Stefan A Czerwinski

Publications (40)133.42 Total impact

• Article: Characterization of the infant BMI peak: Sex differences, birth year cohort effects, association with concurrent adiposity, and heritability.

  William Johnson, Audrey C Choh, Miryoung Lee, Bradford Towne, Stefan A Czerwinski, Ellen W Demerath
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  ABSTRACT: To characterize an early trait in the BMI-for-age curve, the infant BMI peak. BMI-for-age curves were produced for 747 non-Hispanic, white Fels Longitudinal Study participants, from which individual age (AgePeak ) and BMI (BMIPeak ) at maximum infant BMI were estimated. Multivariable general linear regression was used to examine the effects of sex and birth year cohort (1929-1950, 1951-1970, and 1971-2010) on AgePeak and BMIPeak , with associations between BMIPeak and concurrent sum of four skinfold thicknesses assessed in a subsample (N = 155). Heritability (h(2) ) of AgePeak and BMIPeak was estimated using maximum-likelihood variance components analysis. AgePeak occurred at 9 months of age in both sexes, but BMIPeak was 0.4 kg/m(2) higher for boys than for girls (P-value < 0.001). Infants born between 1971 and 2010 experienced a 1.5 month earlier AgePeak and a 0.35 kg/m(2) lower BMIPeak than infants born between 1929 and 1950 (P-values < 0.001). Skinfold thickness explained 37% of the variance in BMIPeak in boys and 20% of the variance in girls (p-values < 0.001). AgePeak and BMIPeak were significantly heritable (h(2) = 0.54 and 0.75, respectively). Both AgePeak and BMIPeak decreased over successive birth year cohorts in the Fels Longitudinal Study. Despite a positive association of BMIPeak with concurrent adiposity, AgePeak appears to occur later than does the well-documented peak in infant fat mass and BMIPeak does not capture known sex differences in infant adiposity. Strong heritability of these infant BMI traits suggests investigation of genetic control, and validation of their relationship to body composition is greatly needed. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 25:378-388, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
  American Journal of Human Biology 05/2013; 25(3):378-88. · 2.27 Impact Factor
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  Available from: Joanne E Curran

  Article: Genetic risk for earlier menarche also influences peripubertal body mass index.

  William Johnson, Audrey C Choh, Joanne E Curran, Stefan A Czerwinski, Claire Bellis, Thomas D Dyer, John Blangero, Bradford Towne, Ellen W Demerath
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  ABSTRACT: It is unclear whether earlier age at menarche is associated with higher body mass index (BMI) because they share a common genetic underpinning. We investigated the impact of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) influencing menarche timing on peripubertal BMI. For 556 Fels Longitudinal Study children (277 boys/279 girls) born 1928-1992, a genetic risk score (GRS(42) ) was computed as the sum of the number of risk alleles in 42 putative menarche SNPs. Serial BMI Z-scores within ±6.99 years from each individual's age at peak height velocity (Age@PHV) were grouped into seven time points (-6 years, -4 years, -2 years, Age@PHV, +2 years, +4years, and +6 years). Heritability of BMI ranged from 0.53 to 0.85 across the time points. The effect of GRS(42) on BMI Z-scores at each time point was modeled using variance components-based procedures. GRS(42) had a significant (P < 0.05) effect at every time point; an increase of one risk allele was associated with an increase of 0.03-0.08 BMI Z-scores. A separate score (GRS(29) ) was computed that excluded 13 of the menarche SNPs previously documented to also influence adiposity; significant main effects were observed at Age@PHV+4 and +6 years. This finding supports a causal effect of advanced sexual development on post-Age@PHV BMI. Significant positive GRS(42) (or GRS(29) )-by-birth year interactions indicate that some genetic influences on BMI have amplified over the 20th century. This gene-by-environment interaction also suggests that children with a genetic predisposition to earlier sexual development might avoid elevated BMI through alteration of their nutritional environment. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
  American Journal of Physical Anthropology 01/2013; 150(1):10-20. · 2.82 Impact Factor
• Article: Secular trends in the fat and fat-free components of body mass index in children aged 8-18 years born 1958-1995.

  William Johnson, Wm Cameron Chumlea, Stefan A Czerwinski, Ellen W Demerath
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  ABSTRACT: Background: It is unknown whether the secular trend in childhood BMI reflects increases in fat-free mass as well as fat mass. Methods: This study decomposed BMI trends in 488 participants in the Fels Longitudinal Study born between 1958-1995 and aged 8-17.99 years into their fat and fat-free components. Generalized estimating equations estimated birth year cohort (1958-1970, 1971-1983, 1984-1995) effects on 2208 observations of BMI, fat mass index (FMI = fat mass (kg)/height (m)(2)) and fat-free mass index (FFMI = fat-free mass (kg)/height (m)(2)). Results: BMI in boys increased across cohorts, with those born between 1984-1995 being 2 kg/m(2) larger than those born between 1958-1970 (p = 0.001) and increases in FMI were highly significant (p-values < 0.001). FFMI did not differ by cohort. In girls, there was a significant advantage in BMI (1.2 kg/m(2)) and FFMI (0.8 kg/m(2)) of the 1984-1995 cohort compared to the 1971-1983 cohort (p-values < 0.05). Conclusions: Because the long term trend in childhood BMI in boys appears to be driven by an increase in total body adiposity, evidence is provided to support current knowledge on the predicted deleterious long-term consequences of the childhood obesity epidemic in boys. Research is needed to confirm whether recent changes in BMI in girls are due to increases in fat-free mass resulting from changes in behaviour and lifestyle not yet manifest in boys.
  Annals of Human Biology 09/2012; · 1.98 Impact Factor
• Article: Associations between trunk, leg and total body adiposity with arterial stiffness.

  Miryoung Lee, Audrey C Choh, Ellen W Demerath, Bradford Towne, Roger M Siervogel, Stefan A Czerwinski
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  ABSTRACT: Background Obesity and arterial stiffness are associated, but fat distribution patterns may be more strongly related to arterial stiffness than general obesity because of the possible increased inflammation associated with increased abdominal adiposity. The aims of this study were to examine whether fat patterning is associated with arterial stiffness, and determine whether these associations are mediated by low-grade inflammation.Methods Adult participants from the Fels Longitudinal Study (228 males and 254 females) were assessed for brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (BaPWV) to determine arterial stiffness. Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry was used to estimate fat percentage of the trunk and legs (e.g., TRUNKFAT% and LEGFAT%). High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels were assayed as a general marker of inflammation. General linear regression analyses were used.ResultsBaPWV was positively associated with TRUNKFAT% (r = 0.44 in men and r = 0.38 in women), whereas it was inversely related to LEGFAT% (r = -0.40 in men and r = -0.39 in women). In multiple regression analyses, each SD increase in TRUNKFAT% was associated with an ~1.03 m/s increase in BaPWV in both men and women. Each SD increase in LEGFAT% was related to a similar magnitude of decrease (1.03 m/s) in BaPWV in both sexes. The relationships of TRUNKFAT% and LEGFAT% with BaPWV were attenuated slightly when including hs-CRP in the models, but remained significant.Conclusions We found that trunk and leg fat are related to BaPWV in opposite directions when total body adiposity was accounted for. However, the associations between regional fat patterning and arterial stiffness did not appear to be mediated by low-grade inflammation.American Journal of Hypertension, 2012; doi:10.1038/ajh.2012.92.
  American Journal of Hypertension 07/2012; 25(10):1131-7. · 3.18 Impact Factor
• Article: A changing pattern of childhood BMI growth during the 20th century: 70 y of data from the Fels Longitudinal Study.

  William Johnson, Laura E Soloway, Darin Erickson, Audrey C Choh, Miryoung Lee, William C Chumlea, Roger M Siervogel, Stefan A Czerwinski, Bradford Towne, Ellen W Demerath
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  ABSTRACT: The BMI distribution shifted upward in the United States between the 1960s and the 1990s, but little is known about secular trends in the pattern of BMI growth, particularly earlier in the century and early in childhood. The objective was to examine differences in BMI growth in children born in 1929-1999. BMI curves from ages 2 to 18 y were produced for 855 European-American children in the Fels Longitudinal Study born in 1929-1953, 1954-1972, and 1973-1999. Age (A(min)) and BMI (BMI(min)) at adiposity rebound and age (AV(max)), BMI (BMIV(max)), and velocity (V(max)) at maximum velocity were derived; multivariable regression was used to examine whether maternal BMI, infant weight gain, and other covariates mediated the cohort effects on these traits. BMI curves showed that children born in 1973-1999 had the lowest BMI values until age 5 y but had the largest values from age 8 y onward. In adjusted models, boys and girls born in 1973-1999 had a 0.15-kg/m(2) per year faster V(max) and a 1-kg/m(2) higher BMIV(max) than did children of the same sex born in 1929-1953, and girls had a 0.8-y earlier A(min) (P < 0.01). Maternal BMI and infant weight gain were associated with an obesity-prone pattern of BMI growth but did not account for the observed trends. Shifts in the BMI growth rate around the time of pubertal initiation were apparent starting after 1973. The BMI growth curve did not increase monotonically over time; rather, children born during the obesity epidemic were characterized by lower BMI values before the adiposity rebound and by rapid subsequent BMI gain.
  American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 03/2012; 95(5):1136-43. · 6.67 Impact Factor
• Article: Eighty-year trends in infant weight and length growth: the Fels Longitudinal Study.

  William Johnson, Audrey C Choh, Laura E Soloway, Stefan A Czerwinski, Bradford Towne, Ellen W Demerath
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  ABSTRACT: To investigate secular trends in weight and length growth from birth to 3 years of age in infants born from 1930 to 2008, and to assess whether these trends were associated with concurrent trends in pace of infant skeletal maturation and maternal body mass index. Longitudinal weight and length data from 620 infants (302 girls) were analyzed with mixed effects modeling to produce growth curves and predicted anthropometry for infants born from 1930 to 1949, 1950 to 1969, 1970 to 1989, and 1990 to 2008. The most pronounced differences in growth occurred in the first year of life. Infants born after 1970 were approximately 450 g heavier and 1.4 cm longer at birth, but demonstrated slower growth to 1 year of age than infants born before 1970. Growth trajectories converged after 1 year of age. There was no evidence that relative skeletal age, maternal body mass index, or maternal age together mediated associations between cohort and growth. Recent birth cohorts may be characterized not only by greater birth size, but also by subsequent catch-down growth. Trends over time in human growth do not increase monotonically, and growth velocity in the first year may have declined compared with preceding generations.
  The Journal of pediatrics 12/2011; 160(5):762-8. · 4.02 Impact Factor
• Article: Evaluation of qualitative methods for phenotyping brachymesophalangia-V from radiographs of children.

  Kimberly D Williams, Ramzi W Nahhas, Carol R Cottom, Sharon Lawrence, Janardan Subedi, Bharat Jha, Stefan A Czerwinski, John Blangero, Sarah Williams-Blangero, Bradford Towne
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  ABSTRACT: Brachymesophalangia-V (BMP-V), the general term for a short and broad middle phalanx of the 5th digit, presents both alone and in a large number of complex brachydactylies and developmental disorders. Past anthropological and epidemiological studies of growth and development have examined the prevalence of BMP-V because small developmental disorders may signal more complex disruptions of skeletal growth and development. Historically, however, consensus on qualitative phenotype methodology has not been established. In large-scale, non-clinical studies such as the Fels Longitudinal Study and the Jiri Growth Study, quantitative assessment of the hand is not always the most efficient manner of screening for skeletal dysmorphologies. The current study evaluates qualitative phenotyping techniques for BMP-V used in past anthropological studies of growth and development to establish a useful and reliable screening method for large study samples. A total of 1,360 radiographs from Jiri Growth Study participants aged 3-18 years were evaluated. BMP-V was assessed using three methods: (1) subjective evaluation of length and width of the bone; (2) comparison with skeletal age-matched radiographs; and (3) subjective evaluation of the length of the middle 4th and 5th phalanges. We found that the method that uses skeletal age-matched reference radiographs is the better tool for assessing BMP-V because it considers the shape, rather than solely the length and width of the bone, which can be difficult to judge accurately without measurement. This study highlights the complexity of phenotypic assessment of BMP-V and by extension other brachydactylies.
  American Journal of Human Biology 12/2011; 24(1):68-73. · 2.27 Impact Factor
• Article: Concordance of the recently published body adiposity index with measured body fat percent in European-American adults.

  William Johnson, William C Chumlea, Stefan A Czerwinski, Ellen W Demerath
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  ABSTRACT: The body adiposity index (BAI; hip circumference (cm)/height (m)(1.5) - 18) has recently been shown to demonstrate a stronger correlation with percentage body fat (%fat) than that between the BMI and %fat in Mexican-American adults. Here, we compare the concordance between %fat from dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and BAI, and between %fat and BMI, in European-American adults (n = 623). Agreement between BAI, BMI, and %fat was assessed using Lin's concordance coefficients (ρ(c)), where values <0.90 are considered poor. In the sample as a whole, the agreement between BAI and %fat (ρ(c) = 0.752) was far better than that between BMI and %fat (ρ(c) = 0.445) but was nonetheless relatively poor. There were large mean differences in %fat between the BAI and DXA %fat, particularly at lower levels of adiposity (<20%), and further the BAI overestimated %fat in males and underestimated %fat in females. Optimizing the BAI formula for our sample only marginally improved performance. Results of the present study show that BAI provides a better indicator of adiposity in European-American adults than does BMI, but does not provide valid estimates of %fat, particularly at lower levels of body fatness. Further research is warranted to investigate the predictive ability of BAI for various health outcomes.
  Obesity 11/2011; 20(4):900-3. · 4.28 Impact Factor
• Article: Sugar-sweetened and diet beverages in relation to visceral adipose tissue.

  Andrew O Odegaard, Audrey C Choh, Stefan A Czerwinski, Bradford Towne, Ellen W Demerath
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  ABSTRACT: Frequent sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) intake has been consistently associated with increased adiposity and cardio-metabolic risk, whereas the association with diet beverages is more mixed. We examined how these beverages associate with regional abdominal adiposity measures, specifically visceral adipose tissue (VAT). In a cross-sectional analysis of 791 non-Hispanic white men and women aged 18-70 we examined how beverage consumption habits obtained from a food frequency questionnaire associate with overall and abdominal adiposity measures from MRI. With increasing frequency of SSB intake, we observed increases in waist circumference (WC) and the proportion of visceral to subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue (VAT%), with no change in total body fat (TBF%) or BMI. Greater frequency of diet beverage intake was associated with greater WC, BMI, and TBF%, but was not associated with variation in visceral adiposity We conclude that increased frequency of SSB consumption is associated with a more adverse abdominal adipose tissue deposition pattern.
  Obesity 09/2011; 20(3):689-91. · 4.28 Impact Factor
• Article: Cortical bone health shows significant linkage to chromosomes 2p, 3p, and 17q in 10-year-old children.

  Dana L Duren, John Blangero, Richard J Sherwood, Maja Seselj, Thomas Dyer, Shelley A Cole, Miryoung Lee, Audrey C Choh, Wm Cameron Chumlea, Roger M Siervogel, Stefan A Czerwinski, Bradford Towne
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  ABSTRACT: Genes play an important role in lifelong skeletal health. Genes that influence bone building during childhood have the potential to affect bone health not only throughout childhood but also into adulthood. Given that peak bone mass is a significant predictor of adult fracture risk, it is imperative that the genetic underpinnings of the normal pediatric skeleton are uncovered. In a sample of 600 10-year-old children from 144 families in the Fels Longitudinal Study, we examined radiographic cortical bone measures of the second metacarpal. Morphometic measurements included bone width, medial and lateral cortical thicknesses, and the calculated cortical index representing the amount of cortex relative to bone width. We then conducted genome-wide linkage analysis on these traits in 440 genotyped individuals using the SOLAR analytic platform. Significant quantitative trait loci (QTL) were identified for bone traits on three separate chromosomes. A QTL for medial cortical thickness was localized to chromosome 2p25.2. A QTL for lateral cortical thickness was localized to chromosomal region 3p26.1-3p25.3. Finally, a QTL detected for cortical index was localized to the 17q21.2 chromosomal region. Each region contains plausible candidate genes for pediatric skeletal health, some of which confirm findings from studies of adulthood bone, and for others represent novel candidate genes for skeletal health.
  Bone 08/2011; 49(6):1213-8. · 4.02 Impact Factor
• Article: Differences in the heritability of growth and growth velocity during infancy and associations with FTO variants.

  Audrey C Choh, Joanne E Curran, Andrew O Odegaard, Ramzi W Nahhas, Stefan A Czerwinski, John Blangero, Bradford Towne, Ellen W Demerath
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  ABSTRACT: While the associations of common variants in the FTO gene with obesity have been widely replicated in adults, there is conflicting evidence regarding their effects in infancy. We hypothesize that the genetic influences on growth traits vary during infancy, and that conflicting results may stem from variation in the ages at which FTO associations have been examined. Using longitudinal weight and length data at 0, 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 30, and 36 months in 917 (444 females, 473 males) family members from the Fels Longitudinal Study, we used a variance components-based approach (SOLAR) to: (i) examine differences in heritability (gene-by-age interaction) in weight, length, relative weight (BMI and ponderal index (PI)) and instantaneous weight and length velocities over the course of infancy, and (ii) test whether a common FTO variant (rs9939609) was associated with infant growth at three ages (maximum trait heritability, birth and 36 months). All heritabilities at birth (of 39-74%) were significant (P < 3.9 × 10(-10)), but changed with age (gene-by-age interaction, P < 0.05). Weight, relative weight, and weight velocity reached maximum heritabilities (of 76-89%) at 6-9 months, while length and length velocity reached maximum heritabilities (of 96-99%) at 18-30 months. We found no association of rs9939609 with growth status or velocity measured at any age (P > 0.11). This study for the first time demonstrates the fluctuation of genetic influences on infant growth, but further work is required to determine which gene variants explain the strong additive genetic effects observed.
  Obesity 06/2011; 19(9):1847-54. · 4.28 Impact Factor
• Article: Secular trends in blood pressure during early-to-middle adulthood: the Fels Longitudinal Study.

  Audrey C Choh, Ramzi W Nahhas, Miryoung Lee, Youn Su Choi, William C Chumlea, Dana L Duren, Richard J Sherwood, Bradford Towne, Roger M Siervogel, Ellen W Demerath, Stefan A Czerwinski
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  ABSTRACT: Some studies have shown a decline in blood pressure (BP) over the second half of the twentieth century. However, the increasing prevalence of obesity may have opposite effects on recent cohorts. Using serial BP data from the Fels Longitudinal Study, we examined secular trends in mean BP, the rate of change in BP with age (slopes), and the influence of obesity (i.e., BMI) and height on these trends during young-to-middle adulthood. The study sample consisted of 970 adults, aged 18-40 years, who were born between 1920 and 1979. Participants were grouped into birth decade cohorts and had up to 11 serial measurements of SBP, DBP, and BMI. Sex-stratified mixed longitudinal analyses were used to identify cohort effects on mean BP at ages 19, 29, and 39 years, and on the rate of change in BP with age. For both sexes, mean SBP did not vary significantly by birth cohort, before and after adjusting for height and BMI. Mean DBP exhibited a U-shaped secular trend even after adjusting for BMI and height that was influenced by age-by-cohort effects. By age 39 years, those born most recently had the highest mean DBP. There were cohort effects on the rate of change in DBP with age, but not on rate of SBP change. The most recent cohorts had higher rates of DBP change with age compared to the earlier cohorts. The secular trend was partially influenced by the trends in BMI.
  Journal of hypertension 03/2011; 29(5):838-45. · 4.02 Impact Factor
• Article: A genome-wide linkage scan for quantitative trait loci influencing the craniofacial complex in humans (Homo sapiens sapiens).

  Richard J Sherwood, Dana L Duren, Michael C Mahaney, John Blangero, Thomas D Dyer, Shelley A Cole, Stefan A Czerwinski, Wm Cameron Chumlea, Roger M Siervogel, Audrey C Choh, Ramzi W Nahhas, Miryoung Lee, Bradford Towne
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  ABSTRACT: The genetic architecture of the craniofacial complex has been the subject of intense scrutiny because of the high frequency of congenital malformations. Numerous animal models have been used to document the early development of the craniofacial complex, but few studies have focused directly on the genetic underpinnings of normal variation in the human craniofacial complex. This study examines 80 quantitative traits derived from lateral cephalographs of 981 participants in the Fels Longitudinal Study, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio. Quantitative genetic analyses were conducted using the Sequential Oligogenic Linkage Analysis Routines analytic platform, a maximum-likelihood variance components method that incorporates all familial information for parameter estimation. Heritability estimates were significant and of moderate to high magnitude for all craniofacial traits. Additionally, significant quantitative trait loci (QTL) were identified for 10 traits from the three developmental components (basicranium, splanchnocranium, and neurocranium) of the craniofacial complex. These QTL were found on chromosomes 3, 6, 11, 12, and 14. This study of the genetic architecture of the craniofacial complex elucidates fundamental information of the genetic architecture of the craniofacial complex in humans.
  The Anatomical Record Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology 02/2011; 294(4):664-75. · 1.47 Impact Factor
• Article: Significant associations of age, menopausal status and lifestyle factors with visceral adiposity in African-American and European-American women.

  Ellen W Demerath, Nikki L Rogers, Derek Reed, Miryoung Lee, Audrey C Choh, Roger M Siervogel, Wm Cameron Chumlea, Bradford Towne, Stefan A Czerwinski
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  ABSTRACT: Elevated visceral adiposity is strongly predictive of cardiometabolic disease, but, due to the high cost of biomedical imaging, assessment of factors contributing to normal variation in visceral (VAT) and subcutaneous (SAT) adipose tissue partitioning in large cohorts of healthy individuals are few, particularly in ethnic and racial minority populations. To describe age, menopausal status, smoking and physical activity differences in VAT and abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (ASAT) mass in African-American (AA) and European-American (EA) women. Magnetic resonance imaging measures of VAT and ASAT mass and VAT% (VAT/VAT+ASAT, %) were obtained from a cross-sectional sample of 617 EA and 111 AA non-diabetic women aged 18-80 years. Multivariate linear regression was used to test independent effects of the covariates. VAT and VAT% were higher in EA than AA women (p < 0.01). Differences in VAT, ASAT and VAT% across age groups began in early adulthood in both ethnic groups, but the association of age with VAT% was stronger in EA women (p for interaction = 0.03). Current smokers had higher VAT and VAT% (p < 0.01) and lower TBF than non-smokers. Frequent participation in sports activities was associated with ∼30% lower VAT in older (>55 years) as well as younger ( < 40 years) women (p < 0.0001). Greater allocation of abdominal adipose tissue into the visceral compartment occurs in EA than AA women and in older than younger women. Avoidance of cigarette smoking and frequent participation in sports activities may partially counteract this deleterious phenomenon of ageing.
  Annals of Human Biology 12/2010; 38(3):247-56. · 1.98 Impact Factor
• Article: Rapid postnatal weight gain and visceral adiposity in adulthood: the Fels Longitudinal Study.

  Ellen W Demerath, Derek Reed, Audrey C Choh, Laura Soloway, Miryoung Lee, Stefan A Czerwinski, William C Chumlea, Rogers M Siervogel, Bradford Towne
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  ABSTRACT: Rapid infant weight gain is associated with increased abdominal adiposity, but there is no published report of the relationship of early infant growth to differences in specific adipose tissue depots in the abdomen, including visceral adipose tissue (VAT). In this study, we tested the associations of birth weight, infant weight gain, and other early life traits with VAT, abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (ASAT), and other body composition measures using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in middle adulthood (mean age = 46.5 years). The sample included 233 appropriate for gestational age singleton white children (114 males) enrolled in the Fels Longitudinal Study. Multivariate-adjusted general linear models were used to test the association of infant weight gain (from 0 to 2 years), maternal BMI, gestational age, parity, maternal age, and other covariates with adulthood body composition. Compared to infants with slow weight gain, rapid weight gain was associated with elevated risk of obesity (adjusted odds ratio = 4.1, 95% confidence interval = 1.4, 11.1), higher total body fat (+7 kg, P = 0.0002), percent body fat (+5%, P = 0.0006), logVAT mass (+0.43 kg, P = 0.02), logASAT mass (+0.47 kg, P = 0.001), and percent abdominal fat (+5%, P = 0.03). There was no evidence that the increased abdominal adipose tissue was due to a preferential deposition of VAT. In conclusion, rapid infant weight gain is associated with increases in both VAT and ASAT, as well as total adiposity and the risk of obesity in middle adulthood.
  Obesity 05/2009; 17(11):2060-6. · 4.28 Impact Factor
• Article: Presentation, heritability, and genome-wide linkage analysis of the midchildhood growth spurt in healthy children from the Fels Longitudinal Study.

  Bradford Towne, Kimberly D Williams, John Blangero, Stefan A Czerwinski, Ellen W Demerath, Ramzi W Nahhas, Thomas D Dyer, Shelley A Cole, Miryoung Lee, Audrey C Choh, Dana L Duren, Richard J Sherwood, William Cameron Chumlea, Roger M Siervogel
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  ABSTRACT: Growth is a complex process composed of distinct phases over the course of childhood. Although the pubertal growth spurt has received the most attention from auxologists and pediatricians, the midchildhood growth spurt has been less well studied. The midchildhood growth spurt refers to a relatively small increase in growth velocity observed in some, but not necessarily all, children in early to middle childhood. If present, the midchildhood growth spurt typically occurs sometime between the ages of 4 and 8 years, well before the onset of the far more pronounced pubertal growth spurt. In this study we used a triple logistic curve-fitting method to fit individual growth curves to serial stature data from 579 healthy participants in the Fels Longitudinal Study, 479 of whom have been genotyped for about 400 short tandem repeat (STR) markers spanning the genome. We categorized individuals according to the presence or absence of a midchildhood growth spurt and then conducted heritability and genome-wide linkage analyses on the dichotomous trait. In the total sample of 579 individuals, 336 (58%) were found to have evidence of having had a midchildhood growth spurt. There was a marked sex difference in presence of the midchildhood growth spurt, however, with 232 of the 293 males (79%) having had a midchildhood growth spurt but just 104 of the 286 females (36%) having had one. Presence of a midchildhood growth spurt was found to have a significant heritability of 0.37 +/- 0.14 (p = 0.003). Two quantitative trait loci with suggestive LOD scores were found: one at 12 cM on chromosome 17p13.2 (LOD = 2.13) between markers D17S831 and D17S938 and one at 85 cM on chromosome 12q14 (LOD = 2.06) between markers D12S83 and D12S326.
  Human Biology 01/2009; 80(6):623-36. · 1.31 Impact Factor
• Article: Visceral adiposity and its anatomical distribution as predictors of the metabolic syndrome and cardiometabolic risk factor levels.

  Ellen W Demerath, Derek Reed, Nikki Rogers, Shumei S Sun, Miryoung Lee, Audrey C Choh, William Couch, Stefan A Czerwinski, W Cameron Chumlea, Roger M Siervogel, Bradford Towne
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  ABSTRACT: Despite the recognition that central obesity plays a critical role in chronic disease, few large-scale imaging studies have documented human variation in abdominal adipose tissue patterning. We aimed to compare the associations between abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (ASAT) and visceral abdominal tissue (VAT), which were measured at different locations across the abdomen, and the presence of the metabolic syndrome (MS; National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III definition) and individual cardiometabolic risk factors. This study included 713 non-Hispanic whites aged 18-86 y, in whom VAT and ASAT were assessed by using multiple-image magnetic resonance imaging. The anatomical position of the magnetic resonance image containing the maximum VAT area for each subject was used as a measure of VAT patterning. Multivariate linear and logistic regression analyses were used to examine the relation of VAT, ASAT, and VAT patterning to cardiometabolic risk. VAT mass was a stronger predictor of the MS than was ASAT mass, but ASAT mass (and other measures of subcutaneous adiposity) had signification interactions with VAT mass, whereby elevated ASAT reduced the probability of MS among men with high VAT (P = 0.0008). There was variation across image locations in the association of VAT area with the MS in men, and magnetic resonance images located 4-8 cm above L4-L5 provided the strongest correlations between VAT area and cardiometabolic risk factors. Subjects whose maximum VAT area was higher in the abdomen had higher LDL-cholesterol concentrations (R(2) = 0.07, P < 0.0001), independent of age and adiposity. Further studies are needed to confirm the effects of VAT patterning on cardiometabolic risk.
  American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 11/2008; 88(5):1263-71. · 6.67 Impact Factor
• Article: Body composition methods: comparisons and interpretation.

  Dana L Duren, Richard J Sherwood, Stefan A Czerwinski, Miryoung Lee, Audrey C Choh, Roger M Siervogel, Wm Cameron Chumlea
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  ABSTRACT: The incidence of obesity in the United States and other developed countries is epidemic. Because the prevalence of comorbidities to obesity, such as type 2 diabetes, has also increased, it is clear there is a great need to monitor and treat obesity and its comorbidities. Body composition assessments vary in precision and in the target tissue of interest. The most common assessments are anthropometric and include weight, stature, abdominal circumference, and skinfold measurements. More complex methods include bioelectrical impedance, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, body density, and total body water estimates. There is no single universally recommended method for body composition assessment in the obese, but each modality has benefits and drawbacks. We present here the most common methods and provide guidelines by way of examples to assist the clinician/researcher in choosing methods appropriate to their situation.
  Journal of diabetes science and technology 11/2008; 2(6):1139-46.
• Article: Genetic analysis of self-reported physical activity and adiposity: the Southwest Ohio Family Study.

  Audrey C Choh, Ellen W Demerath, Miryoung Lee, Kimberly D Williams, Bradford Towne, Roger M Siervogel, Shelley A Cole, Stefan A Czerwinski
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  ABSTRACT: Physical inactivity poses a major risk for obesity and chronic disease, and is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. However, the genetic association between physical activity (PA) level and obesity is not well characterized. Our aims were to: (i) estimate the extent of additive genetic influences on physical activity while adjusting for household effects; and (ii) determine whether physical activity and adiposity measures share common genetic effects. The sample included 521 (42 % male) adult relatives, 18-86 years of age, from five large families in the Southwest Ohio Family Study. Sport, leisure and work PA were self-reported (Baecke Questionnaire of Habitual Physical Activity). Total body and trunk adiposity, including percentage body fat (%BF), were measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Abdominal visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue mass were measured using MRI. Heritabilities for adiposity and PA traits, and the genetic, household and environmental correlations among them, were estimated using maximum likelihood variance components methods. Significant genetic effects (P < 0.05) were found for sport (h2 = 0.26) and leisure PA (h2 = 0.17). Significant (P < 0.05) household effects existed for leisure PA (c2 = 0.25). Sport PA had a negative genetic correlation with central adiposity measurements adjusted for height (rhoG > |-0.40|). Sport and leisure PA had negative genetic correlations with %BF (rhoG > |-0.46|). The results suggest that the association of sport and leisure PA with lower adiposity is due, in part, to a common genetic inheritance of both reduced adiposity and the predisposition to engage in more physical activity.
  Public Health Nutrition 09/2008; 12(8):1052-60. · 2.17 Impact Factor
• Article: Quantitative genetics of modern human cranial variation.

  Richard J Sherwood, Dana L Duren, Ellen W Demerath, Stefan A Czerwinski, Roger M Siervogel, Bradford Towne
  Journal of Human Evolution 07/2008; 54(6):909-14. · 3.64 Impact Factor