Classification of perinatal death.

Three paediatric pathologists, one perinatal paediatrician, one obstetrician, and one epidemiologist separately used information collected on 239 babies in an attempt to validate the Wigglesworth classification of perinatal deaths. This was first done using clinical data only, then using the combination of clinical and gross necropsy findings and finally using clinical, gross necropsy, histological and any other information (for example, chromosome analyses, microbiological investigations). Only 14 (6%) of deaths changed groups within the Wigglesworth classification when gross necropsy findings were considered as well as clinical findings, and altogether only 21 (9%) changed classification when complete investigations were available.

Zinc supplementation during pregnancy: a double blind randomised controlled trial.

Objective: To see whether zinc supplementation during pregnancy improves maternal and fetal outcome.

Design: Prospective study started at booking and continued till discharge of mother and baby from the maternity hospital. Mothers were randomly assigned to receive zinc supplementation or placebo in a double blind trial.

Affective, substance use, and anxiety disorders in persons with arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, or chronic lung conditions.

The authors estimated the sex- and age-adjusted prevalence of affective, substance use, and anxiety disorders in persons in a general population sample who identified themselves as having arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, chronic lung disease, or no chronic medical conditions. Persons who reported ever having arthritis, heart disease, chronic lung disease, or high blood pressure had a significantly increased adjusted prevalence of each of the three groups of lifetime psychiatric disorders, relative to a no-chronic conditions comparison group (each p less than 0.05).

Cerebral palsy in two national cohort studies.

The prevalence of cerebral palsy in the 1958 British Perinatal Mortality Survey and the 1970 British Births Survey remained constant at 2.5/1000 births (40 and 41 cases, respectively). The prevalence at 10 years was higher in the 1970 cohort in which all children with cerebral palsy survived, whereas 22% of the cases in the 1958 cohort died during the first 10 years of life.

Acculturation and the probability of use of health services by Mexican Americans.

How does level of acculturation affect the probability that Mexican Americans use general health, mental health, and human social services? We studied this question using data from a general population sample of Mexican Americans (N = 1,055). Data were elicited in face-to-face interviews. After controlling for sociodemographic and economic factors, health status, and insurance coverage, Mexican Americans who were less acculturated had significantly lower probabilities of an outpatient medical visit for physical health problems and of a visit to a mental health specialist or human service provider for emotional problems.

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in Greece.

Unique population data on the incidence of hypertension during pregnancy was obtained during the 1983 Greek National Perinatal Survey. Of the 9915 women delivering in April who had their blood pressures measured during pregnancy, only 3.0% had a diastolic pressure of over 90 mmHg.

Tranquillisers: prevalence, predictors and possible consequences. Data from a large United Kingdom survey.

Data related to tranquilliser/hypnotic use is presented from a large (n = 9,003) random representative United Kingdom sample of adults (18+ years). On the day of interview 4.2% of females and 2.

Height, weight, and blood pressures in ten-year-old children.

Multiple regression techniques were used to determine the most efficient combination of height, weight and body mass index in the prediction of systolic and diastolic blood pressures for a national sample of 13,723 10-year-old children. In every analysis an adjustment was made for the depth of sphygomomanometer cuff used when taking the blood pressure. The variables which together best predicted the systolic blood pressures in boys were weight, height and (height)2, and in girls weight/(height)2 and height.

The metabolism of C3 and C4 in patients with immune complexes and normal complement levels.

The metabolism of the complement proteins, C3 and C4 was examined in two groups of patients with a high incidence of detectable immune complexes but normal levels of complement components. The specific aim was to ascertain whether significant ongoing complement activation occurred in these patients. Eleven patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 11 with infection and 11 control subjects were studied.

Mood profiles of Masters track and field athletes.

In several studies attributing positive health benefits to running, the benefits include reduced depression, fatigue, anger, and increased vigor. Until now, little research has focused on Masters track and field athletes. The present study reports on 587 men and women Masters who participated in a mailed survey measuring mood states using the Profile of Mood States.

Anxiety disorders among Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic whites in Los Angeles.

This report from the Los Angeles site of the NIMH Epidemiologic Catchment Area study reveals significant ethnic and national origin differences in lifetime prevalence rates for three out of six specific, DSM-III-defined anxiety disorders. In the case of simple phobia, United States-born Mexican Americans report higher rates than native non-Hispanic whites or immigrant Mexican Americans, the latter two groups having similar rates. Mexican Americans born in the United States had higher rates of agoraphobia than immigrant Mexican Americans, and non-Hispanic whites reported higher lifetime rates of generalized anxiety disorder compared with both immigrant and native Mexican Americans.

Growth in utero, blood pressure in childhood and adult life, and mortality from cardiovascular disease.

In national samples of 9921 10 year olds and 3259 adults in Britain systolic blood pressure was inversely related to birth weight. The association was independent of gestational age and may therefore be attributed to reduced fetal growth. This suggests that the intrauterine environment influences blood pressure during adult life.

Weight-for-height in two national cohorts with particular reference to 10-year-old children.

The idea of representing obesity or degree of malnutrition using a weight-for-height power index has existed for many years and several authors believe that such an index should be uncorrelated with height. Data from the 1958 National Child Development Study and the 1970 Child Health and Education Study have therefore been used to determine the values of the constant k which lead to the weight-for-height power index weight/[height]k being uncorrelated with height for specific age groups. Different values of k were needed both for the various age groups, and for the two sexes.

Hypercatabolism of C3 and C4 in active and inactive systemic lupus erythematosus.

The metabolism of the complement proteins C3 and C4 was studied in patients with active and inactive systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) using highly purified, functionally active preparations. Nine patients with active and eight with inactive SLE were examined and 11 control subjects. There was a significant difference in the level of double stranded DNA antibodies, immune complexes, and serum C4 between the patients with active and inactive disease.

Parental smoking and post-infancy wheezing in children: a prospective cohort study.

The contribution of parental smoking to wheezing in children was studied in a subset of all British births between April 5 and 11, 1970 (N = 9,670). Children of smoking mothers had an 18.0 per cent cumulative incidence of post-infancy wheezing through 10 years of age, compared with 16.

Time-course of effects of oral cinnarizine and hyoscine on task performance.

Investigations into antimotion sickness drugs fall into two main categories: efficacy ('benefits') and side-effects ('costs'). This study was of the second type. Oral cinnarizine (30 mg: normal dose; and 75 mg: 2.

Resistance to sexual assault: who resists and what happens?

To determine who resists sexual assault and what happens, data were examined from a probability sample of 3,132 adult community residents of Los Angeles, California. Seventy-five per cent of the respondents reporting an assault (n = 365) indicated that they had attempted to resist their most recent assault; talking was the most frequently used resistance strategy. The strongest predictor to emerge in the multivariate analyses of resistance was timing of assault: respondents assaulted only in childhood were less likely to resist than either respondents assaulted only in adulthood, or respondents assaulted in both phases.

The Greek National Perinatal Survey. II: Socioeconomic factors and perinatal mortality in Greece.

Information concerning all 10,859 singleton deliveries in Greece in April 1983, were analysed to assess the contribution of socioeconomic factors to the perinatal mortality rate. Statistically significant associations were initially found with parental education, parental ages, duration of marriage, paternal occupation and parity. There was no association with maternal smoking habit, maternal occupation during pregnancy, type of health insurance or housing conditions.

Maternal mortality in Jamaica. Socioeconomic factors.

Socioeconomic factors relating to all maternal deaths identified during the 12 months of the Jamaican Perinatal Morbidity and Mortality Survey were compared with a control population of over 10,000 women. The maternal mortality rate was 11.5 per 10,000 livebirths.

The epidemiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder in five US communities.

The prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder was measured in five US communities among more than 18,500 persons in residential settings as part of the National Institute of Mental Health (Bethesda, Md)--sponsored Epidemiologic Catchment Area program. Lifetime prevalence rates ranged from 1.9% to 3.

Behavioral predictors of injury in school-age children.

The behavior of 10,394 British children was related prospectively to their injury history between ages 5 and 10 years, obtained from parents. Aggressive and overactive behaviors at age 5 years were measured by subscales of the Rutter Child Behavior Questionnaire completed by the parents. Multivariate techniques were used to assess the association between behavior and injuries while controlling for social, demographic, and psychological characteristics.

Persistence of occurrence of injury: can injuries of preschool children predict injuries of school-aged children?

Data regarding 10,394 children from the 1970 British birth cohort were used to assess the consistency of injuries reported by parents as occurring between birth and 5 years of age and injuries reported between 5 and 10 years of age. Children with three or more separate injury events reported between birth and 5 years of age were 5.9 times more likely to have three or more injuries reported between 5 and 10 years of age than children without early injuries (95% confidence interval = 4.

Sexual assault history and use of health and mental health services.

A history of sexual assault may be associated with increased current use of mental health and medical services because of the psychologically and physically disruptive consequences of assault. To test this hypothesis, we estimated rates of mental health and medical services use among 2560 randomly selected community residents, 343 of whom had been sexually assaulted. Sexual assault was associated with seeking both forms of care.