Metabolic epidemiologic studies

L. Domellof, L. Darby, D. Hanson, L. Mathews, B. Simi and B. S. Reddy, Fecal sterols and bacterial beta-glucuronidase activity a preliminary metabolic epidemiology study of healthy volunteers from Umea, Sweden, and metropolitan New York, Nutr. Cancer, 1982, 4(2), 120. 

Molecular epidemiological studies to assess the risk associated with metabolic polymoiphisms for cancers of head-and-neck and the lung have shown that the overall... 

In the Unites States, the daily intake of 3-carotene is around 2 mg/day Several epidemiological studies have reported that consumption of carotenoid-rich foods is associated with reduced risks of certain chronic diseases such as cancers, cardiovascular disease, and age-related macular degeneration. These preventive effects of carotenoids may be related to their major function as vitamin A precursors and/or their actions as antioxidants, modulators of the immune response, and inducers of gap-junction communications. Not all carotenoids exert similar protective effects against specific diseases. By reason of the potential use of carotenoids as natural food colorants and/or for their health-promoting effects, research has focused on better understanding how they are absorbed by and metabolized in the human body. 

Aflatoxin B, is regarded as hepatocarcinogen and genotoxic (2,9). Exhaustive reviews on toxicity, metabolism, and epidemiological studies are provided by IARC and more recently by several authors (2,4). 

Three epidemiologic studies in developing countries have failed to find definite evidence of impairment among heavy users of cannabis, but field studies may lack sensitivity. Experimental studies in which subjects have smoked heavily for varying periods have shown a lower serum testosterone level in men and airway narrowing. Reports of effects on immune mechanisms, chromosomes, and cell metabolism are often contradictory. Effects on the fetus are still uncertain. 

In summary, the evidence available from epidemiological studies suggests that exposure to high concentrations of CDDs may induce long-term alterations in glucose metabolism and subtle alterations in thyroid function. 

Particular attention is given to the D-Roms test (14), which is very simple and has been used also to evaluate the antioxidant activity of some products in patients and healthy subjects. The test is based on the determination of hydroperoxides that are derivatives of oxidized lipids and consequently indicate the OS at cellular level. The test is used for the epidemiological study on metabolic syndrome, in Italy by the European Society of Biological Nutrition. 

Breast cancer has a multifactorial etiology involving numerous genetic, metabolic, and cultural variables. Table I presents a summary of many epidemiological studies designed to identify risk factors for breast cancer (2-8). 

Ziegler RG, Faupel-Badger JM, Sue L, Fuhrman BJ, Falk RT, Boyd-Morin J, Henderson MK, Hoover RN, Veenstra TD, Keefer LK, Xu X (2010) A new approach to measure estrogen exposure and metabolism in epidemiologic studies. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 121 538-545... 

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