Tooth loss strongly associates with malnutrition in chronic kidney disease.

BACKGROUND: In chronic kidney disease (CKD), inadequate nutritional intake, inflammation, and increased oxidative stress have been the major contributing factors in malnutrition pathogenesis. However, there is still a paucity of evidence assessing the magnitude of the effect of tooth loss on malnutrition in CKD populations. The authors hypothesize that among patients with CKD, tooth loss may affect nutritional status, using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1988 to 1994 (NHANES III). METHODS: Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was estimated based on cystatin C levels using the relevant equation. Urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (albuminuria) was calculated in milligrams per gram with a cutoff point of 30 mg/g. CKD was defined based on estimated GFR <60 mL/minute/1.73m(2) and albuminuria ≥30 mg/g. The cutoff point for serum albumin was set at 3.7 g/dL. Tooth loss categories were based on the number of missing and replaced teeth. RESULTS: A total of 2,749 patients was included and stratified based on their oral health status. There was a statistically significant correlation between tooth loss and the proportion of patients with low protein and caloric intake (P = 0.02 and 0.01, respectively). Serum albumin reached a frequency peak in the fully edentulous group without dentures (group 4, 19.2%). In the same group, individuals had lower protein (30.1%) and caloric intake (30.2%) (P = 0.01 and 0.02, respectively). Furthermore, logistic regression analysis confirmed the significant role of tooth loss on serum albumin and protein and energy intake in this population even after adjusting for confounding variables. CONCLUSION: Tooth loss independently predicts low energy and protein intake, as well as serum albumin levels, biomarkers of malnutrition in CKD.

Periodontitis predicts elevated C-reactive protein levels in chronic kidney disease.

Based on the existing evidence supporting a state of chronic inflammation in chronic kidney disease (CKD), we hypothesized that periodontal infection may affect the systemic inflammatory status of a nationally representative CKD population as measured by serum C-reactive protein (CRP). We examined this hypothesis using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1988-1994 (NHANES III) dataset including 2303 individuals. We followed the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP)/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) case definition for periodontitis. We used a cutoff point of 30% sites with (PD) ≥ 5 mm and (CAL) ≥ 4 mm to define generalized periodontitis cases. We estimated glomerular filtration rate based on cystatin C levels using the relevant equation. Urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio was calculated in milligrams per gram with a cutoff point of 30 mg/g. CKD was defined based on eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria ≥ 30 mg/g. Periodontitis was found in 427 (12.3%) individuals. Of individuals with periodontitis, 41.8% had serum CRP higher than 0.3 mg/dL compared with 27.1% of non-periodontitis and 53.1% of edentulous individuals (p = 0.001 for all comparisons). When the extent of periodontitis was used as one of the independent variables, the parsimonious model showed a strong independent association between extent of periodontitis and serum CRP levels (OR = 2.0, CI95% = 1.2-3.6).

Intrachromosomal genomic instability in human sporadic colorectal cancer measured by genome-wide allelotyping and inter-(simple sequence repeat) PCR.

We have used genome-wide allelotyping with 348 polymorphic autosomal markers spaced, on average, 10 cM apart to quantitate the extent of intrachromosomal instability in 59 human sporadic colorectal carcinomas. We have compared instability measured by this method with that measured by inter-(simple sequence repeat) PCR and microsatellite instability assays. Instability quantitated by fractional allelic loss rates was found to be independent of that detected by microsatellite instability analyses but was weakly associated with that measured by inter-(simple sequence repeat) PCR. A set of seven loci were identified that were most strongly associated with elevated rates of fractional allelic loss and/or inter-(simple sequence repeat) PCR instability; these seven loci were on chromosomes 3, 8, 11, 13, 14, 18, and 20. A lesser association was seen with two loci flanking p53 on chromosome 17. Coordinate loss patterns for these loci suggest that at least two separate sets of cooperating loci exist for intrachromosomal genomic instability in human colorectal cancer.

Regular use of analgesic drugs and ovarian cancer risk.

Analgesics have been shown to reduce risk for colorectal cancer. Results from three recent reports (D. W. Cramer et al., Lancet, 351: 104-107, 1998; C. Rodriguez et. al., Lancet, 352: 1354-1355, 1998; L. Rosenberg et al., Cancer Epidemiol. Biomark. Prev., 9: 933-937, 2000) suggest that these drugs might be associated with decreased risk for ovarian cancer. In this hospital-based case-control study, we compared 547 patients with ovarian cancer to 1094 age-matched patients with nonneoplastic conditions. All of the participants received treatment at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute between 1982 and 1998 and completed a comprehensive epidemiological questionnaire that included information on demographics, life-style factors, and reproductive characteristics as well as frequency and duration of aspirin and acetaminophen use. Women who reported that they had used one or more of these agents at least once a week for at least 6 months were classified as analgesic users. Logistic regression was used to compute crude and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Aspirin users were not at reduced risk of ovarian cancer compared with nonusers (adjusted OR, 1.00; CI, 0.73-1.39). There was also no evidence of a decrease in risk as a function of greater frequency of use or prolonged duration of use. Regular acetaminophen use was associated with a reduced risk (adjusted OR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.34-0.86), and risk reductions were observed for women with the greatest frequency of use (adjusted OR, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.09-1.08) and longest duration of use (adjusted OR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.27-0.97). These data suggest that regular use of acetaminophen, but not aspirin, may be associated with lower risk of ovarian cancer.

Breast cancer risk factors and HER2 over-expression in tumors.

Few epidemiologic studies have investigated the potential role of HER2 in the etiology of breast cancer. We conducted a case-case study of 156 women with incident, invasive ductal carcinoma. Multivariate unconditional logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratios for a HER2 positive tumor in relation to known and putative risk factors of breast cancer. HER2 status was detected by immunohistochemistry on archival tissue. HER2 positive breast cancers tended to be larger and were less likely to express estrogen receptors, and the incidence rate was higher in patients less than 40 years old. We observed an association between a self-reported history of benign breast disease and the occurrence of HER2 positive breast cancer (OR, 2.1;95% CI, 1.1-4.1). We did not detect associations between HER2 over-expression and family history of breast cancer, parity, late age at first birth, ever having breast fed an infant, or oral contraceptive use. Our findings merit consideration in light of recent evidence of HER2 amplification or over-expression in benign breast disease. Should the link to breast cancer be established, HER2 positive benign breast disease could potentially serve as an early marker for preventive intervention.