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Biomedical subjects

D Cramer

Publications and source records attributed to D Cramer.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Type A behaviour pattern, extraversion, neuroticism and psychological distress.

The factorial structure of a nine-item Framingham Type A Scale, the 30-item General Health Questionnaire, the 57-item Eysenck Personality Inventory and a 20-item checklist of predominantly physical symptoms was examined in a nationally representative sample of 3065 women and 2520 men. For both women and men, the six principal components extracted from the 116 items and orthogonally rotated clearly corresponded to the six variables of psychological distress, neuroticism, symptoms, extraversion, the Lie scale and the Type A behaviour pattern. While Type A was positively correlated with neuroticism, psychological distress, extraversion and symptoms, there was no support for the idea that it could be more parsimoniously subsumed under these variables. Type A also showed a significant but very small positive association with self-reported coronary heart disease in men, although the correlations between heart disease and psychological distress, neuroticism and symptoms were more positive.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Social support and psychological distress in women and men.

The relationship between psychological distress and social support was investigated, along with various other health-relevant variables, in a nationally representative sample of some 2050 women and 1873 men, who also returned the self-completion questionnaire in the 1984-85 British Health and Lifestyle Survey. Psychological distress was measured with the 30-item General Health Questionnaire. Stepwise regression analyses indicated that the quality of family support accounted for a significant increase of 0.2-1.0 per cent of the variance in the GHQ for women and 0.8-1.9 per cent for men. The correlation between family support and distress was reduced from -.13 to -.04 for women and from -.15 to -.10 for men when all other variables were partialled out. It was highest (-.33) for the better qualified women and men in the youngest (18-24) age group.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1990

The effects of submaximal endurance exercise upon LH pulsatility.

The acute effects of submaximal endurance exercise (three consecutive 20-min runs on a treadmill at 50, 60 and 70% of the subjects' maximum oxygen uptake) upon the pulsatile release of LH were compared with those accompanying leisurely strolling for a similar period in seven normally menstruating young women. All trials were conducted during the early to mid-luteal phase, as determined by body temperature patterns, ultrasonic scans of the ovaries, detection of the LH surge in first morning urine specimens, and serial measurements of plasma progesterone. Blood was sampled every 10 min via an indwelling cannula for 8 h before and 12 h after exercise and serum LH measured by radioimmunoassay. LH pulsations were analysed by a time series method. Following cannulation, mean LH levels declined but then rose to reach a maximum 2 h before the beginning of the exercise bout. LH concentrations remained virtually unchanged during exercise itself, and exhibited a declining trend throughout the post-exercise period. The findings in the two groups were similar in all respects, except that in the control study the rate of LH pulsatility was significantly diminished (P less than 0.05) during the first 2 h of sampling as compared with the subsequent 2-h period. The approximate half-life of LH varied from 27 to 57 min, with a mean of 41 min.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Psychological adjustment, close relationships and personality: a comment on McLennan & Omodei.

McLennan & Omodei (1988) suggested that Cramer's (1985) of an association between psychological adjustment and the facilitativeness of a close relationship is primarily due to a general affective outlook in females. Their main measures of this outlook were extraversion and neuroticism, the latter of which is itself closely related to psychological adjustment. When their data were reanalyzed excluding neuroticism, facilitativeness was found to be substantially correlated with psychological wellbeing in both men and women, indicating that this association cannot be wholly explained in terms of a global evaluative orientation. A reanalysis of similar data from Henderson, Byrne & Duncan-Jones (1981) showed that psychiatric illness was still associated with the perceived adequacy of close attachments when extraversion was controlled.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1985

Psychological adjustment and the facilitative nature of close personal relationships.

The Rogerian hypothesis that psychological adjustment is positively related to having a relationship which is perceived as being characterized by understanding, congruence and unconditional acceptance was tested in the context of a current, close relationship, using the original Relationship Inventory in two studies which used different measures of assessing psychological adjustment. In the first study 26 females and 19 males completed Phillips' questionnaire which assesses acceptance of self and of others, while in the second study, 98 females and 23 males completed Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale and a 30-item symptom checklist. The hypothesis was strongly confirmed for the females but not for the males in both studies.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

The relationship between curative factors perceived by patients in their psychotherapy and treatment outcome: an exploratory study.

Researchers are becoming increasingly interested in those aspects of the curative process that are not specific to any treatment approach. Two hypotheses were tested in this study: (1) that patients would, among those factors they suggest as helpful in their treatment, develop a list of consistently suggested curative factors; (2) that some of the consistently suggested factors will have a direct positive relationship to outcome. Twenty-four out-patients were interviewed. Both hypotheses were supported. Two factors emerged as having a significant influence on outcome: they were advice and the understanding of the therapist.

Humans↗
PubMed1984

Temperature corrections in routine spirometry.

Forced expiratory volume (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) were measured in nine normal subjects with three Vitalograph and three rolling seal spirometers at three different ambient temperatures (4 degrees C, 22 degrees C, 32 degrees C). When the results obtained with the rolling seal spirometer were converted to BTPS the agreement between measurements in the three environments improved, but when the Vitalograph measurements obtained in the hot and cold rooms were converted an error of up to 13% was introduced. The error was similar whether ambient or spirometer temperatures were used to make the conversion. In an attempt to explain the behaviour of the Vitalograph spirometers the compliance of their bellows was measured at the three temperatures. It was higher at the higher temperature (32 degrees C) and lower at the lower temperature (4 degrees C) than at the normal room temperature. These changes in instrument compliance could account for the differences in measured values between the two types of spirometer. It is concluded that the ATPS-BTPS conversion is valid and necessary for measurements made with rolling seal spirometers, but can cause substantial error if it is used for Vitalograph measurements made under conditions other than normal room temperature.

Forced Expiratory Volume↗
PubMed1983

Cigarette smoking, relative weight, and menopause.

To examine the interrelationships of cigarette smoking, relative weight, and the occurrence of natural menopause, the authors prospectively evaluated the experience of 66,663 female US registered nurses who were premenopausal in 1976. Over a two-year period, 5004 women became post-menopausal. Current smokers were more likely than past or never smokers to develop menopause, although the effects of smoking diminished with age. The rate ratios of menopause for current smokers vs. never smokers (with 95% confidence limits) for women aged 30-39, 40-44, 45-49, and 50-55 years were 1.90 (1.10-3.28), 2.16 (1.73-2.69), 1.53 (1.41-1.67), and 1.20 (1.12-1.28). These rate ratios were not appreciably affected by adjustment for relative weight. Median ages at menopause were 52.4 for never smokers and 51.9, 51.0, 50.7, and 50.4 years for women who currently smoked 1-14, 15-24, 25-34, and 35 or more cigarettes per day. A crude linear relationship between relative weight and occurrence of menopause was observed. Comparing the leanest and heaviest quintiles, rate ratios for menopause among women aged 30-39, 40-44, 45-49, and 50-55 years were 1.42 (0.74-2.75), 1.26 (0.95-1.69), 1.25 (1.13-1.41) and 1.08 (0.99-1.19). The effect of relative weight was in part explained by the tendency of current smokers to weigh less than nonsmokers. After adjustment for current cigarette consumption a weak linear relationship between relative weight and menopause remained among women who smoked, although no such association was seen among nonsmokers.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Fossil mammals and artefacts from the Middle Awash Valley, Ethiopia.

A review of fossil mammalian faunas from the Middle Awash indicates they span most of the later Neogene and document evolutionary change in several mammalian groups, especially Primates, Proboscidea and Artiodactyla. Oldowan artefacts first appear in the late Pliocene, while Acheulian and later industries and apparent occupation sites occur in Pleistocene beds.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Endometrial hyperplasia in women on cyclic or continuous estrogen regimens.

Twenty-five symptomatic postmenopausal women with an intact uterus were assigned in random double-blind fashion to receive 0.625 mg of conjugated estrogens on either a cyclic (3 weeks on, 1 week off) or continuous (daily) basis. The incidence of endometrial hyperplasia as demonstrated by screening biopsies at 6 and 12 months of therapy was 4.5 per 100 woman-months in the cyclic group and 3.7 per 100 woman-months in the continuous group (a difference not statistically significant). Thus, in this study, cyclic therapy was found to offer no advantage over continuous therapy. In our opinion, the rate of hyperplasia development in both groups unacceptably high, and efforts must be directed at reducing its incidence primarily.

Biopsy↗
PubMed1982

Factors influencing the success of artificial insemination.

Factors influencing the probability of conception following artificial insemination with donor semen (AID) have been investigated in a series of 124 married females. Overall, 79 conceptions were achieved, for a cumulative rate of conception of 85.1% at the end of 1 year and an average fecundability of 15%, using life-table analysis. Women aged 30 or over or those with evidence of tubal or ovulatory problems had decreased probability of conception, although not to a significant extent. Women whose husbands were azoospermic had 20% fecundability in response to AID, significantly better than the 10% fecundability after AID observed in the women whose mates were oligospermic. Cycles during which AID was successful were significantly more likely to have had a positive postcoital test observed, compared with unsuccessful AID cycles.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Association of breast cancer risk with age at first and subsequent births: a study in the population of the Estonian Republic.

Information on reproductive history was obtained from 362 urban breast cancer patients attending the oncological dispensaries at Tallinn and Tartu, Estonian Republic, and from 694 urban women participating in gynecologic screening programs offered by the same centers. The 2 groups were compared by means of Mantel-Haenszel and logistic regression procedures to estimate age-adjusted odds ratios. Women whose first birth occurred before 20 years of age had a breast cancer risk less than one-third the risk of nulliparous women. Risk increased with increase in age at first birth (AFB) but remained below 1.0 (relative to nulliparae), even in the highest AFB categories. The fertility rate in Estonia during the period of this study was relatively low, which facilitated an evaluation of the effect of births subsequent to the first. After adjustment for AFB, it appeared that in this population subsequent births had a protective effect additional to that conferred by the first birth. Moreover, for women who had only 2 children, the age at the time of birth of the second child was a determinant of that effect. Compared to nulliparous women, the breast cancer odds ratio for uniparous women who had their child before age 25 was 0.62, and the ratio for duoparous women who had both their children under that age was 0.18. Neither lactation nor menarche was a risk factor for breast cancer in this pouplation.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Oral medroxyprogesterone in the treatment of postmenopausal symptoms.

A double-blind crossover study was designed to compare the effects of placebo and medroxyprogesterone acetate, 20 mg, on vasomotor flushes and blood hormones in 27 postmenopausal women. In women receiving placebo, vasomotor flushes were decreased by 25.9% during the last four weeks of treatment compared with baseline, and a further decrease of 34.5% was achieved by the last four weeks after patients were given medroxyprogesterone. In women who initially took medroxyprogesterone, there a 73.9% decline by the last four weeks in the number of vasomotor flushes. However, when these women were given placebo, an immediate worsening of their symptoms occurred. The drug produced a decline of 27% and 29% in serum levels of follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone, respectively, while the serum prolactin level rose slightly. Thus, medroxyprogesterone can be used to treat the vasomotor flushes of postmenopausal women when estrogen use is undesirable.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1978

Estrogen profiles of premenopausal women with breast cancer.

Population surveys have demonstrated an inverse relationship between breast cancer incidence rates and the urine "estriol ratio," the concentration of estriol relative to the sum of the concentrations of estrone and estradiol. In this study, the urine estriol ratio was evaluated in premenopausal breast cancer patients and control women from Boston and San Francisco. Although at least 2 years had passed since last use of oral contraceptives, women with a history or oral contraceptive use for 19 months or longer excreted estrogen in low concentrations compared to nonusers and so were excluded. Among the remaining 73 cases and 55 controls, the cases had lower estriol ratios and higher estrone and estradiol levels than did controls. However, these differences, which averaged about 10%, were not statistically significant. Thus the hypothesis that a low estriol ratio is a cause of breast cancer is given only minimal support. Among women in their 40's, the excretion of estrogens is subject to many influences and is difficult to study. The many determinants of estrogen excretion, including age and oral contraceptive use, should be accommodated in the design of future studies of the estriol ratio.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Diet and cancer of endocrine target organs.

The role of diet in the etiology of cancer of the breast and endometrium is considered. Geographic variation in rates, effects of migration, consequences of exogenous hormone use, and other epidemiologic factors are reviewed. Cancer of the endometrium is related to diet probably through simple caloric excess. The excess is reflected in obesity and the consequent overproduction of estrone, a natural but carcinogenic human estrogen. Diet may also influence breast cancer risk somewhat through the same mechanism. But this mechanism probably would not explain a large proportion of the disease. It is possible that, in addition, some specific dietary factor, for example, saturated fat, is causally related to breast cancer. Such a relationship would probably be mediated through an endocrine mechanism.

Adult↗