Asthma in Hawaii: a tradition of excess mortality.

Hawaii has the highest asthma mortality in the nation and clinically has always had high rates. In contrast, international consensus has it that deaths have been rare over the past two centuries to 1950. The objective of this study was to document Hawaii's asthma mortality over the centuries to 1950.

Mamane: scientific therapy for asthma?

Mortality from asthma in Hawaii continues to increase and chronic problems of medication compliance, side effects, and cost persist. The advisability of adding alternative (traditional) medication for its anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic function was examined. One of the herbs for asthma in the Hawaiian narrative tradition is mamane, or in scientific terminology, Sophora chrysophylla.

Minimizing acarians and house dust in the tropics.

Dust collection and mite isolation by Furumizo's method occurred in 33 homes on days 0 and 14. The first application of Paragerm AK (23 homes) or placebo aerosol (ten homes) was done after vacuuming on day 14. The second (final) spraying occurred on day 28, immediately after vacuuming.

Hawaiian materia medica for asthma.

A literature search and traditional narration determined that at least 58 herbs with scientific names were commonly used by Hawaiians for asthma. Of particular note were Piper methysticum, solanum americanum, and Aleurites molucana with oral tradition singling out Sophora chrysophylla. These four therapeutic agents, especially Sophora, have scientific merit and warrant further investigation because of the recent increase in asthma mortality, their potential for improved patient compliance, minimal of side effects, and the low cost.

House dust mites in university dormitories.

As no published data was available, dust was collected from 102 university student dormitory rooms and 33 were selected on a random basis for analysis. Mean dust per dormitory room was 4.47 g of coarse, 0.

Japanese-American pulmonary reference values: influence of environment on anthropology and physiology.

Anthropometric measurements and pulmonary function (volumes, flows, and flow-volume curves) were evaluated in a community study of 59 male and 59 female, nonsmoking, healthy Japanese-American volunteers uniformly distributed in decades from 20 to 80 years. A control group of 36 Caucasians was similarly constituted. One technologist performed all tests.

Tropical island asthma in Hawaii.

To better understand the increased morbidity and mortality of asthma in Hawaii, a profile was established from questionnaires completed by 76 asthmatics in a residential area and by 204 asthmatics attending emergency rooms. The general profile differed from profiles on other islands and mainland USA in that allergens were more important and exercise less. Variations occurred in the profile in association with ethnicity, time in Hawaii, and prescribing habits.

Airborne pollen sampling in Manoa Valley, Hawaii: effect of rain, humidity and wind.

Kramer-Collins pollen sampling was conducted over 24 hours for 25 consecutive months at two valley sites in Honolulu. Of 1,059 expected samples, 699 (66.0%) were collected.

Retired and former asbestos workers in Hawaii.

In 1979, a pilot survey defined respiratory status and unmet health care needs of retired and former male asbestos workers in Hawaii. Of 1,401 identified subjects, 741 were contacted and 411 were interviewed. Forty-five subjects were between 39 and 54 years of age; 208, between 55 and 64; and 158, age 65 or more.

Pulmonary function profiles in Quebec asbestos workers.

Lung function profiles were defined in over 1,000 Quebec chrysotile asbestos workers using five standard tests of lung function, and were related to dust exposure and smoking. Close to half the men (44.3%) had a normal lung function profile and a further 26.