Self-reported responsiveness to direct-to-consumer drug advertising and medication use: results of a national survey.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketing of pharmaceuticals is controversial, yet effective. Little is known relating patterns of medication use to patient responsiveness to DTC. METHODS: We conducted a secondary analysis of data collected in national telephone survey on knowledge of and attitudes toward DTC advertisements.

The effect of developmentally-at-risk status on the reliability of the iScreen® photorefractive device in young children.

Introduction And Purpose: We evaluated the impact of developmentally-at-risk status on the results of photorefractive screening with iScreen®.

Patients And Methods: We sequentially recruited 169 children (aged 2-5 years) to participate in a blinded, prospective study of a photoscreening device. The principle investigator examined the children after photoscreening.

Risk factors for poor attendance in a family-based pediatric obesity intervention program for young children.

Objective: This study examined the role of demographic characteristics, psychological factors, and family functioning on attendance in a randomized controlled trial of a family-based pediatric obesity program.

Method: Participants included 155 children between the ages of 4 and 7 years (M age = 5.77, 57.

Association of birth weight with polymorphisms in the IGF2, H19, and IGF2R genes.

There is a substantial genetic component for birth weight variation. We tested 18 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the IGF2, H19, and IGF2R genes for associations with birth weight variation in 342 mother-newborn pairs (birth weight 2.1-4.

Get Fit with the Grizzlies: a community-school-home initiative to fight childhood obesity.

Background: Professional sport organizations in the United States have notable celebrity status, and several teams have used this "star power" to collaborate with local school districts toward the goal of affecting children's health. Program effectiveness is unknown due to the absence of comprehensive evaluations for these initiatives. The Memphis Grizzlies, the city's National Basketball Association franchise, launched "Get Fit with the Grizzlies," a 6-week, curricular addition focusing on nutrition and physical activity for the fourth and fifth grades in Memphis City Schools (MCS).

Long-term outcomes of patients with cardiovascular abnormalities and williams syndrome.

Williams syndrome (WS) is a congenital disorder affecting the vascular, connective tissue, and central nervous systems of 1 in 8,000 live births. Previous reports have reported high frequencies of cardiovascular abnormalities (CVAs) in small numbers of patients with WS. A retrospective review was undertaken of patients with WS evaluated at our institution from January 1, 1980 through December 31, 2007.

Surfactant protein A2 polymorphisms and disease severity in a respiratory syncytial virus-infected population.

Objective: To examine whether genetic variations within the surfactant protein A2 (SP-A2) gene are associated with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) disease severity in infected children.

Study Design: Naturally infected children aged < or =24 months were prospectively enrolled in 3 RSV seasons. SP-A2 genotyping was performed.

Left ventricular geometry in children and adolescents with primary hypertension.

Background: Children with hypertension (HTN) are at increased risk for left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). Increased left ventricular (LV) mass (LVM) by the process of remodeling in response to volume or pressure loading may be eccentric (increased LV diameter) or concentric (increased wall thickness). Our objective was to classify LV geometry among children with primary HTN and examine differences in ambulatory blood pressure (ABP).

Cardiovascular abnormalities, interventions, and long-term outcomes in infantile Williams syndrome.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of cardiovascular abnormalities (CVA) and outcomes in patients with Williams syndrome presenting before 1 year of age.

Study Design: A retrospective review was undertaken of consecutive patients with WS at our institution from January 1, 1980, through December 31, 2007. WS was diagnosed by an experienced medical geneticist and/or by fluorescence in situ hybridization.

Gender, smoking status, and risk behavior attitudes explain adolescents' patterns of nicotine replacement therapy use.

Treatment studies provide minimal support for nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) with youth; however, survey studies suggest that adolescents use NRT, and may engage in inappropriate use. The current study sought to examine patterns of NRT use and risk factors for use to further aid smoking cessation efforts including prevention of potential misuse. In-school surveys assessing socio-demographic and behavioral factors associated with NRT use, gum or patch, were completed by 4078, predominantly African American, high school students.

Trial design: The St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Cancer Survivors Tobacco Quit Line study.

Nearly, one-fifth of childhood cancer survivors (CCSs) smoke cigarettes. Because CCSs are already at greater medical smoking-related risks, targeting them for smoking cessation efforts is a high priority. One of the major challenges with smoking cessation in CCSs is how to reach such a geographically dispersed population.

Association of maternally inherited GNAS alleles with African-American male birth weight.

Objective: Human birth weight variation has a significant genetic component and important clinical consequences. We performed a survey of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 14 candidate genes to identify associations with birth weight variation.

Methods: SNP variation was surveyed in 221 healthy African-American mother-newborn pairs.

Arterial stiffness is increased in American adolescents compared to Japanese counterparts.

Cardiovascular disease is increased in US groups versus Japanese counterparts. Increased arterial stiffness is an important predictor of cardiovascular risk. Pulse wave velocity correlates well with arterial stiffness.

Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist intron 2 variable number of tandem repeats polymorphism and respiratory failure in children with community-acquired pneumonia.

Objective: To determine whether the variable nucleotide tandem repeat polymorphism in intron 2 of the interleukin-1 receptor antagonist gene is associated with lung injury in children with community-acquired pneumonia.

Design: A prospective cohort of children diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia.

Setting: Two pediatric hospitals.

Differences in arterial compliance among normotensive adolescent groups: Collins arterial compliance in adolescents.

Decreased arterial compliance is an important predictor of cardiovascular risk. Pulse wave velocity correlates well with arterial compliance. Gender and ethnic differences in adult populations have been described.

Ambulatory blood pressure and increased left ventricular mass in children at risk for hypertension.

Objective: To relate ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) to cardiac target organ measurement in children at risk for primary hypertension (HTN).

Study Design: Left ventricular mass index (LVMI) and ABP were measured concomitantly in children (6 to 18 years) at risk for hypertension using a cross-sectional study design.

Results: LVMI showed a significant positive correlation with 24-hour systolic blood pressure (SBP) load, SBP index (SBPI), and standard deviation score (SDS).

Gatifloxacin produces both hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia: a retrospective study.

Background: Gatifloxacin, until recently one of the most commonly prescribed antibiotics, has been shown to produce hypoglycemia.

Methods: To further examine the effects of Gatifloxicin (G) on blood glucose (BS), we conducted a retrospective chart review on 264 inpatients, examining for both hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia, comparing G with another quinolone, Ciproflaxin (C), and nonquinolone, Ceftriaxone (R).

Results: We found that of 292 patient encounters, 28 hypoglycemia and 48 hyperglycemic events occurred.

Risk factors for severe respiratory syncytial virus disease in children with cancer: the importance of lymphopenia and young age.

Objective: We sought to determine the epidemiologic features of respiratory syncytial virus infection in immunocompromised pediatric patients and to identify the risk factors for severe disease.

Methods: We designed a retrospective study examining the experience with respiratory syncytial virus infection in pediatric patients with underlying malignancies and hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients seen between 1997 and 2005. Clinical and laboratory data were extracted from patient records, and independent predictors of disease severity were investigated.

Timeliness and access to healthcare services via telemedicine for adolescents in state correctional facilities.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a telemedicine program in improving timeliness of and access to healthcare services in adolescent correctional facilities.

Method: This study is a pre/post quasi-experimental design comparing time to treatment and healthcare use in the year preceding and the 2 years after the implementation of a telemedicine program in four facilities housing adolescents from 12 to 19. Timeliness of care is measured by time from referral to date of service (for behavioral healthcare only).

Longitudinal relationship of parental hypertension with body mass index, blood pressure, and cardiovascular reactivity in children.

Objective: To investigate whether parental hypertension (HTN) affects children's body mass index (BMI) and cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) over time.

Study Design: A longitudinal study of 315 students (black: 23 females, 19 males; white: 142 females, 131 males) was conducted in the public schools of Obion County, Tennessee, between 1987 and 1992. BMI and BMI z scores were calculated.

Influence of comorbid conditions on long-term mortality after pneumonia in older people.

Objectives: To test the hypothesis that increased long-term mortality after hospitalization for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is independent of comorbid conditions.

Design: Prospective observational cohort study in metropolitan areas.

Setting: Memphis, Tennessee, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

A genomewide search finds major susceptibility loci for nicotine dependence on chromosome 10 in African Americans.

Epidemiological studies have demonstrated that genetic factors account for at least 50% of the liability for nicotine dependence (ND). Although several linkage studies have been conducted, all samples to date were primarily of European origin. In this study, we conducted a genomewide scan of 1,261 individuals, representing 402 nuclear families, of African American (AA) origin.

Does it really take longer not to prescribe antibiotics for viral respiratory tract infections in children?

Background: Although overuse of antibiotics in children has been well documented, few studies have evaluated if the visit time for viral infections varies when antibiotics are or are not prescribed.

Objective: To examine the relationship between physician visit time and antibiotic prescribing for children with viral respiratory tract infection (RTI).

Methods: Data obtained from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) 1993-2003 were surveyed for children < or = 18 years who were seen by a primary care physician and given a primary diagnosis suggestive of viral RTI (cold, upper respiratory infection (URI), bronchiolitis, or brochitis).

White race as a risk factor for hypothyroidism after treatment for pediatric Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Purpose: Hypothyroidism frequently occurs after treatment for pediatric Hodgkin's lymphoma, but race has not been investigated as a risk factor for this delayed toxicity. The aim of this study was to determine whether race is an independent risk factor for hypothyroidism in survivors of pediatric Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Patients And Methods: To identify differences between black and white patients in the development of hypothyroidism after treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma, we conducted a retrospective study of consecutively treated pediatric patients with newly diagnosed Hodgkin's lymphoma treated at St Jude Children's Research Hospital (Memphis, TN) from January 1980 through December 2002.