Short stature and cardiovascular disease among men and women from two southeastern New England communities.
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BACKGROUND: Short stature has been associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), although the reason for the association remains unclear. Data on the relation between stature and stroke is more limited. We examined the association between stature and CHD as well as between stature and stroke in men and women from two communities in southeastern New England. METHODS: Coronary heart disease and stroke events were abstracted from medical records between January 1980 and December 1991. An epidemiological diagnostic algorithm developed to measure CHD was used in the present analysis. Unadjusted relative risks (RR) and RR adjusted for age, smoking status, obesity, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol <0.91 mmol/l, total cholesterol >6.21 mmol/l, hypertension, diabetes, education, and being foreign born were computed by gender-specific height categories separately for men (n = 2826) and women (n = 3741). RESULTS: A graded inverse association between stature and risk of CHD was observed among men which persisted after adjustment for confounders. Men >69.75 inches had an 83% lower risk of CHD compared with men < or = 65 inches. In addition, the tallest men had a 67% decreased risk of stroke compared with the shortest men. No significant relation between stature and CHD or stroke was observed among women. CONCLUSIONS: These data support the hypothesis that stature is inversely related to both risk of CHD and stroke at least among men. Factors which might explain this association remain to be determined. (+info)
Health status of Persian Gulf War veterans: self-reported symptoms, environmental exposures and the effect of stress.
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BACKGROUND: Most US troops returned home from the Persian Gulf War (PGW) by Spring 1991 and many began reporting increased health symptoms and medical problems soon after. This investigation examines the relationships between several Gulf-service environmental exposures and health symptom reporting, and the role of traumatic psychological stress on the exposure-health symptom relationships. METHODS: Stratified, random samples of two cohorts of PGW veterans, from the New England area (n = 220) and from the New Orleans area (n = 71), were selected from larger cohorts being followed longitudinally since arrival home from the Gulf. A group of PGW-era veterans deployed to Germany (n = 50) served as a comparison group. The study protocol included questionnaires, a neuropsychological test battery, an environmental interview, and psychological diagnostic interviews. This report focuses on self-reported health symptoms and exposures of participants who completed a 52-item health symptom checklist and a checklist of environmental exposures. RESULTS: The prevalence of reported symptoms was greater in both Persian Gulf-deployed cohorts compared to the Germany cohort. Analyses of the body-system symptom scores (BSS), weighted to account for sampling design, and adjusted by age, sex, and education, indicated that Persian Gulf-deployed veterans were more likely to report neurological, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, cardiac, dermatological, musculoskeletal, psychological and neuropsychological system symptoms than Germany veterans. Using a priori hypotheses about the toxicant effects of exposure to specific toxicants, the relationships between self-reported exposures and body-system symptom groupings were examined through multiple regression analyses, controlling for war-zone exposure and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Self-reported exposures to pesticides, debris from Scuds, chemical and biological warfare (CBW) agents, and smoke from tent heaters each were significantly related to increased reporting of specific predicted BSS groupings. CONCLUSIONS: Veterans deployed to the Persian Gulf have higher self-reported prevalence of health symptoms compared to PGW veterans who were deployed only as far as Germany. Several Gulf-service environmental exposures are associated with increased health symptom reporting involving predicted body-systems, after adjusting for war-zone stressor exposures and PTSD. (+info)
Treatment patterns for heart failure in a primary care environment.
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Little published information regarding current pharmacotherapeutic treatment patterns for congestive heart failure (CHF) in nonacademic, ambulatory care settings is available. We sought to assess, in a nonacademic primary care environment, pharmacotherapeutic treatment patterns for CHF with respect to consistency with clinical trial evidence and published treatment guideline recommendations. Over an 18-month period, we examined CHF pharmacotherapy using a computerized, integrated clinical diagnoses and prescription database from an outpatient community healthcare center without academic affiliations. We identified adult patients meeting contact criteria and with diagnosis of CHF by International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9-CM) coding and assessed prescribed therapy as well as select comorbid conditions. Drugs of interest included those with known or suspected benefit or detriment and those with unproven benefit. An eligible group of 14,983 patients was identified, from which a cohort of 148 patients with CHF was selected. Forty-one percent of these 148 patients were prescribed an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, 34% digoxin, 12% diuretic, 12% hydralazine + nitrate, 20% inhaled beta-agonists, and 66% warfarin. Only 5% of patients were prescribed the combination of an ACE inhibitor, digoxin, and diuretic. Thirty-one percent had a comorbid diagnosis of atrial fibrillation, of whom 44% were prescribed digoxin, 22% diltiazem, 15% beta-blockers, 15% digoxin and diltiazem, 7% digoxin and a beta-blocker, and 33% warfarin. In general, recommended therapies for CHF appeared underutilized in this cohort, whereas those of unclear benefit and potential detriment appeared overutilized. Although these results may not be readily generalized to the entire healthcare system, they do suggest a need for additional analysis and potential intervention. (+info)
Phylogenetic analysis of H7 avian influenza viruses isolated from the live bird markets of the Northeast United States.
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The presence of low-pathogenic H7 avian influenza virus (AIV), which is associated with live-bird markets (LBM) in the Northeast United States, was first detected in 1994 and, despite efforts to eradicate the virus, surveillance of these markets has resulted in numerous isolations of H7 AIVs from several states from 1994 through 1998. The hemagglutinin, nonstructural, and matrix genes from representative H7 isolates from the LBM and elsewhere were sequenced, and the sequences were compared phylogenetically. The hemagglutinin gene of most LBM isolates examined appeared to have been the result of a single introduction of the hemagglutinin gene. Evidence for evolutionary changes were observed with three definable steps. The first isolate from 1994 had the amino acid threonine at the -2 position of the hemagglutinin cleavage site, which is the most commonly observed amino acid at this site for North American H7 AIVs. In January 1995 a new genotype with a proline at the -2 position was detected, and this genotype eventually became the predominant virus isolate. A third viral genotype, detected in November 1996, had an eight-amino-acid deletion within the putative receptor binding site. This viral genotype appeared to be the predominant isolate, although isolates with proline at the -2 position without the deletion were still observed in viruses from the last sampling date. Evidence for reassortment of multiple viral genes was evident. The combination of possible adaptive evolution of the virus and reassortment with different influenza virus genes makes it difficult to determine the risk of pathogenesis of this group of H7 AIVs. (+info)
The Resource Mothers Program for Maternal Phenylketonuria.
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OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to measure the effectiveness of resource mothers in reducing adverse consequences of maternal phenylketonuria. METHODS: Nineteen pregnancies in the resource mothers group were compared with 64 pregnancies in phenylketonuric women without resource mothers. Weeks to metabolic control and offspring outcome were measured. RESULTS: Mean number of weeks to metabolic control was 8.5 (SE = 2.2) in the resource mothers group, as compared with 16.1 (SE = 1.7) in the comparison group. Infants of women in the resource mothers group had larger birth head circumferences and higher developmental quotients. CONCLUSIONS: The resource mothers program described here improves metabolic control in pregnant women with phenylketonuria. (+info)
Validity of reported age and centenarian prevalence in New England.
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INTRODUCTION: the age reported by or on behalf of centenarians may be suspect unless proven correct. We report the validity of age reports in a population-based sample of centenarians living in New England and the prevalence of centenarians in an area within the North Eastern USA. METHODS: cohort study. All centenarians in a population-based sample detected by local censuses. Ages were confirmed by birth certificate. Type of residence and whether the subject was living independently were also recorded. RESULTS: from a population of about 450,000 people, 289 potential centenarians were reported by the censuses of the eight towns participating in the study. Of these, 186 (64%) had died at the time centenarian prevalence was determined. Of the 80 still alive, 13 (16%) had incorrect birth years recorded by the censuses. The specificity of the censuses for stating the number of centenarians alive and living in the sample was 28-31%. Using additional sources, only four more centenarians were located, indicating that the sensitivity of the censuses approached 100%. We had an 83% success rate in obtaining proof of age in those families we interviewed. In all instances, age and birth order of children were an important source of corroborative evidence and in no case did we detect inconsistencies with the families' reported ages of the centenarian subjects. Therefore, there were at least 46 centenarians or approximately 1 centenarian per 10,000 people. CONCLUSIONS: age validation can be performed for most centenarians in the North Eastern USA. Self or family reports of those between the ages of 100 and 107 years were dependable. (+info)
Public health in managed care: a randomized controlled trial of the effectiveness of postcard reminders.
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OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated the effectiveness of an annual public health intervention in a managed care setting. METHODS: Managed care organization members 65 years and older who received influenza immunization in 1996 were randomized to an intervention group (mailed a postcard reminder to receive an influenza vaccination in 1997) or a control group (no postcard). Vaccination rates for both groups were assessed monthly. RESULTS: Members receiving the intervention were no more likely to be immunized (78.6%) than members of the control group (77.2%, P = .222). Members were vaccinated at the same pace regardless of vaccination history and postcard intervention status. CONCLUSIONS: Postcard reminders were not an effective intervention among seniors who had been vaccinated the previous year. (+info)
Neisseria meningitidis, a leading cause of bacterial meningitis and sepsis in children and young adults in the United States, causes both sporadic disease and outbreaks. Preventing and controlling meningococcal disease remains a public health challenge because of the multiple serogroups and the limitations of available vaccines. Vaccination with the polysaccharide meningococcal vaccine, which protects against serogroups A, C, Y, and W135 of N. meningitidis, is recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for controlling outbreaks but routine vaccination is not recommended for control of sporadic cases. During 1998, a cluster of meningococcal disease cases occurred in Rhode Island, and although the situation did not meet ACIP criteria for an outbreak, the Rhode Island Department of Health recommended vaccination of all residents aged 2-22 years. This action stimulated controversy in Rhode Island and the rest of New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont) and prompted a review of the epidemiology of meningococcal disease in the region. This report describes meningococcal disease data reported to the region's state health departments during 1993-1998 and discusses the situation in Rhode Island. (+info)