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Biomedical subjects

F Munoz

Publications and source records attributed to F Munoz.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Prevention of preterm birth in patients with symptoms of preterm labor--the benefits of psychologic support.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of psychologic support against preterm delivery in pregnant women with symptoms of preterm labor. STUDY DESIGN: The study, which involved two cohorts of women identified during two successive periods in the same maternity ward, included 309 women in the experimental group and 323 in the control group. The women in the control group were followed up according to the usual therapeutic procedures, whereas additional psychologic support was offered to the experimental group. The analysis, conducted "in intent to treat," was based on the estimation of the relative risk by a multivariate logistic regression adjusting for confounding factors. RESULTS: A significant decrease in the preterm birth rate was observed in the experimental group (12.3%) compared with the control group (25.7%), with an adjusted relative risk of 0.37 (95% confidence interval 0.30 to 0.47). CONCLUSION: This study confirms the feasibility of this kind of intervention and the effectiveness of psychologic support on the risk of preterm delivery.

Cohort Studies↗
PubMed1997

[Is it possible to improve sleep in children? A research on health education in nursery schools].

An educational project in nursery schools was carried out with the aim to improve children's sleep. Its effectiveness was tested in terms of awareness of families and length of sleep of children. The method was a prevention trial based on the random division of classes of 3-year old into two groups (intervention group and control group) comprising children enrolled in nursery schools in the Rhône region (France) in 1992. The project, lasting 2 years, relied on physicians from the community (Maternal, Child Health Service and School Health Service), their role being to mobilise the teaching teams, distribute specific teaching tools and raise awareness of families to respect the sleep patterns of children, during routine medical examinations. The study was carried out in 140 nursery schools with 1,500 children in each group. The evaluation was based on the application of a logistical regression model taking potentially confounding factors into account, and an analysis in sub-groups in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of intervention on particularly exposed groups. The results show: 1) the feasibility of such an intervention among nursery school children on a large scale, 2) the effectiveness of the action, with a reduction of the risk of "poor knowledge" among parents (OR = 0.76), particularly in urban areas, and a reduction in the risk "short nights" in the sub-group of children who had " little sleep at 3 years" in low social class families (OR = 0.50).

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1997

Definitive evidence for an autosomal recessive form of hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia clinically indistinguishable from the more common X-linked disorder.

A crucial issue in genetic counseling is the recognition of nonallelic genetic heterogeneity. Hypohidrotic (anhidrotic) ectodermal dysplasia (HED), a genetic disorder characterized by defective development of hair, teeth, and eccrine sweat glands, is usually inherited as an X-linked recessive trait mapped to the X-linked ectodermal dysplasia locus, EDA, at Xq12-q13.1. The existence of an autosomal recessive form of the disorder had been proposed but subsequently had been challenged by the hypothesis that the phenotype of severely affected daughters born to unaffected mothers in these rare families may be due to marked skewing of X inactivation. Five families with possible autosomal recessive HED have been identified, on the basis of the presence of severely affected females and unaffected parents in single sibships and in highly consanguineous families with multiple affected family members. The disorder was excluded from the EDA locus by the lack of its cosegregation with polymorphic markers flanking the EDA locus in three of five families. No mutations of the EDA gene were detected by SSCP analysis in the two families not excluded by haplotype analysis. The appearance of affected males and females in autosomal recessive HED was clinically indistinguishable from that seen in males with X-linked HED. The findings of equally affected males and females in single sibships, as well as the presence of consanguinity, support an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance. The fact that phenotypically identical types of HED can be caused by mutations at both X-linked and autosomal loci is analogous to the situation in the mouse, where indistinguishable phenotypes are produced by mutations at both X-linked (Tabby) and autosomal loci (crinkled and downless).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

X-linked anhidrotic (hypohidrotic) ectodermal dysplasia is caused by mutation in a novel transmembrane protein.

Ectodermal dysplasias comprise over 150 syndromes of unknown pathogenesis. X-linked anhidrotic ectodermal dysplasia (EDA) is characterized by abnormal hair, teeth and sweat glands. We now describe the positional cloning of the gene mutated in EDA. Two exons, separated by a 200-kilobase intron, encode a predicted 135-residue transmembrane protein. The gene is disrupted in six patients with X;autosome translocations or submicroscopic deletions; nine patients had point mutations. The gene is expressed in keratinocytes, hair follicles, and sweat glands, and in other adult and fetal tissues. The predicted EDA protein may belong to a novel class with a role in epithelial-mesenchymal signalling.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

[Fetal growth from the AUDIPOG study. I. Establishment of reference curves].

The collection of nearly 100,000 births from 22 maternity hospitals in various French regions permitted to establish foetal growth curves for weight, height and head circumference. The 50th percentiles of weight at term obtained in this sample are not different from those given by Leroy and Lefort in the Paris region in 1971. However below 38 weeks of gestation, we found that 50th percentiles are 100 or 150 g less than those given by Leroy and Lefort. The discussion from international papers show large variations of the 10th percentile for weight in according to gestational age and sex, these variations are often related to the choice of different target populations.

Birth Weight↗
PubMed1996

[Fetal growth from the AUDIPOG study. II. Application for the diagnosis of intrauterine growth retardation].

The identification of intrauterine growth retarded infants remains a problem. It is useful to distinguish between small for date which uses the reference of a statistical birthweight limit and intrauterine growth retardation. A study comprising nearly 100,000 births from many French regions allowed a definition of the limits of birthweights taking into account gestational age, sex, birth rank, maternal height and pregravid maternal weight. This new approach distinguished two groups of newborns, the "constitutionaly small" and those who are newly called "growth retarded". The validity of this new classification is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

[The Association of Computerized Medical Records Users in Perinatology, Obstetrics and Gynecology Sentinel Network for maternity hospitals. I. Perinatal health indicators in 1994].

A first experiment aimed at collecting data from 98 maternity hospitals grouped in the AUDIPOG Sentinel Network addressed 7,837 deliveries in January, 1994. The technique used for recovering the results was adapted from the quota method and aimed at strict respect of marginal distributions of deliveries per regional area and per hospital type, and at the best the joint distribution of deliveries per regional area/hospital type, to obtain estimates of perinatal health indicators. Selection indicators (age, family status, socio-economic conditions, previous history), practising indicators (supervision of the pregnancy, entrance motive, presentation, delivery mode, anaesthetic) and result indicators (prematurity, small for date, transfer, pathology of the new-born) are given.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

The association between occupational factors and preterm birth: a United States nurses' study. Research Committee of the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses.

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to evaluate factors associated with preterm birth among a national sample of U.S. nurses. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a case-control study of 210 nurses whose infants were delivered prematurely (< 37 weeks) (cases) and 1260 nurses whose infants were delivered at term (> or = 37 weeks) (controls). An occupational fatigue score was constructed from four sources and varied from 0 to 4. The relation between occupational activity (including hours working and fatigue score) and preterm birth was analyzed with the use of Pearson chi 2 tests, estimates of odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals, and multivariate logistic regression; we controlled for confounding factors. RESULTS: Factors significantly associated with preterm birth included hours worked per week (p < 0.002), per shift (p < 0.001), and while standing (p < 0.001); noise (p = 0.005); physical exertion (p = 0.01); and occupational fatigue score (p < 0.002). The adjusted odds ratios were 1.6 (p = 0.006) for hours worked per week (< or = 36 vs > 36) and 1.4 (p = 0.02) for fatigue score < 3 vs > or = 3. CONCLUSIONS: Preterm birth among working women may be related to hours worked per day or week and to adverse working conditions.

Case-Control Studies↗
PubMed1994

Obsessional symptoms in expectant women and outcome of their pregnancy.

The aim of this investigation was to explore whether, within the scope of personality traits and their modifications during pregnancy, the obsessional dimension may have a protective role against premature birth. In fact, obsessional characterology with its tendency to control may suggest that the women with these traits do not passively experience their pregnancy and may try to control its evolution, at least in their fantasies. Personality dimensions have been recorded using Derogatis' psychological self-administered questionnaire, in which women were asked to assess their level on the Derogatis symptom scale before and during pregnancy. The survey involved 351 women (117 premature and 234 term deliveries) who had both completed the self-administered questionnaire on the 6-month pregnancy visit and answered a specific interview at birth. Our results have shown that the existence of obsessional traits before pregnancy apparently does not have a protective role against premature delivery (odds ratio = 1.40; NS). Conversely, intensified obsessional symptoms during pregnancy are associated with a decreased premature birth rate (odds ratio = 0.44; p < 0.05). These results remain when the presence of obsessional traits before pregnancy is taken into account (adjusted odds ratio = 0.38; p < 0.02). The possibility of a defence reaction to this situation of pregnancy is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

[Life style of children and obesity in a population of 5-year-old children].

The increasing level of childhood obesity has prompted some research into the early risk factors likely to lead to preventive measures. A case-control study was conducted of a five year-old population in the Rhône and Isère administrative "départements" of France during the children's first visit to primary school, with the participation of 327 obese children and 704 controls. Anthropometric data on the children since birth, together with data on their lifestyles, were collected in interviews with parents. "Family obesity" and "obesity at birth" were found to be closely related to the child's obesity at five years old (adjusted OR = 2.7 and 2.1 respectively). Of the environmental factors, the hypothesis tested paid specific attention to television viewing, snacks between meals and lack of sleep. These three variables were all found to be risk factors of obesity at five years old. However after allowing for parental obesity, the only remaining significant risk factor for obesity at five was lack of sleep (adjusted OR = 1.4). The pathogenic assumptions raised by these results are discussed.

Anthropometry↗
PubMed1992

Risk factors of obesity in a five year old population. Parental versus environmental factors.

To be more effective, the prevention of obesity in childhood should be focused on the population at risk. The purpose of the present study is firstly to find correlations between certain environmental factors and obesity in childhood, and secondly to measure the influence of the environmental factors after taking the parental history of obesity into account. This case controlled study includes 704 controls vs. 327 cases selected in a population of five year old school children. The anthropometric assessment was completed at school. Obesity was defined as a weight for height > or = 2 s.d. using the French weight charts for French children based on sex and height. Interviews of the parents recorded parental overweight and child birth overweight as 'constitutional' factors and family structure, socio-economic level and daily lifestyle (sleep, TV viewing, after school care, etc.) as 'environmental' factors. The results show that parental overweight and birth overweight are closely related to the child's obesity at five years of age (estimated relative risks 3.1 and 2.4 respectively). The environmental factors which contribute to child obesity are: southern European origin of the mother, snacks, excessive television viewing and, more importantly, short sleep duration (estimated relative risks = 1.9, 1.3, 2.1 and 4.9 respectively). A logistic regression model, after taking parental overweight into account, shows that the relationship between obesity and short sleep duration persists independently of television viewing. The hypotheses raised by these findings are discussed.

Birth Weight↗
PubMed1990

[5- and 10-year survival in carcinomas of the oral cavity (T1-2/N0-1) treated with external radiotherapy alone or associated with surgery and/or chemotherapy].

The authors report their results on the treatment of 211 T1-2/N0-1 carcinoma of the oral cavity treated with radiotherapy alone or associated with surgery and/or chemotherapy. Five- and ten-year survival rates are respectively 48 and 37%. Two groups were recognized: one with a better prognosis (T1 gum and cheek) and another with a poor prognosis (T2-N1 mobile tongue and floor of the mouth).

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Development and use of a self-administered questionnaire for assessment of psychologic attitudes toward pregnancy and their relation to a subsequent premature birth.

This paper describes both the development of and results of the use of a self-administered questionnaire designed specifically to investigate the relation between the psychologic attitudes of pregnant women toward pregnancy and an eventual subsequent premature birth. The questionnaire (entitled Pregnancy Psychologic Attitudes Test--in relation to Premature Birth [PPAT(p)]) was derived from the synthesis of interviews with women who had given birth prematurely, comprised 40 questions grouped in six dimensions, and was used in a prospective survey. All women who had an antenatal visit in their fifth to sixth month of pregnancy in one of four maternity hospitals in Lyon, France, between October 1983 and March 1985 were asked to complete this questionnaire. A quantitative PPAT(p) score (ranging from 0 to 6) was constructed in a working sample (n = 643), and its relation with a subsequent premature birth was analyzed in a study sample (n = 1,500). Application of the logistic regression model showed, after controlling for personal and medical factors, that this relation was statistically significant. The risk of premature birth increased from 1 to 1.5 when the PPAT(p) score increased one point (p less than 0.001). This study contributes to a better understanding of psychologic factors that may affect pregnant women and be associated with premature birth. This new component must be considered in the development of policies for preventing premature birth.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Pregnant women at work: rest periods to prevent preterm birth?

The aim of this study is to identify social preventive measures in an attempt to prevent pre-term birth in pregnant women who work under strenuous conditions. A study carried out in 50 factories allowed us to gather data on 1168 pregnancies that occurred during 1 year and to study the modifications in working conditions now granted to pregnant women in many firms in France. We observed a significant relationship between 'episodes of sick leave' prescribed especially for fatigue (without any pathological reason) and a lower preterm birth rate. The potential benefit of rest-periods, granted to pregnant women working in strenuous conditions, is discussed.

Absenteeism↗