Causes of primary biliary...( A case-control study of more than 2000 ...),Health

A case-control study of more than 2000 people has identified a number of factors that may induce primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) in genetically susceptible individuals. These include a history of urinary tract infections, hormone replacement therapy, tobacco use, and nail polish use. The study is published in the November 2005 issue of Hepatology, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hepatology is available online via Wiley InterScience at http://www.interscience.wiley.com/journal/hepatology.

PBC is a rare autoimmune disease which leads to liver failure. The cause of the disease is unknown. It is more prominent in women, and researchers have found instances of familial clustering, as well as association with urinary tract infections, tobacco smoking, and estrogen use, though some of the existing studies have offered conflicting evidence.

To better understand the origins of the disease, researchers, led by M. Eric Gershwin, M.D. of the University of California at Davis School of Medicine, conducted a case-control study including 1032 PBC patients and 1041 controls. The patients were recruited from 23 medical centers throughout the United States. The controls were generated from random telephone dialing and were matched to cases by sex, age, race and geographical location. All participants completed an extensive telephone questionnaire covering demographics, lifestyle, personal and familial medical history, and reproductive and occupational history. Researchers then analyzed and compared the data.

After multivariable statistical analyses, they found a number of factors significantly associated with PBC. These include a family history of PBC or Sjogren's syndrome, individual history of urinary tract infection, history of smoking, use of nail polish, and history of hormone replacement thera
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Contact: David Greenberg
dgreenbe@wiley.com
201-748-6484
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
1-Nov-2005

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