Browsing by Subject "Caucasians"

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    Changes of glucose levels precede dementia in African Americans with diabetes but not in Caucasians
    (Elsevier, 2018-12) Hendrie, Hugh C.; Zheng, Mengjie; Lane, Kathleen A.; Ambuehl, Roberta; Purnell, Christianna; Li, Shanshan; Unverzagt, Frederick W.; Murray, Michael D.; Balasubramanyam, Ashok; Callahan, Chris M.; Gao, Sujuan; Psychiatry, School of Medicine
    INTRODUCTION Changes in glucose levels may represent a powerful metabolic indicator for dementia in African Americans with diabetes. It is unclear whether these changes also occur in Caucasians. METHODS A secondary data analysis using electronic medical records from 5228 African Americans and Caucasians 65 years and older. Mixed effects models with repeated serum glucose measurements were used to compare changes in glucose levels between African Americans and Caucasian patients with and without incident dementia. RESULTS African Americans and Caucasians with diabetes had significantly different changes in glucose levels by dementia status (p<0.0001). African Americans experienced a significant decline in glucose levels before the dementia diagnosis (estimated glucose decline 1.3421 mg/dL per year, p<0.0001) than those who did not develop dementia. Caucasians with and without dementia showed stable glucose levels over time (p=0.3071). DISCUSSION Significant changes in glucose levels precede dementia in African American patients with diabetes but not in Caucasians.
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    Genome-wide association study identifies novel susceptibility loci for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma
    (SpringerNature, 2016-07-18) Chahal, Harvind S.; Lin, Yuan; Ransohoff, Katherine J.; Hinds, David A.; Wu, Wenting; Dai, Hong-Ji; Qureshi, Abrar A.; Li, Wen-Qing; Kraft, Peter; Tang, Jean Y.; Han, Jiali; Sarin, Kavita Y.; Department of Epidemiology, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health
    Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma represents the second most common cutaneous malignancy, affecting 7-11% of Caucasians in the United States. The genetic determinants of susceptibility to cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma remain largely unknown. Here we report the results of a two-stage genome-wide association study of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, totalling 7,404 cases and 292,076 controls. Eleven loci reached genome-wide significance (P<5 × 10(-8)) including seven previously confirmed pigmentation-related loci: MC1R, ASIP, TYR, SLC45A2, OCA2, IRF4 and BNC2. We identify an additional four susceptibility loci: 11q23.3 CADM1, a metastasis suppressor gene involved in modifying tumour interaction with cell-mediated immunity; 2p22.3; 7p21.1 AHR, the dioxin receptor involved in anti-apoptotic pathways and melanoma progression; and 9q34.3 SEC16A, a putative oncogene with roles in secretion and cellular proliferation. These susceptibility loci provide deeper insight into the pathogenesis of squamous cell carcinoma.
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    RACIAL DIFFERENCES IN LIFESTYLE: EFFECTS ON INFANT MORTALITY
    (Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2012-04-13) Whitson, Tyra L.; Henry Anthony, Ronda
    Compared to Japan, Spain, Canada, and other post-industrialized coun-tries, the United States has the highest infant mortality rate (IMR) reaching almost 7 infant deaths per 1,000 live births. The rate for African-Americans is 13.63 while the rate for Caucasians is 5.76 and the gap continues to widen. The gap is even wider in Indiana, reaching 18.1 for African-Americans and 6.4 for Caucasians. A few determinants of infant mortality include maternal health, disorders related to short gestation, socioeconomic status, respirato-ry distress in newborns and inadequate prenatal care. High levels of stress also may pose some special risks for pregnant women. For example, stress may contribute to preterm labor by triggering the release of a hormone called corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH). CRH, which is produced by the brain and the placenta, is closely tied to labor. This may cause premature birth and low birthweight, possibly resulting in death. Further research will be done to investigate if stress management differs among African-American women and Caucasian women and what affect the taboo of therapy among the African-American community has on managing stress related to preg-nant women. Research will also be conducted on the “Superwoman Syn-drome”. The purpose of this research is to provide information on how to de-crease the infant mortality rate of African-Americans in particular, and the United States IMR in general.
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    RACIAL DIFFERENCES IN LIFESTYLE: EFFECTS ON INFANT MORTALITY
    (Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2011-04-08) Whitson, Tyra L.; Daskalos, Janet