Fat intake and breast cancer risk in an area where fat intake is low: a case-control study in Indonesia.
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BACKGROUND: Associations of fat and other macronutrients with breast cancer risk are not clear in areas where fat intake is low. METHODS: We conducted a hospital-based case-control study from 1992 to 1995 in Jakarta, Indonesia. RESULTS: The study, based on 226 cases and 452 age and socioeconomic status matched controls, provided the following findings. (a) In the pre-marriage period, the greater the fat or protein consumption, the larger the risk, whereas decreasing risk with increasing carbohydrate intake was detected. The odds ratio (OR) for the highest quartile of intake relative to the lowest was 8.47 (95% CI: 4.03-17.8) for fat, 2.19 (95% CI: 1.30-3.69) for protein, and 0.16 (95% CI: 0.08-0.31) for carbohydrate. A positive association with fat and a negative one with carbohydrate were also observed for the post-marriage period, but of weaker magnitude compared to the pre-marriage period. (b) The effects of macronutrient intakes were stronger among premenopausal than among postmenopausal women. (c) Most of the associations of protein and carbohydrate were insignificant after adjustment for fat intake. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that fat intake might be an important determinant of breast cancer among populations with a low fat diet in Indonesia. (+info)
Marital status and mortality in British women: a longitudinal study.
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BACKGROUND: Most previous studies on marital status and mortality did not adjust for the effect of 'marital selection'. Little research has been done about the relation between marital status and mortality in British women, with the exception of research on bereavement. METHODS: Subjects consisted of women aged > or = 35 in a longitudinal study of a nationally representative sample. Marital status and covariates were enumerated at a baseline interview in 1984/85 and a follow-up interview in 1991/92. Death data up to May 1997 were obtained from the National Health Service Central Register. Cox regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) for the single, divorced and widowed states in relation to the married state. RESULTS: Having adjusted for age and martial selection factors, being single (HR = 1.45) was significantly associated with higher all-cause mortality. Being divorced and being widowed showed no excess mortality risk (each HR = 1.09). CONCLUSIONS: Being single was associated with higher mortality. A causal interpretation is plausible. Being divorced and being widowed were not associated with higher mortality. (+info)
Neighbourhood variation in incidence of schizophrenia. Evidence for person-environment interaction.
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BACKGROUND: Neighbourhood characteristics may influence the risk of psychosis, independently of their individual-level equivalents. AIMS: To examine these issues in a multi-level model of schizophrenia incidence. METHOD: Cases of schizophrenia, incident between 1986 and 1997, were identified from the Maastricht Mental Health Case Register. A multi-level analysis was conducted to examine the independent effects of individual-level and neighbourhood-level variables in 35 neighbourhoods. RESULTS: Independent of individual-level single and divorced marital status, an effect of the proportion of single persons and proportion of divorced persons in a neighbourhood was apparent (per 1% increase respectively: RR = 1.02; 95% CI 1.00-1.03; and RR = 1.12, 95% CI 1.04-1.21). Single marital status interacted with the neighbourhood proportion of single persons, the effect being stronger in neighbourhoods with fewer single-person households. CONCLUSIONS: The neighbourhood environment modifies the individual risk for schizophrenia. Premorbid vulnerability resulting in single marital status may be more likely to progress to overt disease in an environment with a higher perceived level of social isolation. (+info)
Sociodemographic and workload characteristics of dentists who participated in national survey, 1995.
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Comprehensive, standardized data on the sociodemographic characteristics and workload of dentists in different provinces and territories in Canada are not available. The authors mailed a survey to a stratified random sample of dentists (n = 6,444) with three follow-up attempts. The response rate was 66.4%. Significant provincial and territorial differences in sociodemographic characteristics included gender, age, years since graduation, marital status, population size of town or city where primary practice is located and patient load. There was considerable variation in dentists' workload: more than 10% of dentists from New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island reported seeing > or = 30 patients per day. The majority of respondents reported seeing patients for 25 to 40 hours per week. British Columbia, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland had a greater proportion of respondents > or = 60 years of age compared with other provinces/territories, indicating that there may be more opportunities in these provinces for younger dentists as a result of retirements. (+info)
Cigarettes and suicide: a prospective study of 50,000 men.
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OBJECTIVES: This study examined the relation between smoking and suicide, controlling for various confounders. METHODS: More than 50,000 predominantly White, middle-aged and elderly male health professionals were followed up prospectively with biennial questionnaires from 1986 through 1994. The primary end point was suicide. Characteristics controlled for included age, marital status, body mass index, physical activity, alcohol intake, coffee consumption, and history of cancer. RESULTS: Eighty-two members of the cohort committed suicide during the 8-year follow-up period. In age-adjusted analyses with never smokers as the comparison group, the relative risk of suicide was 1.4 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.8, 2.3) among former smokers, 2.6 (95% CI = 0.9, 7.5) for light smokers (< 15 cigarettes/day), and 4.5 (95% CI = 2.3, 8.8) among heavier smokers. After adjustment for potential confounders, the relative risks were 1.4 (95% CI = 0.9, 2.4), 2.5 (95% CI = 0.9, 7.3), and 4.3 (95% CI = 2.2, 8.5), respectively. CONCLUSION: We found a positive, dose-related association between smoking and suicide among White men. Although inference about causality is not justified, our findings indicate that the smoking-suicide connection is not entirely due to the greater tendency among smokers to be unmarried, to be sedentary, to drink heavily, or to develop cancers. (+info)
Marital status and suicide in the National Longitudinal Mortality Study.
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OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of marital status on the risk of suicide, using a large nationally representative sample. A related objective was to investigate the association between marital status and suicide by sex. METHODS: Cox proportional hazards regression models were applied to data from the National Longitudinal Mortality Study, based on the 1979-1989 follow up. In estimating the effect of marital status, adjustments were made for age, sex, race, education, family income, and region of residence. RESULTS: For the entire sample, higher risks of suicide were found in divorced than in married persons. Divorced and separated persons were over twice as likely to commit suicide as married persons (RR = 2.08, 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) 1.58, 2.72). Being single or widowed had no significant effect on suicide risk. When data were stratified by sex, it was observed that the risk of suicide among divorced men was over twice that of married men (RR = 2.38, CI 1.77, 3.20). Among women, however, there were no statistically significant differentials in the risk of suicide by marital status categories. CONCLUSIONS: Marital status, especially divorce, has strong net effect on mortality from suicide, but only among men. The study showed that in epidemiological research on suicide, more accurate results would be obtained if samples are stratified on the basis of key demographic or social characteristics. The study further observed that failure to control for relevant socioeconomic variables or combining men and women in the same models could produce misleading results. (+info)
Client with epilepsy in a work Brazilian rehabilitation center.
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INTRODUCTION: People with epilepsy (PWE) may have problems in obtaining or maintaining regular employment because of restrictions related to their handicap, social prejudices and also high rates of unemployment of the population. The main aim of this pilot study was to know the vocational rehabilitation problems involving PWE sent to a vocational rehabilitation center (VRC) in Rio de Janeiro. METHOD: Fifteen PWE were selected unbiased from those seen at the VCR. It was reviewed their records in the search of sociodemographic, health care, employment suitability and work rehabilitation data. RESULTS: Only one person was eligible for the training program, four were ineligible, six were temporarily ineligible, and the other four do not necessitate the rehabilitation, but as the majority, the better seizures control. CONCLUSIONS: The studied sample of selected PWE, but representative of the studied population, do not show any important successful in the vocational rehabilitation carried out at the VRC. (+info)