Biomedical subjects
D R Williams
Publications and source records attributed to D R Williams.
The lung at high altitude.
Men and mammals (excluding the indigenous mountain species) who are born at high altitude, or who ascend to live there for a long period, have to undergo acclimatization which affects virtually every system in the body. Since chronic hypoxia is the most important adverse factor in the mountain environment, the lung plays a major part in the process and shows many alterations in structure and function. However, we remain ignorant about many aspects of acclimatization of the lung to hypoxia especially at the ultrastructural level with respect to those cells whose normal function is not yet established. An account of what is known is given in this paper.
CSAG report: standards of care for people with diabetes.
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The concept of race and health status in America.
Race is an unscientific, societally constructed taxonomy that is based on an ideology that views some human population groups as inherently superior to others on the basis of external physical characteristics or geographic origin. The concept of race is socially meaningful but of limited biological significance. Racial or ethnic variations in health status result primarily from variations among races in exposure or vulnerability to behavioral, psychosocial, material, and environmental risk factors and resources. Additional data that capture the specific factors that contribute to group differences in disease must be collected. However, reductions in racial disparities in health will ultimately require change in the larger societal institutions and structures that determine exposure to pathogenic conditions. More attention needs to be given to the ways that racism, in its multiple forms, affects health status. Socio-economic status is a central determinant of health status, overlaps the concept of race, but is not equivalent to race. Inadequate attention has been given to the range of variation in social, cultural, and health characteristics within and between racial or ethnic minority populations. There is a growing emphasis, both within and without the Federal Government, on the collection of racial or ethnic identifiers in health data systems, but noncoverage of the Asian and Pacific Islander population, Native Americans, and subgroups of the Hispanic population is still a major problem. However, for all racial or ethnic groups, we need not only more data but better data. We must be more active in directly measuring the health-related aspects of belonging to these social categories.
Racism and health: a research agenda.
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Racism and the physical and mental health status of African Americans: a thirteen year national panel study.
This paper examined the relationships between the experiences and perceptions of racism and the physical and mental health status of African Americans. The study was based upon thirteen year (1979 to 1992), four wave, national panel data (n = 623) from the National Survey of Black Americans. Personal experiences of racism were found to have both adverse and salubrious immediate and cumulative effects on the physical and mental well-being of African Americans. In 1979-80, reports of poor treatment due to race were inversely related to subjective well-being and positively associated with the number of reported physical health problems. Reports of negative racial encounters over the 13-year period were weakly predictive of poor subjective well-being in 1992. A more general measure of racial beliefs, perceiving that whites want to keep blacks down, was found to be related to poorer physical health in 1979-80, better physical health in 1992, and predicted increased psychological distress, as well as, lower levels of subjective well-being in 1992. In conclusion, the authors suggested future research on possible factors contributing to the relationship between racism and health status among African Americans.
Gingival overgrowth with valproic acid: a case report.
A case of a nine-year-old epileptic girl with severe gingival overgrowth who had been taking valproic acid since two months of age is presented. A review of the literature and possible mechanisms for drug-induced gingival overgrowth is outlined.