Behavioral mediators of treatment effects in the weight loss maintenance trial.

BACKGROUND: The Weight Loss Maintenance Trial tested strategies for maintenance of weight loss. Personal contact was superior to interactive technology and self-directed conditions. PURPOSE: We aimed to identify behavioral mediators of the superior effect of personal contact vs. interactive technology and of personal contact vs. self-directed arms. METHODS: Overweight/obese adults at risk for cardiovascular disease (n = 1,032) who lost at least 4 kg were randomized to personal contact, interactive technology, or self-directed. After 30 months, 880 participants had data on weight and behavioral strategies. RESULTS: Reported increase of intake of fruits and vegetables and physical activity and more frequent self-weighing met criteria as mediators of the better outcome of personal contact vs. interactive technology. Increased intake of fruits and vegetables, more frequent self-weighing, and decreased dessert consumption were mediators of the difference between personal contact vs. self-directed. CONCLUSION: Inducing changes in the identified behaviors might yield better outcomes in future weight loss maintenance trials.

Dietary patterns and their association with cardiovascular risk factors in a population undergoing lifestyle changes: The Strong Heart Study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) are disproportionately high in American Indians (AI), and changes in lifestyle may be responsible. It is not known whether diverse dietary patterns exist in this population and whether the patterns are associated with CVD risk factors. This article describes the relationships between dietary patterns and CVD risk factors in this high-risk population. METHODS AND RESULTS: Nutrition data were collected via food frequency questionnaire from 3438 Strong Heart Study (SHS) participants, ≥ age 15 y. All participants were members of 94 extended families. The final sample consisted of 3172 men and women. Diet patterns were ascertained using factor analysis with the principal component factoring method. We derived four predominant dietary patterns: Western, traditional AI/Mexican, healthy, and unhealthy. Participants following the Western pattern had higher LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) (p < 0.001), slightly higher systolic blood pressure (BP) (p < 0.001), lower HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) (p < 0.001), and slightly lower homeostasis model assessment estimates of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in the lowest vs. highest deciles of adherence to this pattern (p < 0.001). The traditional diet was associated with higher HDL-C (p < 0.001), but higher body mass index (BMI) (p < 0.001) and HOMA-IR (p < 0.001). Followers of the healthy pattern had lower systolic BP, LDL-C, BMI, and HOMA-IR in increasing deciles (p < 0.001). The unhealthy pattern was associated with higher LDL-C. CONCLUSIONS: Dietary patterns reflect the changing lifestyle of AI and several of the patterns are associated with CVD risk factors. Evolving methods of food preparation have made the traditional pattern less healthy.

Effect of diet composition on energy expenditure during weight loss: the POUNDS LOST Study.

BACKGROUND: Weight loss reduces energy expenditure, but the contribution of different macronutrients to this change is unclear. HYPOTHESIS: We tested the hypothesis that macronutrient composition of the diet might affect the partitioning of energy expenditure during weight loss. DESIGN: A substudy of 99 participants from the Preventing Overweight Using Novel Dietary Strategies (POUNDS LOST) trial had total energy expenditure (TEE) measured by doubly labeled water, and resting energy expenditure (REE) measured by indirect calorimetry at baseline and repeated at 6 months in 89 participants. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four diets with either 15 or 25% protein and 20 or 40% fat. RESULTS: TEE and REE were positively correlated with each other and with fat-free mass and body fat, at baseline and 6 months. The average weight loss of 8.1 ± 0.65 kg (least-square mean ± s.e.) reduced TEE by 120 ± 56 kcal per day and REE by 136 ± 18 kcal per day. A greater weight loss at 6 months was associated with a greater decrease in TEE and REE. Participants eating the high-fat diet (HF) lost significantly more fat-free mass (1.52 ± 0.55 kg) than the low-fat (LF) diet group (P<0.05). Participants eating the LF diet had significantly higher measures of physical activity than the HF group. CONCLUSION: A greater weight loss was associated with a larger decrease in both TEE and REE. The LF diet was associated with significant changes in fat-free body mass and energy expenditure from physical activity compared with the HF diet.

Diet type and changes in food cravings following weight loss: findings from the POUNDS LOST Trial.

Few well-controlled trials have evaluated the effects that macronutrient composition has on changes in food cravings during weight loss treatment. The present study, which was part of the Preventing Overweight Using Novel Dietary Strategies (POUNDS LOST) trial, investigated whether the fat and protein content of four different diets affected changes in specific food cravings in overweight and obese adults. A sample of 811 adults were recruited across two clinical sites, and each participant was randomly assigned to one of four macronutrient prescriptions: 1) low fat (20% of energy), average protein (15% of energy); 2) moderate fat (40%), average protein (15%); 3) low fat (20%), high protein (25%); 4) moderate fat (40%), high protein (25%). With few exceptions, the type of diet that participants were assigned did not differentially affect changes in specific food cravings. Participants assigned to the high-fat diets, however, had reduced cravings for carbohydrates at month 12 (p<0.05) and fruits and vegetables at month 24. Also, participants assigned to high-protein diets had increased cravings for sweets at month 6 and month 12 (ps<0.05). Participants in all four dietary conditions reported significant reductions in food cravings for specific types of foods (i.e., high fat foods, fast food fats, sweets, and carbohydrates/starches; all ps<0.05). Cravings for fruits and vegetables, however, were increased at month 24 (p<0.05). Calorically restricted diets (regardless of their macronutrient composition) yielded significant reductions in cravings for fats, sweets, and starches whereas cravings for fruits and vegetables were increased.

Objectives of community policies and programs associated with more healthful dietary intakes among children: findings from the Healthy Communities Study.

BACKGROUND: Rational planning of community policies and programs (CPPs) to prevent obesity requires an understanding of CPP objectives associated with dietary behaviours. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study is to identify objectives of CPPs associated with healthful dietary behaviours. METHODS: An observational study identified 4026 nutrition CPPs occurring in 130 communities in the prior 6 years. Dietary intakes of fruits and vegetables, added sugar and sugar-sweetened beverages, among others, were reported among 5138 children 4-15 years of age from the communities, using a Dietary Screener Questionnaire with children age 9 years and older (parent assisted) or parent proxies for younger children. CPPs were documented through key informant interviews and characterized by their intensity, count, and objectives including target dietary behaviour and food environment change strategy. Associations between dietary intakes and CPP objectives were assessed using hierarchical statistical models. RESULTS: CPPs with the highest intensity scores that targeted fast food or fat intake or provided smaller portions were associated with greater fruit and vegetable intake (0.21, 0.19, 0.23 cup equivalents/day respectively with p values <0.01, 0.04, 0.03). CPPs with the highest intensity scores that restricted the availability of less healthful foods were associated with lower child intakes of total added sugar (-1.08 tsp/day, p < 0.01) and sugar from sugar-sweetened beverages (-1.63 tsp/day, p = 0.04). Similar associations were observed between CPP count and dietary outcomes. No other significant associations were found between CPP target behaviours or environmental strategies and dietary intakes/behaviours. CONCLUSION: CPPs that targeted decreases in intakes of less healthful foods and/or aimed to modify the availability of less healthful foods and portions were associated with healthier child dietary behaviours.

The prevalence of community programmes and policies to prevent childhood obesity in a diverse sample of US communities: the Healthy Communities Study.

INTRODUCTION: This manuscript describes the prevalence and attributes of community programmes and policies (CPPs) to address childhood obesity documented as occurring in 130 diverse US communities. METHODS: Key informant interviews (N = 1420) and document abstraction were used to identify and characterize CPPs to promote physical activity and healthy nutrition occurring during a 10-year retrospective study period. Data were collected in 2013-2015 and analysed in 2016. RESULTS: Across all 130 communities, 9681 distinct CPPs were reported as occurring by key informants. Of these, 5574 (58%) focused on increasing physical activity, 2596 (27%) on improving nutrition and 1511 (16%) on both behaviours. The mean number of CPPs per community was 74.0, with a range of 25 to 295 across all communities. Most CPPs occurred more than once (63%) and on average lasted 6.1 years. The greatest number of reported CPPs occurred in school settings (44%). CONCLUSIONS: Communities showed a wide range of investment in the amount of CPPs occurring in settings that affect opportunities for children to engage in physical activity and healthy nutrition. The pattern of implementation of CPPs showed variation over time, with an increase in more recent years. This observational study provides new and valuable information about what US communities are doing to prevent childhood obesity.

Associations of community programs and policies with children's dietary intakes: the Healthy Communities Study.

BACKGROUND: The impact of community-based obesity prevention efforts on child nutrition has not been adequately studied. OBJECTIVE: Examine relationships between number, type and intensity of community programs and policies (CPPs) and child nutrition. METHODS: An observational study of 5138 children (grades K-8) in 130 U.S. communities was conducted in 2013-2015. CPPs were identified by 10-14 key informant interviews per community. CPPs were characterized based on: count, intensity, number of different strategies used and number of different behaviours targeted. Scores for the prior 6 years were calculated separately for CPPs that addressed primarily nutrition, primarily physical activity (PA) or total combined. Child intakes were calculated from a dietary screener and dietary behaviours were based on survey responses. Multi-level statistical models assessed associations between CPP indices and nutrition measures, adjusting for child and community-level covariates. RESULTS: Implementing more types of strategies across all CPPs was related to lower intakes of total added sugar (when CPPs addressed primarily PA), sugar-sweetened beverages (for nutrition and PA CPPs) and energy-dense foods of minimal nutritional value (for total CPPs). Addressing more behaviours was related to higher intakes of fruit and vegetables (for nutrition and total CPPs) and fibre (total CPPs). Higher count and intensity (PA and total CPPs) were related to more consumption of lower fat compared with higher fat milk. A higher count (PA CPPs) was related to fewer energy-dense foods and whole grains. No other relationships were significant at P < 0.05. CONCLUSION: Multiple characteristics of CPPs to prevent obesity appear important to improve children's diets.

The longitudinal relationship between community programmes and policies to prevent childhood obesity and BMI in children: the Healthy Communities Study.

BACKGROUND: Although a national epidemic of childhood obesity is apparent, how community-based programmes and policies (CPPs) affect this outcome is not well understood. OBJECTIVES: This study examined the longitudinal relationship between the intensity of CPPs in 130 communities over 10 years and body mass index (BMI) of resident children. We also examined whether these relationships differ by key family or community characteristics. METHODS: Five thousand one hundred thirty-eight children in grades K-8 were recruited through 436 schools located within 130 diverse US communities. Measures of height, weight, nutrition, physical activity and behavioural and demographic family characteristics were obtained during in-home visits. A subsample of families consented to medical record review; these weight and height measures were used to calculate BMI over time for 3227 children. A total of 9681 CPPs were reported during structured interviews of 1421 community key informants, and used to calculate a time series of CPP intensity scores within each community over the previous decade. Linear mixed effect models were used to assess longitudinal relationships between childhood BMI and CPP intensity. RESULTS: An average BMI difference of 1.4 kg/m2 (p-value < 0.01) was observed between communities with the highest and lowest observed CPP intensity scores, after adjusting for community and child level covariates. BMI/CPP relationships differed significantly by child grade, race/ethnicity, family income and parental education; as well as community-level race/ethnicity. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that, over time, more intense CPP interventions are related to lower childhood BMI, and that there are disparities in this association by sociodemographic characteristics of families and communities.

Applying recovery biomarkers to calibrate self-report measures of sodium and potassium in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos.

Measurement error in assessment of sodium and potassium intake obscures associations with health outcomes. The level of this error in a diverse US Hispanic/Latino population is unknown. We investigated the measurement error in self-reported dietary intake of sodium and potassium and examined differences by background (Central American, Cuban, Dominican, Mexican, Puerto Rican and South American). In 2010-2012, we studied 447 participants aged 18-74 years from four communities (Miami, Bronx, Chicago and San Diego), obtaining objective 24-h urinary sodium and potassium excretion measures. Self-report was captured from two interviewer-administered 24-h dietary recalls. Twenty percent of the sample repeated the study. We examined bias in self-reported sodium and potassium from diet and the association of mismeasurement with participant characteristics. Linear regression relating self-report with objective measures was used to develop calibration equations. Self-report underestimated sodium intake by 19.8% and 20.8% and potassium intake by 1.3% and 4.6% in men and women, respectively. Sodium intake underestimation varied by Hispanic/Latino background (P<0.05) and was associated with higher body mass index (BMI). Potassium intake underestimation was associated with higher BMI, lower restaurant score (indicating lower consumption of foods prepared away from home and/or eaten outside the home) and supplement use. The R2 was 19.7% and 25.0% for the sodium and potassium calibration models, respectively, increasing to 59.5 and 61.7% after adjusting for within-person variability in each biomarker. These calibration equations, corrected for subject-specific reporting error, have the potential to reduce bias in diet-disease associations within this largest cohort of Hispanics in the United States.

Applying recovery biomarkers to calibrate self-report measures of sodium and potassium in the hispanic community health study/study of latinos.

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/jhh.2016.98.

Risk factors for congestive heart failure in US men and women: NHANES I epidemiologic follow-up study.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of congestive heart failure (CHF) has been increasing steadily in the United States during the past 2 decades. We studied risk factors for CHF and their corresponding attributable risk in the First National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Epidemiologic Follow-up Study. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: A total of 13 643 men and women without a history of CHF at baseline examination were included in this prospective cohort study. Risk factors were measured using standard methods between 1971 and 1975. Incidence of CHF was assessed using medical records and death certificates obtained between 1982 and 1984 and in 1986, 1987, and 1992. RESULTS: During average follow-up of 19 years, 1382 CHF cases were documented. Incidence of CHF was positively and significantly associated with male sex (relative risk [RR], 1.24; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.10-1.39; P<.001; population attributable risk [PAR], 8.9%), less than a high school education (RR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.04-1.42; P =.01; PAR, 8.9%), low physical activity (RR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.09-1.38; P<.001; PAR, 9.2%), cigarette smoking (RR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.39-1.83; P<.001; PAR, 17.1%), overweight (RR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.12-1.52; P =.001; PAR, 8.0%), hypertension (RR, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.24-1.59; P<.001; PAR, 10.1%), diabetes (RR, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.51-2.28; P<.001; PAR, 3.1%), valvular heart disease (RR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.17-1.82; P =.001; PAR, 2.2%), and coronary heart disease (RR, 8.11; 95% CI, 6.95-9.46; P<.001; PAR, 61.6%). CONCLUSIONS: Male sex, less education, physical inactivity, cigarette smoking, overweight, diabetes, hypertension, valvular heart disease, and coronary heart disease are all independent risk factors for CHF. More than 60% of the CHF that occurs in the US general population might be attributable to coronary heart disease.

Serum folate and cardiovascular disease mortality among US men and women.

BACKGROUND: Folate has been linked to cardiovascular disease (CVD) through its role in homocysteine metabolism. OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between serum folate and CVD mortality. DESIGN: In this prospective study, serum folate concentrations were measured on a subset of adults during the Second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1976-1980) and vital status ascertained after 12 to 16 years. SETTING AND PATIENTS: A national probability sample consisting of 689 adults who were 30 to 75 years of age and did not have a history of CVD at baseline. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Vital status was determined by searching national databases that contained information about US decedents. RESULTS: The associations between serum folate and CVD and all-cause mortality differed by diabetes status (P =.04 and P =.03, respectively). Participants without diabetes in the lowest compared with the highest serum folate tertile had more than twice the risk of CVD mortality after adjustment for age and sex (relative risk [RR], 2.64; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.15-6.09). This increased risk for participants in the lowest tertile was attenuated after adjustment for CVD risk factors (RR, 2.28; 95% CI, 0.96-5.40). Serum folate tertiles were not significantly associated with total mortality, although the age- and sex-adjusted risk was increased for participants in the lowest compared with highest tertile (RR, 1.74; 95% CI, 0.96-3.15). Risk estimates for participants with diabetes were unstable because of the small sample size (n = 52). CONCLUSION: These data suggest that low serum folate concentrations are associated with an increased risk of CVD mortality among adults who do not have diabetes. Arch Intern Med. 2000;160:3258-3262.

Legume consumption and risk of coronary heart disease in US men and women: NHANES I Epidemiologic Follow-up Study.

BACKGROUND: Soybean protein and dietary fiber supplementation reduce serum cholesterol in randomized controlled trials. Consumption of legumes, which are high in bean protein and water-soluble fiber, may be associated with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). METHODS: A total of 9632 men and women who participated in the First National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Epidemiologic Follow-up Study (NHEFS) and were free of cardiovascular disease (CVD) at their baseline examination were included in this prospective cohort study. Frequency of legume intake was estimated using a 3-month food frequency questionnaire, and incidence of CHD and CVD was obtained from medical records and death certificates. RESULTS: Over an average of 19 years of follow-up, 1802 incident cases of CHD and 3680 incident cases of CVD were documented. Legume consumption was significantly and inversely associated with risk of CHD (P =.002 for trend) and CVD (P =.02 for trend) after adjustment for established CVD risk factors. Legume consumption 4 times or more per week compared with less than once a week was associated with a 22% lower risk of CHD (relative risk, 0.78; 95% confidence interval, 0.68-0.90) and an 11% lower risk of CVD (relative risk, 0.89; 95% confidence interval, 0.80-0.98). CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicates a significant inverse relationship between legume intake and risk of CHD and suggests that increasing legume intake may be an important part of a dietary approach to the primary prevention of CHD in the general population.

Subclinical states of glucose intolerance and risk of death in the U.S.

OBJECTIVE: Although clinically evident type 2 diabetes is a well-established cause of mortality, less is known about subclinical states of glucose intolerance. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Data from the Second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Mortality Study, a prospective study of adults, were analyzed. This analysis focused on a nationally representative sample of 3,174 adults aged 30-75 years who underwent an oral glucose tolerance test at baseline (1976-1980) and who were followed up for death through 1992. RESULTS: Using 1985 World Health Organization criteria, adults were classified as having previously diagnosed diabetes (n = 248), undiagnosed diabetes (n = 183), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) (n = 480), or normal glucose tolerance (n = 2,263). For these groups, cumulative all-cause mortality through age 70 was 41, 34, 27, and 20%, respectively (P < 0.001). Compared with those with normal glucose tolerance, the multivariate adjusted RR of all-cause mortality was greatest for adults with diagnosed diabetes (RR 2.11, 95% CI 1.56-2.84), followed by those with undiagnosed diabetes (1.77, 1.13-2.75) and those with IGT (1.42, 1.08-1.87; P < 0.001). A similar pattern of risk was observed for cardiovascular disease mortality. CONCLUSIONS: In the U.S., there was a gradient of mortality associated with abnormal glucose tolerance ranging from a 40% greater risk in adults with IGT to a 110% greater risk in adults with clinically evident diabetes. These associations were independent of established cardiovascular disease risk factors.

Dietary intake of vitamins, minerals, and fiber of persons ages 2 months and over in the United States: Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, Phase 1, 1988-91.

Intervention strategies aimed at reducing the prevalence of nutrition-related diseases, including designing nutrition policies and nutrition education and assistance programs, require effective monitoring of what Americans are eating. Nutrient reference data from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey provide essential information to achieve these goals. Mean and median iron intakes were adequate in males of all race-ethnic groups but were generally low in females and young children. Mean and median calcium intakes were also higher in males than in females and were lower than recommendations in adolescents and in women of all ages. Mean sodium intakes for all age, sex, and race-ethnic groups exceeded the minimum requirements of healthy persons and were higher in non-Hispanic black children and adolescents than in non-Hispanic white and Mexican American children and adolescents. Mean fiber intakes also did not meet recommendations in most subgroups and were higher in Mexican American adults followed by non-Hispanic white adults and non-Hispanic black adults. Further research is planned to compare the food sources of energy and nutrients consumed by different population groups in NHANES III to similar results from earlier nation surveys. NHANES III, Phase 2 (1991-94) recalls were collected using the same dietary method as those collected in Phase 1 (1988-91), and other analyses will compare findings from both phases of NHANES III.

Dietary potassium intake and risk of stroke in US men and women: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey I epidemiologic follow-up study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The few prospective studies that have explored the association between dietary intake of potassium and risk of stroke have reported inconsistent findings. This study examines the relationship between dietary potassium intake and the risk of stroke in a representative sample of the US general population. METHODS: Study participants included 9805 US men and women who participated in the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES I) Epidemiologic Follow-Up Study. Dietary potassium and total energy intake were estimated at baseline by using a 24-hour dietary recall. Incidence data for stroke and coronary heart disease were obtained from medical records and death certificates. RESULTS: Over an average of 19 years of follow up, 927 stroke events and 1847 coronary heart disease events were documented. Overall, stroke hazard was significantly different among quartiles of potassium intake (likelihood ratio P=0.03); however, a test of linear trend across quartiles did not reach a customary level of statistical significance (P=0.14). Participants consuming a low potassium diet at baseline (<34.6 mmol potassium per day) experienced a 28% higher hazard of stroke (hazard ratio 1.28, 95% CI 1.11 to 1.47; P<0.001) than other participants, after adjustment for established cardiovascular disease risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that low dietary potassium intake is associated with an increased risk of stroke. However, the possibility that the association is due to residual confounding cannot be entirely ruled out in this observational study.

Vitamin C status and mortality in US adults.

BACKGROUND: Low vitamin C status may increase the risk of mortality from cancer and cardiovascular disease. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to test whether an association existed between serum ascorbate concentrations and mortality and whether the association was modified by cigarette smoking status or sex. DESIGN: Serum ascorbate concentrations were measured in adults as part of the second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1976-1980). Vital status was ascertained 12-16 y later. RESULTS: The relative risk (RR) of death, adjusted for potential confounders, was estimated by using Cox proportional hazards models. Men in the lowest (<28.4 micromol/L) compared with the highest (>/=73.8 micromol/L) serum ascorbate quartile had a 57% higher risk of dying from any cause (RR: 1.57; 95% CI: 1.21, 2.03) and a 62% higher risk of dying from cancer (RR: 1.62; 95% CI: 1.01, 2.59). In contrast, there was no increased risk among men in the middle 2 quartiles for these outcomes and no increased risk of cardiovascular disease mortality in any quartile. There was no association between serum ascorbate quartile and mortality among women. These findings were consistent when analyses were limited to nonsmokers or further to adults who never smoked, suggesting that the observed relations were not due to cigarette smoking. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that men with low serum ascorbate concentrations may have an increased risk of mortality, probably because of an increased risk of dying from cancer. In contrast, serum ascorbate concentrations were not related to mortality among women.

GABAA receptor messenger RNA expression in the deep cerebellar nuclei of Purkinje cell degeneration mutants is maintained following the loss of innervating Purkinje neurons.

Recent studies have suggested that innervation modulates GABAA receptor gene expression in the rodent cerebellum. To examine this question, the expression and levels of GABAA receptor subunit messenger RNAs in the deep cerebellar nuclei of Purkinje cell degeneration mice and littermate controls were examined by quantitative in situ hybridization histochemistry. In the Purkinje cell degeneration mutant, the selective postnatal degeneration of Purkinje neurons disrupts GABAergic input from the cerebellar cortex to the deep nuclei. Despite this loss of Purkinje cells, virtually all large neurons of the deep cerebellar nuclei of Purkinje cell degeneration animals expressed the alpha 1, beta 2, and gamma 2 subunit messenger RNAs. These subunit messenger RNAs were observed at all experimental times from postnatal day 24 to postnatal day 90, a period ranging from the onset of behavioral abnormalities in the mutant to the completion of Purkinje cell loss. At no time were additional beta subunit messenger RNAs, normally absent from the deep cerebellar nuclei in control mice, detected in this region of the mutant. Quantitative analysis of the hybridization signals over individual neurons revealed that Purkinje cell loss differentially affected the expression of GABAA receptor subunit messenger RNAs. While the levels of the beta 2 and gamma 2 subunit messenger RNAs in individual neurons were comparable in mutants and controls at all ages, differences in alpha 1 subunit messenger RNA expression were observed. At postnatal day 24, the level of alpha 1 subunit mRNA in individual neurons of the mutant was only 60% that found in the control.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Calcium intakes of Mexican Americans, Cubans, Puerto Ricans, non-Hispanic whites, and non-Hispanic blacks in the United States.

OBJECTIVE: To compare dietary calcium intakes from food in Mexican Americans, Cubans, Puerto Ricans, non-Hispanic whites, and non-Hispanic blacks aged 11 through 74 years. DESIGN: Population survey data from the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were used to calculate calcium intake from a single 24-hour recall. These data were compared by age and sex between the five population groups. Food sources of calcium in the three Hispanic groups were also examined using 24-hour recall data. SUBJECTS: The sample consisted of 11,773 non-Hispanic whites, 1,728 non-Hispanic blacks, 4,739 Mexican Americans, 1,076 Cubans, and 1,835 Puerto Ricans. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mean calcium intake, percentage intake of Recommended Dietary Allowance, and, for Hispanics, food sources of calcium. STATISTICAL ANALYSES: Means were compared within age and sex groups between the five population groups using a t test. RESULTS: Calcium intakes from food in the three Hispanic groups were similar to intakes of non-Hispanic whites and higher than intakes of non-Hispanic blacks. Although dairy foods were the main sources of calcium for Hispanics, corn tortillas were important calcium sources among Mexican Americans. Women consumed less calcium than the Recommended Dietary Allowance in all age and racial or ethnic groups. APPLICATIONS: When assessing calcium intakes of the three Hispanic groups, ethnic differences in food sources of calcium need to be considered. Efforts to increase calcium intake in Hispanics also need to account for ethnic differences.

Blood pressure among Mexican-American, Cuban-American, and mainland Puerto Rican children.

LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT BLOOD PRESSURE LEVELS and the extent of high blood pressure in Hispanic children and adolescents, especially in groups other than Mexican Americans. The authors of this study investigated the levels of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and the extent of high blood pressure among Mexican-American, Cuban-American, and mainland Puerto Rican children and adolescents who participated in the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HHANES). Very few children and adolescents in these three Hispanic groups had high normal or high blood pressure. Puerto Rican children had significantly lower DBP than Mexican-American (2.4 mmHg) and Cuban-American (1.8 mmHg) children. Their SBP was also lower (1.7 mmHg) than that of Cuban-American children. These findings should be interpreted cautiously, however, since a significant observer effect was also found in this study. Correlates of blood pressure in children in all three Hispanic groups were consistent with those found in studies of other ethnic groups. Age, body mass index, and pulse rate were significant predictors of both SBP and DBP (P less than 0.05). Gender was an important predictor of SBP but not DBP. Socioeconomic and cultural factors were not significant predictors of blood pressure in these Hispanic groups.