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Abstract: Cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption and low relative weight are often cited as risk factors for osteoporosis. In a prospective cohort study of 96,508 middle-aged nurses 35 to 59 years of age we found that smoking was not a risk factor for hip and forearm fracture. Women who drank more than 15 grams of alcohol per day and whose relative weight was < 21 kg/m&sup 2; were at increased risk of fractures, but these risk factors were not independent. Only the combination of alcohol intake and thinness substantially increased the likelihood of fracture. The low weight women consuming more than one drink per day comprised but 4 per ¢ of our population of middle-class women and sustained 6 per ¢ of the fractures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relatively few studies have examined risk factors for hip fracture among men. This study analyzes data from the Health professionals Follow-up Study, a prospective study of approximately 50000 men who were between the ages of 40 and 75 years in 1986. Body mass index, smoking status, and alcohol consumption were not associated with hip fracture in this population. However, age and height were related to hip fracture. Men who were 65 and older had a significantly higher risk of sustaining a hip fracture than younger adults. men 6 feet or taller were more than twice as likely to sustain a hip fracture as those under 5 feet, 9 inches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current evidence suggests a strong positive correlation between cigarette consumption and depression; this study examined the relationship between cigarettes and suicide. Over 100 000 predominantly White, middle-aged, female registered nurses were followed via biannual questionnariers from 1976 through 1988. Respondents smoking 1 through 24 cigarettes per day had twice the risk and those smoking 25 or more cigarettes four times the risk of committing suicide, compared with those who had never smoked. Although no information on causation was available, this paper links cigarettes to another major health problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surveys have shown that dentists are reluctant to treat persons infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). However, dentists are much more willing to treat patients with infectious hepatitis B virus (HBV). This study shows that the annual cumulative risk of infection from routine treatment of patients whose seropositivity is undisclosed is 57 times greater from HBV than from HIV, and that the risk of dying from HBV infection is 1.7 times greater than the risk of HIV infection, for which mortality is almost certain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Cigarettes and suicide: a prospective study of 50,000 men," by M. Miller.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Authors and Authorship--Reform or Abolition?," by M. Susser in a 1997 issue.

A letter to the editor is presented regarding an investigation into the habits and attitudes of students at the Harvard School of Public Health in the U.S.