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Biomedical subjects

C Power

Publications and source records attributed to C Power.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Women's reproductive health: the role of body mass index in early and adult life.

BACKGROUND: Higher risks of menstrual problems and infertility have been found in underweight and overweight women but evidence is inconsistent especially in relation to the effect of age of onset of obesity. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether body mass index (BMI) in adulthood or childhood affects the reproductive health of women. METHODS: Heights, weights (at 7, 11, 16, 23 and 33y) and reproductive data were available for 5799 females in the 1958 British birth cohort study. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated as weight/height2. Age-specific cut-offs were used to define overweight and obesity. Reproductive outcomes reported at age 33 included: menstrual problems (also reported at 16y), hypertension in pregnancy and subfertility. RESULTS: Early menarcheal age was associated with higher risks of menstrual problems by 16y but this relationship did not persist to 33y. Obesity at 23y and obesity at 7y both independently increased the risk of menstrual problems by age 33 (OR = 1.75, OR = 1.59 respectively) after adjusting for other confounding factors. Obesity at 23y increased the risk of hypertension in pregnancy (OR = 2.37), after adjusting for confounders. Consistent with these findings, obese women at 23y were less likely to conceive within 12 months of unprotected intercourse after adjustment for confounders (RR = 0.69). CONCLUSIONS: Overweight and obesity in early adulthood appears to increase the risk of menstrual problems, hypertension in pregnancy and subfertility. Other than menstrual problems, childhood body mass index had little impact on the reproductive health of women.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Measurement and long-term health risks of child and adolescent fatness.

This paper reviews child and adolescent adiposity measures and associated long-term health risks. The first section argues that anthropometric measures are practical for large scale epidemiological studies, particularly the body mass index. Limitations of this and other measures are presented. The second section summarises the evidence on the relationship between child and adolescent and adult adiposity. This is based on a search for relevant literature in the following computerised databases: Medline (1985-96), BIDS (EMBASE and Science Citation Index 1985-96). The literature search revealed that the child to adult adiposity relationship is now well-documented, although methodological differences hinder comparisons. Nonetheless, consistently elevated risks of adult obesity are evident for fatter children, although the prediction of adult obesity from child and adolescent adiposity measures is only moderate. Fewer studies could be identified in relation to long-term health risks of child and adolescent adiposity. It is therefore difficult to specify categories of risk associated with childhood adiposity without more information from long-term studies. Further evidence is also required to confirm the suggestion from some studies that adult disease risks are associated with a change in adiposity from normal weight in childhood to obesity in adulthood. However, on the basis of the evidence available, it is argued that population-based approaches to the prevention of obesity are likely to be more effective than approaches targeted as fat children. Population-based approaches are desirable, first because of the poor prediction of adult obesity from child and adolescent measures, and second, because of risks of adult mortality and morbidity may be elevated for individuals who become overweight after adolescence.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Body mass index and height from childhood to adulthood in the 1958 British born cohort.

The purpose of this study was to assess relations among height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) at different ages from childhood to adulthood, and to examine long-term relations among timing of puberty, height, and BMI. Longitudinal data from the 1958 British birth cohort (all children born between March 3rd and 9th, 1958) were used. Height and weight were measured at ages 7, 11, 16, 23 (self-reported), and 33 y; pubertal status was assessed at ages 11 and 16 y. Data for 5700 females and 5512 males were analyzed. Adult height was well predicted from childhood, with strong correlations (r = 0.7 for both sexes) between height at ages 7 and 33 y. Correlations for BMI were weaker, especially between childhood and early adulthood (r = 0.33 for males and 0.37 for females, ages 7 and 33 y), although they increased with increasing age. Although the fattest children had the highest risks of adult obesity, most obese adults had not been fat at earlier ages: only 17% and 18% of obese 33-y-old men and women, respectively, had been fat at age 7 y. A strong and evenly graded association was found between timing of puberty and BMI, with higher mean BMIs for the earlier maturers at ages 7-33 y. The moderate prediction of adult BMI in this large and unselected sample suggests that although the prevention of childhood fatness may be desirable, most obese adults could not be identified from their childhood BMI, and hence, preventive strategies need to be population-based.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Social and biological pathways linking early life and adult disease.

Evidence is presented for a pathways model linking early life factors and adult disease, which takes account of the inter-relationships between social and biological risks throughout the lifecourse. Few studies, if any, have yet recorded adequate birth to death information which could be used to quantify the effects of different factors and their timing. Hence, there is only limited understanding of the extent to which biological and social risks experienced at different life stages combine to influence adult disease. However, some of the pathways between early and later life are suggested when evidence from earlier stages of the lifecourse is linked to that from studies at older ages, in which adult disease risk factors have been established. Further support for pathway effects is provided by studies showing that health outcomes of early biological insults can depend on the subsequent social and biological environment. Thus, it is argued that adult disease will be more fully understood when account is taken of the combined effects of social and biological risk occurring at different life stages.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Parental divorce and adult psychological distress: evidence from a national birth cohort: a research note.

An association was found between childhood parental divorce and adult psychological distress in a British national birth cohort at ages 23 and 33. No moderating effects were found for gender, age at separation, or remarriage of the custodial parent. Participants who were young adults when their parents divorced also showed increased levels of symptomatology, whereas those who experienced parental death in childhood showed no increased risk. An interaction between parental divorce and own divorce in women, giving particularly high symptom levels, arose from a selection process in those from divorced families of origin only, with high 23-year scores predicting subsequent divorce. Own divorce was associated with an increase in distress between age 23 and 33, but this was irrespective of family of origin.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Low serum immunoglobulin concentrations in related Weimaraner dogs.

Chronic, recurrent disease involving the alimentary tract, joints, skin and peripheral lymph nodes, central nervous system and conjunctivae was recorded over a 229 day period in a young Weimaraner dog, first presented at 15 weeks of age. The dog had a left shift neutrophilia during periods of active disease and persistently subnormal levels of serum immunoglobulin G (IgG; 2.8 to 9.2 mg/ml) and IgA (< 0.1 to 0.26 mg/ml) in the absence of circulating immune complexes. One littermate died suddenly at 27 weeks of age and a second littermate had an episode of pyoderma. Both of these dogs had low serum IgG (3.5 to 7.2 mg/ml) and the second littermate also had reduced serum IgA (< 0.1 to 0.15 mg/ml). The dam of the litter and three other related dogs had reduced serum IgA (0.22 to 0.31 mg/ml); circulating immune complexes were not recorded in any of the related dogs. This case is the first of putative immunodeficiency of Weimaraners in the UK. Inability to synthesise adequate concentrations of serum immunoglobulins should be considered a primary defect in this disorder.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Promiscuous use of CC and CXC chemokine receptors in cell-to-cell fusion mediated by a human immunodeficiency virus type 2 envelope protein.

The CC chemokine receptors CCR5, CCR2, and CCR3 and the CXC chemokine receptor CXCR4 have been implicated as CD4-associated cofactors in the entry of primary and cell line-adapted human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) strains. CXCR4 is also a receptor for T-cell-line-adapted, CD4-independent strains of HIV-2. With the exception of this latter example, little has been reported on the entry cofactors used by HIV-2 strains. Here we show that a CD4-dependent, T-cell-line-adapted HIV-2 strain uses CXCR4 and, to a lesser extent, CCR3 for fusion with and infectious entry into cells. In a cell-to-cell fusion assay, the envelope protein of this virus can utilize a wider repertoire of chemokine receptors to induce fusion. These include CCR1, CCR2, CCR3, CCR4, CCR5, CXCR2, and CXCR4. Kinetic analysis indicated that cell lines expressing the receptors that support infection, CXCR4 and CCR3, form syncytia more rapidly than do cell lines expressing the other receptors. Nevertheless, although less efficient, fusion with CXCR2 expressing cells was specific, since it was inhibited by antibodies against CXCR2. The extensive use of chemokine receptors in cell-to-cell fusion has implications for understanding the molecular basis of CD4-chemokine receptor-induced lentivirus fusion and may have relevance for syncytium formation and the direct cell-to-cell transfer of virus in vivo.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1997

Child to adult body mass index in the 1958 British birth cohort: associations with parental obesity.

OBJECTIVES: To assess relations between the adiposity of children and their parents and to establish whether tracking of adiposity from childhood to adulthood varies according to the parental body mass index (BMI). METHODS: Longitudinal data from the 1958 British birth cohort study were used (6540 men and 6207 women). The height and weight of the study subjects were measured at 7, 11, 16, 23 (self reported), and 33 years. Parental height and weight were self reported when their children were 11 years old. The children were classified into six parental BMI (weight/height2) groups. RESULTS: At each age of follow up the mean BMI of the children increased as the parental BMI increased. Higher risks of adult (33 year) obesity were evident among children with overweight or obese parents: the odds for sons and daughters with two obese parents (compared with those with both parents of normal BMI) were 8.4 and 6.8, respectively. The children of two obese parents also showed the strongest child to adult tracking of BMI as indicated by the correlation between ages 7 and 33 (r = 0.46, 0.54, sons and daughters, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The children of obese and overweight parents have an increased risk of obesity. Subjects with two obese parents are fatter in childhood and also show a stronger pattern of tracking from childhood to adulthood. As the prevalence of parental obesity increases in the general population the extent of child to adult tracking of BMI is likely to strengthen.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Social differences in health: life-cycle effects between ages 23 and 33 in the 1958 British birth cohort.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine whether social differences in health persist or widen during early adulthood. METHODS: A longitudinal follow-up of the 1958 British birth cohort was investigated, using social class at birth and six health measures at ages 23 and 33. A slope of inequality was estimated to represent social differences in health. RESULTS: Social gradients in health were evident by age 23: the prevalence of poor health increased with decreasing social position. This was observed for several but not all health indicators. Social gradients persisted to age 33. The slope of inequality was greatest for malaise (odds ratio [OR] = 3.37 for men, 3.21 for women) and obesity (OR = 4.80 for men and 2.84 for women), both at age 23, and for self-rated health in women at age 23 (OR = 2.94) and age 33 (OR = 3.22). Inequality increased significantly between ages 23 and 33 for limiting illness in men, and lessened, although not significantly, for malaise, overweight, and obesity; social gradients remained constant for self-rated health, respiratory symptoms, and asthma or wheezing. CONCLUSIONS: Social gradients in health evident in this sample by age 23 persisted to age 33. Inequalities did not appear to widen consistently, but variable findings for several health measures suggest that inequalities reproduce through different pathways.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Urethral sphincter mechanism incompetence in male dogs: a retrospective analysis of 54 cases.

Incompetence of the urethral sphincter mechanism is uncommon in male dogs. This paper reviews 54 cases. As in the bitch, the condition can occur either as a congenital or as an acquired condition, in which neutering may play a part; larger breeds appear to be at greater risk. Incontinence is more likely to occur when the intra-abdominal pressure might be expected to increase, for example when the dog is recumbent. In comparison with the bitch, the condition appears less likely to respond to medical therapy and its pathophysiology is poorly understood.

Adrenergic Agents↗
PubMed1996

Does the decline in child injury mortality vary by social class? A comparison of class specific mortality in 1981 and 1991.

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether the decline in child injury death rates between 1981 and 1991 varied by social class. DESIGN: Comparison of class specific child injury death rates for 1979, 1980, 1982, and 1983, with those for the four years 1989-92. SETTING: England and Wales. SUBJECTS: Children aged 0-15 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Death rates from injury and poisoning. RESULTS: Death rates from injury and poisoning have fallen for children in all social classes. The decline for children in social classes IV and V (21% and 2% respectively), however, is smaller than that for children in social classes I and II (32% and 37%). As a result of the differential decline in injury death rates, socioeconomic mortality differentials have increased. In the four years 1979-80 and 1982-83 the injury death rate for children in social class V was 3.5 times that of children in social class I. For the four years 1989-92 the injury death rate for children in social class V was 5.0 times that of children in social class I. Poisson regression modelling showed that the trend in the decline in death rates across the social classes was unlikely to have arisen by chance alone. CONCLUSIONS: Socioeconomic inequalities in child injury death rates have increased. If these gradients persist, the Health of the Nation's target is likely to be met for children in the non-manual social classes but not for those in the manual social classes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Inequalities in self rated health in the 1958 birth cohort: lifetime social circumstances or social mobility?

OBJECTIVE: To investigate explanations for social inequalities in health with respect to health related social mobility and cumulative socioeconomic circumstances over the first three decades of life. DESIGN: Longitudinal follow up. SETTING: Great Britain. SUBJECTS: Data from the 1958 birth cohort study (all children born in England, Wales, and Scotland during 3-9 March 1958) were used, from the original birth survey and from sweeps at 16, 23, and 33 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Subjects' own ratings of their health; social differences in self rated health at age 33. RESULTS: Social mobility varied by health status, with those reporting poor health at age 23 having higher odds of downward mobility than of staying in same social class. Men with poor health were also less likely to be upwardly mobile. Prevalence of poor health at age 33 increased with decreasing social class: from 8.5% in classes I and II to 17.7% in classes IV and V among men, and from 9.4% to 18.8% among women. These social differences remained significant after adjustment for effects of social mobility. Health inequalities attenuated when adjusted for social class at birth, at age 16, or at 23 or for self rated health at age 23. When adjusted for all these variables simultaneously, social differences in self rated health at age 33 were substantially reduced and no longer significant. CONCLUSIONS: Lifetime socioeconomic circumstances accounted for inequalities in self reported health at age 33, while social mobility did not have a major effect on health inequalities.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Major histocompatibility complex class I expression in oligodendrocytes induces hypomyelination in transgenic mice.

Increased expression of MHC Class I occurs in the central nervous system in association with demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis and experimental allergic encephalomyelitis. To determine if MHC Class I expression by oligodendrocytes induces white matter pathology, the MHC Class I gene was expressed in transgenic mice under the control of the myelin basic protein (MBP) promoter. These mice display a neurological phenotype at 21 days-of-age. We examined these mice at 1,3, and 12 weeks-of-age. MHC Class I was detected in the brains and spinal cords of transgenic mice but not in control mice. Class I was located in oligodendrocyte perikarya but not in myelin sheaths. The central nervous system of these transgenic mice was hypomyelinated and contained hypertrophic microglia and astrocytes. These observations establish that Class I expression by oligodendrocytes delays normal myelination but does not cause inflammatory demyelination. This hypomyelinating animal model is of potential use in studying the interactions between immunologically active molecules and remyelination in disorders of myelin.

Aging↗
PubMed1996

Transverse (Harris) lines in Irish archaeological remains.

Transverse lines were examined in 633 long bones from 73 individuals exhumed from two burial sites in the Republic of Ireland: Waterford City and Tintern Abbey. The burials cover four distinct periods between the 11th and 17th centuries. Lines were most numerous in the tibia, especially in the distal segment, and were not seen in the humerus nor the proximal part of the femur. The number of lines varied between the proximal and distal segments of each long bone, and though apparently equal in number across the midline, there were significant differences in the incidence of lines between corresponding pairs of bones. Thus, it is unwise to rely on the results of a single bone or one type of long bone alone either to indicate the health status of an individual, or as the basis for assessing the health status of a small population. Such results should be used only in association with other indicators.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Postanaesthetic shivering in children.

This study was designed to assess the incidence, severity and possible aetiological factors of postanaesthetic shivering in children. Three hundred and seventy-six children undergoing general anaesthesia were enrolled in the study. Tympanic membrane temperatures were recorded pre-operatively and every 15 min postoperatively in the recovery room until discharge to the ward. Also recorded were all anaesthetic data including fluid administration, methods of temperature preservation used, sedation scores and shivering (using a four-point scale). The overall incidence of shivering was 14.4%. Multiple regression analysis identified three factors that were significantly related to shivering: age, the administration of atropine and peri-operative temperature changes. Children who shivered rewarmed faster in the recovery room.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Injuries and the risk of disability in teenagers and young adults.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the risk of disability from unintentional injury in teenagers and young adults. METHODS: Analyses of data from the National Child Development Study, a follow up study of 98% of all children born in England, Scotland, and Wales in one week in March, 1958. In 1981, 12,537 study participants, 76% of the original cohort, were asked about unintentional injuries since age 16 years requiring hospital treatment, and whether these injuries resulted in permanent disability. RESULTS: 62% of men and 26% of women reported at least one accident since age 16 resulting in injury that required hospital treatment. Of these accidents, 3.2% caused permanent disability. The risk of disability increased with accident frequency. Injuries requiring hospital admission carried the highest risk of disability (9.7%). However, 54% of permanent disability reported by men and 74% reported by women resulted from injuries treated as outpatients. Road traffic accidents caused 42% of admissions and 31% of disability. Fractures constituted 21% of all injuries but were responsible for 32% of permanent disabilities. Of the permanent disabilities resulting from work related accidents, 82% involved the hand. Of the permanent disabilities resulting from accidents in the home, 32% involved the hand. CONCLUSIONS: The targeting of prevention strategies towards the major causes of injury mortality may have a smaller impact on population levels of injury related disability. Non-life threatening injuries, in particular injuries to the hand and limb fractures, resulting from accidents in the workplace, the home, and during sports, make a significant contribution to the prevalence of permanent injury related disability in young adults.

Accidents↗
PubMed1996

[Undifferentiated gastric carcinoma of lymphoepithelioma type with Epstein-Barr virus].

We are presenting the case of a 62-year-old man with a gastric tumor which turned out to be an undifferentiated carcinoma lymphoepithelioma type. The epithelial nature of the cells was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. The presence of Epstein-Barr virus, limited to the epithelial cells, was demonstrated by in situ hybridization. These findings confirm data from the literature and support the possible etiopathogenic relationship between Epstein-Barr virus and undifferentiated carcinoma lymphoepithelioma type of the stomach. We are unaware of any other report of this type of neoplasm in our country.

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell↗