Serum vitamin D and the risk of Parkinson disease.

Objective: To investigate whether serum vitamin D level predicts the risk of Parkinson disease.

Design: Cohort study.

Setting: The study was based on the Mini-Finland Health Survey, which was conducted from 1978 to 1980, with Parkinson disease occurrence follow-up through the end of 2007.

Dyslipidaemia in rural Australia: prevalence, awareness, and adherence to treatment guidelines in the Greater Green Triangle Risk Factor Study.

Objectives: To determine population lipid profiles, awareness of hyperlipidaemia and adherence to Australian lipid management guidelines.

Design And Setting: Population survey in rural south-eastern Australia, 2004-2006.

Participants: Stratified random sample from the electoral roll.

Vitamin D status and the risk of cardiovascular disease death.

Accumulating evidence suggests that inadequate vitamin D levels may predispose people to chronic diseases. The authors aimed to investigate whether serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) level predicts mortality from cardiovascular disease (CVD). The study was based on the Mini-Finland Health Survey and included 6,219 men and women aged > or =30 years who were free from CVD at baseline (1978-1980).

Chronic disease risk factors in rural Australia: results from the Greater Green Triangle risk factor surveys.

The aim of this article was to assess the level and prevalence of major chronic disease risk factors among rural adults. Two cross-sectional surveys were carried out in 2004 and 2005 in the southeast of South Australia and the southwest of Victoria. Altogether 891 randomly selected persons aged 25 to 74 years participated in the studies.

Vitamin D status and the risk of lung cancer: a cohort study in Finland.

Experimental data support the suppressing effect of vitamin D on lung carcinogenesis, but epidemiologic evidence is limited. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] level is associated with the risk of lung cancer in a prospective cohort study in Finland. 25(OH)D levels were measured by RIA from serum collected at baseline (1978--1980) from 6,937 men and women.

Depression: an important comorbidity with metabolic syndrome in a general population.

Objective: There is a recognized association among depression, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to examine in a sample representative of the general population whether depression, anxiety, and psychological distress are associated with metabolic syndrome and its components.

Research Design And Methods: Three cross-sectional surveys including clinical health measures were completed in rural regions of Australia during 2004-2006.

Antibiotic use predicts an increased risk of cancer.

Antibiotic use has been hypothesized to be associated with the risk of cancer but the evidence is sparse and inconsistent. The aim of the present study was to determine whether antibiotic use predicts the development of various cancers. This nationwide cohort study included 3,112,624 individuals, aged 30-79 years, with no history of cancer.

Perinatal factors and the risk of asthma in childhood--a population-based register study in Finland.

The aim of the study was to assess whether perinatal factors are associated with the risk of asthma in childhood in a register-based, nested case-control study in Finland. All children born between January 1, 1996, and April 30, 2004, who were entitled to a special reimbursement for antiasthmatic drugs (i.e.

Physical activity behaviours of adults in the Greater Green Triangle region of rural Australia.

Objective: To assess physical activity (PA) behaviours of adults in rural Australia.

Design And Setting: Three cross-sectional surveys in the Greater Green Triangle area covering the south-east of South Australia (Limestone Coast), and south-west (Corangamite Shire) and north-west (Wimmera) of Victoria during 2004-2006.

Participants: A total of 1546 persons, aged 25- 74 years, randomly selected from the electoral roll.

Prevention of type 2 diabetes by lifestyle intervention in an Australian primary health care setting: Greater Green Triangle (GGT) Diabetes Prevention Project.

Background: Randomised controlled trials demonstrate a 60% reduction in type 2 diabetes incidence through lifestyle modification programmes. The aim of this study is to determine whether such programmes are feasible in primary health care.

Methods: An intervention study including 237 individuals 40-75 years of age with moderate or high risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Overweight, obesity and metabolic syndrome in rural southeastern Australia.

Objective: To measure the prevalence of overweight, obesity and the metabolic syndrome (MetS) in rural Australia.

Design, Setting And Participants: Cross-sectional surveys were conducted in two rural areas in Victoria and South Australia in 2004-2005. A stratified random sample of men and women aged 25-74 years was selected from the electoral roll.

Prevalence of psychological distress, anxiety and depression in rural communities in Australia.

Objective: To describe the prevalence of psychological distress, depression and anxiety in three Australian rural settings and to identify the levels of risk by gender and age.

Design And Setting: Three cross-sectional surveys in the Greater Green Triangle area covering the south-east of South Australia (Limestone Coast), and south-west (Corangamite Shire) and north-west (Wimmera) of Victoria.

Participants: A total of 1563 people, aged 25-74 years, randomly selected from the electoral roll.

Prevention of type 2 diabetes in a primary health care setting. Interim results from the Greater Green Triangle (GGT) Diabetes Prevention Project.

Although clinical trials have shown that lifestyle modifications reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, translating lessons from trials to primary care remains a challenge. The aim of the study was to evaluate efficacy and feasibility of primary care-based diabetes prevention model with modest resource requirements in rural Australia. Three hundred and eleven subjects with at least a moderate risk of type 2 diabetes participated in a combined dietary and physical activity intervention.

Serum enterolactone concentration and the risk of coronary heart disease in a case-cohort study of Finnish male smokers.

The lignan enterolactone produced by the intestinal microflora from dietary precursors has been hypothesized to protect against coronary heart disease. The present study examined the association between serum enterolactone concentration and the risk of coronary heart disease. A prospective case-cohort study was conducted among male smokers randomized to receive a placebo supplement in the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study (1986-1999).

Serum enterolactone concentration is not associated with prostate cancer risk in a nested case-control study.

The lignan enterolactone, produced by the intestinal microflora from dietary precursors, has been hypothesized to protect against hormone-dependent cancers and cardiovascular diseases. We conducted a nested case-control study to examine the relationship between serum enterolactone concentration and prostate cancer. Enterolactone concentrations were measured by time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay in serum collected at baseline in the alpha-Tocopherol, beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study from 214 men with prostate cancer diagnosed during a 6-year follow-up and from 214 controls matched by age, date of baseline blood collection, intervention group, and local study area.

Serum enterolactone concentration is not associated with breast cancer risk in a nested case-control study.

The lignan enterolactone produced by the intestinal microflora from dietary precursors has been hypothesized to protect against hormone-dependent cancers. We conducted a nested case-control study to examine the relationship between serum enterolactone concentration and risk of breast cancer. Enterolactone concentrations were measured by time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay in serum collected at 4 independent cross-sectional population surveys from 206 women with breast cancer diagnosed during follow-up (mean 8.

A randomized placebo-controlled crossover trial with phytoestrogens in treatment of menopause in breast cancer patients.

Objective: Phytoestrogens are popular in treatment of menopause, although scientific evidence is insufficient as to their efficacy. We studied the effects of daily use of isoflavonoids on climacteric symptoms and quality of life in patients with a history of breast cancer.

Methods: Sixty-two postmenopausal symptomatic women were randomized to use either phytoestrogen (tablets containing 114 mg of isoflavonoids) or a placebo for 3 months; the treatment regimens were reversed after a 2-month washout period.

Intake of lignans is associated with serum enterolactone concentration in Finnish men and women.

The mammalian lignans (a form of phytoestrogens), metabolically derived by the intestinal microflora from dietary precursors, may have several health benefits. Information concerning their dietary sources and bioavailability is scarce. We assessed lignan intake via a 24-h dietary recall (n = 2852) and determined serum enterolactone (EL) concentration (n = 1784) in 25- to 64-y-old Finnish men and women participating in a national survey in 1997.

Phyto-oestrogen database of foods and average intake in Finland.

Information on phyto-oestrogen intake in various populations has been scanty until now, primarily because data on the content of these compounds in foods were lacking. We report here on expansion of the Finnish National Food Composition Database (Fineli) with values for the plant lignans matairesinol and secoisolariciresinol and the isoflavones daidzein and genistein. The values, expressed as aglycones, were based on food analyses (mainly GC-MS) or imputed from analytical data for 180 foods for lignans and 160 foods for isoflavones; additionally, over 1000 values were derived from the recipe database of Fineli.

Isoflavone intake in four different European countries: the VENUS approach.

The aim of this study was to identify the level of isoflavone intake (total isoflavones, daidzein and genistein) in four European countries: Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands and the UK. For this purpose national food composition databases of isoflavone content were created in a comparable way, using the Vegetal Estrogens in Nutrition and the Skeleton (VENUS) analytical database as a common basis, and appropriate food consumption data were selected. The isoflavone intake in Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands and the UK is on average less than 1 mg/d.

Use of oral antimicrobials decreases serum enterolactone concentration.

The lignan enterolactone, a phytoestrogen, may protect against hormone-dependent cancers and cardiovascular diseases. It is produced by the intestinal microflora from dietary precursors. Because of the pronounced impact of antimicrobials on the intestinal microflora, the authors examined whether serum enterolactone concentration is affected by previous use of oral antimicrobials.