A general method is discussed, the δ-test, which establishes functional dependencies given a table of measurements. The approach is based on calculating conditional probabilities from data densities. Imposing the requirement of continuity of the underlying function the obtained values of the conditional probabilities carry information on the variable dependencies. The power of the method is illust

Background:TFAP2B rs987237 is associated with obesity and has shown interaction with the dietary fat-to-carbohydrate ratio, which has an effect on weight loss. We investigated interactions between rs987237 and protein-to-carbohydrate ratio or glycemic index (GI) in relation to weight maintenance after weight loss. Methods: This study included 742 obese individuals from 8 European countries who par

Objective: To investigate in a secondary analysis of a randomised trial the effects of a low-/high-fat diet and reported change from baseline in energy% from protein (prot%), in relation to changes in body size and metabolic factors. Methods: Obese adults (n = 771) were randomised to a 600 kcal energy-deficient low-fat (20-25 fat%) or high-fat (40-45 fat%) diet over 10 weeks. Dietary intake data a

Background: Numerous gene loci are related to single measures of body weight and shape. We investigated if 55 SNPs previously associated with BMI or waist measures, modify the effects of fat intake on weight loss and waist reduction under energy restriction. Methods and Findings: Randomized controlled trial of 771 obese adults. (Registration: ISRCTN25867281.) One SNP was selected for replication i

Objective:Sleep duration has been related to overweight in children, but determinants of sleep duration are unclear. The aims were to investigate the association between sleep duration and childhood overweight adjusted for family characteristics and unhealthy behaviours, to explore determinants of sleep duration and to determine with sleep competing activities.Method:A cross-sectional study was ca

Data from prospective studies on blood pressure and prostate cancer risk are limited, and results are inconclusive. Baseline measurements of height, weight and blood pressure were available in 336,159 men in the Swedish Construction Workers cohort. During an average of 22.2 years of follow-up, 10,002 incident cases and 2,601 fatal cases of prostate cancer were identified in National registers. For

It is hypothesized that insulin resistance and related metabolic factors may influence breast cancer risk, however the epidemiological evidence remains inconclusive. We conducted a case-control study nested in a prospective cohort in Northern Sweden, to clarify the associations of body mass index (BMI), leptin, adiponectin, C-peptide, and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) with breast cancer risk. We al

Background: Sex hormones in serum have been hypothesized to influence the risk of prostate cancer. We performed a collaborative analysis of the existing worldwide epidemiologic data to examine these associations in a uniform manner and to provide more precise estimates of risks. Methods: Data on serum concentrations of sex hormones from 18 prospective studies that included 3886 men with incident p

Objective: To examine the relation of well-known factors of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) as well as related circulating factors, with risk of colorectal cancer. Methods: We performed a case control study of 306 colorectal cancer cases and 595 matched controls nested in the Northern Sweden Health and Disease Cohort. Levels of C-peptide, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), leptin and adiponectin were mea

BACKGROUND. Androgens have been implicated in prostate tumorigenesis, but prospective studies have overall reported no association between circulating levels of androgens and risk of prostate cancer. However, some recent studies have shown that a high level of testosterone increase the risk of non-aggressive tumors but is associated with a decreased risk of aggressive tumors. METHODS. We prospecti

Factors related to insulin resistance have been implicated in prostate cancer development, however, few analytical studies support such an association. We performed a case control study on 392 prostate cancer cases and 392 matched controls nested in a prospective cohort in Northern Sweden. Plasma concentrations of C-peptide, leptin, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and fasting and post-load glucose we

Excess weight in early life is believed to increase susceptibility to obesity, and in support of such theory, excess weight and fast weight gain in early childhood have been related to overweight later in life. The aim of this study was to review the literature on body size and growth in 0- to 4-year-old children and the association with body size at age 5-13 years. In total, 43 observational stud

Background: Change in the prevalence of raised blood pressure could be due to both shifts in the entire distribution of blood pressure (representing the combined effects of public health interventions and secular trends) and changes in its high-blood-pressure tail (representing successful clinical interventions to control blood pressure in the hypertensive population). Our aim was to quantify the

Background Underweight and severe and morbid obesity are associated with highly elevated risks of adverse health outcomes. We estimated trends in mean body-mass index (BMI), which characterises its population distribution, and in the prevalences of a complete set of BMI categories for adults in all countries. Methods We analysed, with use of a consistent protocol, population-based studies that ha

A novel approach is developed for predicting body trajectories for cancer progression, where conditional probabilities of clinical data are modeled using Hidden Markov Model techniques. Basically, each potential body site is encoded by an N-letter code, and a disease trajectory is described in terms of a string of letters. Patient data base records are then represented by such strings with differe