bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Lipids and cholesterol
Authors: Law M. R. , Rodgers A. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractThis chapter discusses the role of lipids and cholesterol in coronary heart disease (CHD). The high levels of serum cholesterol found in Western populations are a major cause of the high mortality from CHD. Realistic dietary change in a community can lower serum cholesterol by 0.6 mmol/l (10%) and reduce heart disease mortality by approximately 25% among middle-aged individuals. Cholesterol-lowering drugs (statins) can lower cholesterol by 1.8 mmol/l (30%), and reduce the risk of heart disease death by approximately 60% from the third year onwards. Statins are inexpensive and safe, and their widespread use should be encouraged.
Antioxidants and cardiovascular disease
Authors: Miller III E. R. , Appel L. J. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractAntioxidant vitamin supplements are regularly consumed by over one-third of all adults in the United States. While the health benefits of vitamin supplements are unproven, many lay persons and health professionals believe that pill supplementation with antioxidants is an effective strategy for the prevention and treatment of acute and chronic illnesses, including cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Contrary to the commonly held beliefs, recent large-scale randomized clinical trials have repeatedly documented no benefit from antioxidant vitamin supplements. This chapter reviews evidence for biological plausibility; the major observational studies which linked antioxidant intake to reduced risk of cardiovascular and other chronic diseases. It reviews the large number of trials which, collectively, fail to show benefit of antioxidant vitamin supplement use in preventing CVD and mortality.
Serum homocysteine and coronary heart disease
Authors: Wald D. S. , Law M. R. , Wald N. J. , Morris J. K. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractThis chapter discusses the link between serum homocysteine and coronary heart disease (CHD). Genetic studies show a moderately higher risk of CHD for a moderately higher level of serum homocysteine. Prospective studies show a positive association between serum homocysteine and cardiovascular disease after allowance for confounding. Although these two types of study are susceptible to different sources of error, they show quantitatively similar associations, a result that is unlikely to have occurred through different potential sources of confounding acting independently. The homocystinurias cause high serum homocysteine levels and high risks of premature cardiovascular disease, and lowering serum homocysteine reduces this high risk. These observations provide a compelling case for a cause and effect relationship between homocysteine and CHD and, therefore, a protective role for folic acid on CHD prevention.
Fish consumption, n-3 fatty acids, and coronary heart disease
Authors: Kromhout D. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractEssential fatty acids are polyunsaturated fatty acids from the n-6 family (i.e., linoleic acid and arachidonic acid) present in vegetable oils, and of the n-3 family (i.e., eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid) present in seafood. These fatty acids may protect against coronary atherosclerosis and thrombosis. It is hypothesized that a balanced intake of n-6 and n-3 fatty acids is of great importance in relation to prevention of coronary heart disease (CHD). Research on n-3 fatty acids, fish consumption, and CHD was stimulated by the pioneering studies among the Inuit (Eskimos) in Greenland. This chapter begins by summarizing the results of the studies among the Inuit. The results on fish consumption and CHD mortality are then reviewed at the population and individual levels. Both observational epidemiology and experimental studies show that a small amount of fish protects against fatal CHD and sudden cardiac death. It is, therefore, recommended to eat fish (preferably fatty fish) once or twice a week.
Metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and coronary heart disease
Authors: Hu G. , Qiao Q. , Tuomilehto J. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractThis chapter discusses the association of metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and coronary heart disease (CHD). Topics covered include incidence of CHD and CVD in patients with diabetes, possible mechanisms linking metabolic factors to CHD, and prevention of CHD in people with abnormal glucose regulation.
Systematic review of prospective cohort studies of psychosocial factors in the aetiology and prognosis of coronary heart disease
Authors: Kuper H. , Marmot M. , Hemingway H. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractThis chapter assesses the relative strength of the epidemiological evidence for causal links between psychosocial factors and coronary heart disease (CHD) incidence among healthy populations and prognosis among CHD patients. Prospective studies published up until 2001 identified seventy reports of aetiological effects and ninety-two reports of prognostic effects by psychosocial factors. Based on prospective epidemiological data, there was indication for an association between depression, social support, and psychosocial work characteristics with CHD aetiology and prognosis. The randomized trials, to date, have been negative. Evidence for an effect of anxiety or type A behaviour was less consistent.
Coagulation, thrombosis, and coronary heart disease
Authors: Meade T. W. , MacCallum P. K. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractThis chapter reviews evidence on the contribution of the coagulation system to arterial thrombosis through fibrin formation. Epidemiological studies of the coagulation system in thrombosis and coronary heart disease (CHD) have demonstrated its involvement and implications for its management and prevention.
Gene–environment interaction in coronary artery disease: apolipoprotein E and smoking and the interleukin-6 gene and inflammation as examples
Authors: Humphries S. E. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractThis chapter discusses gene-environment interaction in coronary artery disease (CAD). Topics covered include risk factors for CAD, apolipoprotein E and effect on lipid levels and coronary heart disease risk, APOE genotype-smoking interaction, homeostasis and use of stressing the genotype to identify functional variants, and the role of inflammatory processes in atherogenesis.
Life course influences on coronary heart disease
Authors: Smith G. Davey , Lynch J. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractThis chapter outlines the concepts of life course epidemiology as applied to coronary heart disease (CHD), discusses evidence with regard to early life factors and CHD, and considers the recently debated issue as to whether there is any need to continue searching for additional CHD risk factors above the well-established adulthood factors. It examines how well CHD trends fit with life course approaches and concludes by reviewing some of the remaining important issues in CHD epidemiology from a life course perspective.
Emergence of risk factors in children
Authors: Labarthe D. R. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractThis chapter discusses the ‘emergence’ of risk factors for atherosclerotic and hypertensive diseases in children and adolescents. The emergence of cardiovascular risk factors in childhood and adolescence is characterized in general by (a) a progressive shift in risk factor distributions with increasing age toward undesirable levels; (b) a tendency for clustering of multiple factors within individual persons; (c) tracking of risk factor values at the higher-risk extreme; and (d) an association with the extent and severity of atherosclerotic lesions observed well before adulthood. Variation in the trajectories of change in mean values of specific risk factors — such as distinct components of blood lipids, blood pressure, or blood glucose and insulin concentrations — indicates some complexity in these patterns and suggests that they may differ in some important aspects of causation and prevention.
Risk factors in the elderly
Authors: van der Bom J. G. , Grobbee D. E. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractThis chapter discusses atherosclerosis and other risk factors for cardiovascular diseases in the elderly. It considers findings from studies on serum cholesterol, blood pressure, smoking, and type 2 diabetes mellitus. It also discusses some of the risk factors that are an expression of damage already present in the heart and arteries: electrocardiogram (ECG) deviations, left ventricular hypertrophy, and changes in the wall of the (carotid) arteries.
Contributions to change: major risk factors and the potential for prevention
Authors: Beaglehole R. , Dobson A. 
Published: September 2009

Abstract
This chapter assesses the impact of changes in the major coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors to changes in CHD event and mortality rates. The major risk factors can account for large differences on CHD event rates observed between populations. This supports the argument that these major risk factors can account for most of the CHD epidemics seen in the second half of the 20th century. It follows that the priority targets for prevention are to reduce levels of smoking, blood pressure, and total cholesterol in whole populations.
Prevention of coronary heart disease: findings from the Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals’ Follow-up Study
Authors: Hu F. B. , Willett W. C. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractThis chapter discusses the contributions of the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and Health Professionals' Follow-up Study (HPFS) to the nutritional epidemiology of coronary heart disease (CHD). Compelling evidence from these studies indicates that CHD is heavily influenced by dietary and lifestyle factors. Replacing saturated and trans fats with unsaturated fats, including sources of n-3 fatty acids, substituting whole grain forms of carbohydrate for refined grains and potatoes, consuming an abundance of fruits and vegetables, and controlling body weight will dramatically reduce the risk of CHD. The magnitude of benefit achievable through diet and lifestyle is large and substantially greater than that due to drug treatment of blood cholesterol or hypertension.
Risk scores for management and prevention of cardiovascular disease
Authors: Wood D. A. , Kotseva K. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractThis chapter discusses risk scores for cardiovascular disease. Topics covered include the concept of cardiovascular risk, CVD prevention strategies and absolute multifactorial risk, advantages and disadvantages of absolute risk prediction, calculation of CVD risk, comparison of risk prediction method, and application of absolute risk to management of blood pressure and lipids.
Non-invasive measures of preclinical coronary heart disease
Authors: Greenland P. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractThis chapter reviews four non-invasive tests for detection of preclinical coronary heart disease (CHD) and for prediction of future coronary events in asymptomatic people: (a) coronary artery calcium detection by ultrafast computed tomography; (b) ankle-brachial blood pressure index; (c) B-mode ultrasound of the carotid artery for measurement of intima-media thickness; and (d) exercise stress testing. Each of these modalities has been studied in large samples of asymptomatic people in whom considerable follow-up and multivariable adjustment are available to determine incremental predictive value beyond standard risk factor measures.
Screening for future coronary heart disease
Authors: Wald N. J. , Law M. R. 
Published: September 2009

Abstract
Measuring risk factors such as blood pressure and serum cholesterol as a means of screening to identify people who will develop coronary heart disease has entered medical practice largely because of the aetiological importance of these factors. It has been assumed that an aetiologically important risk factor must also be a good screening test. This chapter examines risk factors considered as screening tests in general, and then examines how effective coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors are in distinguishing individuals who will develop clinical CHD from individuals who will not.
Applying process evaluation
Authors: Platt Stephen , Gnich Wendy , Rankin David , Ritchie Deborah , Truman Julie , Backett-Milbum Kathryn 
Published: September 2009

Abstract
This chapter introduces the purposes, focus, and methods of process evaluation and explores some issues in the application of process evaluation using examples from two research projects. These issues include the boundary between formative and process evaluation; the impact of ongoing change during implementation of an intervention; and the development of relationships at fieldwork sites.
Evaluating mass media approaches
Authors: Wellings Kaye , Macdowall Wendy 
Published: September 2009

Abstract
Broad spectrum interventions aimed at reaching the general population make use of mass communication approaches such as TV, radio, press, billboard posters, and leaflets. This chapter examines the difficulties inherent in evaluating mass media campaigns. Topics discussed include the scope of interventions, evaluation research, process evaluation, outcome evaluation, selection of indicators/outcome measures, and measuring unintended consequences.
Remodeling of cortical connections and enhanced long-term potentiation after lesions of the visual cortex
Authors: Eysel Ulf T. , Mittmann Thomas 
Published: September 2009

Abstract
Long-term potentiation (LTP) was first described in the mammalian hippocampus and was also elicited in the visual cortex of rats. LTP is most strongly expressed during early postnatal development when synaptic plasticity is high. To test the hypothesis that lesion-induced reorganization in the visual cortex is associated with increased LTP, this chapter examines synaptic plasticity in slices of the lesioned rat visual cortex in vitro. Characteristic changes are in plasticity are observed in the surround of lesions, supporting the hypothesis of enhanced LTP being involved in reprogramming of the visual cortex in response to local damage in the adult visual cortex.
Critical periods for human cortical development
Authors: Ponton Curtis W. 
Published: September 2009

AbstractThis chapter describes the effects that a period of auditory deprivation due to profound deafness, followed by restoration of sensation via a cochlear implant, has on the development of the human auditory central nervous system. Neurophysiological evidence of human central auditory system plasticity in profoundly deaf adults and children who use cochlear prostheses will be based on scalp-recorded electrophysiological activity evoked by activation of the cochlear implant. This activity measured from cochlear implant users is contrasted with that of normal-hearing adults and children to illustrate the similarities and differences in auditory cortical activity. These results are set in the context of what is known about the generators of the AEPs (auditory evoked potentials) as well as recent studies describing the maturational sequence of the neuroanatomical structures, particularly in cortex.
Reprogramming the motor cortex for functional recovery after neonatal or adult unilateral lesion of the corticospinal system in the macaque monkey
Authors: Rouiller E. M. , Wannier T. , Schmidlin E. , Liu Y. 
Published: September 2009

Abstract
This chapter describes the mechanisms underlying reprogramming of the motor cortex in order to rehabilitate some motor control after a lesion affecting the central nervous system, namely the cerebral cortex or the cervical spinal cord. The corticospinal projection was chosen as a model to address the issue of reprogramming the cerebral cortex following a lesion occurring either at early (neonatal) or late (adult) stages. Reprogramming the motor cortex is used to refer to the re-establishment of functional control on motoneurons deprived of cortical inputs as a result of cortical or cervical lesion.
Critical appraisal of a randomized trial of a preventive agent
Authors: Elwood J. Mark 
Published: September 2009

Abstract
This chapter presents an example of the application of the scheme for critical appraisal: a randomized clinical trial entitled ‘Prevention of neural tube defects: results of the Medical Research Council Vitamin Study’, published in The Lancetin 1991. This large individually randomized trial has produced a result which has extremely high internal validity, with observation bias and confounding being ruled out as alternative explanations.
The results obtained from studies of causation
Authors: Elwood J. Mark 
Published: September 2009

Abstract
The previous chapter presented a classification of study design which separated the criteria used to select the groups of individuals to be compared from the time relationships of the study. The logic of this system will appear clear in this chapter, which discusses the results obtained from these studies. The format of the results and therefore the appropriate methods of interpreting them depend on the groups being compared. The extent to which particular problems and biases occur depends largely on the time relationships. Self-test questions are provided at the end of the chapter.
The diagnosis of causation
Authors: Elwood J. Mark 
Published: September 2009

Abstract
This chapter presents a scheme for assessing causal relationships in human health. The approach is that the diagnosis of causation depends on the consideration of both causal and non-causal explanations for the association seen. A reasoned judgement must be reached as to the likelihood of the association seen being produced by causality rather than by any other mechanism. The conclusion as to whether a particular association reflects causation is not a simple yes or no, but requires reasoned and probabilistic judgements.
Critical appraisal of a randomized clinical trial
Authors: Elwood J. Mark 
Published: September 2009

Abstract
This chapter presents an example of the application of the scheme for critical appraisal: a randomized clinical trial entitled ‘Chloramphenicol treatment for acute infective conjunctivitis in children in primary care: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial’, published in The Lancet in 2005. This study illustrates both the strengths and weaknesses of randomized trials. The strengths are that with reasonable confidence, confounding and observation bias can be excluded as explanations for the results seen. The main weakness is that despite the enormous effort involved, the study is still limited in terms of size, and the main results are close to the conventional 5% cut-off for statistical significance.
Critical appraisal of a prospective cohort study
Authors: Elwood J. Mark 
Published: September 2009

Abstract
This chapter presents an example of the application of the scheme for critical appraisal: a prospective cohort study entitled ‘Long-term relation between breastfeeding and development of atopy and asthma in children and young adults: a longitudinal study’, published in The Lancet, in 2002. Working through this, critical appraisal shows that this is a substantial and carefully performed prospective cohort study, in which the information on outcome, asthma at the age of nine years, is very clear, and the information on breastfeeding is almost equally clear.
Critical appraisal of a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Elwood J. Mark 
Published: September 2009

Abstract
This chapter presents an example of the application of the scheme for critical appraisal: a retrospective cohort study entitled ‘Cancer mortality in workers exposed to chlorophenoxy herbicides and chlorophenols’, published in The Lancet in 1991. Assessed on its own, this study has produced results which are consistent with causality, but are not convincing, as other explanations cannot be excluded. Taken with the background of several other studies which also suggest an increase in this rare condition with this particular exposure, the overall evidence becomes much more persuasive.
Critical appraisal of a large population-based case–control study
Authors: Elwood J. Mark 
Published: September 2009

Abstract
This chapter presents an example of the application of the scheme for critical appraisal: large population-based case-control study entitled ‘Risk of breast cancer in relation to lifetime alcohol consumption’, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute in 1995. This large case-control study has shown a regular positive association between recorded alcohol intake and breast cancer risk. The results are generally consistent with the results of other observational studies, most of which, however, would be open to the same limitations.
Evidence for Population Health
Authors: Heller Richard 
Published: September 2009

Abstract
This book aims to show the value of developing and applying an evidence base to public health. The application of evidence to clinical practice is well established, and the field of evidence-based medicine accepted as a basic clinical science, not so for public health. The book examines the methods used for Evidence Based Medicine, and shows how these can be applied to public health. In the process, a number of new measures are necessary to extend clinical measures to the population. Population impact measures are described and their value in public health policy-making described and discussed. The book identifies evidence for population health as an appropriate field of study. The chapters are divided in three sections to follow the structure of the Population Health Evidence Cycle: Ask the question, Collect the evidence, and Understand and use the evidence.
The population or the individual in public health?
Authors: Heller Richard F. 
Published: September 2009

Abstract
This chapter explains that there are special influences on health from the “context” in which we live, beyond the genetic and behavioral make up of individuals. The prevention and treatment paradoxes are defined (many have to change for few to benefit, and benefits to individual patients may not translate into much population benefit). Thus, health policy should not take undue note of influences relating to individuals, and should consider the population impact in addition.
Shifting the distribution
Authors: Heller Richard F. 
Published: September 2009

Abstract
This chapter shows that shifting the distribution of a variable for the whole population is an important concept in the prevention of illness. A shift in the population distribution will reduce the numbers of individuals at high risk and hence eligible for treatment, producing a rationale for a population approach to prevention. Health policies aimed at reducing inequalities should also take note of the benefit of shifting the population distribution, as it will improve the health of those at the low end of the distribution.
Evaluating population-based risks and interventions
Authors: Heller Richard F. 
Published: September 2009

Abstract
This chapter discusses the appropriateness of “levels of evidence,” which place systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials as the highest level of evidence, and proposes a new “population evidence hierarchy.” This takes note of alternative study designs based on their credibility, completeness, transferability, and hence usefulness. It is important not to deny the use of evidence in policy making just because it has not come from a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.
Getting the outcome measure right
Authors: Heller Richard F. 
Published: September 2009

Abstract
This chapter considers the individual and the population approaches to assessing health outcomes. Death, hospitalization, quality of life, cost, disability, inequality, and health literacy are considered and compared as health outcomes. A scheme for the critical appraisal of outcome measures is presented. The importance of focusing on outcomes, rather than process, in assessing a health policy is stressed.