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Biomedical subjects

G V Vimpani

Publications and source records attributed to G V Vimpani.

33 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

The Port Pirie cohort study: maternal blood lead and pregnancy outcome.

During a three-year period, 831 pregnant women in and around Port Pirie, South Australia--a lead smelter community with longstanding lead pollution--were enrolled in a cohort study to examine prospectively the relation between body lead burden and pregnancy outcome. Three-quarters of the enrolled women were residents of the Port Pirie municipality; the other women lived in adjacent towns and countryside. At 14-20 weeks' gestation, the Port Pirie resident women had a mean blood lead concentration of 10.6 micrograms/dl, while the mean in the other (non-Port Pirie) women was 7.6 micrograms/dl. Similar differences were observed in maternal blood samples taken at 30-36 weeks, at delivery, and from the umbilical cord. These blood lead measures, in conjunction with information collected on other risk factors, were then examined in relation to pregnancy outcome. Among 749 pregnancies followed to completion, pre-term delivery was statistically significantly associated, in a dose-response manner, with maternal blood lead concentration at delivery. Mothers of late fetal deaths (stillbirths) had blood lead concentrations at 14-20 weeks' gestation similar to those of all the other women but had lower concentrations at delivery than the other women. Outcomes of pregnancy for which no association with blood lead was detected were spontaneous abortion, low birthweight (for births at term), intrauterine growth retardation, premature rupture of the membranes, and congenital anomalies.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗
PubMed1985

The Port Pirie cohort study. Blood lead concentrations in early childhood.

A cohort of over 600 children who were born between 1979 and 1982 and accounted for the great majority of all births in Port Pirie, South Australia, and its immediate environs, underwent capillary blood sampling at the ages of 6 months, 15 months, 2 years, and annually thereafter. The mean blood lead concentration (Pb-B) initially rose markedly, peaked at 2 years of age, and subsequently declined gradually at 3 and 4 years of age. No differences in Pb-B were observed between girls and boys. Secular trends in Pb-B at the age of 2 years that were observed in blood samples taken over the 1981-1984 period suggest that both the drought of 1982 and changes in community behaviour may have accounted for some of the age-related variation. The Pb-B was associated positively with surface soil lead concentrations, with a two-fold variation in mean Pb-B between residential zones within Port Pirie. Pb-B was higher in summer than in winter months at the ages of 6 and 15 months, but not at older ages. These findings suggest that lead in dust influences strongly blood lead concentrations in early childhood.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1981

Differences in physical characteristics, perinatal histories, and social backgrounds between children with growth hormone deficiency and constitutional short stature.

Four hundred and forty-nine children with heights below -2.5 SD were identified by screening for height a total population of 48221 in three Scottish cities. Children participating in the study could be classified into 5 groups: severe growth hormone deficiency (n = 13), partial growth hormone deficiency (n = 25), low birthweight short stature (n = 34), constitutional short stature (n = 178), and short stature associated with some underlying disease (n = 106). Children with growth hormone deficiency tended to be shorter, were more likely to be obese, were growing more slowly, more often were the products of an abnormal pregnancy, and were less socially disadvantaged than constitutionally short children. Their parents were also more likely to have sought medical advice about the short stature. These findings have important implications for improved case-finding of children suffering from growth-hormone deficiency, who in this study accounted for about 10% of all short but otherwise normal children who came from non-disadvantaged communities.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1977

Prevalence of severe growth hormone deficiency.

Four hundred and forty-nine short children, who were all over 2-5 standard deviations below the mean height for age, were identified by screening the heights of 48 221 6- to 9-year-old children in three Scottish cities. Most were screened for growth hormone deficiency (GHD). The prevalence of severe GHD in this sample may have been as high as 1 in 4018, much higher than reported. The findings suggest that present referral patterns may account for the delayed or missed diagnosis of the condition in girls or children with less severe short stature.

Body Height↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Sociodemographic factors modifying the effect of environmental lead on neuropsychological development in early childhood.

A long-term prospective cohort study was conducted to examine the association between prenatal and postnatal exposure to environmental lead and childhood neuropsychological development. The possible interactive effects of blood lead and some covariates on early development were explored in this study. Our data suggest that gender of the child modifies the effect of lead on the neuropsychological development during early childhood. At the ages of 2 and 4 years, girls appear to be more sensitive than boys to the neuropsychological effects of lead. However, there is no significant modification of the effect of lead by some other covariates, such as parental smoking, socioeconomic status, home environment, birth weight, and the kind of infant feeding. Evidence of interactions between environmental lead exposure and other covariates in the causation of neuropsychological deficits in childhood underscores the desirability of considering both main effects and interactions in this area of research. Such effects, if confirmed, may have implications for public health intervention strategies.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Determinants of blood lead concentrations to age 5 years in a birth cohort study of children living in the lead smelting city of Port Pirie and surrounding areas.

Sources of variation and some principal determinants of blood lead concentration (PbB) were investigated in a cohort of children, followed to age 5 y, who were born near a lead smelter in Port Pirie, South Australia. The child's age and place of residence were the two variables most strongly predictive of PbB. A sharp increase in PbB occurred between 6 and 15 mo of age and was followed by a peak concentration that occurred at approximately 2 y of age, after which PbB steadily and consistently declined. Irrespective of age, the PbBs in children who lived in Port Pirie were significantly higher than levels identified in children who resided outside the city. There was no significant difference in PbB between boys and girls. Elevated PbB at each specific age was associated mainly with increased lead concentrations in the topsoil of the local residential area, employment of the father in the lead industry, parental smoking, and behaviors likely to cause ingestion of dirt. Blood samples taken from children at certain ages and during the warmer months contained more lead than samples obtained during the cooler months. The effects of these determinants on PbB during early childhood were basically consistent in both single and multivariable analyses.

Age Factors↗