Birth outcome in relation to licorice consumption during pregnancy.

A role for glucocorticoids is suspected in the etiology of low birth weight. The authors tested whether maternal consumption of glycyrrhizin (an inhibitor of cortisol metabolism) in licorice affects birth weight in humans. A sample of 1,049 Finnish women and their healthy singleton infants was studied in 1998. Glycyrrhizin intake was calculated from detailed questionnaires on licorice consumption. Glycyrrhizin exposure was grouped into three levels: low ( or =500 mg/week; n = 110). Birth weight and gestational age (from ultrasound measurements) were obtained from hospital records. Babies with heavy exposure to glycyrrhizin were not significantly lighter at birth, but they were significantly more likely to be born earlier: The odds ratio for being born before 38 weeks' gestation was 2.5 (95% confidence interval: 1.1, 5.5; p = 0.03). Although the effect of heavy glycyrrhizin intake on mean duration of gestation was small (2.52 days) when expressed as an effect on the mean, this shift to the left of the distribution of duration of gestation was sufficient to double the risk of being born before 38 weeks. The association remained in multivariate analyses. In conclusion, heavy glycyrrhizin exposure during pregnancy did not significantly affect birth weight or maternal blood pressure, but it was significantly associated with lower gestational age

Sleep duration in midlife and old age and risk of mortality over a 48-year follow-up: The Helsinki businessmen study (HBS) cohort

OBJECTIVE: Both short and long sleep duration have been associated with increased mortality, but there are few truly long-term studies. STUDY DESIGN: This is a cohort study of 2504 men born between 1919 and 1934. In 1974–1975 (mean age 48), participants underwent baseline clinical examinations and sleep duration assessments. A follow-up examination took place 35 years later, in 2010 (mean age 82). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: All-cause mortality data from baseline and from old age were collected through to December 31, 2022. RESULTS: At baseline, short sleep duration (≤6 h per night), normal sleep duration (>6 and ≤ 8 h), and long sleep duration (>8 h) was reported by 266, 2019 and 219 men, respectively. Men with short sleep duration had higher levels of smoking, alcohol consumption, body mass index, and poorer self-rated health than those with normal sleep duration. During the 48-year follow-up, 2287 men died. The unadjusted hazard ratio for mortality was 1.20 (95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.05–1.37) for short compared with normal sleep duration, but this association vanished after adjustments (1.01, 95 % CI 0.87–1.17). In old age, the corresponding hazard ratios were 1.41 (1.16–1.72) and 1.19 (0.94–1.51) for short sleep duration and 1.33 (1.09–1.63) and 1.31 (1.02–1.67) for long sleep duration. CONCLUSIONS: In a comprehensive lifespan follow-up, the modestly increased mortality among men with short sleep duration in midlife was attributed to unhealthy lifestyle factors. In old age both long and short sleep duration seemed to be associated with modestly increased mortality

Associations of coffee drinking with physical performance in the oldest-old community-dwelling men The Helsinki Businessmen Study (HBS)

Background: Habitual coffee drinking has been associated with lower risk of various chronic diseases linked to poor physical performance. Objective: We explored cross-sectional associations between coffee consumption and physical performance among oldest-old community-dwelling men in the Helsinki Businessmen Study (HBS). Methods: A random sample of HBS survivors (n = 126, mean age 87 years) attended a clinic visit in 2017/2018, including measurements of body composition, physical performance [Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB)], and cognition. Coffee consumption was retrieved from 3-day food diaries. Results: Coffee consumption was positively associated with higher gait speed (p = 0.003), SPPB score (p = 0.035), and chair rise points (p = 0.043). Association of coffee with gait speed remained after adjustment for age, waist circumference, physical activity, pulse rate, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. Conclusion: Higher coffee consumption was independently associated with better physical performance reflected as faster gait speed in oldest-old men

Cytomegalovirus infection does not impact on survival or time to first treatment in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a widely prevalent herpes virus which establishes a state of chronic infection. The establishment of CMV‐specific immunity controls viral reactivation and leads to the accumulation of very large numbers of virus‐specific T cells which come to dominate the immune repertoire. There is concern that this may reduce the immune response to heterologous infections and HCMV infection has been associated with reduced survival in elderly people. Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B‐CLL) suffer from a state of immune suppression but have a paradoxical increase in the magnitude of the CMV‐specific T cell and humoral immune response. As such, there is now considerable interest in how CMV infection impacts on the clinical outcome of patients with B‐CLL. Utilizing a large prospective cohort of patients with B‐CLL (n = 347) we evaluated the relationship between HCMV seropositivity and patient outcome. HCMV seropositive patients had significantly worse overall survival than HCMV negative patients in univariate analysis (HR = 2.28, 95% CI: 1.34–3.88; P = 0.002). However, CMV seropositive patients were 4 years older than seronegative donors and this survival difference was lost in multivariate modeling adjusted for age and other validated prognostic markers (P = 0.34). No significant difference was found in multivariate modeling between HCMV positive and negative patients in relation to the time to first treatment (HR = 1.12, 95% CI: 0.68–1.84; P = 0.65). These findings in a second independent cohort of 236 B‐CLL patients were validated. In conclusion no evidence that HCMV impacts on the clinical outcome of patients with B‐CLL was found. Am. J. Hematol. 91:776–781, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Cholesterol and the risk of grade-specific prostate cancer incidence: evidence from two large prospective cohort studies with up to 37 years' follow up

<b>Background</b> High cholesterol may be a modifiable risk factor for prostate cancer but results have been inconsistent and subject to potential "reverse causality" where undetected disease modifies cholesterol prior to diagnosis.<p></p> <b>Methods</b> We conducted a prospective cohort study of 12,926 men who were enrolled in the Midspan studies between 1970 and 1976 and followed up to 31st December 2007. We used Cox-Proportional Hazards Models to evaluate the association between baseline plasma cholesterol and Gleason grade-specific prostate cancer incidence. We excluded cancers detected within at least 5 years of cholesterol assay.<p></p> <b>Results</b> 650 men developed prostate cancer in up to 37 years' follow-up. Baseline plasma cholesterol was positively associated with hazard of high grade (Gleason score[greater than or equal to]8) prostate cancer incidence (n=119). The association was greatest among men in the 4th highest quintile for cholesterol, 6.1 to <6.69 mmol/l, Hazard Ratio 2.28, 95% CI 1.27 to 4.10, compared with the baseline of <5.05 mmol/l. This association remained significant after adjustment for body mass index, smoking and socioeconomic status.<p></p> <b>Conclusions</b> Men with higher cholesterol are at greater risk of developing high-grade prostate cancer but not overall risk of prostate cancer. Interventions to minimise metabolic risk factors may have a role in reducing incidence of aggressive prostate cancer

Adiposity has differing associations with incident coronary heart disease and mortality in the Scottish population: cross-sectional surveys with follow-up

Objective: Investigation of the association of excess adiposity with three different outcomes: all-cause mortality, coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality and incident CHD. Design: Cross-sectional surveys linked to hospital admissions and death records. Subjects: 19 329 adults (aged 18–86 years) from a representative sample of the Scottish population. Measurements: Gender-stratified Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) for all-cause mortality, CHD mortality and incident CHD. Separate models incorporating the anthropometric measurements body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) or waist–hip ratio (WHR) were created adjusted for age, year of survey, smoking status and alcohol consumption. Results: For both genders, BMI-defined obesity (greater than or equal to30 kg m−2) was not associated with either an increased risk of all-cause mortality or CHD mortality. However, there was an increased risk of incident CHD among the obese men (hazard ratio (HR)=1.78; 95% confidence interval=1.37–2.31) and obese women (HR=1.93; 95% confidence interval=1.44–2.59). There was a similar pattern for WC with regard to the three outcomes; for incident CHD, the HR=1.70 (1.35–2.14) for men and 1.71 (1.28–2.29) for women in the highest WC category (men greater than or equal to102 cm, women greater than or equal to88 cm), synonymous with abdominal obesity. For men, the highest category of WHR (greater than or equal to1.0) was associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality (1.29; 1.04–1.60) and incident CHD (1.55; 1.19–2.01). Among women with a high WHR (greater than or equal to0.85) there was an increased risk of all outcomes: all-cause mortality (1.56; 1.26–1.94), CHD mortality (2.49; 1.36–4.56) and incident CHD (1.76; 1.31–2.38). Conclusions: In this study excess adiposity was associated with an increased risk of incident CHD but not necessarily death. One possibility is that modern medical intervention has contributed to improved survival of first CHD events. The future health burden of increased obesity levels may manifest as an increase in the prevalence of individuals living with CHD and its consequences