Biomedical subjects

F A de Hamel

Publications and source records attributed to F A de Hamel.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1979

Stopping smoking. Symptoms and objective assessment in ex-smokers.

The results of a respiratory questionnaire and spirometric tests of 133 ex-smokers out of 649 male public servants aged 15--64 years have been analysed. When the population was adjusted for age, height and the presence or absence of chronic respiratory symptoms the FEV1 of the ex-smokers had not returned to normal but fell between that of the light (less than 10 a day) and moderate cigarette smokers. Factors contributing to this have been investigated. Factors affecting the FEV1 of the ex-smokers were found to include duration of smoking, quantum smoked and years since smoking ceased. An interactive effect has been demonstrated between quantum smoked and duration of smoking such that ex-smokers who used to smoke 10 or more cigarettes a day for more than 10 years had the lowest lung function but duration of smoking was not important if less than 10 cigarettes a day had been smoked. Only just over a third of the ex-smokers gave health related reasons for giving up smoking, a proportion which is considerably lower than has been found in other studies. Possible reasons for this difference are discussed. As in other studies less than 10 percent gave up smoking because of its cost. Respiratory screening to include questions on cough, phlegm and wheeze together with measurement of the FEV1 is an important way of demonstrating to individual smokers evidence of any damage caused by their smoking.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1979

Lung function tests.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Forced Expiratory Volume↗

PubMed1978

Smoking habit and psychometric scores: a community study.

During the Milton health survey subjects completed a psychometric inventory consisting of the 48 questions of the Middlesex Hospital questionnaire (MHQ) and 26 from the hostility and direction of hostility questionnaire (HDHQ) designed to examine nine psychological dimensions. The 1209 subjects were classified into smoking categories and the scores for each psychometric trait were calculated. Women scored higher than men and heavy smokers scored higher than "never smokers". The psychometric traits and the scores of the four smoking categories after correcting for age and Quetelet's index showed statistically significant differences by analysis of variance in respect of somatic anxiety and depression for both men and women; and free-floating anxiety, phobic anxiety, hysteria, acting out hostility, self criticism and guilt in women. For somatic anxiety the increase in score almost exactly paralleled the increasing quantity of tobacco consumed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1978

The Milton survey: Part 1, General methods, height, weight and 24-hour excretion of sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and creatinine.

This paper describes the methods and general aims of a survey carried out on just over 1200 subjects (about 82% of the adult population) in Milton, a small town south of Dunedin. Data were collected on personal and family history, present medication if any, 24-hour dietary recall, psychometric scores, height, weight, skin-fold thickness, anthropometry, blood pressure, heart rate, electrocardiogram, mass miniature X-ray of chest, forced expiratory volume (FEV1), fasting plasma cholesterol and triglycerides, lipoprotein pattern and fasting and post-prandial blood sugar in a selected subgroup, and 24-hour urine volume and excretion of sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and creatinine. Mean values are given in the paper for each 10-year age group for height, weight, Quetelet's index, 24-hour urine volume, creatinine, sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium. These and other results will be discussed in detail in subsequent papers.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1975

Observations on Maori-European lung function differences.

One hundred and twenty-one regular soldiers between the ages of 18 and 34 years, who had lived and worked under identical conditions for the two previous years were examined. All subjects with respiratory symptoms of wheeze, dyspnoea, persistent cough or sputum were excluded. Smoking, per se, was not a reason for exclusion. Eighty-three "respiratorily fit" men, comprising 47 Maoris and 36 Europeans, were studied to see whether height, weight or obesity could account for the ethnic differences in lung function. The forced vital capacity in the Maoris was found to be about 9% lower than in the Europeans. The one-second forced expiratory volume of the Maoris was about 8% lower than in the Europeans. No significant difference could be found in the peak expiratory flow rates between the two ethnic groups. The only significant physical difference found between the two ethnic groups was that the Maoris were heavier for their height than the Europeans. Statistical tests showed that neither weight nor an obesity index accounted for the ethnic differences in lung function. Full laboratory investigation of these ethnic differences is recommended.

Adolescent↗