Associations between cadmium exposure and circulating levels of sex hormones in postmenopausal women.

Recent epidemiological as well as in vivo and in vitro studies collectively suggest that the metalloestrogen cadmium (Cd) could be a potential risk factor for hormone-related cancers in particularly breast cancer. Assessment of the association between Cd exposure and levels of endogenous sex hormones is of pivotal importance, as increased levels of such have been associated with a higher risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. The present study investigated the perceived relationship (multivariable-adjusted linear regression analyses) between Cd exposure [blood Cd (B-Cd) and urinary Cd (U-Cd)], and serum levels of androstenedione, testosterone, estradiol, and sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG), in 438 postmenopausal Swedish women without hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

Retinol may counteract the negative effect of cadmium on bone.

Cadmium and high vitamin A intake are both proposed risk factors for low bone mineral density (BMD), but potential interactions have not been studied. Within the Women's Health in the Lund Area, a population-based study in southern Sweden, we measured retinol in serum among 606 women aged 54-64 y. Data on BMD were measured by DXA at the distal forearm.

Serum estradiol does not differentiate stress, mixed and urge incontinent women around menopause. A report from the Women's Health in the Lund Area (WHILA) study.

Objective: To outline serum estradiol levels in perimenopausal women with stress, mixed or urge incontinence. We believe the majority of urgency symptoms in perimenopausal women to be caused by a pelvic floor dysfunction and a hypermobility of the bladder neck. If this is the case, there would be no difference in estradiol levels between the groups.

Benchmark dose for cadmium-induced osteoporosis in women.

We applied a hybrid approach to estimate the benchmark dose (BMD) and the lower 95% confidence limit (BMDL) for cadmium-induced bone effects in a population with low environmental exposure. Morning urine samples were collected by 794 Swedish women, aged 53-64 years, participating in a population-based study. We measured urinary cadmium (U-Cd), a marker of long-term exposure, and bone mineral density, expressed as its T-score (reference: 20-year old women) of the non-dominant wrist.

The women's health in the Lund area (WHILA) study--an overview.

The Women's Health in the Lund Area (WHILA) study invited all women (n=10,766) living in the Lund area of Southern Sweden by 1995, who were born between 1935 and 1945. The health screening program included a postal validated questionnaire concerning medical history, drug treatment, family history of diabetes and hypertension, menopausal status, smoking and alcohol habits, education, household, and working status, physical activity, quality of life as well as subjective physical and mental symptoms. The screening consisted of a routine physical examination with standardized blood pressure measurements, bone densitometry and an extended laboratory examination.

Exposure to p,p'-DDE: a risk factor for type 2 diabetes.

Background: Persistent organic pollutants (POPs), such as PCBs, DDT and dioxins have in several cross-sectional studies shown strong associations with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Reversed causality can however not be excluded. The aim of this case-control study was to evaluate whether POPs concentration is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes.

Coeliac disease-specific tissue transglutaminase autoantibodies are associated with osteoporosis and related fractures in middle-aged women.

Objective: To investigate whether the serological marker for coeliac disease, tissue transglutaminase autoantibody (tTGAb), is associated with decreased bone mass density (BMD) and increased frequency of fractures in middle-aged women screened for osteoporosis.

Material And Methods: The study comprised 6480 women (mean age 56 years, range 50-64) who answered a number of questionnaires and who underwent dual X-ray absorptiometry of the wrist bone. Serum samples were analysed for tTGAb using radioligand binding assays.

Nonhormonal drug use and its relation to androgens in perimenopausal women: a population-based study of Swedish women. The Women's Health in the Lund Area Study.

Objective: To outline the prevalence of nonhormonal drug use in middle-aged women and to assess plausible associations between serum androgen levels and variables associated to health such as drug use and planned visits to healthcare units.

Methods: This was a population-based study of women aged 50 to 59 years (n = 6,893). Women were divided into three groups according to their menopause status: premenopausal (PM), postmenopausal without hormone therapy (PM0), and postmenopausal with hormone therapy (PMT).

Cadmium-induced bone effect is not mediated via low serum 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D.

Cadmium is a widespread environmental pollutant, which is associated with increased risk of osteoporosis. It has been proposed that cadmium's toxic effect on bone is exerted via impaired activation of vitamin D, secondary to the kidney effects. To test this, we assessed the association of cadmium-induced bone and kidney effects with serum 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)(2)D); measured by enzyme immunoassay.

Prevalence of symptoms in relation to androgen concentrations in women using estrogen plus progestogen and women using estrogen alone.

Objective: Women using estrogen plus progestogen therapy sometimes report difficult to describe symptoms, eg, changes in libido, mood, and memory, that may be related to decreased androgens. To evaluate the prevalence of such symptoms and relate these symptoms to androgen levels in women using estrogen plus progestogen therapy, data from the Women's Health in the Lund Area Study were analyzed.

Design: A total of 2,816 women using estrogen plus progestogen therapy were asked to complete a questionnaire consisting of questions concerning sexual well-being and different aspects of quality of life.

Abstinence, occasional drinking and binge drinking in middle-aged women. The Women's Health in Lund Area (WHILA) Study.

Although drinking patterns in women have received increased attention, few studies have focused on middle-aged women. Drinking patterns were investigated in a population sample of 513 Swedish women aged 50-59, and analysed in relation to social situation, and mental and physical health. The chi-square test was used to analyse differences in proportions.

Blood pressure in middle-aged women: are androgens involved? A population-based study of Swedish women: the Women's Health in the Lund Area study.

Objective: To assess the prevalence of hypertension and use of antihypertensive drug therapy in relation to menopausal status and to delineate perceived associations between androgens and blood pressure in perimenopausal women.

Methods: A population-based sample of women aged 50-59 (n = 6893). Women were divided into three groups according to their hormonal status: premenopausal, postmenopausal without hormone therapy, and postmenopausal with hormone therapy.

Insulin resistance and self-rated symptoms of depression in Swedish women with risk factors for diabetes: the Women's Health in the Lund Area study.

Previous studies have suggested that depression increases the risk for diabetes and that this may be mediated through insulin resistance. The study aimed to analyze if self-rated symptoms of depression are related to insulin resistance among middle-aged and older Swedish women with features of the metabolic syndrome and being at risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus. We analyzed data from 1047 Swedish women aged 50 to 64 years without a history of diabetes and living in the southern part of Sweden.

Health hazards in middle-aged women with cardiovascular disease: a case-control study of swedish women. the women's health in the Lund area (WHILA) study.

Objective: To delineate the health profile in middle-aged women with cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Methods: The Women's Health in the Lund Area (WHILA) project covered all women born 1935-1945 (n = 10,766) living in the Lund area; 6917 (64.2%) women completed a generic questionnaire and underwent physical and laboratory assessments.

Do sex hormones influence features of the metabolic syndrome in middle-aged women? A population-based study of Swedish women: the Women's Health in the Lund Area (WHILA) Study.

Objective: To outline perceived associations between various sex hormones and risk markers for cardiovascular disease in middle-aged women, with an emphasis on features of the metabolic syndrome (MS).

Design: Cross-sectional analysis.

Setting: Women's Health in the Lund Area Study.

A prospective study of childhood and adult socioeconomic status and incidence of type 2 diabetes in women.

The influence of childhood socioeconomic status (SES) on incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus has not previously been studied. The authors prospectively examined the association of childhood SES (father's occupation) with incidence of diabetes in 100,330 US women who were followed from 1980 to 2002. In 55,115 of those women, 10-year follow-up data (1992-2002) were also available on adult SES (spouse's education).

Mental symptoms, psychotropic drug use and alcohol consumption in immigrated middle-aged women. The Women's Health in Lund Area (WHILA) Study.

This study aims to analyse mental symptoms, psychotropic drug use and alcohol consumption, in immigrant women born in Finland, the other Nordic countries, Eastern Europe, Western Europe and countries outside Europe, compared with Swedish-born women, and furthermore, to study if age at immigration may have an influence. All women (n=10,766) aged 50-59 years and living in the Lund area of southern Sweden received a postal invitation to a health survey named the Women's Health in Lund Area; 64.2% (n=6917) participated.

Obese women and the relation between cardiovascular risk profile and hormone therapy, glucose tolerance, and psychosocial conditions.

Objective: To evaluate the relation between cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and hormone therapy, serum hormone levels, glucose tolerance, and psychosocial and psychological conditions in subjectively healthy obese female subjects.

Research Design And Methods: The study included 606 women, aged 50-64 years, with BMI 30-40 kg/m(2) and no history of cardiovascular or other severe diseases. One group with a CVD risk profile (n = 473) (i.

Colorectal cancer in middle-aged women in relation to hormonal status: a report from the Women's Health in the Lund Area (WHILA) study.

Objective: To delineate a perceived association of estradiol versus estradiol plus norethisterone hormone therapy on the prevalence of colorectal cancer in postmenopausal women.

Methods: The Women's Health in the Lund Area (WHILA) project covers 10,766 women aged 50-60 years, living in the Lund area, Sweden. Out of this population, 6908 (64%) women completed questionnaires, underwent physical and laboratory assessments and had self-reported information regarding colorectal cancer.

Does the hormonal situation modify lipid effects by lifestyle factors in middle-aged women? Results from a population-based study of Swedish women: the women's health in the Lund area study.

The aim of the study was to outline whether the influence by lifestyle factors on serum lipids was modified by the hormonal situation in middle-aged women. Six thousand nine hundred eight women, aged 50 to 59 years, participated in a health assessment program, including a serum lipid profile evaluation. The women were grouped according to their hormonal status into premenopausal (PM) (n = 492), postmenopausal without hormone therapy (HT) (PM0) (n = 3600), and postmenopausal with HT (PMT) (n = 2816).

Benchmark dose for cadmium-induced renal effects in humans.

Objectives: Our goal in this study was to explore the use of a hybrid approach to calculate benchmark doses (BMDs) and their 95% lower confidence bounds (BMDLs) for renal effects of cadmium in a population with low environmental exposure.

Methods: Morning urine and blood samples were collected from 820 Swedish women 53-64 years of age. We measured urinary cadmium (U-Cd) and tubular effect markers [N-acetyl-beta-d-glucosaminidase (NAG) and human complex-forming protein (protein HC) ] in 790 women and estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR; based on serum cystatin C) in 700 women.

Cadmium-induced effects on bone in a population-based study of women.

High cadmium exposure is known to cause bone damage, but the association between low-level cadmium exposure and osteoporosis remains to be clarified. Using a population-based women's health survey in southern Sweden [Women's Health in the Lund Area (WHILA) ] with no known historical cadmium contamination, we investigated cadmium-related effects on bone in 820 women (53-64 years of age) . We measured cadmium in blood and urine and lead in blood, an array of markers of bone metabolism, and forearm bone mineral density (BMD) .

The hysterectomized woman. Is she special? The women's health in the Lund area (WHILA) study.

Objective: To delineate the health profile of hysterectomized women and to assess whether women who have undergone hysterectomy have a different health profile even before surgery.

Material And Methods: The WHILA project covers all women (n = 10,766) aged 50-60, living in the Lund area and are based on questionnaires and personal interviews tied to laboratory examinations.

Results: 6917 women (64.

Few middle-aged women with severe mental symptoms use psychotropic drugs: the Women's Health in Lund Area (WHILA) study.

Aims: In a population of middle-aged women a survey was carried out to ascertain the prevalence of mental symptoms and psychotropic drug use, and further to investigate whether severe mental symptoms are associated with social situation, alcohol consumption, smoking, and physical health.

Methods: All women (n = 10,766) aged 50-59 years and living in the Lund area were invited to the WHILA study, a health survey including laboratory examinations and a self-administered questionnaire; 6,917 (64.2%) participated.

Tubular and glomerular kidney effects in Swedish women with low environmental cadmium exposure.

Cadmium is a well-known nephrotoxic agent in food and tobacco, but the exposure level that is critical for kidney effects in the general population is not defined. Within a population-based women's health survey in southern Sweden (Women's Health in the Lund Area, WHILA), we investigated cadmium exposure in relation to tubular and glomerular function, from 1999 through early 2000 in 820 women (71% participation rate) 53-64 years of age. Multiple linear regression showed cadmium in blood (median, 0.