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Determines the association of Chlamydia pneumoniae strain TWAR with asymptomatic carotid atherosclerosis in cross-sectional case-control study among participants in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study. Background aon ARIC; Ultarsound measurements; Antibody determinations; Potential causal role for TWAR in atherosclerosis.

Compares disease progression and mortality between women and men infected with HIV. Measurement of survival and opportunistic events; Increased risk of death among women; Differential access to health care and standard treatments between the two groups.

Looks at results of a self-administered, confidential survey of respondents' history of sexually transmitted disease (STD) among adults enrolled in a multicenter study of cardiovascular disease in 1987-88. Independent risk factors for having had at least one STD; Syphilis; Genital herpes; Chlamydia; More.

Looks at research involving young adults and responses of study participants to a questionnaire that included questions on changes in sexual behavior that the subjects had made in response to the AIDS epidemic. Percentage of the respondents who reported having made a change in their sexual behavior; Condom use; Celibacy; More.

Context Recent cervical cancer screening guidelines state that the interval between screenings can be safely extended to 3 years in healthy women 30 years or older who have normal cytology results and have negative test results for oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA. Objective To determine the incidence of squamous intraepithelial lesions (SILs) in HIV-seropositive women with normal cytology results, by baseline HPV DNA results. Design, Setting, and Patients Participants were HIV-seropositive (n = 855; mean age, 36 years) and HIV-seronegative (n = 343; mean age, 34 years) US women with normal baseline cervical cytology who were enrolled in the Women’s Interagency HIV Study (WIHS), a large, multi-institutional prospective cohort study. Since their recruitment during 1994-1995, WIHS participants have been followed up semi-annually with repeated Pap smears for a median of 7 years. Main Outcome Measure The cumulative incidence of any SIL and high-grade SIL or cancer (HSIL+) was estimated according to baseline HPV DNA results, stratified by HIV serostatus and CD4 T-cell count. Results Development of any SIL in women with negative HPV results (both oncogenic and nononcogenic) at 2 years was as follows: in HIV-seropositive women with CD4 counts less than 200/μL, 9% (95% CI, 1%-18%); with CD4 counts between 200/μL and 500/μL, 9% (95% CI, 4%-13%); and with CD4 counts greater than 500/μL, 4% (95% CI, 1%-7%). The CIs for these estimates overlapped with those for HIV-seronegative women with normal baseline cytology who were HPV-negative (3%; 95% CI, 1%-5%), indicating that at 2 years, there were no large absolute differences in the cumulative incidence of any SIL between groups. Furthermore, no HPV-negative participants in any group developed HSIL+ lesions within 3 years. Multivariate Cox models showed that on a relative scale, the incidence of any SIL among HIV-seropositive women with CD4 counts greater than 500/μL (hazard ratio [HR], 1.2; 95% CI, 0.5-3.0), but not those with CD4 counts less than or equal to 500/μL (HR, 2.9; 95% CI, 1.2-7.1), was similar to that in HIV-seronegative women. Conclusion The similar low cumulative incidence of any SIL among HIV-seronegative and HIV-seropositive women with CD4 counts greater than 500/μL and who had normal cervical cytology and HPV-negative test results suggests that similar cervical cancer screening practices may be applicable to both groups, although this strategy warrants evaluation in an appropriate clinical trial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Fish contain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, principally eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, which are known to interfere with the body's inflammatory response and may be of benefit in chronic inflammatory conditions. Methods: We studied the relation between the dietary intake of n-3 fatty acids and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in 8960 current or former smokers participating in a population-based study of atherosclerosis. Intake of fatty acids was estimated with a dietary questionnaire. The presence of COPD was assessed by a questionnaire on respiratory symptoms and by spirometry. Three case definitions of COPD were used: symptoms of chronic bronchitis (667 subjects), physician-diagnosed emphysema reported by the subject (185 subjects), and spirometrically detected COPD (197 subjects). Results: After control for pack-years of smoking, age, sex, race, height, weight, energy intake, and educational level, the combined intake of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid was inversely related to the risk of COPD in a quantity-dependent fashion. The adjusted odds ratio for the highest quartile of intake as compared with the lowest quartile was 0.66 for chronic bronchitis (95 percent confidence interval, 0.52 to 0.85; P<0.001 for linear trend across the range of intake values), 0.31 for physician-diagnosed emphysema (95 percent confidence interval, 0.18 to 0.52; P for linear trend, 0.003), and 0.50 for spirometrically detected COPD (95 percent confidence interval, 0.32 to 0.79; P for linear trend, 0.007). Conclusions: A high dietary intake of n-3 fatty acids may protect cigarette smokers against COPD. (N Engl J Med 1994;331:228-33.) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association of periodontal health and human immunodeficiency virus infection among individuals in the early stages of disease who were participating in randomized placebo-controlled clinical trials of zidovudine. Previous reports have described a rapidly progressive periodontitis and atypical gingivitis associated with late stages of infection by the human immunodeficiency virus. A health history was completed by each subject. Baseline oral examinations were completed on 97 asymptomatic patients and nine with AIDS-related complex (ARC) during their regular clinic visit. Follow-up examinations were conducted at 3-month intervals throughout the 48 weeks of the oral study. Evaluations of plaque, calculus, gingival abnormalities, caries, and periodontal disease were conducted. Periodontal measurements included plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), bleeding index (BI), probing depth (PD), and observation for cratering, necrosis, and tooth mobility on six teeth in each patient. More than half of the subjects had visited their dentist during the previous year and had an oral prophylaxis; less than 25% of them had either restorative work or extractions. The mean scores for periodontal indices averaged over the course of the study in asymptomatic and ARC respectively were: PI: 0.9 (SE 0.04) and 0.9 (SE 0.08), P = 0.818; GI: 1.0 (SE 0.04) and 0.9 (SE 0.07), P = 0.412; BI: 0.6 (SE. 0.04) and 0.4 (SE 0.07), P = 0.278; PD: 2.9 (SE 0.05) and 2.6 (SE 0.10), P = 0.140. There was no evidence of cratering, necrosis, or tooth mobility in either group. Few had calculus or dental caries. There were no clinically significant differences detected between ARC versus asymptomatic patients. Dental histories and oral examinations showed that two groups of patients in early stages of HIV-disease were in good periodontal health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]