ABSTRACT
Cardiovascular risk factors were assess in 986 women residing in three northern California communities. Women who reported current use of oral contraceptives had higher plasma triglyceride levels and systolic and diastolic blood pressures compared with women not using these agents, after adjusting for age and for the greater relative leannes of oral contraceptive users. Similar increases, albeit of lesser magnitude, were observed in women who used pure estrogens. Mexican-American women appeared to be more susceptible to the effects of estrogens, perhaps as a consequence of their greater degree of obesity.
Subject(s)
Blood Pressure/drug effects , Cholesterol/blood , Contraceptives, Oral/adverse effects , Estrogens/adverse effects , Progesterone Congeners/adverse effects , Triglycerides/blood , Adult , Age Factors , Body Weight/drug effects , California , Contraceptives, Oral/pharmacology , Estrogens/pharmacology , Ethnicity , Female , Humans , Mexico , Middle Aged , Risk , Sex Factors , Stimulation, ChemicalABSTRACT
Records of 407 patients with primary breast cancer treated at the M.D. Anderson Hospital in 1958 and 1959 were reviewed with regard to patient characteristics, treatment, and results. These patients presented with relatively advanced disease (42% were inoperable on initial evaluation). Black and Chicano patients had significantly more advanced disease on admission than did white patients. Approximately 61% of patients received treatment appropriate to their clinical category indicating that multiple factors influence therapy selection. Absolute ten-year survival free of disease was 21%. Black and Chicano patients with early disease (categories 1 and 2) had significantly worse survival than did white patients. Problems with retrospective studies are multiple and limit the validity of conclusions. Randomized controlled studies are essential to answer critical questions.