European journal of epidemiology
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The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between serum 25(OH)D levels and axial length (AL) and myopia in 6-year-old children. A total of 2666 children aged 6 years participating in the birth-cohort study Generation R underwent a stepwise eye examination. First, presenting visual acuity (VA) and AL were performed. ⋯ None of the 25(OH)D related SNPs showed an association with AL or myopia. Lower 25(OH)D concentration in serum was associated with longer AL and a higher risk of myopia in these young children. This effect appeared independent of outdoor exposure and may suggest a more direct role for 25(OH)D in myopia pathogenesis.
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Few prospective studies have investigated the association between whole-grain consumption and incidence of oesophageal cancer. In the Scandinavian countries, consumption of whole grains is high and the incidence of oesophageal cancer comparably low. The aim of this paper was to study the associations between consumption of whole grains, whole-grain products and oesophageal cancer, including its two major histological subtypes. ⋯ Among whole-grain products, the results were less clear, but protective associations were seen for the sum of whole-grain products, and whole-grain bread. Lower risk was seen in both histological subtypes, but particularly for squamous cell carcinomas. In this study, whole-grain consumption, particularly whole-grain wheat, was inversely associated with risk of oesophageal cancer.
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Few studies have evaluated the association between pregravid oral contraceptive (OC) use and birth weight, and findings have been conflicting. We conducted a prospective cohort study of 5921 pregnancy planners in Denmark to evaluate recency, duration, and type of OC used before conception in relation to infant birth weight. Participants completed online questionnaires and reported detailed information on contraceptive history and covariates at baseline. ⋯ Mean birth weight was lower among women who had used OCs for long durations (mean difference comparing ≥12 with <4 years of OC use = -85 g, CI -158, -11). Our findings indicate that pregravid OC use within 6 months of conception may be associated with a small increase in birth weight, but that long duration of use may have the opposite effect. Results were stronger among male infants, among 2nd and 4th generation OC users, and among users of OCs with a higher estrogen dose.
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We describe how ordinary interpretations of causal models and causal graphs fail to capture important distinctions among ignorable allocation mechanisms for subject selection or allocation. We illustrate these limitations in the case of random confounding and designs that prevent such confounding. ⋯ Causal models for populations are better suited for displaying these phenomena than are individual-level models, because they allow representation of allocation dependencies as well as outcome dependencies across individuals. Nonetheless, even with this extension, ordinary graphical models still fail to capture distinctions between hypothetical superpopulations (sampling distributions) and observed populations (actual distributions), although potential-outcome models can be adapted to show these distinctions and their consequences.