Henry S. Kahn

Dental disease and risk of coronary heart disease and mortality.

OBJECTIVE--To investigate a reported association between dental disease and risk of coronary heart disease. SETTING--National sample of American adults who participated in a health examination survey in the early 1970s. DESIGN--Prospective cohort study in which participants underwent a standard dental examination at baseline and were followed up to 1987. Proportional hazards analysis was used to estimate relative risks adjusted for several covariates. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Incidence of mortality or admission to hospital because of coronary heart disease; total mortality. RESULTS--Among all 9760 subjects included in the analysis those with periodontitis had a 25% increased risk of coronary heart disease relative to those with minimal periodontal disease. Poor oral hygiene, determined by the extent of dental debris and calculus, was also associated with an increased incidence of coronary heart disease. In men younger than 50 years at baseline periodontal disease was a stronger risk factor for coronary heart disease; men with periodontitis had a relative risk of 1.72. Both periodontal disease and poor oral hygiene showed stronger associations with total mortality than with coronary heart disease. CONCLUSION--Dental disease is associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease, particularly in young men. Whether this is a causal association is unclear. Dental health may be a more general indicator of personal hygiene and possibly health care practices.

Prevalence of overweight and obesity in youth with diabetes in USA: the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth study.

Liu LL, Lawrence JM, Davis C, Liese AD, Pettitt DJ, Pihoker C, Dabelea D, Hamman R, Waitzfelder B, Kahn HS. Prevalence of overweight and obesity in youth with diabetes in USA: the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study.

Lipid profiles in middle-aged men and women after famine exposure during gestation: the Dutch Hunger Winter Families Study

BACKGROUND Many studies in humans have related birth weight to lipid profiles in adulthood. Fewer have estimated associations directly attributable to maternal nutrition during pregnancy. OBJECTIVE Our objective was to determine whether famine exposure during gestation is associated with a more atherogenic profile in adult offspring. DESIGN In 2003-2005, we studied 1) 359 singleton men and women born between January 1945 and March 1946 in clinics in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Leiden whose mothers were exposed to the famine during pregnancy; 2) 299 singletons born in the same 3 institutions during 1943 or 1947; and 3) 313 unexposed same-sex siblings of the above individuals. A lipid profile was obtained after an overnight fast. RESULTS Female offspring with prenatal famine exposure had a dyslipidemic pattern characterized by elevated total cholesterol (0.26 mmol/L; 95% CI: 0.07, 0.46; P = 0.007), triglycerides (0.17 mmol/L; 95% CI: 0.03, 0.31; P = 0.02), and LDL cholesterol (0.17 mmol/L; 95% CI: -0.01, 0.36; P = 0.06) compared with unexposed offspring. This pattern was not seen in men. The increases in total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol were independent of body mass index, waist circumference, and midthigh circumference. The increase in triglycerides was independent of midthigh circumference but was attenuated with control for either body mass index or waist circumference. There was no evidence for associations within specific gestational windows. No association was observed between prenatal famine exposure and HDL cholesterol in either sex. CONCLUSION In women, but not in men, aged approximately 58 y, we observed an association between prenatal undernutrition and elevated total cholesterol concentrations and triglycerides.

Cost-Effectiveness of Bariatric Surgery for Severely Obese Adults With Diabetes

OBJECTIVE To analyze the cost-effectiveness of bariatric surgery in severely obese (BMI ≥35 kg/m2) adults who have diabetes, using a validated diabetes cost-effectiveness model. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We expanded the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention–RTI Diabetes Cost-Effectiveness Model to incorporate bariatric surgery. In this simulation model, bariatric surgery may lead to diabetes remission and reductions in other risk factors, which then lead to fewer diabetes complications and increased quality of life (QoL). Surgery is also associated with perioperative mortality and subsequent complications, and patients in remission may relapse to diabetes. We separately estimate the costs, quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), and cost-effectiveness of gastric bypass surgery relative to usual diabetes care and of gastric banding surgery relative to usual diabetes care. We examine the cost-effectiveness of each type of surgery for severely obese individuals who are newly diagnosed with diabetes and for severely obese individuals with established diabetes. RESULTS In all analyses, bariatric surgery increased QALYs and increased costs. Bypass surgery had cost-effectiveness ratios of

The 10-y incidence of obesity and major weight gain in black and white US women aged 30-55 y.

7,000/QALY and

Relation of birth weight to lean and fat thigh tissue in young men

12,000/QALY for severely obese patients with newly diagnosed and established diabetes, respectively. Banding surgery had cost-effectiveness ratios of

Association of type 1 diabetes with month of birth among U.S. youth: The SEARCH for diabetes in youth study

11,000/QALY and

The missed patient with diabetes: how access to health care affects the detection of diabetes.

13,000/QALY for the respective groups. In sensitivity analyses, the cost-effectiveness ratios were most affected by assumptions about the direct gain in QoL from BMI loss following surgery. CONCLUSIONS Our analysis indicates that gastric bypass and gastric banding are cost-effective methods of reducing mortality and diabetes complications in severely obese adults with diabetes.

Precision of recumbent anthropometry

Although the prevalence of obesity in US women is well-described, data are limited on the incidence of major weight gain and obesity. We used data from the First National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Epidemiologic Follow-up Study to estimate the 10-y incidence of major weight gain (greater than or equal to 10 kg) and obesity [body mass index (BMI, in kg/m2) greater than or equal to 29] in a cohort of US women aged 30-55 y (n = 535 blacks and 2976 whites). In women not obese at baseline, blacks were 60% more likely to become obese than whites [incidence in blacks = 15.5%, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 11.2-19.7; incidence in whites = 9.7%, 95% CI = 8.6-10.8]. This higher incidence of obesity in blacks was largely due to their higher average BMI at baseline. The incidence of major weight gain was 50% higher in blacks than in whites (in blacks, 17.3%; 95% CI = 13.6-21.0; in whites, 11.7%; 95% CI = 10.3-13.1). We estimate that in black and white women, respectively, 16% and 12% of coronary heart disease is attributed to major weight gain whereas 35% and 21% is attributed to being obese.

Choosing an index for abdominal obesity: an opportunity for epidemiologic clarification.

BACKGROUND: Birth weight is positively associated with body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) in later life, but is inversely associated with cardiovascular risk. To understand this paradox, we examined the relationships between birth weight, adult BMI, and estimations of lean and fat tissue in young men.METHODS: From 192 applicants for military service (ages 17–22 y, mean BMI 23.2 kg/m2) with known birth weights we measured the circumference and anterior skinfold thickness at midthigh to estimate thigh muscle+bone area and subcutaneous fat area. Linear regression models including birth weight as the independent variable were adjusted for race and adult height.RESULTS: BMI was linearly associated with birth weight (standardized regression coefficient, [SRC;[equals;+0.27; P=0.0004), as was the thigh muscle+bone area (SRC=+0.22; P=0.0029), but not the thigh subcutaneous fat area (SRC=+0.13; P=0.086). The BMI–birth weight association was reduced by 68% when the regression model was further adjusted for thigh muscle+bone area. Separate adjustment for thigh subcutaneous fat, however, reduced the BMI–birth weight association by only 30%. Waist circumference was also associated with birth weight (SRC=+0.24; P=0.0014), sagittal abdominal diameter was weakly associated (SRC=+0.17; P=0.028), but waist/thigh ratio and abdominal diameter index were not associated with birth weight.INTERPRETATION: The larger BMI associated with higher birth weight may reflect increments in lean tissue more than increments in fat. Birth weights influence on lean tissue is observed in the thigh and, among fit young men, perhaps at the waist. Increased muscularity in young men may partly explain the cardiovascular benefit in middle age ascribed to higher birth weight.