Gender differences in binge eating and behavioral correlates among college students.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate gender differences in binge eating and associated behavioral correlates in college students. METHODS: A webbased survey was conducted with 2073 students (mean age 19.8 yr; range 18-23 yr). Multiple logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the factors associated with binge eating. RESULTS: Twenty-nine percent of students reported recent bingeing. Factors associated with binge eating included being female, having a higher body mass index, current tobacco use, and exercising to lose weight. Women were more likely to binge eat (73.8%; χ(2)=32.3; p≤0.001), report loss of control (45%; χ(2)=16.3; p≤0.001), self induced vomiting (20.7%; χ(2)=15.9; p≤0.001), and laxative use (6.7%; χ(2)=8.93; p≤0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Results generated from this study suggest that gender-disparate behaviors are potential targets for future tailored interventions.

BRCA1 mutations and other sequence variants in a population-based sample of Australian women with breast cancer.

The frequency, in women with breast cancer, of mutations and other variants in the susceptibility gene, BRCA1, was investigated using a population-based case-control-family study. Cases were women living in Melbourne or Sydney, Australia, with histologically confirmed, first primary, invasive breast cancer, diagnosed before the age of 40 years, recorded on the state Cancer Registries. Controls were women without breast cancer, frequency-matched for age, randomly selected from electoral rolls. Full manual sequencing of the coding region of BRCA1 was conducted in a randomly stratified sample of 91 cases; 47 with, and 44 without, a family history of breast cancer in a first- or second-degree relative. All detected variants were tested in a random sample of 67 controls. Three cases with a (protein-truncating) mutation were detected. Only one case had a family history; her mother had breast cancer, but did not carry the mutation. The proportion of Australian women with breast cancer before age 40 who carry a germline mutation in BRCA1 was estimated to be 3.8% (95% CI 0.3-12.6%). Seven rare variants were also detected, but for none was there evidence of a strong effect on breast cancer susceptibility. Therefore, on a population basis, rare variants are likely to contribute little to breast cancer incidence.

Molecular advances in understanding social insect population structure.

Social insects present many phenomena seen in all organisms but in more extreme forms and with larger sample sizes than those observable in most natural populations of vertebrates. Microsatellites are proving very much more informative than allozymes for the analysis of population biological problems, and prolifically polymorphic markers are fairly readily developed. In addition, the male-haploid genetic system of many social insects facilitates genetic analysis. The ability to amplify DNA from sperm stored in a female's sperm storage device enables the determination of mating types long after the death of the short-lived males, in addition to information on the degree of mixing of sperm from different males. Mitochondrial (mt) DNA sequences are also proving important, not only in phylogenetic studies but also in molecular population genetics, as a tracer of female movements. Mitochondrial markers have definitively shown the movement of females between colonies, challenging models giving exclusive primacy to kin selection as the explanation for multiqueen colonies, in Australian meat ants, Iridomyrmex purpureus, and the aridzone queenless ant Rhytidoponera sp. 12. Microsatellite and mtDNA variation are being studied in Camponotus consobrinus sugar ants, showing an unexpected diversity of complexity in colony structure, and microsatellites have shown that transfer of ants between nests of the weaver ant Polyrhachis doddi must be slight, despite an apparent lack of hostility.

Getting a Pap smear: focus group responses of African American and Latina women.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To identify barriers and facilitating factors associated with Papanicolaou (Pap) smear use among African American and Latina women. DESIGN: Descriptive, exploratory. SAMPLE AND SETTING: Fifty-two African American and Latina women recruited from health and social service agencies. METHODS: Guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior, focus group interviewing and an open-ended questionnaire were used to identify cancer beliefs and salient behavioral beliefs, referents, and control beliefs about Pap smears. FINDINGS: False-negative results, financial burden, and the role of the physician were the most salient beliefs for African American women. For Latinas, embarrassment, use of a cold or unclean speculum, and discomfort were the most salient beliefs. Salient referents for African American and Latina women were physicians and male partners; access to Pap smear screening and financial assistance were their frequently held control beliefs. Beliefs regarding cancer fatalism were consistent with reports of national samples of African American and Latino adults. CONCLUSIONS: Cancer beliefs among African Americans and Latinas have not changed significantly in the past 10-15 years, despite increased national cancer education and screening advertisements. Moreover, as issues regarding Pap smear use remain the same, new concerns develop. Specifically, beliefs about speculums, perceptions of discomfort, perceptions of disapproval of physicians and male partners, fear as a motivator and inhibitor, and lack of information about cervical cancer and Pap smear screening present new concerns for these women. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: The findings provided data needed to develop a questionnaire that will be used to test Pap smear screening intentions among African American and Latina women.