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Biomedical subjects

B Childs

Publications and source records attributed to B Childs.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1981

The association between season of birth and the risk for schizophrenia.

Many epidemiologic studies have been conducted to discover factors that might bear on the origins of schizophrenia. In general, the results of these studies have been contradictory. One consistent finding, however, is an association between season of birth and the risk for schizophrenia. This paper reports a test of the hypothesis that season of birth is associated with the risk for subgroups of the schizophrenic population. The results of regression analyses of data from Monroe County, New York, are reported. All white residents who were reported to have been diagnosed schizophrenic for the first time during the period January 1, 1969, to December 31, 1971, and who were hospitalized at least one day in the five-year period following the first schizophrenic diagnosis formed the group of schizophrenic patients. The population data used for the denominators of the incidence rates consisted of all white residents living in Monroe County, New York, as of April 1, 1970. An effect of month of birth on the risk for schizophrenia was related to the sex and the age of subsets of the whole population.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Human genetics teaching in U.S. medical schools.

Information about instruction in genetics was obtained fron 103 of the 107 U.S. four-year medical schools. Seventy-two percent of the schools provide a compulsory course in genetics, but there was great variation in duration, content, departmental responsibility for giving the course, and in the disciplines of those doing the teaching. The variability in the number of hours devoted to teaching genetics was reflected in the competence of the students in giving correct answers to questions on genetics posed by the National Board of Medical Examiners. Electives and continuing education courses on genetics are given by two-thirds and one-half of the schools, respectively; but the subject receives very little attention in departments of preventive, community, or family medicine or in schools of allied health sciences. These findings suggest that genetics has not yet found a natural and comfortable context in the curricula of U.S. medical schools.

Education, Medical↗
PubMed1976

The genetics of specific reading disability.

Members of the immediate families of twenty children with specific reading disability were examined to determine the prevalence of reading disability within the families. A procedure was developed for identifying adults who may have compensated for a disability manifested more clearly in childhood. Forty-five percent of 75 first-degree relatives of the parents were affected and there was a significantly greater number of affected male relatives than females. No single mode of genetic transmission is evident after inspection of the pedigrees. It is suggested that the disorder is genetically heterogeneous and that subgroups of disabled readers should be looked for.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Tay-Sachs screening: motives for participating and knowledge of genetics and probability.

A highly-educated, socially aware group of persons presented themselves for Tay-Sachs screening having learned about it mainly from friends, newspapers, radio, and television but not from physicians or rabbis. After learning that screening was possible and deciding that it is in principle a good idea, and after discussing it with relatives and friends but not with physicians and rabbis, they presented themselves for the test. Although the participants knew that Tay-Sachs is a serious disease and that Jews are vulnerable, few of them knew much about the genetics of the disease, its frequency, or the incidence of the carrier state. This experience of screening for Tay-Sachs carriers suggests the need for physicians to learn the relation of genetics to preventive medicine, and for the public to learn more about the biology of man.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Tay-Sachs screening: social and psychological impact.

Participants in two Tay-Sachs screening programs were generally satisifed with the organization of the tests and the results. There was no evidence of adverse impact on reproductive plans or interpersonal relations, and the respondents professed to believe in the value of screening. While the carriers discussed their condition freely with others and were no less favorable to the idea of screening than the noncarriers, about one-half of their number expressed discomfort in being told they were heterozygotes. These feelings were allayed by counseling, but there was evidence of some residual unease. It is suggested that this anxiety would be less prominent and more easily reduced if screening were done under conditions of ordinary primary medical care rather than outside the conventional system.

Adult↗