Digital dermal patterns in large-bowel cancer.

The digital dermal patterns of 149 patients with large-bowel cancer and 298 population-based controls were studied. The patterns were very similar between the 2 groups. Also, no significant differences were found in total ridge counts, which suggests that antenatal factors, related to the formation of digital patterns, are not associated with the risk of large-bowel cancer.

Factors associated with mammographic pattern.

Wolfe's criteria were assigned to mammograms of 202 women without breast cancer. Parity decreased the frequency of P2 patterns but not DY. P1 and N1 patterns apparently increased at the expense of P2 patterns. For every birth, the probability that a P2 pattern changed to P1 or N1 was roughly 7 or 8%. This effect was not limited to the first pregnancy, but also held for additional pregnancies. Low body weight was associated with dysplasia and prominent duct patterns. Reported declines of radiographic density with increasing age and/or menopause were confirmed. Ethnic group was unrelated to parenchymal pattern.

Completeness and accuracy of reporting induced abortions performed in Hawaii's hospitals, 1970--74.

This study examined the completeness and accuracy of reporting induced abortions to the official agency by following up documented cases of abortions performed in hospitals in Hawaii for the years 1970--74. The following two sets of records were initially linked by computer on the basis of first name, maiden name, date of the event, age, and ethnic background: (a) a total of 18,531 induced abortions ascertained in hospitals with complete linking information and (b) official fetal death and live birth records filed at the State health department. Overall, 96.1 percent of the hospital abortions were matched in the official certificates. Of 17,550 abortions classified as elective, 98.7 percent were so recorded in the certificate file, whereas the remainder were reported as mostly either therapeutic or unknown for cause of fetal death. When the probability of matches for those abortions without complete linking information and possible errors in the information were considered, the estimates of underreporting to the health department were a maximum of 3.9 percent and a minimum of 1.2 percent; the mean value was 2.6 percent. The extent of underreporting of induced abortions is becoming serious with the widespread practice of abortion procedures in nonhospital institutions in recent years. The results of the study also demonstrated the utility of the record-linkage process in checking data for completeness and accuracy or studying separate vital events on the same persons.

Dermatoglyphic traits in patients with cardiovascular disorders.

Dermatoglyphic studies were carried out on 800 Japanese subjects. Digital dermal pattern types were classified into true whorls, double loops, ulnar loops, radial loops and arches. Both total and absolute ridge count were recorded. Subjects with hypertension, angina pectoris and myocardial infarction were compared with the remaining group of others who had not yet developed any of these disorders. Individuals with myocardial infarction had a significantly higher frequency of true whorls and a correspondingly lower frequency of ulnar loops than the control group. Total and absolute ridge counts were also significantly higher in myocardial infarction. Individuals with hypertension and angina pectoris were not significantly different in most dermatoglyphic traits from the controls. These observations suggest that antenatal factors may contribute to the etiology of myocardial infarction in man.

Genetic parameters of dermal patterns of ridge counts.

Dermatoglyphic traits including ridge counts and pattern type counts on fingers were studied in 711 families representing six racial groups in Hawaii. Heritability tesimates were derived from regressions of offspring on father, mother and mid-parent values as well as from full-sib correlations. These estimates varied from 0.23 for radial loops to 0.80 for total ridge count. The heritability estimates were lower for ridge counts of single hands or single digits.

Genetics of asymmetry in dermatologlyphic traits.

Differences between the right and left hand in ridge counts and pattern type counts were analyzed using data obtained from 711 families consisting of all parents and 2,466 children. Heritability estimates for each trait were derived from regressions of offspring on either parent or average value of the two parents, and from full-sib correlations. These estimates varied from 0.09 for bimanual difference in the number of arches to 0.24 in the number of ulnar triradii. The low expected value of heritability for bimanual difference in dermatoglyphic traits was demonstrated.

Digital dermal patterns in breast cancer.

Fingerprints of 570 breast cancer cases and the same number of matched controls were obtained from the population-based finger print file in Hawaii for studying the association between breast cancer and digital dermal patterns and ridge counts. The results showed that breast cancer patients had a significant excess of radial loops on the left hand. It was also found that the frequency of ulnar loops on the left hand was significantly elevated for premenopausal women with breast cancer, whereas an excess of radial loops on the left hand was observed for the postmenopausal women with breast cancer. No significant difference for the total and absolute ridge counts was found between breast cancer patients and controls.

Early-age body size, adult weight gain and endometrial cancer risk.

To further characterize the association of obesity and endometrial cancer, in particular with regard to the role of early-age obesity and adult weight gain, the authors assembled by computer linkage a population-based historical cohort of 30,266 women born between 1913 and 1932, for whom weight and height had been recorded in 1942-43 and 1972. Linkage of this cohort to the Hawaii Tumor Registry resulted in the identification of 214 (mainly post-menopausal) incident cases of endometrial cancer for 1972-1986. An average of 37 cancer-free controls were matched to each case on month and year of birth and ethnicity. A case-control analysis, conducted in each 5-year birth cohort, revealed no clear association of endometrial cancer with weight, height or body mass at ages 10 to 29 years. However, positive associations with adult body weight and gain in body mass since 1942 were observed for women diagnosed at age 60 or older. This association with obesity was strongest in women whose body mass was below the median in 1942 and equal to or above the median in 1972. No association with body size was detected in women diagnosed before age 60. Parity, age at first birth and socioeconomic indicators for 1942 and 1972 did not confound the analysis. These findings suggest that obesity affects the late stages of endometrial carcinogenesis, and the possibility that one or more determinants of weight gain may be independently associated with endometrial cancer risk.

Phenotypic resemblance in birth weight between first cousins.

Birth weight data on 72,078 liveborn singletons representing 5981 paternal and 7036 maternal single first cousin kinships were assembled by computerized record linkage from all marriages and livebirths registered in Hawaii during a 38-year period from 1942 to 1979. These kinships represented incrosses of five selected racial groups. An additional 15,536 livebirths from 1134 paternal and 1679 maternal cousin kinships provided data on outcrossing between racial groups, and 28,952 livebirths from 2379 paternal and 3538 maternal cousin kinships provided data on both incrossing and outcrossing within kinships. Phenotypic resemblance in birth weight between single first cousins was estimated by the covariance and intraclass correlation. The covariances between maternal cousins were generally much higher than those between paternal cousins. Neither heterogeneity in maternal genotypes nor heterogeneity in newborn genotypes had any significant effect on the resemblance between first cousins. These observations have led to the conclusion that maternal influences of non-hereditary origin are of primary importance in determining birth weight in man. The observed non-zero correlation in several groups of paternal cousins was explained in part by the process of preferential selection of mates within and among racial groups by brothers, and probably by the similarity in some maternal characteristics associated with age at childbearing among their wives.

Dermatoglyphic studies of myocardial infarction patients.

Dermatoglyphic traits were studied in a sample of 834 subjects selected from a cohort of some 8,000 living Japanese men, under a long-term study of heart disease in Hawaii. All of them were born between 1900 and 1919. Among them, 100 subjects had had positive diagnosis of myocardial infarction (MI). The present study included comparisons between the MI patients and the remaining group of all digital dermal pattern types and ridge counts by digit, by hand, and by individual. The MI patients had significantly higher frequency of true whorls, double loops and less ulnar loops and tented arches. Total and absolute ridge counts were significantly higher (less than 0.05) in all digits in favor of the MI patients. Similar trends were observed in analyses by digit and by hand. These observations suggest an antenatal origin of certain types of coronary disease.

Genetic epidemiology of cleft lip with or without cleft palate in the population of Hawaii.

Orientals consisting of Japanese, Chinese, Koreans, and Filipinos are clearly at higher risk for cleft lip with or without cleft palate [CL(P)] than whites, Puerto Ricans, and Hawaiians/part-Hawaiians in Hawaii. Using the model of diallele cross, CL(P) incidences in incrosses and outcrosses involving 564,002 live births distributed among 669 mating types were analyzed to study the extent of major gene involvement in the difference in the two groups and to investigate maternal effect in the etiology of CL(P). CL(P) cases excluding syndrome cases were classified into two types: all CL(P) cases and CL(P) cases without additional malformations. For either type there was no evidence to suggest that simple major gene plays a dominant role in accounting for racial differences as measured by deviations from additivity in the hybrids. For CL(P) cases without additional defects, a negative "maternal effect" was detected in Filipinos such that higher risk for this racial group depends on when the father is Filipino. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Obesity in youth and middle age and risk of colorectal cancer in men.

To investigate an association between colon cancer and obesity during early adulthood--a potentially important period in the etiology of this disease--the authors assembled, by computer linkage, a population-based historical cohort of 52,539 men born between 1913 and 1927 residing in Hawaii (USA), for whom weight and height had been recorded in 1942-43 and 1972. Linkage of this cohort to the Hawaii Tumor Registry resulted in the identification of 737 incident cases of colorectal cancer for 1972-86. An average of 3.8 cancer-free controls were matched to each case on month and year of birth and ethnicity of the parents. A case-control analysis in each anatomic subsite of the large bowel revealed that both early and middle-age body mass increased the risk of sigmoid cancer in men in a dose-dependent fashion. The odds ratios (OR) for sigmoid cancer for the highest compared with the lowest tertiles of Quetelet index were: 2.1 (95 percent confidence interval [CI] = 1.4-3.2) and 1.7 (CI = 1.1-2.5), at ages 15-29 and in prediagnostic years, respectively. These associations were additive and independent of socioeconomic status. Men who were above the median Quetelet index in 1942 and 1972 had an OR of 2.7 (CI = 1.8-4.0), compared with those who were below the median in both periods. This study provides further evidence for an association of obesity with colon cancer in men and suggests that this association is limited to the sigmoid colon and may be related to both early and late events of colon carcinogenesis.

Birth weight, placental weight and gestation time in relation to natural selection in Thailand.

Birth weight, placental weight and gestation time of 26258 single births at Ramathibodi Hospital during 1973-7 were studied in relation to natural selection by fitting quadratic function to natural log of survivors-to-nonsurvivors ratios. The survival criterion was 7 days after delivery. The estimated optimal values of birth weight and placental weight were 0.62 and 0.90 standard deviations, respectively, above the corresponding arithmetic means. Selection on birth weight and placental weight was asymmetrical about the optima, being more intense among the lower than the higher values. On the other hand, selection on gestation time seemed most stabilized with the optimum almost coinciding with the mean.

PIP: The relations of birth weight, placental weight, and gestation time to neonatal death were analyzed for 26,258 single births during 1973-77 at Ramathibodi Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. The survival criterion was surviving beyond the 7th day after delivery. The dead included deaths in utero and sillbirths. The death rate was 9.25/1000. Sex specific rates were 9.96 for males and 8.08 for females. All mothers delivering at the hospital received prenatal care and most or all belonged to upper socioeconomic groups. Gestation time was calculated form expected date of confinement and birth date, but only 19,647 cases reported complete expected dates. The estimations of the optimal values of birth weight, placental weight and gestation time were done by fitting quadratic functions to a natural log of survivors-to-nonsurvivors ratios using the model of Karn and Penrose. The male and female optimal birth weight values were 3389.19 and 3332.02 gm respectively, .58 and .67 standard deviations above the corresponding means. From extrapolation, the curve below 2000 gm approached zero more rapidly than that beyond 4200 gm. The relative fitness curve for placental weight followed virtually the same pattern as that for birth weight. Optimal values in males and females were 722.00 and 710.52 gm, or .91 and .89 standard deviations above the respective means. 5 cases whose placentae weighed more than 1300 gm were essentially a separate category in which the chance of survival was zero. The optimal gestation values were 277.43 days for males and 281.15 for females, almost coinciding with the mean values. Females had higher fitness than males at all values, and the gap between the 2 curves widened at the 2 ends. Selection on birth weight and placental weight was asymmetrical about the optima, being more intense among the lower values. Selection on gestation time was symmetrical about the mean, with the optima almost coinciding with the mean.

Induced abortion and spontaneous fetal loss in subsequent pregnancies.

The effect of induced abortion on spontaneous pregnancy loss in subsequent pregnancies was studied based on 3,416 pairs of matched data in a follow-up investigation. Pregnancy outcome was examined also in relation to abortion procedure, gestation length at time of abortion, and number of previous abortions. In general there was no significant association between prior induced abortion and risks of pregnancy loss with the relative risks of 1.10, 0.88, and 0.81 for the first to third trimester respectively. A slight increase of first-trimester spontaneous loss was noted with the D&C/Suction procedure and early induced abortion (less than 9 weeks). The D&C procedure was associated with non-significant increase of second-trimester loss with the relative risk of 1.59.

Induced abortion and ectopic pregnancy in subsequent pregnancies.

In a prospective study the rate of ectopic pregnancies of women with prior induced abortion was contrasted to two sets of comparison groups: a large set of unmatched observations and a smaller subset of matched and refined data. The crude rates of ectopic pregnancy among 4004 abortion and 98,316 control pregnancies, excluding repeat pregnancies of the same women, were 0.57% and 0.49%, respectively. No significant association was detected between history of induced abortion and ectopic pregnancy based on the chi 2 analysis on unmatched data stratified by maternal age and marital status (relative risk = 1.18, 95% confidence limits (CL) 0.57-1.79) or the multivariate logistic regression analysis on the smaller set of data (relative risk = 1.34, 95% CL 0.66-2.72). Within pregnancies of the induced abortion group the risk of ectopic pregnancy was not related to abortion procedure, use of laminaria, number of prior induced abortions, or length of gestation at time of abortion. However, there was a clear association between the presence of post-abortion infection or retained secundines and ectopic pregnancy with a fivefold increase for those pregnancies of women with a history of these complications over those without these complications within the induced abortion cohort.

Body size at different periods of life and breast cancer risk.

The inconclusive findings of past analytic epidemiologic studies on diet and breast cancer may have resulted from the inability of these studies to assess early dietary exposures. The role of macronutrient intake during early life can be indirectly studied, however, by examining past and present body size. The authors identified by computer linkage a population-based historical cohort of 38,084 women born between 1918 and 1943, on whom information about weight and height had been recorded in Hawaii in both 1942-1943 and 1972. Linkage of this cohort to the Hawaii Tumor Registry resulted in the identification of 607 incident cases of breast cancer for 1972-1983. An average of 4.4 cancer-free controls were matched to each case on year and month of birth and race of the parents. A matched case-control analysis, conducted in each five-year birth cohort, revealed a negative association of adolescent body mass to premenopausal breast cancer. This negative association was statistically significant in girls aged 10-14 years in 1942 (p for trend, 0.004), was present in all ethnic groups, and was strongest among overweight young women who remained overweight in adulthood. Early-age weight, height, and body surface area were not associated with either pre- or postmenopausal breast cancer. Adult weight and gain in body mass since 1942 were positively associated with postmenopausal breast cancer risk. Adjustment for age at first birth, parity and socioeconomic indicators for 1942 and 1972 did not modify the results. This study provides evidence for a protective role of adolescent obesity against premenopausal breast cancer, and for an enhancing role of a positive energy balance during adult life on postmenopausal breast cancer.

Parent-offspring resemblance for specific cognitive abilities in Korea.

Regressions of offspring on midparent value for tests of specific cognitive abilities in Korea were considerably higher than those for Americans of Japanese ancestry or Americans of European ancestry tested in Hawaii. This greater parent-offspring resemblance in Korea may be due to the particular method of test administration or to an increased genetic variance resulting from assortative mating. The pattern of parent-child correlations for three relatively pure tests of spatial ability and for the spatial factor did not conform to that of a sex-linked recessive character.