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J Langley

Publications and source records attributed to J Langley.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2000

Changes in methods of male youth suicide: 1980-95.

AIMS: To determine if there have been changes in the methods used, particularly hangings, for male youth suicides; whether any changes were similar to those for other age groups; and to what degree any changes identified may have impacted on overall suicide rates. METHOD: All males aged fifteen to 24 years of age who died between 1980 and 1995 inclusive, and whose death was assigned one of the WHO external cause codes for "suicide and self-inflicted injury" (E950-E959), were selected from the New Zealand Health Information Services national mortality database. RESULTS: The rate for suicide by hanging was relatively low and stable in the early 1980's. By 1985 it had started to increase dramatically up until 1989, at which point it become stable again. The substantive increase in hangings was largely confined to males aged 24 years and younger. The increase in suicide by hanging cannot be attributed to substitution in methods as the rates for all other methods have also increased, albeit less dramatically. CONCLUSIONS: Much of the increase in suicide among male youths is due to an increase in hanging. The reasons for the choice of this method are unknown, and warrant study.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Domestic fire injuries treated in New Zealand hospitals 1988-1995.

AIM: To describe demographic features of people discharged from New Zealand hospitals following injury caused by fire and flame in domestic locations. METHOD: Review of hospital discharge data for the years 1988-1995. RESULTS: From 1988-1995 there were 1493 discharges from New Zealand hospitals with injury as the result of fire and flame in domestic locations. Age-standardised hospitalisation rates for fire related injury over the period have been stable, with an overall discharge rate of 5.45 hospitalisations per 100000 person years. Male discharges exceeded female in all years (RR 1.97, 95% CI 1.73-2.14). Stratification by age indicated that discharge rates were highest among New Zealanders aged over 75 years and under fifteen years. Maori discharge rates exceeded non-Maori over all age groups (RR 3.3, 95% CI 2.82-3.58). CONCLUSION: Maori discharge rates for fire related injury in the home are substantially higher than non-Maori in all age groups, and highlight the importance of developing culturally appropriate injury prevention strategies. Social and material determinants of injury need to be addressed through public policy, provision of quality housing and community development initiatives.

Accidents, Home↗
PubMed2000

Preface

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Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Motorcycle engine size and risk of moderate to fatal injury from a motorcycle crash.

Current New Zealand law requires that motorcyclists with a learner or restricted licence ride a motorcycle with an engine capacity of 250 cc or less. Previous research has reported inconsistent findings regarding the relationship between cubic-capacity and risk of a crash. We sought to determine: (1) compliance with the law; (2) if the risk of an injury crash is increased for learner/restricted licence holders who do not comply with the cubic capacity regulations; and (3) whether the risk of an injury crash increases with increasing capacity of the motorcycle. A population-based case-control study was conducted in the Auckland region over a 3 year period from February 1993. Among the controls, 66% were riding motorcycles with a capacity greater than 250 cc. The percentages for those with: full, learner and restricted, and no licence were 82, 29 and 60%, respectively. There was no evidence that learner and restricted licence holders who did not comply with the cubic capacity requirement were at increased risk. It should be noted however, that 75% of those who were complying were doing so on motorcycles of 250 cc or less. Relative to motorcycles of less than 250 cc the risk of an injury crash was elevated by at least 50% for all cubic capacity categories, with the exception of the 251-499 group. There was, however, no consistent pattern of increasing risk as cubic capacity increased. The findings of this study coupled with the fact that cubic capacity is a poor measure of power suggest that, if cubic capacity was to remain the sole basis for restricting learner and restricted licence holders, consideration should be given to having a substantially lower cubic capacity than 250 cc. An analysis of risk in terms of power to weight ratio and style of motorcycle may provide a more useful insight into the benefits of motorcycle design restrictions for novice riders.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2000

Increasing age and experience: are both protective against motorcycle injury? A case-control study.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the associations between age, experience, and motorcycle injury. SETTING: Motorcycle riding on non-residential roads between 6 am and midnight over a three year period from February 1993 in Auckland, New Zealand. METHODS: A population based case-control study was conducted. Cases were 490 motorcycle drivers involved in a crash and controls were 1518 drivers identified at random roadside surveys. Crash involvement was defined in terms of a motorcycle crash resulting in either a driver or pillion passenger being killed, hospitalised, or presenting to a public hospital emergency department with an injury severity score > OR =5. RESULTS: There was a strong and consistent relationship between increasing driver age and decreasing risk of moderate to fatal injury. In multivariate analyses, drivers older than 25 years had more than 50% lower risk than those aged from 15-19 years (odds ratio (OR) 0.46; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.26 to 0.81). In univariate analyses, a protective effect from riding more than five years compared with less than two years was observed. However, this protection was not sustained when driver age and other potential confounding variables were included in the analyses. Familiarity with the specific motorcycle was the only experience measure associated with a strong protective effect (OR (> OR =10,000 km experience) 0.52; 95% Ci 0.35 to 0.79) in multivariate analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Current licensing regulations should continue to emphasise the importance of increased age and might consider restrictions that favour experience with a specific motorcycle.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1999

A direct method for the formation of peptide and carbohydrate dendrimers.

Two new methods for the modification of PAMAM dendrimers have been developed which allow the covergent synthesis of either peptide or carbohydrate-bearing dendrimer molecules. Both methods involve condensation between hydroxylamino nucleophiles and appropriate carbonyl-bearing reaction partners.

Carbohydrates↗
PubMed1998

Physical assault in New Zealand: the experience of 21 year old men and women in a community sample.

AIM: To obtain epidemiological information on physical assault in a high risk group of New Zealanders. METHOD: Rates of physical assault in the preceding twelve months were ascertained by interview in a cohort of 21 year old, Dunedin-born men (n = 482) and women (n = 462). RESULTS: Forty-five percent of the men and one quarter of the women reported at least one physical assault, either completed, attempted or threatened. A small proportion of these received medical treatment. Most serious assaults were by a perpetrator who was thought to have been drinking alcohol. Most assaults on men were by strangers but partners carried out more assaults against women, especially those receiving medical treatment. One quarter of all assaults on women were by other women, compared to 15% of the assaults on men. Differences between patterns of assaults on women and on men are discussed. CONCLUSION: It is important for doctors to be aware of the widespread occurrence of interpersonal violence in New Zealand and its underreporting.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Personality differences predict health-risk behaviors in young adulthood: evidence from a longitudinal study.

In a longitudinal study of a birth cohort, the authors identified youth involved in each of 4 different health-risk behaviors at age 21: alcohol dependence, violent crime, unsafe sex, and dangerous driving habits. At age 18, the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) was used to assess 10 distinct personality traits. At age 3, observational measures were used to classify children into distinct temperament groups. Results showed that a similar constellation of adolescent personality traits, with developmental origins in childhood, is linked to different health-risk behaviors at 21. Associations between the same personality traits and different health-risk behaviors were not an artifact of the same people engaging in different health-risk behaviors; rather, these associations implicated the same personality type in different but related behaviors. In planning campaigns, health professionals may need to design programs that appeal to the unique psychological makeup of persons most at risk for health-risk behaviors.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1997

Does ribavirin impact on the hospital course of children with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection? An analysis using the pediatric investigators collaborative network on infections in Canada (PICNIC) RSV database.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the relationship between receipt of aerosolized ribavirin and the hospital course of high-risk infants and children with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) lower respiratory infection (LRI). METHODS: The 1993-1994 Pediatric Investigators Collaborative Network on Infections in Canada (PICNIC) RSV database consists of prospectively enrolled children with acute RSV LRI, admitted to nine Canadian pediatric tertiary care centers. After excluding cases with compromised immunity and/or nosocomial infection, subsets with any congenital heart disease (CHD), chronic lung disease (CLD), age </=6 weeks (INFANT), gestation </=36 weeks (PREM), or severe disease within 48 hours of admission as shown by an oxygen saturation </=90% or an FiO2 requirement of >.35 (EARLY HYPOXIA) were studied in two ways. First, each risk group subset was analyzed separately to assess the association between ribavirin receipt and measures of disease severity including duration of intensive care, mechanical ventilation, hypoxia and RSV-attributable hospital stay. Secondly, ribavirin was added as an independent variable to a previously described multiple regression model for RSV-attributable length of hospital stay and two mutually exclusive subsets were analyzed: 1) previously healthy patients with >/=1 of: INFANT, PREM, or EARLY HYPOXIA; 2) patients with CHD and/or CLD. RESULTS: Between January 1993 and June 1994, 1425 community-acquired hospitalized cases of RSV LRI were entered into the RSV database. Among these 750 (52.6%) fit into one or more of the defined subsets including 97 CHD, 134 CLD, 213 INFANT, 211 PREM, and 463 EARLY HYPOXIA. The proportion ventilated in each group was 20.6%, 20.9%, 15.5%, 15.2%, and 13.3%, respectively. Across the subsets ribavirin use ranged from 36% to 57% of ventilated patients and 6% to 39% of nonventilated patients. For nonventilated patients in each subset the median RSV-attributable hospital length of stay (RSV-LOS) was 2 to 3 days longer for ribavirin recipients and the duration of hypoxia was significantly increased. Duration of intensive care unit (ICU) stay was also increased for all ribavirin-treated subgroups except those with CHD. In contrast, for ventilated patients, ribavirin therapy was not significantly associated with any of the outcome measures regardless of risk group. In the multiple regression model, ribavirin was significantly associated with a prolonged RSV-LOS both for children with CHD and/or CLD as well as for those whose only risk factors included INFANT, PREM, and/or EARLY HYPOXIA. CONCLUSIONS: These data raise further doubts about the clinical effectiveness of ribavirin in infants and children with risk factors for severe disease. Selection bias, with ribavirin used for sicker children, may have influenced outcome. Nevertheless the long durations of hospitalization, ICU, ventilation, and oxygen supplementation in nonventilated ribavirin recipients stress the need for further randomized trials to assess its efficacy.

Antiviral Agents↗
PubMed1996

Hospitalizations for injury in New Zealand: prior injury as a risk factor for assaultive injury.

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to determine the degree to which injury hospitalization, especially for assaultive injury, is a risk for subsequent hospitalization due to assault. METHODS: A New Zealand hospitalization database was used to perform a retrospective cohort study. Exposure was defined as an injury hospitalization, stratified into assaultive and nonassaultive mechanisms. Hospitalizations for an assault during a 12-month follow-up period were measured. RESULTS: Individuals with a prior nonassaultive injury were 3.2 times more likely to be admitted for an assault than those with no injury admission (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.7, 3.9). The relative risk associated with a prior assault was 39.5 (95% CI = 35.8, 43.5), and the subsequent admission rate did not vary significantly by sex, race, or marital or employment status. Among those readmitted for an assault, 70% were readmitted within 30 days of the initial hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS: Prior injury is a risk for serious assault, and the risk is even greater if the injury is due to assault. Risk of readmission for assault is largely independent of demographic factors and greatest within 30 days of the initial assault.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Incidence of death and hospitalization from assault occurring in and around licensed premises: a comparative analysis.

The aim of the research was to: determine the incidence of serious assault in and around licensed premises in New Zealand, and to compare the circumstances of assault with those that occurred in other locations. For the period 1978-87, inclusive, 49 assault fatalities occurred in or around licensed premises representing 9.4% of all homicides and 12.9% where a place was specified. The comparable figures for assaults resulting in hospitalization in 1988 were: 251, 10.2% and 18.4%, respectively. Further analyses suggests that our estimate of the incidence rate is likely to be an underestimate due to changes over time in the large number of assault cases which have no specific place of occurrence identified. In comparison with homes homicides in licensed premises were more likely to involve: males; Maori, unarmed fights and brawls; unknown assailants; alcohol; occur during the evening and toward the end of the week; and result in head injury. For non-fatal events similar differences were found. In comparison with homes non-fatal assaults were more likely to involve: males; young adults, Maori, the unemployed, unarmed fights and brawls, and head injury. There have been a number of significant policy changes in New Zealand since 1988 which may have resulted in a change to the situation reported here.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Stability in the structure of health locus of control among adolescents.

The Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) scales have been widely used as a measure of health beliefs in adult populations. In a longitudinal study of an adolescent cohort, we examined some of the properties of the MHLC; whether there are changes in the locus of beliefs between the ages of 13 and 15 years; and the extent of gender differences at the two ages. The results provided some degree of support for the previously proposed structure of the MHLC, but showed correlations among the subscales that were higher than might be expected, and lower alpha reliability coefficients than have been reported for adult samples. There was also evidence of downward changes in scores for the 'chance' and 'powerful others' scales, as well as differences in the factor structures of females and males at age 15 years. In contrast to the structure of health beliefs found with some adult samples, 'chance' is a prominent, independent dimension of beliefs about control of health among adolescents. The independence of the 'internal control' and 'powerful others' scales seem to be a function of both age and gender. As health behaviours are multidetermined, it is concluded that the MHLC measure would be useful as part of an index of health status.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Burn management.

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Burns↗