Search results for "Case-Control Studies"
showing 10 items of 1567 documents
Perturbation of metabolic pathways mediates the association of air pollutants with asthma and cardiovascular diseases.
2018
Background: Epidemiologic evidence indicates common risk factors, including air pollution exposure, for respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, suggesting the involvement of common altered molecular pathways. Objectives: The goal was to find intermediate metabolites or metabolic pathways that could be associated with both air pollutants and health outcomes (“meeting-in-the-middle”), thus shedding light on mechanisms and reinforcing causality. Methods: We applied a statistical approach named ‘meet-in-the-middle’ to untargeted metabolomics in two independent case-control studies nested in cohorts on adult-onset asthma (AOA) and cardio-cerebrovascular diseases (CCVD). We compared the results …
The pesticides use and the risk for head and neck cancer: A review of case-control studies
2020
Background Tobacco, alcohol consumption, and HPV infection are the most common risk factors for head and neck cancer (HNC). Despite of this, recent evidences are growing on the association between long-term exposure to pesticides and the risk of chronic diseases, including different types of cancer. The present review evaluated in current literature evidence of an association between exposure to pesticides and the occurrence of HNCs. Material and Methods A literature search of the case-control studies was conducted in the PubMed, Web of science and Cochrane databases. Methodological quality of each study was rated with the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN 50) checklist. Res…
Alexithymic characteristics in pediatric patients with primary headache: a comparison between migraine and tension-type headache
2015
Background: Alexithymia is a personality construct characterized by difficulties in verbal emotional expression and a limited ability to use one’s imagination. Evidence of alexithymic characteristics was found in adults suffering from headache, while little is known about children. The aim of this study was to establish the prevalence of alexithymia in two different subgroups of children and adolescents suffering from primary headache. We also looked for correlation between alexithymia in children and in their mothers. Methods: This study involved 89 participants: 47 (11 males, 36 females, aged 8 to 17 years) suffering from tension-type headache (TTH), and 42 (18 males, 24 females, aged 8 t…
Microsporidia and Its Relation to Crohn's Disease. A Retrospective Study
2013
Background: The cause of Crohn's Disease (CD) remains unknown. Recently a decrease in the global lymphocyte population in the peripheral blood of CD patients has been reported. This decrease was more evident in gamma delta T lymphocytes, especially gamma delta CD8+T subsets. Furthermore, a decrease of IL-7 was also observed in these patients. We propose the hypothesis that microsporidia, an obligate intracellular opportunistic parasite recently related to fungi, in CD patients can take advantage of the lymphocytes and IL-7 deficits to proliferate and to contribute to the pathophysiology of this disease. Methods and Findings: In this case-control study, serum samples were collected from 36 C…
Changes in Body Composition in Anorexia Nervosa : Predictors of Recovery and Treatment Outcome
2015
The restoration of body composition (BC) parameters is considered to be one of the most important goals in the treatment of patients with anorexia nervosa (AN). However, little is known about differences between AN diagnostic subtypes [restricting (AN-R) and binge/purging (AN-BP)] and weekly changes in BC during refeeding treatment. Therefore, the main objectives of our study were twofold: 1) to assess the changes in BC throughout nutritional treatment in an AN sample and 2) to analyze predictors of BC changes during treatment, as well as predictors of treatment outcome. The whole sample comprised 261 participants [118 adult females with AN (70 AN-R vs. 48 AN-BP), and 143 healthy controls].…
Aversive tension of adolescents with anorexia nervosa in daily course: a case-controlled and smartphone-based ambulatory monitoring trial.
2014
Introduction Monitoring and reduction of aversive tension is a core issue in dialectical behaviour therapy of patients. It has been shown that aversive tension is increased in adult borderline personality disorder and is linked to low emotion labelling ability. However, until now there is no documented evidence that patients with anorexia nervosa suffer from aversive tension as well. Furthermore the usability of a smartphone application for ambulatory monitoring purposes has not been sufficiently explored. Methods and analysis We compare the mean and maximum self-reported aversive tension in 20 female adolescents (12–19 years) with anorexia nervosa in outpatient treatment with 20 healthy co…
Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met Polymorphism and Eating Disorders: Data From a New Biobank and Meta-Analysis of Previously Published St…
2017
Objectives: We investigated whether catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met polymorphism is associated with eating disorders (EDs). Methods: We conducted a systematic literature search of studies published until 15 January 2017 and added data from the Italian ‘Biobanca Veneta per i Disturbi Alimentari’ biobank, performing a meta-analysis comparing COMT Val158Met genotype and allele frequencies in EDs and anorexia nervosa (AN) or bulimia nervosa (BN) patients versus controls. Results: Ten studies plus Biobanca Veneta per i Disturbi Alimentari (ED: n = 920, controls: n = 261 controls) with 3541 ED patients (AN = 2388; BN = 233) and 3684 controls were included. There were no significant …
Association between HFE mutations and acute myocardial infarction: a study in patients from Northern and Southern Italy.
2003
There is interest in the role of iron in age-related diseases such as atherosclerosis. Tissue iron deposition could be harmful, because Fe(2+) can react with H(2)O(2) to form OH(-) radicals and Fe(2+) can react with O(2) to form reactive oxygen species. Free radicals react with cell membranes and cell organelles and could lead to the development of atherosclerosis by initiating lipid peroxidation. Hereditary hemochromatosis provides an opportunity for studying the effects of iron on cardiovascular disease. Some studies have shown that individuals who carried HFE mutations may be at greater risk of developing coronary heart disease than those without the mutations. In contrast, a large numbe…
Genetic polymorphisms affecting the phenotypic expression in familial hypercholesterolemia
2004
The clinical expression of heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is highly variable even in patients carrying the same LDL receptor (LDL-R) gene mutation. This variability might be due to environmental factors as well as to modifying genes affecting lipoprotein metabolism. We investigated Apo E (2, 3, 4), MTP (-493G/T), Apo B (-516C/T), Apo A-V (-1131T/C), HL (-514C/T and -250G/A), FABP-2 (A54T), LPL (D9N, N291S, S447X) and ABCA1 (R219K) polymorphisms in 221 unrelated FH index cases and 349 FH relatives with defined LDL-R gene mutations. We found a significant and independent effect of the following polymorphisms on: (i) plasma LDL-C (Apo E, MTP and Apo B); (ii) plasma HDL-C (HL, …
No association between Glu298Asp endothelial nitric oxide synthase polymorphism and Italian sporadic Alzheimer's disease.
2003
A great amount of evidence suggests that neuroinflammation may be a major pathogenetic mechanism in the pathophysiology of sporadic Alzheimer's Disease (sAD). Recently, polymorphisms in the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (NOS3) gene have been associated to late onset Alzheimer's Disease in a British population. However, other groups failed to replicate this finding in Asiatic and Caucasian populations. We conducted a case-control study including a clinically well-defined group of 149 sAD patients and 149 age and sex matched controls to test the association between NOS3 Glu298Asp polymorphism and sAD in an ethnically homogenous Italian population. All subjects were genotyped at NOS3 and a…