Gender and the natural history of self-rated health: a 59-year longitudinal study.

Self-ratings of health are uniquely predictive of morbidity and mortality, and they encompass people's evaluations of many medical, psychological, and social conditions in their lives. However, the longitudinal trajectory of self-rated health has not been evaluated to date. In the present study, 59-year longitudinal multilevel analyses (1940-1999) of data from 1,411 men and women revealed that self-rated health was relatively stable until age 50 and then began to decrease in an accelerating fashion through the rest of the life course.

Vitamin E intake and risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Oxidative stress may contribute to the pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We therefore examined prospectively whether individuals who regularly use supplements of the antioxidant vitamins E and C have a lower risk of ALS than nonusers. The study population comprised 957,740 individuals 30 years of age or older participating in the American Cancer Society's Cancer Prevention Study II.

Coffee consumption, gender, and Parkinson's disease mortality in the cancer prevention study II cohort: the modifying effects of estrogen.

Caffeine consumption is associated with a reduced risk of Parkinson's disease in men but not in women. This gender difference may be due to an interaction between caffeine and use of postmenopausal estrogens. The authors prospectively assessed the relation between coffee consumption and Parkinson's disease mortality among participants in the Cancer Prevention Study II, a cohort of over 1 million people enrolled in 1982.

Genotypic differences of Candida albicans and C. dubliniensis isolates related to ethnic/racial differences within the same geographic area.

Candida albicans and C. dubliniensis genotype differences among Israeli ethnic groups were assessed. Isolates from Jews (51), Arabs (35) and Druze (25) were genotyped.

Diet and cancer prevention.

Dietary effects are presumed to underlie many of the large international differences in incidence seen for most cancers. Apart from alcohol and a few micronutrients, however, the role of specific nutritional factors remains ill-defined. The evidence for a role of energy balance, physical inactivity, and obesity has strengthened, while for dietary fat it has weakened.

Recovery after uterine artery embolization for leiomyomas: a detailed analysis of its duration and severity.

Purpose: To determine the duration and severity of recovery after uterine artery embolization (UAE) for leiomyomas.

Materials And Methods: As part of a study comparing different embolic materials used for UAE, detailed data on the severity of postprocedural recovery were gathered in 99 patients. These data included patient-controlled analgesia records, visual analogue scale (VAS) pain scores of daily peak pain levels for 7 days, medication use in the first week, and severity of constitutional symptoms experienced over the course of the first month after the procedure.

Polyvinyl alcohol particles and tris-acryl gelatin microspheres for uterine artery embolization for leiomyomas: results of a randomized comparative study.

Purpose: To determine if the type of embolic material used for uterine artery embolization (UAE) for leiomyomas has an impact on short-term recovery or the effectiveness of embolization.

Materials And Methods: One hundred patients were randomly assigned to undergo UAE with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) particles or tris-acryl gelatin microspheres. Short-term, in-hospital medication use and pain levels were recorded.

Prospective study of cigarette smoking and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Cigarette smoking has been proposed as a risk factor for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), but because of the low incidence of ALS this association has been examined only with case-control methods. The authors prospectively assessed the relation between cigarette smoking and ALS mortality among participants in the Cancer Prevention Study II cohort of the American Cancer Society, a cohort of over 1 million people enrolled in 1982 who completed a lifestyle questionnaire including a detailed smoking history at baseline. Causes of deaths were ascertained through death certificates; ALS was not identified separately until 1989.

Overall adherence to the dietary guidelines for americans is associated with reduced prevalence of early age-related nuclear lens opacities in women.

Few studies have examined the efficacy of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans in the prevention of age-related chronic disease, such as age-related cataract. We examined whether adherence to the Guidelines was associated with a lower prevalence of age-related nuclear lens opacities in women. Eye exams were conducted in 479 Nurses' Health Study participants aged 52 to 73 y without previously diagnosed cataract or diabetes living in the Boston, MA area.

Update on diabetes mellitus and related oral diseases.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a group of complex multisystem metabolic disorders characterized by a relative or absolute insufficiency of insulin secretion and/or concomitant resistance to the metabolic action of insulin on target tissues. The chronic hyperglycaemia of diabetes is associated with long-term systemic dysfunction. The present article summarizes current knowledge of DM and details the oral and dental implications of this common endocrine disorder.

Personality traits in adolescence as predictors of religiousness in early adulthood: findings from the Terman Longitudinal Study.

The authors examined the associations of the Big Five personality factors with religiousness in adulthood for a 19-year longitudinal sample of 492 adolescents age 12 to 18. Among the Big Five, Conscientiousness in adolescence was uniquely related to higher religiousness in early adulthood. For adolescents high in Emotional Stability, the link between strength of religious upbringing and religiousness in adulthood was weaker than it was for adolescents who were less emotionally stable.

Total equivalent of reactive chemicals in 142 human food items is highly variable within and between major food groups.

Many reactive electrophilic chemicals (e.g., acrylamide and hydrazine) occur in foods, and these could individually or cumulatively contribute to human cancer or other diseases.

Narcissists as "Victims": the role of narcissism in the perception of transgressions.

Narcissism is a set of traits that are motivated by the desire to establish and maintain a grandiose self-image. Consistent with this conceptualization, the authors hypothesized that narcissistic people perceive themselves to be the victims of other people's inter-personal transgressions more frequently than do less narcissistic people. In a 14-day diary study, the authors found that narcissism (particularly in its exploitiveness/entitlement dimension) was associated positively with the number and frequency of transgressions that respondents reported.

Vitamin E supplements and risk of prostate cancer in U.S. men.

Supplementation with alpha-tocopherol (a form of vitamin E) was associated with decreased risk of prostate cancer in a randomized trial among Finnish smokers. We examined the association between vitamin E supplement use and prostate cancer incidence in the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort. Participants in the study completed a detailed questionnaire at enrollment in 1992-1993.

Gratitude in intermediate affective terrain: links of grateful moods to individual differences and daily emotional experience.

Two studies were conducted to explore gratitude in daily mood and the relationships among various affective manifestations of gratitude. In Study 1, spiritual transcendence and a variety of positive affective traits were related to higher mean levels of gratitude across 21 days. Study 2 replicated these findings and revealed that on days when people had more grateful moods than was typical for them, they also reported more frequent daily episodes of grateful emotions, more intense gratitude per episode, and more people to whom they were grateful than was typical for them.

A prospective study of whole grains, fruits, vegetables and colon cancer risk.

Objective: We examined the relation between whole grains, fruit, vegetables and dietary fiber and colon cancer risk in the prospective Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort.

Methods: In 1992-1993, 62,609 men and 70,554 women completed questionnaires on medical history, diet and lifestyle behaviors. After exclusions, we confirmed 298 cases of incident colon cancer among men and 210 among women through August 31, 1997.

Susceptibility of Candida albicans biofilms grown in a constant depth film fermentor to chlorhexidine, fluconazole and miconazole: a longitudinal study.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the resistance of Candida albicans biofilms to both antifungal and antimicrobial agents in vitro.

Methods: Biofilms of C. albicans were grown on denture acrylic discs in a constant depth film fermentor and maintained with artificial saliva.

Impact of impaired wrist motion on hand and upper-extremity performance(1).

Purpose: To quantify and compare the disabilities caused by reduced and absent wrist motion using objective measurements of task performance and perceived disability, and to assess the compensatory motions of the shoulder, elbow, forearm, and trunk caused by impaired wrist motion.

Methods: A clinical study of 21 normal subjects was done to measure physical performance and to assess wrist function under conditions of reduced (30 degrees flexion and 30 degrees extension) and nearly absent wrist motion using established physical tests and questionnaires (Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand [DASH], Patient Rated Wrist Evaluation [PRWE], and a study-specific survey). The clinical study also measured compensatory motions of the shoulder, elbow, forearm, and trunk.

Forgiveness and justice: a research agenda for social and personality psychology.

Forgiveness and related constructs (e.g., repentance, mercy, reconciliation) are ripe for study by social and personality psychologists, including those interested in justice.

Formation of Candida albicans biofilms on non-shedding oral surfaces.

The aim of this investigation was to determine the ability of Candida albicans to form biofilms on enamel, dentine and denture acrylic of various surface roughnesses. Biofilms of C. albicans were grown on various materials in a constant depth film fermenter (CDFF) and maintained with artificial saliva.

Changes in blood coagulation markers associated with uterine artery embolization for leiomyomata.

Purpose: To determine whether a transient hypercoagulable state is induced by the uterine artery embolization (UAE) procedure.

Materials And Methods: Serial periprocedure blood samples were obtained from 27 patients undergoing the UAE procedure. Five blood samples were obtained from each patient at set time intervals: before the procedure (for baseline determination), immediately before and after embolization of the uterine arteries, 90 minutes after conclusion of the procedure, and between 18 and 24 hours later.

Multivitamin use and colorectal cancer incidence in a US cohort: does timing matter?

Multivitamins contain several nutrients, including folic acid, that are hypothesized to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer. Previous studies suggest that multivitamin use may reduce colorectal cancer risk but only after a long latency period. The authors examined the association between regular multivitamin use (four or more times per week) and colorectal cancer incidence among 145,260 men and women in the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort.

Calcium, dairy products, and risk of prostate cancer in a prospective cohort of United States men.

Intake of calcium and/or dairy products has been associated with increased risk of prostate cancer in some epidemiological studies. One potential biological mechanism is that high calcium intake down-regulates 1,25 dihydroxy vitamin D(3), which may increase cell proliferation in the prostate. We examined the association between calcium, dairy intake, and prostate cancer incidence in the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort, a prospective cohort of elderly United States adults.

Religiousness and depression: evidence for a main effect and the moderating influence of stressful life events.

The association between religiousness and depressive symptoms was examined with meta-analytic methods across 147 independent investigations (N = 98,975). Across all studies, the correlation between religiousness and depressive symptoms was -.096, indicating that greater religiousness is mildly associated with fewer symptoms.

Dietary glycemic index, glycemic load, and risk of incident breast cancer in postmenopausal women.

Insulin and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) are associated with increased risk of breast cancer in several studies. Circulating concentrations of insulin increase with dietary consumption of high glycemic index foods, which, in turn, may influence IGF-I levels or activity, but the relevance of such dietary patterns for breast cancer risk is unclear. We investigated whether consumption of carbohydrates with high dietary glycemic index would predict risk of postmenopausal breast cancer among 63,307 United States women in the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort.