In the early 1990s, researchers at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics studied the diet of girls as young as eight to see if their fat intake affected their sex hormones. That study was called the Dietary Intervention Study in Children or DISC study. Now the university would like to contact those same study participants to take part in another, separate study.

Linda Snetselaar, RD, PhD, a registered dietitian and professor in epidemiology at UI Hospitals and Clinics, 301 female participants nationwide and 57 female participants from Cedar Rapids, Clinton, and Muscatine participated in the DISC study.

"Participants were randomly placed into either a usual care or intervention group. The usual care group was asked to maintain their normal way of eating. The intervention group was encouraged to make dietary changes to reduce the participants' intake of total fat, saturated fat, and dietary cholesterol from their usual (baseline) intake of these nutrients.

"To help make these changes," she says, "they were given an intense program that involved group and individual counseling sessions. They were taught how to shop for certain foods and cook low-fat meals.

"The results of the study showed that, in terms of the hormone data collected on the females at the end of the original DISC study, girls in the intervention group had lower blood levels of estrogens and progesterone, hormones that are important in breast development.

"Now we would like to contact those same study participants-today, they are approximately 24 to 26 years of age-to take part in another, separate study," she says.

Participants will be contacted first by letter to the last known address of the parent. From there we will follow up with a phone call. Participants will be asked to come for a one-day visit which will include blood sample, DXA scan for bone density, Breast MRI for breast density, and complete several questionnaires. Participants will also be asked to complete three 24-hour dietary recalls with two of those collected over the phone one to two weeks after the visit. This study involves one visit to UI Hospitals and Clinics and the two follow up phone calls after the visit.

"In the this study, we will compare blood levels of estrogen and progesterone, bone density, and breast density of the DISC intervention and usual care groups to determine if there are any long-term effects of the DISC intervention on these biological factors that are related to breast cancer risk," says Snetselaar. "We will also compare blood pressure, waist circumference, and blood levels of fats and sugar to determine if there were any long term effects of the intervention on metabolism."

If you are one of the initial DISC participants and want to take part in this facet of the study, call 800-814-9535 or contact Lois Ahrens, study coordinator at 319-384-5044.  

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