The contribution of diet and genotype to iron status in women:a classical twin study

This is the first published report examining the combined effect of diet and genotype on body iron content using a classical twin study design. The aim of this study was to determine the relative contribution of genetic and environmental factors in determining iron status. The population was comprised of 200 BMI- and age-matched pairs of MZ and DZ healthy twins, characterised for habitual diet and 15 iron-related candidate genetic markers. Variance components analysis demonstrated that the heritability of serum ferritin (SF) and soluble transferrin receptor was 44% and 54% respectively. Measured single nucleotide polymorphisms explained 5% and selected dietary factors 6% of the variance in iron status; there was a negative association between calcium intake and body iron (p = 0.02) and SF (p = 0.04)

Relation between dietary cadmium intake and biomarkers of cadmium exposure in premenopausal women accounting for body iron stores

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cadmium is a widespread environmental pollutant with adverse effects on kidneys and bone, but with insufficiently elucidated public health consequences such as risk of end-stage renal diseases, fractures and cancer. Urinary cadmium is considered a valid biomarker of lifetime kidney accumulation from overall cadmium exposure and thus used in the assessment of cadmium-induced health effects. We aimed to assess the relationship between dietary cadmium intake assessed by analyses of duplicate food portions and cadmium concentrations in urine and blood, taking the toxicokinetics of cadmium into consideration.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In a sample of 57 non-smoking Swedish women aged 20-50 years, we assessed Pearson's correlation coefficients between: 1) Dietary intake of cadmium assessed by analyses of cadmium in duplicate food portions collected during four consecutive days and cadmium concentrations in urine, 2) Partial correlations between the duplicate food portions and urinary and blood cadmium concentrations, respectively, and 3) Model-predicted urinary cadmium concentration predicted from the dietary intake using a one-compartment toxicokinetic model (with individual data on age, weight and gastrointestinal cadmium absorption) and urinary cadmium concentration.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean concentration of cadmium in urine was 0.18 (+/- s.d.0.12) μg/g creatinine and the model-predicted urinary cadmium concentration was 0.19 (+/- s.d.0.15) μg/g creatinine. The partial Pearson correlations between analyzed dietary cadmium intake and urinary cadmium or blood concentrations were r = 0.43 and 0.42, respectively. The correlation between diet and urinary cadmium increased to r = 0.54 when using a one-compartment model with individual gastrointestinal cadmium absorption coefficients based on the women's iron status.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results indicate that measured dietary cadmium intake can reasonably well predict biomarkers of both long-term kidney accumulation (urine) and short-term exposure (blood). The predictions are improved when taking data on the iron status into account.</p

Intrauterine or oral administration of levonorgestrel in combination with estradiol to perimenopausal women--effects on lipid metabolism during 12 months of treatment

OBJECTIVE: Limited data concerning serum lipids and lipoproteins are available on the effect of HRT in perimenopausal women, who commonly have marked bleeding disturbances and may have severe climacteric symptoms. Almost all previously published data have utilized a simplified form of lipoprotein analysis, which includes an estimation and not a determination of LDL cholesterol. To delineate the role of locally administered progestogen, perimenopausal women were studied for a year. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 40 perimenopausal women with climacteric complaints. The continuous release of low-dose levonorgestrel from an intrauterine device was used as progestogen co-medication to estradiol in a new type of continuous combined hormone replacement therapy. Women were randomized to either cyclical treatment with 2 mg of oral estradiol valerate in combination with 250 micrograms of levonorgestrel for the last ten days (Cyclo Progynova) or continuously with 2 mg estradiol valerate orally in combination with a 20 micrograms per 24 hour levonorgestrel releasing intrauterine device. RESULTS: Reduced HDL cholesterol was initially recorded in both treatment arms and disappeared after 1 year of treatment. Triglycerides were reduced in the orally treated group, but not in the device group. No changes in LDL cholesterol were noted. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that continuous combined HRT with intrauterine release of 20 micrograms levonorgestrel per 24 hours in perimenopausal women is neutral as far as lipid metabolism is concerned, since no alterations compared with pretreatment values could be noted after 12 months of treatment. Less marked lipid changes were obtained in perimenopausal women as compared with data on postmenopausal women. Differences in methodology may partly account for this