ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Abdominal adiposity may influence the respiratory function, especially in women. The aim of this prospective study is to evaluate the predictive role of body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) on lung function in healthy women. METHODS AND RESULTS: In 600 women randomly selected from the cohort of the "Progetto ATENA," anthropometric measures such as BMI, WC, and weight gain were recorded at baseline, and the spirometric parameters were measured 10 years later. The percentage values of forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1%) and forced vital capacity (FVC%) and the ratio of FEV1/FVC were compared with the anthropometric measures after adjustment for several variables measured at baseline such as age, height, socioeconomic status, smoking habits, and history of respiratory allergies grouped in a basal model. WC is significantly associated with a decreased FVC (p = 0.008) and an increased ratio of FEV1/FVC (p = 0.031) after adjustment for the covariates of the basal model. The association between BMI and spirometric parameters reaches borderline significance only with the ratio of FEV1/FVC (p = 0.052). CONCLUSIONS: We suggest measuring both BMI and WC to assess the risk of future respiratory impairment.
Subject(s)
Abdominal Fat/physiopathology , Adiposity , Lung Diseases/etiology , Lung/physiopathology , Obesity, Abdominal/complications , Adult , Age Factors , Aged , Body Mass Index , Female , Forced Expiratory Volume , Humans , Italy , Lung Diseases/diagnosis , Lung Diseases/physiopathology , Middle Aged , Obesity, Abdominal/diagnosis , Obesity, Abdominal/physiopathology , Prospective Studies , Risk Assessment , Risk Factors , Sex Factors , Spirometry , Time Factors , Vital Capacity , Waist Circumference , Weight GainABSTRACT
A study was made of the mortality experience of a cohort of railway carriage construction workers with the aim of detecting asbestos-induced disease. The cohort included 1534 men who were active as at 01.01.1970 and/or hired up to 30.06.89. Vital status was ascertained for 97.7% of the cohort. The mortality experience of the cohort was compared with that of the population of the Campania Region. Altogether, 194 deaths were observed (SMR: 0.88). Significant mortality deficits were associated with circulatory causes (SMR: 0.64, 58 observed), non-malignant respiratory causes (SMR: 0.59, 12 observed), and accidents (SMR: 0.39, 5 observed). A significant increase in mortality from all neoplasms was detected (SMR: 1.25, 69 observed), mainly due to an excess of lung cancer (SMR: 1.45, 28 observed), pleural cancer (SMR: 4.72, 3 observed), and peritoneal cancer (SMR: 7.47, 2 observed). The excess of mortality from respiratory neoplasms mainly affected subjects who had started employment more than 20 years previously.
Subject(s)
Asbestosis/mortality , Engineering , Railroads , Asbestos/adverse effects , Asbestos, Serpentine , Cause of Death , Cohort Studies , Engineering/statistics & numerical data , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Italy/epidemiology , Life Tables , Male , Occupational Exposure/adverse effects , Occupational Exposure/statistics & numerical data , Railroads/statistics & numerical dataABSTRACT
The Authors value 407 consecutive outpatients, with rhinitis, conjunctivitis and asthma, coming from Flegrean area. In the patients with prick test positivity for pollen or inhalants the results were compared with clinical symptomatology. The data obtained, confirm the importance of inhalants persistent in asthma, and the rilevance of seasonal pollens in rhinoconjunctivitis and episodic asthma. In this homogeneous population, never the olea positivity was demonstrated as a single, whereas ambrosia (ragweed) was founded.