasonographic endometrial thickness in postmenopausal women

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and transvaginal ultrasonographic endometrial thickness. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two hundred and twelve postmenopausal Japanese women (mean age, 62.1+/-8.0 years; range 47-85) with histologically proven normal endometrium and with endometrial thickness more than 1.0 mm were studied. Baseline characteristics including age, years since menopause, and BMI were recorded for each subject. The relationship between sonographic endometrial thickness and baseline characteristics was assessed in each subject. RESULTS: BMI was significantly correlated with endometrial thickness (r=0.40, p<0.001), but age and years since menopause were not correlated. On stepwise regression analysis only BMI was still associated with endometrial thickness (R2=0.16, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Sonographic endometrial thickness differs with BMI in postmenopausal women. Higher BMI is associated with greater endometrial thickness.     

A prospective study on the relationship between body mass index and mortality from all causes in 15,827 middle aged and elderly citizens

A case of a person struck by lightning is presented in which treatment consisted of 60 min of resuscitation, followed by a 3 day period of artificial ventilation. Persons who are struck by lightning might benefit from prolonged resuscitation efforts, since patients such as this one, as well as similar cases described in the literature, have survived without major sequelae. In our opinion, on-the-spot advanced life support, hypothermia and a moderate rehydration policy contributed to this patient's successful resuscitation.     

The relationship between blood pressure and biochemical risk factors in a general population

The relationship between blood pressure, ponderal index, sex, blood glucose, haemoglobin, serum uric acid, calcium cholesterol and creatinine, and albumin has been examined in 698 subjects aged between 44 and 49 years from the register of a group general practice. Sixty per cent of the variation in systolic pressure could be explained by statistically significant associations with diastolic pressure, sex, blood glucose, serum calcium, and cholesterol. The diastolic blood pressure (not corrected for systolic pressure) was significantly related only to ponderal index, haemoglobin in men, and cholesterol in women. Pulse pressure was also positively related to the risk factors blood glucose, serum cholesterol, and calcium. The possibility is discussed that one or more of these variables reduce aortic compliance and that the serum calcium contributes to this end. Diastolic, but not systolic pressure, had a prime association with relative weight, obesity being only basically associated with an increase in diastolic pressure.