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Biomedical subjects

C R Gale

Publications and source records attributed to C R Gale.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Breastfeeding, dummy use, and adult intelligence.

BACKGROUND: Several studies show that children who were breastfed as babies gain higher scores on intelligence tests than those who were bottlefed. Although these findings suggest that breastfeeding in early life may promote cognitive development, their interpretation is complicated by the current association between breastfeeding and higher social class. We investigated the relation between method of feeding in infancy and adult intelligence in a setting where breastfeeding was not linked with socioeconomic advantage. METHODS: We followed up 994 men and women, born between 1920 and 1930 in Hertfordshire, UK, for whom information on infant feeding had been recorded by health visitors. Intelligence was measured by the AH4 IQ test, taken on a computer. Factors significantly linked with IQ were investigated by multivariate analysis. FINDINGS: Study participants who had been exclusively breastfed gained slightly higher scores on the IQ test than those who had been exclusively bottlefed, or fed with both breast and bottle. IQ was lower in participants who had used a dummy (pacifier) in infancy, in those whose fathers were in manual occupations at the time of their birth, and in those whose mothers were young at the time they were born. Scores on the IQ test fell as the number of older siblings increased. In multivariate analysis, after adjustment for the effect of all other variables, no association was found between adult intelligence and method of feeding. Dummy use in infancy, number of older siblings, maternal age at birth of the participant, and father's occupational class remained independent predictors of adult intelligence. INTERPRETATION: The mechanisms that link type of feeding in early life with later intelligence may have more to do with the child's social environment that with the nutritional qualities of the milk.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Cognitive impairment and mortality in a cohort of elderly people.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the relation between cognitive function and cause specific mortality in people aged 65 and over. DESIGN-A 20 year follow up study of a cohort of randomly selected elderly people living in the community who in 1973-4 had taken part in a nutritional survey funded by the Department of Health and Social Security. SETTING: Eight areas in Britain (five in England, two in Scotland, and one in Wales). SUBJECTS: 921 men and women whose cognitive function was assessed by a geriatrician in 1973-4 and for whom data on health, socioeconomic circumstances, and diet had been recorded. RESULTS: Cognitive impairment was associated with increased mortality, in particular death from ischaemic stroke. Those who scored 7 or less on the Hodkinson mental test had a relative risk of dying from stroke of 2.8 (95% confidence interval 1.4 to 5.5), compared with those who gained the maximum score (10), after adjustment for age, sex, blood pressure, serum cholesterol concentration, and vitamin C intake. These associations were independent of illness or social class. At the time of the nutritional survey, cognitive function was poorest in those with the lowest vitamin C status, whether measured by dietary intake or plasma ascorbic acid concentration. The relation between vitamin C status and cognitive function was independent of age, illness, social class, or other dietary variables. CONCLUSION: The relation between cognitive function and risk of death from stroke suggests that cerebrovascular disease is an important cause of declining cognitive function. Vitamin C status may be a determinant of cognitive function in elderly people through its effect on atherogenesis. A high vitamin C intake may protect against both cognitive impairment and cerebrovascular disease.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Vitamin C and risk of death from stroke and coronary heart disease in cohort of elderly people.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether vitamin C status, as measured by dietary intake and plasma ascorbic acid concentration, is related to mortality from stroke and coronary heart disease in people aged 65 and over. DESIGN: A 20 year follow up study of a cohort of randomly selected elderly people living in the community who had taken part in the 1973-4 Department of Health and Social Security nutritional survey and for whom dietary and other data had been recorded. SETTING: Eight areas in Britain (five in England, two in Scotland, and one in Wales). SUBJECTS: 730 men and women who had completed a seven day dietary record and who had no history or symptoms of stroke, cerebral arteriosclerosis, or coronary heart disease when examined by a geriatrician in 1973-4. RESULTS: Mortality from stroke was highest in those with the lowest vitamin C status. Those in the highest third of the distribution of vitamin C intake had a relative risk of 0.5 (95% confidence interval 0.3 to 0.8) compared with those in the lowest third, after adjustment for age, sex, and established cardiovascular risk factors. The relation between vitamin C intake and stroke was independent of social class and other dietary variables. A similar gradient in risk was present for plasma ascorbic acid concentrations. No association was found between vitamin C status and risk of death from coronary heart disease. CONCLUSION: In elderly people vitamin C concentration, whether measured by dietary intake or plasma concentration of ascorbic acid, is strongly related to subsequent risk of death from stroke but not from coronary heart disease.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Mortality from Parkinson's disease and other causes in men who were prisoners of war in the Far East.

BACKGROUND: During World War II, more than 140000 Allied prisoners of war (POWs) were held captive by the Japanese in conditions of extreme privation. There have been concerns that the survivors are at increased risk of degenerative neurological disorders, especially Parkinson's disease. We assembled a cohort of British ex-POWs and analysed their mortality in a 46-year follow-up study. METHODS: Using records held by the War Pensions Agency, we abstracted data on 11915 British former POWs. 11134 men were traced, and observed numbers of deaths between 1952 and 1997 were compared with those expected from national rates for the male population of England and Wales. Standardised mortality ratios (SMR) were calculated. FINDINGS: Overall, mortality was lower than expected (7474 deaths vs 8796.2 expected; SMR 0.85 [95% CI 0.83-0.87]). Death rates from Parkinson's disease among the former POWs were slightly below the national average, though this difference was not statistically significant (35 deaths vs 43.2 expected; SMR 0.81 [0.56-1.13]). A similar pattern was seen for other degenerative neurological disorders (motorneuron disease 0.62 [0.31-1.11], multiple sclerosis 0.88 [0.42-1.61], and dementia 0.88 [0.68-1.11]). The former POWs had significantly lower than expected mortality from all major causes of death (ischaemic heart disease 0.81 [0.78-0.85], cerebrovascular disease 0.88 [0.81-0.95], all malignant neoplasms 0.92 [0.88-0.95], and respiratory disease 0.79 [0.74-0.85]). They also had below average rates of death from tuberculosis (0.44 [0.26-0.71]) and suicide (0.77 [0.57-1.02]), though the latter relation was not statistically significant. Mortality from diseases of the liver was increased (chronic liver disease and cirrhosis 1.68 [1.28-2.17], primary carcinoma of the liver 2.42 [1.75-3.26]). INTERPRETATION: There is little evidence that men who were POWs in the Far East have higher rates of death than the male population generally. The only exception is diseases of the liver, which may be due to infection with hepatitis B or C virus during captivity. Death-certification data cannot provide a complete picture of physical and mental health, but the period of severe malnutrition, frequent infections, exhaustion, and intense psychological stress seems not to have increased susceptibility to neurodegenerative disease.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Migrant studies in multiple sclerosis.

To re-evaluate how migrant studies contribute to our understanding of the epidemiology and aetiology of multiple sclerosis, we undertook a systematic review of all relevant studies published in English language journals, comparing rates of multiple sclerosis in migrant populations with those in the host country and in the country of origin. Interpretation of migrant studies is difficult. Migrants are seldom representative of the country of origin, tending to be younger, healthier and of higher socioeconomic status. Data quality may be poor, and lack of age-standardisation can mislead when rates are compared. Nevertheless, two consistent patterns can be discerned in these studies of the effect of migration on risk of multiple sclerosis. Migrants who move from an area where the disease is common to an area where it is rarer show a decrease in rate of disease. By contrast, people who migrate in the opposite direction tend to retain the low risk of their country of origin. Results from the few studies which have examined the effect of age at migration on risk of multiple sclerosis suggest that an individual's risk of the disease is largely established during the first two decades of life. Risk of multiple sclerosis can change rapidly between generations: although migrants from low risk countries to high risk countries retain their low risk, their children have a risk of multiple sclerosis that approaches that of the host country. Migrant studies add little to our understanding of the genetics of multiple sclerosis but they emphasise the importance of environmental factors. We discuss several possible interpretations of the patterns seen in migrant studies, including the hypothesis that multiple sclerosis is a sequel to delayed exposure to a common infectious agent. One candidate for such an infectious agent is Epstein-Barr virus.

Age Factors↗