Effects of low-dose alcohol consumption on postural control with a particular focus on the role of the visual system.

There is clear evidence that vision contributes to stabilizing posture and that large quantities of alcohol affect balance. It has, however, not yet been investigated whether and how the consumption of low doses of ethanol affects postural control and the visual system. The purpose of this study was therefore to assess the influence of low-dose alcohol intake on balance.

Relationship between physical fitness and lifestyle behaviour in healthy young men.

Background: There is substantial knowledge about the inverse association of physical fitness and CVD risk factors and CVD mortality. However, physical fitness per se might be influenced by lifestyle conditions such as physical training, smoking and drinking habits.

Hypothesis: We evaluated the relationship between physical fitness, physical activity, endurance training, smoking and drinking habits and blood pressure, lipids and leukocytes as surrogate cardiovascular risk markers in a large-scale cross-sectional study of healthy young men.

The interleukin-6 promoter polymorphism is associated with elevated leukocyte, lymphocyte, and monocyte counts and reduced physical fitness in young healthy smokers.

Smoking and interleukin-6 are important factors in driving inflammation. This study assessed the relationship between smoking, interleukin-6 genotype, physical fitness, and peripheral blood count in healthy young men. For this interleukin-6 promoter polymorphism -174 genotype-phenotype association study 1,929 healthy German male aviators recruited at the central German Air Force Institute of Aviation Medicine were stratified by smoking habits.

Relation between the angiotensinogen (AGT) M235T gene polymorphism and blood pressure in a large, homogeneous study population.

The aim of this study was to assess the association of the angiotensinogen M235T polymorphism with arterial blood pressure (BP) at rest and under physical stress in a homogeneous large-scale study population. In all, 1903 men who passed routine medical examination for military flying duty were recruited. BP and heart rate were measured at rest, during, and after bicycle ergometry.