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Biomedical subjects

J C Reid

Publications and source records attributed to J C Reid.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Rehabilitation of refugee victims of torture and trauma: principles and service provision in New South Wales.

A number of recently-arrived refugees who are suffering from psychological disturbances and physical injuries that have resulted from torture or severe trauma has come to the attention of welfare workers and health personnel in New South Wales. A tentative estimate of more than 2000 refugees in New South Wales who are so affected, and clear evidence of extensive human rights abuses in the countries from which they came, indicate an urgent need for specialized care for the victims. Organized violence, including detention, torture and severe deprivation, is a tool of governments in many countries of the world. The varied forms of torture are all designed to destroy the trust, personality and self-esteem of the victims and to foster dependency, debility and dread, both in the victims and in the societies in which they live. Those persons who survive torture and detention often are affected severely in body, mind and spirit. Many victims exhibit acute and chronic symptoms that are described commonly by the diagnostic categories "post-traumatic stress disorder" and "torture syndrome". Their kin, especially spouses and children, also suffer psychological and familial disturbances frequently, as a result of the arrest, detention and torture of the victim. Their suffering is compounded by the distress of fleeing their home country and the stresses of adjusting to a new country and way of life. In Europe and North America, services have been established to treat and to rehabilitate sufferers of these disorders. Treatment programmes differ in structure and size, but include commonly psychotherapy, physiotherapy, specialized medical care and parallel assistance with resettlement and social adjustment for both the patients and their families. This article cites illustrative case material from New South Wales and summarizes the recommendations for a community-based rehabilitation service for victims both of torture and of other forms of organized violence, such as detention in "re-education" camps or the genocide in Kampuchea.

Health Services↗

Correlates of psychopathology in adolescents.

The authors examined the relationship among measures of self-perception and the family environment for both general psychopathology and diagnostic clusters. The subject pool was a community sample of adolescents. The findings emphasize the relationship of the home environment to the presence of general psychopathology and specific diagnoses.

Adolescent↗

Lifetime and six-month prevalence of psychiatric disorders among sentenced female offenders.

The authors determined the six-month and lifetime prevalence of psychiatric disorders among 100 consecutively admitted female offenders to a prison, using Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS Version III) and found high prevalence rates of schizophrenia, major depression, substance use disorders, psychosexual dysfunction, and antisocial personality disorders. The prevalence rates of these disorders were significantly higher than those of the general population. The authors note the implications of their findings for treatment of women within the correctional system.

Adult↗

The development of clinical independence: resident-attending physician interactions in an ambulatory setting.

Interactional analysis data from 949 resident-attending physician interactions about the care of 2,975 ambulatory patients were analyzed to test the hypothesis that consultation rates and behaviors would demonstrate a progressive increase in clinical independence and assertiveness. Consultation rates for first-, second-, and third-year residents were 48, 28, and 26 percent, respectively. The mean durations of consultations were 7.7, 6.9, and 6.1 minutes, respectively. Attending physicians visited 20, 12, and 13 percent of the patients of first-year, second-year, and third-year residents. The more senior residents displayed fewer of most types of interactional behaviors, suggesting a more focused discussion. Senior residents showed a progressive increase in initiating interactions of all types, demonstrating a kind of clinical independence and educational assertiveness that progressed through three years. There is a growing consensus that teaching in ambulatory medical practices will become widespread, but little information directs educational efforts in these settings. The findings suggest that clinical independence in the ambulatory setting is progressive and that measurements of consultation rates and behaviors expand knowledge about education in ambulatory care.

Ambulatory Care Facilities↗

A review of refugee medical screening in New South Wales.

Public health concern in relation to refugees arriving in New South Wales is due to the high prevalence of tuberculosis, syphilis and hepatitis B infection in some refugee groups. Other infectious diseases (with the exception of malaria in the Northern Territory and Queensland) do not pose a significant threat to public health owing to their low prevalence (which may result from overseas screening and treatment) and/or low infectivity in Australian conditions. Because of overseas screening by the Commonwealth Government before the departure of the refugees, it was uncommon in 1984 for previously undetected tuberculosis to be detected when refugees were screened on arrival in Sydney (found in only one in 800 refugees who underwent screening). However, of the refugees in Sydney who had positive results of serological tests for syphilis, a substantial proportion (at times in excess of 50%) had had a negative result at the overseas screening; subsequent follow-up of those with positive serological results indicated inactive disease in almost all cases. There is a need to monitor the infectious disease prevalence and the effectiveness of overseas screening of refugees by on-arrival screening; decisions about screening procedures and the selection of particular incoming refugee groups for screening should be based on sound epidemiological and clinical analysis.

Australia↗

Psychiatric disorders in a community sample of adolescents.

The prevalence of psychiatric disorders diagnosed according to DSM-III in adolescents in the general population is not known. The authors address this issue in a community sample of 150 adolescents 14-16 years of age. Structured interviews as well as other instruments were used to collect data. Twenty-eight (18.7%) of the 150 adolescents were identified as having a psychiatric disorder. These 28 adolescents viewed their parents as less caring, had lower self-esteem, and resolved their conflicts through verbal aggression and physical violence more often than did the adolescents who did not have a psychiatric disorder. The authors make recommendations regarding the use of structured interviews in future research.

Adolescent↗

Depression, depressive symptoms, and depressed mood among a community sample of adolescents.

Using a structured interview, the authors found that the prevalence of major depression and dysthymic disorder was 4.7% and 3.3%, respectively, in a community sample of 150 adolescents. All of the adolescents who met the criteria for major depression and dysthymic disorder had other psychiatric disorders as well; anxiety was the most frequent accompanying DSM-III diagnosis.

Adolescent↗

Characteristics of well adjusted adolescents.

In a community sample of 150 adolescents 14-16 years old, 25 (16.7%) were found to be well adjusted on the basis of structured interviews with the youths and their parents. The personalities of these subjects were found to be different and their self-concepts better than those of the remaining sample. The well adjusted adolescents described their parents as more caring and reported a larger number of social support systems than did the controls. The direct significance of these findings, as well as more subtle ramifications for the mental health professional, is discussed.

Adolescent↗

Conduct disordered adolescents from a community sample.

This study reports on a group of adolescents with conduct disorder in a community sample. Utilizing structured interviews for the adolescents and their parents, and strict requirements for caseness, conduct disorder was found to be the most common psychiatric problem (along with anxiety disorders). Various instruments were used. The findings, including approaches to conflict resolution in adolescents and their parents, are discussed.

Adolescent↗

Oxidative metabolism of long-chain fatty acids in mitochondria from sheep and rat liver. Evidence that sheep conserve linoleate by limiting its oxidation.

Mitochondria isolated from the livers of sheep and rats were shown to oxidize palmitate, oleate and linoleate in a tightly coupled manner, by monitoring the oxygen consumption associated with the degradation of these acids in the presence of 2mM-L-malate. Rat liver mitochondria oxidized linoleate and oleate at a rate 1.2-1.8 times that of palmitate. Sheep liver mitochondria had a specific activity for the oxidation of palmitate that was 50-80% of that of rats and a specific activity for the oxidation of oleate and linoleate that was 30-40% that of rats. This would indicate that sheep conserved linoleate by limiting its oxidation. Carnitine acyltransferase I (CAT I) actively esterified palmitoyl-CoA and linoleate to carnitine in both rat and sheep liver mitochondria, and in both cases the rate for linoleate was faster than for palmitate. The CAT I reaction in both rat and sheep liver was inhibited by micromolar amounts of malonyl-CoA. With 90 microM-palmitoyl-CoA as substrate, CAT I was inhibited by 50% with 2.5 microM-malonyl-CoA in rats, and in sheep, 50% inhibition was found with all malonyl-CoA concentrations tested (1-5 microM). With 90 microM-linoleate as substrate for CAT I, a much larger difference in response to malonyl-CoA was seen, the rat enzyme being 50% inhibited at 22 microM-malonyl-CoA, whereas sheep liver CAT I was 91% and 98% inhibited at 1 microM- and 5 microM-malonyl-CoA respectively. We propose that malonyl-CoA may act as an important regulator of beta-oxidation in sheep, discriminating against the use of linoleate as an energy-yielding substrate.

Animals↗

Differential effect of subtype of parental major affective disorder on children.

Fifty offspring of patients with major affective disorder (MAD) were studied. The children and their parents were interviewed using a structured diagnostic instrument. The results supported previous studies that the children of patients with MAD endorse a variety of symptoms of psychopathology. In addition, when the sample was separated by subtype of parental MAD, few differences in the types of symptoms were reported, and the differences that were found may be spurious. The differences, as well as indications for future research, are discussed.

Adolescent↗

Depressed children of depressed parents.

Fifty children whose parents had a diagnosis of affective disorder were given a structured diagnostic interview by a child psychiatrist. The parents were also interviewed about their children. Fourteen per cent of the children were found to be depressed. Compared to the remaining children, the depressed children endorsed significantly more symptoms of attention deficit disorder, oppositional disorder, mania, overanxious disorder, phobia, and bulimia in the interview. The parent's interview disclosed that the depressed children were abused significantly more than the non-depressed group.

Adolescent↗