Adult family members and their resemblance of coronary heart disease risk factors: the Cardiovascular Disease Study in Finnmark

Physical Activity, Screen Time, and Dietary Intake in Families: A Cluster-Analysis With Mother-Father-Child Triads

Background: The co-occurrence of multiple health behaviors such as physical activity, diet, and sedentary behavior affects individuals' health. Co-occurence of different health behaviors has been shown in a large number of studies. This study extended this perspective by addressing the co-occurrence of multiple health behaviors in multiple persons. The objective was to examine familial health behavioral patterns by (1) identifying clusters of families with similar behavior patterns and (2) characterizing the clusters by analyzing their correlates.

Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected from 198 families (mother, father, and child). Mothers, fathers, and children completed questionnaires assessing health related behaviors (physical activity, consumption of “healthy” and “unhealthy” foods, and screen time), the perception of Family Health Climate (regarding physical activity and nutrition) and demographics. Twelve variables (four health behaviors of three family members) were included in a cluster analysis conducted with Ward's Method and K-means analysis. Chi-square tests and analyses of variance were performed to characterize the family clusters regarding their demographics and their perception of Family Health Climate.

Results: Three clusters of families with specific behavioral patterns were identified: “healthy behavior families” with levels of physical activity and consumption of healthful foods above average and levels of media use and consumption of sweets below average; “unhealthy behavior families” with low levels of consumption of healthful foods and high levels of screen time; “divergent behavior families” with unhealthier behavioral patterns in parents and healthier screen time and eating behaviors combined with low physical activity levels in children. Family Health Climate differed between family clusters with most positive ratings in “healthy behavior families” and least positive ratings in “unhealthy behavior families.” “Divergent behavior families” rated the nutrition climate nearly as high as “healthy behavior families” while they rated the physical activity climate nearly as low as the “unhealthy behavior families.”

Conclusions: The study shows that co-occurrence of multiple health behaviors occurs on the family level. Therefore, focusing the family as a whole instead of individuals and targeting aspects related to the Family Health Climate in interventions could result in benefits for both children and adults and enhance effectivity of intervention programs.

Family resemblance of bone turnover rate in mothers and daughters--the MODAM study

We studied bone turnover markers (BTM) and bone microarchitecture (using high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT)) in 171 postmenopausal women and their 210 premenopausal daughters. BTM levels correlated positively between mothers and daughters. The mother-daughter pairs with high BTM levels had lower cortical density than those with low BTM levels.

INTRODUCTION

We assessed the correlation of serum bone turnover markers (BTM) between postmenopausal mothers and their premenopausal daughters as well as possible determinants of this association and its impact on resemblance of bone microarchitecture between mothers and their daughters.

METHODS

Cross-sectional analysis was performed in 171 untreated postmenopausal mothers (54 sustained fragility fractures) and their 210 premenopausal daughters. Intact N-terminal propeptide of type I collagen (PINP) and β-isomerized C-terminal crosslinking telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX-I) were measured in the fasting status. Bone microarchitecture was assessed using HR-pQCT.

RESULTS

After adjustment for age, weight, lifestyle factors, hormones, and mother's fracture status, BTM levels correlated positively between mothers and daughters (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient = 0.22-0.27, p <0.005). Average BTM levels were ∼ 0.6 SD higher among daughters of mothers in the highest BTM quartile vs. the ones in the lowest BTM quartile. The variability of BTM levels explained ≤ 10 and ≤ 14% of variability of bone microarchitecture in the daughters and mothers, respectively. Cortical density was lower by 2.3-2.9% (0.6 SD, p <0.05 to <0.005) in the daughters from the mother-daughter pairs with high BTM levels (defined by generation-specific quartiles) than in the daughters from the pairs with low BTM levels. Corresponding differences for the mothers were 4.5-4.8% (0.5 SD, p <0.05 to <0.01).

CONCLUSION

BTM levels correlated between postmenopausal mothers and their premenopausal daughters after adjustment for age, weight, mother's fracture status, lifestyle, and hormonal factors. Family resemblance of BTM levels may contribute to family resemblance of some bone microarchitectural parameters, especially of cortical density.

Cultural variations in attitudes towards family risk of diabetes

AIMS

To examine differences in attitudes and behaviours towards familial risk of type 2 diabetes in populations in Ireland and Bahrain.

METHODS

Cross-sectional ecological study. Questionnaires were developed and administered to patients with diabetes and their first degree relatives in both Bahrain and Ireland. Data was analysed using non-parametric tests of association.

RESULTS

Responses were compared between 297 patients with diabetes from Ireland and 201 from Bahrain and between 364 relatives of patients with diabetes in Ireland and 244 from Bahrain. Relatives in Bahrain had more knowledge of risk factors for diabetes and an increased perception of the seriousness of diabetes but a more external, chance locus of control and perceived more barriers to changing lifestyles than those in Ireland. There was no difference in perception of personal risk of diabetes.

CONCLUSIONS

Knowledge of risk factors and seriousness of diabetes are higher in Bahrain than in Ireland but perception of personal risk of diabetes and intention to adopt risk reducing behaviours are no different. There is a need to develop models of behavioural change that are more relevant to the needs of the Bahraini population in reducing their risk of diabetes.

Reducing health risk in family members of patients with type 2 diabetes: views of first degree relatives

Background

Patients with type 2 diabetes can have an important role in discussing health risk within families. This study aimed to establish the acceptability to first degree relatives towards their relative with type 2 diabetes intervening as health promoters in their own families, using the Health Belief Model as a theoretical framework for evaluation.

Methods

Cross-sectional questionnaire design. Survey questionnaire for first degree relative (sibling or child) mailed to a random sample of patients with type 2 diabetes registered with an urban hospital diabetes clinic (n = 607 eligible patients). Patients were asked to pass on questionnaires to one to two first degree relatives.

Results

Questionnaires were returned from 257 families (42% response rate) with two responses provided by 107 families (a total of 364 questionnaires). The majority (94%) of first degree relatives of patients with type 2 diabetes would like to be informed about reducing their risk. Half (48%) of respondents reported being spoken to by a relative with type 2 diabetes about their risk of diabetes. Those spoken to were more likely to see themselves at risk of diabetes, to worry about developing diabetes and to view diabetes as a serious condition.

Conclusions

A role for patients with type 2 diabetes in discussing health risk in their family appears to be acceptable to many relatives. Discussion of risk and interventions to reduce health risk with their relatives should be encouraged in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Will people with type 2 diabetes speak to family members about health risk?

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to assess the potential for communication of familial risk by patients with type 2 diabetes.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

A questionnaire was completed by a random sample of patients with type 2 diabetes registered with a hospital diabetes clinic.

RESULTS

Two-thirds of patients (65%) had spoken to at least one sibling or child about diabetes risk. They were more likely to believe their family was at risk, to worry about their family developing diabetes, and to be aware of the seriousness of diabetes. The results revealed greater awareness of family risk of type 2 diabetes compared with those from previous studies.

CONCLUSIONS

Many patients with type 2 diabetes had already taken the initiative, without formal prompting, to talk to family members about their risk of diabetes. Discussion of risk and interventions to reduce risk should be encouraged within families.

Spousal concordance for major coronary risk factors: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Spousal pairs permit assessment of determinants of diseases related to environment, because they share the same lifestyle and environment. The authors reviewed spouses' concordance for the major coronary risk factors. A search of the MEDLINE, PubMed, and EMBASE databases was performed. Seventy-one papers were selected for a total of 207 cohorts of pairs and 424,613 correlations in more than 100,000 couples. The most strongly correlated within-pairs factors were smoking and body mass index, with overall correlations of 0.23 (95% confidence interval: 0.12, 0.36) and 0.15 (95% confidence interval: 0.05, 0.25), respectively. Statistically significant positive correlations were also found for diastolic blood pressure, triglycerides, total and low density lipoprotein cholesterol, weight, and the waist/hip ratio. The overall odds ratios for concordance in hypertension, smoking, diabetes, and obesity were all statistically significant, ranging from 1.16 to 3.25. Assortative mating influenced concordance for blood pressure, smoking, glucose, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, weight, body mass index, and waist circumference. This systematic review shows a statistically significant positive spousal concordance for the majority of main coronary risk factors. However, the strength of the concordance was markedly different among factors and appeared to be quite modest for all of them. Interventions to reduce cardiovascular risk factors should be addressed jointly to both members of a marital couple.

Familial (shared environmental and genetic) factors and the foetal origins of cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes: a review of the literature

Several researchers have argued that observed associations between birth weight and cardiovascular diseases, and type 2 diabetes, may be confounded by familial (shared environmental and genetic) factors. However, most studies have found that shared environmental factors, including socio-economic factors, do not influence the foetal origins of adult diseases. Results from two twin studies suggest that genetic factors may be of importance for the association between birth weight and risks of coronary heart disease, but findings from intergenerational studies are not consistent with genetic confounding. More studies have assessed the importance of genetic factors with respect to risk factors of coronary heart, including raised blood pressure and lipid levels. Recent findings suggest that the association between birth weight and hypertension is independent of genetic factors. In contrast, recent twin and intergenerational studies favour the hypothesis that the association between birth weight and risk of type 2 diabetes is confounded by genetic factors.

Risk factors of multiple system atrophy: a case-control study in French patients

Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a rare sporadic progressive neurodegenerative disorder. MSA risk factors are poorly known. The objectives of this case-control study were to study environmental risk factors associated with MSA. Cases were recruited through five French referral centers. Controls matched for age, gender, and living area were recruited from healthy relatives of inpatients free of any parkinsonian syndrome of the same centers. Subjects were interviewed about exposure to environmental factors (pesticides, solvents, etc.), occupation and food habits, and use of anti-inflammatory drugs. Odds ratios and 95% confident intervals (OR [95% CI]) were computed using conditional logistic regression. Seventy-one cases and 71 matched controls were included. Low education level was more frequent in cases than in controls. Controls drank more alcohol than did cases (OR = 0.5 [0.2-1.1]) and the risk of MSA decreased with increasing alcohol consumption (P = 0.04). Controls ate fish and sea food more often and drank more tea than cases. Aspirin intake was more frequent among controls than did cases (OR = 0.5 [0.2-1.0]) and the risk of MSA decreased with the frequency of intake (P = 0.0002). MSA was not associated to exposure to pesticides, solvents, and other toxics neither to occupations, except plant and machine operators and assemblers (OR = 10.0 [2.1-47.5]) where the risk of MSA increased with number of years in this occupation (P = 0.004). This case-control study provided new findings about risk factors of MSA. On another hand, it did not confirm the previously reported association between MSA and exposure to pesticides.

Serum lipids in fathers and sons at middle age: the study of sons to men born in 1913

OBJECTIVE

To relate lipid levels in middle-aged men to that of their fathers at 50 years of age measured 30 years earlier.

DESIGN AND SUBJECTS

In 1963, 855 men born in 1913 took part in a cardiovascular risk factor survey when they were at 50 years of age. In 1993, 475 sons to these men, aged 44-56, were invited to another examination; 263 of these men were examined (response rate: 56%) and compared with their 217 fathers when they were examined at 50 years of age in 1963. In the 1993 survey, 798 men aged 50, were also examined, from a general population sample of men born in 1943 (response rate: 55%).

SETTING

City of Göteborg, Sweden.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Serum lipids in sons as a function of lipids in their fathers.

RESULTS

Compared with the men born in 1913, both sons and men born in 1943 had lower mean serum cholesterol, but higher body mass index (BMI) and serum triglycerides. There was a significant relation between serum cholesterol in sons and their fathers (r = 0.25; P < 0.0001). Amongst sons to fathers in the highest cholesterol quartile (>6.9 mmol x L(-1)), 37% had serum cholesterol above 6.5 mmol x L(-1), compared with 16% amongst sons to fathers in the lowest quartile (<5.7 mmol x L(-1)) [adjusted odds ratio 3.73 (1.52-9.12)]. Sons to fathers with the highest serum cholesterol levels had slightly lower BMI; otherwise there was no relation between serum cholesterol in the father and any other lifestyle or biological risk factor in the sons. Serum triglyceride concentration in the father was unrelated to any variable in the son.

CONCLUSIONS

There was a moderately strong association between serum cholesterol concentration in fathers and sons at middle age. However, secular trends were also important in determining serum cholesterol concentrations in those born at a later period, indicating a major role of environmental factors.

Married couples' risk of same disease: cross sectional study

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether people whose marital partners have depression, diabetes, hypertension, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, hyperlipidaemia, peptic ulcer disease, or asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are at increased risk of the same disease.

DESIGN

Cross sectional study.

SETTING

10 practices from the Trent Focus Collaborative Research Practice Network.

PARTICIPANTS

8386 married couples (16 772 individuals) from a population of 29 014 participants aged 30-74 years.

OUTCOMES

Risk of disease in participants whose marital partner had that disease compared with those whose partner did not.

RESULTS

After both partners' age, smoking, and obesity and which general practice they attend were adjusted for, participants whose marital partner had asthma, depression, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, and peptic ulcer disease were at increased risk of having the same disease. The adjusted odds ratios were 1.69 (95% confidence interval 1.43 to 2.98) for asthma, 2.08 (1.71 to 2.54) for depression, 1.32 (1.04 to 1.67) for hypertension, 1.44 (1.19 to 1.75) for hyperlipidaemia, and 2.01 (1.48 to 2.73) for peptic ulcer disease.

CONCLUSION

Partners of people with specific diseases are at increased risk of the disease themselves-at least 70% increased risk for asthma, depression, and peptic ulcer disease. This implicates shared environmental causes in some diseases in addition to any genetic or distant exposure or shared behaviours with respect to seeking health care.

Concordance of risk factors in female spouses of male patients with coronary heart disease

PURPOSE

Shared environment may put marital partners at increased risk for coronary heart disease (CHD). In this study, the authors examined the degree of concordance of risk factors between men with CHD (n = 177) and their spouses, and described the risk profiles of both patients and spouses. Risk factors examined were smoking, hypertension, obesity, cholesterol level, diet, and exercise.

METHODS

Data were collected 2 months after the cardiac event using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System tool. Concordance between patient and spouse pairs was evaluated using Pearson correlation coefficients (r) for continuous data and phi coefficients (phi) for nominal data.

RESULTS

Significant concordance was found between patient and spouse pairs for body mass index, history of smoking, current smoking status, frequency of exercise, miles per exercise session, and the amount of fat and fiber in the diet. There was no significant spousal concordance in relation to the diagnosis of hypertension, systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP), cholesterol level, history of high cholesterol, current exercise program, duration of exercise, and amount of salt in the diet. Thus, although the physiological indicators of risk (e.g., BP) were not significantly related among marital partners, behavioral indicators of risk (e.g., smoking) were significantly related.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggested that shared lifestyles of marital partners may result in greater risk of CHD for female partners of men with CHD. Furthermore, lifestyle interventions that specifically target the marital partners as a unit may be more efficacious than individual patient education strategies.

Correlations of cardiovascular disease risk factors between African American siblings

OBJECTIVES

This study examines intrasibling correlations at 2 points during childhood for African American siblings with the same father, different fathers, a father present in the home, and no father present in the home.

STUDY DESIGN

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors were assessed in 267 pairs of African American siblings (visit 1) and in 79 of these siblings approximately 28 months later (visit 2).

RESULTS

As a group, correlations of CVD risk factors between African American siblings with the same father were greater than those for African American siblings with different fathers in visit 1 (P <.05). However, having a father present in the home was associated with significantly lower intrasibling correlations for girth and total cholesterol in visit 2 (P <.005). Intrasibling correlations for the 4 family subgroups suggest that CVD risk factors were most similar in siblings who shared the same father but who had no father present in the home.

CONCLUSIONS

Intrasibling correlations for African American children were influenced by whether they shared the same father and whether a father was present in their home, reflecting both genetic and environmental influences. Family composition should be considered when family CVD risk factors are used to predict CVD risk in children.