Lipid levels in adults with cystic fibrosis.

Objective: To examine the hypothesis that an energy-dense, high-fat diet, which is necessary to maintain weight in adults with cystic fibrosis, does not result in high serum cholesterol levels.

Design: Dietary, anthropometric, and biochemical data were correlated.

Setting: A cystic fibrosis center in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Early infant diet and risk of IDDM in blacks and whites. A matched case-control study.

Objective: To investigate the role of early infant feeding in the development of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and to determine whether an association exists in both blacks and whites.

Research Design And Methods: Black and white diabetic subjects were recruited from the Allegheny County and Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh IDDM Registries. Extensive infant diet histories were obtained from the diabetic subjects and their nondiabetic siblings, who were used as nondiabetic control subjects.

Cholesterol screening in childhood: sixteen-year Beaver County Lipid Study experience.

To determine the extent to which cholesterol measured in childhood is predictive of values in adulthood, the investigators conducting the second follow-up of the Beaver County Lipid Study tracked the cholesterol values of 295 adults who had initially participated as children (ages 11 to 14 years) in a countywide school screening program. The follow-up study was conducted 16 years after the initial study, when the participants had reached a mean age of 28 years. The overall correlation (r) between baseline (1972-1973) total cholesterol values and the values found at the present follow-up was 0.

Zinc status of children with sickle cell disease: relationship to poor growth.

We examined the zinc status of 80 children with sickle cell disease (SCD) and 44 disease-free sibling controls aged 3 to 18 years. For both patients and controls, variations in serum zinc by age, type of hemoglobinopathy, and growth status were measured. The mean serum zinc concentration of patients was significantly lower than for controls (77.

Serum lysosomal hydrolases in cystic fibrosis.

The activities of a number of lysosomal hydrolases were determined in sera from 100 patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), age 2-35 yr, and age-matched controls: beta-hexosaminidase activity was significantly elevated (p less than 0.005) in CF patients from all age groups. alpha-Mannosidase activity was increased only in the older CF patients (greater than 13 yr).

Evaluation of clinical skills for nutrition counseling.

This report describes the procedures for and feasibility of an evaluation program that provides a direct assessment of the use of specific clinical skills during an interview with a simulated patient. The specific aims of this evaluation were to assess untrained graduate students in nutrition on their application of a set of 31 specific clinical skills for resolving dietary adherence problems. Each student conducted two interviews with each of two different simulated patients with hyperlipidemia presenting typical problems following a diet low in saturated fat and cholestrol.

Dietary vitamin A deficiencies and stomach cancer.

The hypothesis of vitamin A intake deficiencies serving as an antecedent factor in the development of stomach cancer was assessed employing a case-control design. Interviews of proxy informants for 111 cases and a pair-matched control group were conducted using a food frequency questionnaire from which an averaged vitamin A intake index was calculated. Stomach cancer cases showed a significantly higher proportion with lowered total vitamin A intake levels (odds ratio = 1.

Growth patterns by age and sex in children with sickle cell disease.

We examined growth patterns by age and sex in 133 children and adolescents with sickle cell disease. These patients are estimated to be representative of the total population aged 1 to 18 years with sickle cell disease in a large metropolitan area. Median height and weight curves constructed from serial growth data available for all 133 children demonstrated impairment in height and weight at all ages and in both sexes.