SIR,-I have read with great interest the article by Dr. T. Khosia and Professor C. R. Lowe (2 October, p. 10) on smoking and obesity. Our results at the Institute of Directors Medical Centre (Table) do not show the same relationship. There is no convincing difference between any of the smoking classes. The figures have not been broken down into age groups, but we have previously shown that in o...

OBJECTIVE The aim was to examine the relationship between social network and activities and causes of death. DESIGN The study was a prospective cohort study of middle aged men examined in 1973 and followed for 12 years. SETTING Gothenburg, Sweden. SUBJECTS The subjects were 769 60 year old and 220 50 year old men who had participated in a health examination. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULT...

A large-scale survey of steel workers in South Wales has shown a considerable difference between the body weights of smokers and of non-smokers. The difference increases with age so that men over 40 years who have never smoked are on average 13 lb (5.9 kg) heavier than smokers. Even so, smokers are about 15 lb (6.8 kg) heavier than the weight standard considered desirable by the Metropolitan Li...

BACKGROUND Health assessment for partners of pregnant women has not been routinely offered. Work in the area of smoking cessation suggests that a partner's health habits have a strong influence on the health habits of a pregnant woman. Smoking, alcohol abuse, depression, battering, and household firearms cab adversely affect the health of the expectant mother and the infant. METHODS Four meth...

There is little debate as to the harmful effects of cigarette smoking on health. Most health workers advise their patients to cease the practice. The impact of the advice is however diluted if it is seen to be ignored by the profess­ ionals themselves. As nurses play an in­ creasing role in all levels of health care a survey was undertaken to investigate the smoking habits of two groups of nurs...

OBJECTIVE To assess the relationship between household income and metabolic syndrome in men and women. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 1,695 men and 1,664 women, aged 35-64 years, from three distinct geographical areas of France were investigated. Waist girth, plasma triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, glucose, and systolic blood pressure were used to define metabolic syndrome according to...