57 research outputs found
Coffee and cardiovascular risk; an epidemiological study
This thesis comprises several studies on the effect of coffee and caffeine on
cardiovascular risk in general, and the effect on serum lipids, blood pressure and
selected hemostatic variables in particular.
The association between coffee use and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality
was evaluated by a review of the published results of 17 cohort studies and 10 casecontrol
studies. In the interpretation of the results of these studies, it is important to
take into account the strong relationship of coffee consumption and other habits
associated with cardiovascular disease, such as smoking and a high dietary fat intake.
When these confounders are not considered in the analysis, the risk of coffee use for
cardiovascular disease may be overestimated. Most case-control studies yielded positive
results, i.e. coffee use was observed to increase the risk of a cardiovascular event. Casecontrol
studies, however, are subject to several forms of bias which could lead to
overestimation of the coffee-cardiovascular disease association. The majority of cohort
studies, which are more reliable, support the hypothesis that coffee use does not affect
the risk of cardiovascular diseas
Overvejelser om iværksættelse af kommunikation og valg af tegn i en professionel kontekst
Semiotikken er først og fremmest en teori om betydning og en analytisk ramme om betydningsdannelse. Dermed er semiotikken grundlæggende rettet mod den allerede foreliggende kommunikation. Imidlertid kan semiotik også bringes i frugtbar anvendelse i en fremadrettet iværksættelse af kommunikation, der søger at kombinere kommunikativ handling med reflektorisk skarphed. Det er formålet i dette paper at indtænke semiotikkens refleksion i en fremadrettet kommunikationspraksis. Paperet er motiveret af konkrete undervisningssammenhænge, og dets sigte er primært didaktisk
Higher prevalence of depressive symptoms in middle-aged men with low serum cholesterol levels
OBJECTIVE: Investigators from several studies have reported a positive
relationship between low cholesterol levels and death due to violent
causes (eg, suicide and accidents), possibly mediated by depressive
symptoms, aggression or hostility, or impulsivity. We set out to establish
whether middle-aged men with chronically low cholesterol levels (< or =4.5
mmol/liter) have a higher risk of having depressive symptoms, according to
scores on the Beck Depression Inventory, compared with a reference group
of men with cholesterol levels between 6 and 7 mmol/liter. A similar
comparison was also made for measures of anger, hostility, and
impulsivity. METHODS: Cholesterol measurements were obtained as part of a
population-based cholesterol screening study in 1990-1991. These levels
were remeasured in 1993-1994. Only those whose cholesterol level remained
in the same range were included in the study. Depressive symptoms were
assessed by using the Beck Depression Inventory; anger, by questionnaires
based on the Spielberger Anger Expression Scale and State-Trait Anger
Scale; hostility, by the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory; and impulsivity,
by the Eysenck and Eysenck Impulsivity Questionnaire. RESULTS: Men with
chronically low cholesterol levels showed a consistently higher risk of
having depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory score > or =15 or >
or =17) than the reference group, even after adjusting for age, energy
intake, alcohol use, and presence of chronic diseases. No differences in
anger, hostility, and impulsivity were observed between the two groups.
CONCLUSIONS: Men with a lower cholesterol level (< or =4.5 mmol/liter)
have a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms than those with a
cholesterol level between 6 and 7 mmol/liter. These data may be important
in the ongoing debate on the putative association between low cholesterol
levels and violent death
Antibody affinity and valency impact brain uptake of transferrin receptor-targeted gold nanoparticles
Dietary fat drives whole-body insulin resistance and promotes intestinal inflammation independent of body weight gain
The PINE study: rationale and design of a randomised comparison of epidural injection of local anaesthetics and steroids versus care-as-usual to prevent postherpetic neuralgia in the elderly [ISRCTN32866390]
BACKGROUND: Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is by far the most common complication of herpes zoster (HZ) and one of the most intractable pain disorders. Since PHN is seen most often in the elderly, the number of patients with this disorder is expected to increase in our ageing society. PHN may last for months to years and has a high impact on the quality of life. The results of PHN treatment are rather disappointing. Epidural injection of local anaesthetics and steroids in the acute phase of HZ is a promising therapy for the prevention of PHN. Since randomised trials on the effectiveness of this intervention are lacking, the PINE (Prevention by epidural Injection of postherpetic Neuralgia in the Elderly) study was set up. The PINE study compares the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a single epidural injection of local anaesthetics and steroids during the acute phase of HZ with that of care-as-usual (i.e. antivirals and analgesics) in preventing PHN in elderly patients. METHODS / DESIGN: The PINE study is an open, multicenter clinical trial in which 550 elderly (age ≥ 50 yr.) patients who consult their general practitioner in the acute phase of HZ (rash < 7 days) are randomised to one of the treatment groups. The primary clinical endpoint is the presence of HZ-related pain one month after the onset of the rash. Secondary endpoints include duration and severity of pain, re-interventions aiming to treat the existing pain, side effects, quality of life, and cost-effectiveness. CONCLUSION: The PINE study is aimed to quantify the (cost-) effectiveness of a single epidural injection during the acute phase of HZ on the prevention of PHN
Spin Glass and Antiferromagnetic Behaviour in a Diluted fcc Antiferromagnet
We report on a Monte Carlo study of a diluted Ising antiferromagnet on a fcc
lattice. This is a typical model example of a highly frustrated
antiferromagnet, and we ask, whether sufficient random dilution of spins does
produce a spin glass phase. Our data strongly indicate the existence of a spin
glass transition for spin--concentration : We find a divergent spin
glass susceptibility and a divergent spin glass correlation length, whereas the
antiferromagnetic correlation length saturates in this regime. Furthermore, we
find a first order phase transition to an antiferromagnet for ,
which becomes continuous in the range . Finite size scaling is
employed to obtain critical exponents. We compare our results with experimental
systems as diluted frustrated antiferromagnets as .Comment: 29 pages (revtex) and 10 figures uuencoded and Z-compresse
Stroke patients’ knowledge about cardiovascular family history - the Norwegian Stroke in the Young Study (NOR-SYS)
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