Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

J M Samet

Publications and source records attributed to J M Samet.

At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Ischemic heart disease mortality in Hispanics, American Indians, and non-Hispanic whites in New Mexico, 1958-1982.

To describe trends in mortality from ischemic heart disease in New Mexico's Hispanic, American Indian, and non-Hispanic white populations, we used vital records data collected from 1958 through 1982. We calculated age-adjusted and age-specific mortality rates for ischemic heart disease for each of the state's principal ethnic groups. Death certificate data were used in combination with population estimates based on the censuses of 1960, 1970, and 1980. Age-adjusted mortality rates for ischemic heart disease among Hispanics, American Indians, and non-Hispanic white men were consistent with nationwide patterns of rising mortality rates during the 1960s followed by declining rates. Mortality rates from ischemic heart disease in all three ethnic groups in New Mexico were lower than national rates for whites. Rates for Hispanics in New Mexico were lower than for non-Hispanic whites; rates for American Indians were the lowest among the three groups. These data support previous observations that Hispanics and American Indians in the Southwest are at decreased risk for mortality from ischemic heart disease in comparison with U.S. whites.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1988

Discrepancies between self-reported and validated cigarette smoking in a community survey of New Mexico Hispanics.

In a population-based survey of respiratory disease in New Mexico Hispanics, we validated self-reports of cigarette use by 1,317 subjects against salivary cotinine level and end-tidal carbon monoxide concentration. For identifying likely deceivers about cigarette smoking among self-reported never smokers and former smokers, we used cutoff values of 20 ng/ml and 8 parts per million (ppm) for salivary cotinine and carbon monoxide, respectively. Among males and females, age-standardized prevalences of current smokers based upon questionnaire reports were 30.9 and 27.1%, respectively. After adjustment for cotinine alone, these percentages were 36.2 for males and 31.1 for females, and after adjustment for cotinine and carbon monoxide level, the corresponding percentages were 39.1 for males and 33.2 for females. We conclude that self-reports about smoking habits may lead to underestimation of the prevalence of current smokers and that questionnaire responses should be validated with biologic markers of tobacco smoke exposure.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Respiratory diseases and cigarette smoking in a Hispanic population in New Mexico.

We have conducted a cross-sectional study of Hispanic residents of a community in New Mexico. A total of 2,111 subjects were recruited from 733 households; the overall participation rates were 68.1% for males and 78.9% for females. For all subjects, a standardized respiratory symptoms questionnaire was completed, spirometric testing was performed, and saliva and end-tidal breath samples were obtained. As in other populations, chronic respiratory symptoms were uncommon in children, and asthma was more prevalent in boys than in girls. In adults, physician-diagnosed chronic bronchitis and emphysema were less prevalent in this population than in a previously studied sample of non-Hispanic whites in New Mexico. Spirometric testing was confirmatory; less than 1% of the Hispanic males and females had chronic air-flow obstruction. The prevalence of cigarette usage in the Hispanics was comparable to data from non-Hispanic whites in New Mexico and from nationwide surveys. However, daily cigarette consumption by the Hispanics in this sample tended to be low, as found in previous studies in New Mexico and elsewhere.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Cigarette smoking and lung cancer in New Mexico.

We have used population-based data for the state of New Mexico to calculate cigarette-smoking-specific incidence rates for lung cancer, cumulative incidence rates for lung cancer, and estimates of the proportion of lung cancer cases attributable to smoking. For white New Mexicans, the incidence of lung cancer increased with age and was markedly higher in smokers than in nonsmokers. From 25 through 84 yr of age, the cumulative incidence of lung cancer was 0.9% in nonsmoking males and 0.5% in nonsmoking females. The cumulative incidence rates were much higher for smokers; for males who smoked 20 or more cigarettes daily from age 25, the cumulative risk of lung cancer through age 84 was 31.7%. For females with the same cigarette smoking history, the estimate of cumulative incidence through age 84 years was 15.3%. The population-attributable risks for lung cancer associated with cigarette smoking were 89.5% for males and 85.5% for females.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Spirometric prediction equations for Hispanic children and adults in New Mexico.

We conducted a population-based survey of respiratory diseases and lung function in a New Mexico Hispanic community, and developed spirometric prediction equations based on data from 576 children and adults. Spirometric test procedures were followed as recommended by the American Thoracic Society. For children 6 through 18 yr of age, we used a logarithmic model to predict spirometric parameters. We used simple linear regression for adults 25 through 80 yr of age. On the basis of exploratory analyses, we excluded adult subjects who were obese, defined as a body mass index of 30 kg/m2 or greater. This report describes these regressions. We did not perform regression analysis for those subjects between 19 and 24 yr of age because of small numbers and the inappropriateness of grouping these subjects with older adults for regression analysis. As an alternative to a regression equation for this age group specifically, we propose linear interpolation between values obtained using prediction equations developed for children and for adults. Finally, we compared the percent predicted values obtained from our internal prediction equations with equations from other populations of white children and adults. In general, the comparison equations underestimated the percent predicted values in our population.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Mortality from lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in New Mexico, 1958-82.

We examined mortality from lung cancer and from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Hispanic White, Other White, and Native American residents of New Mexico during the period 1958-82. Age-specific mortality was calculated by combining death certificate data with population estimates based on the 1960, 1970, and 1980 censuses that were adjusted for inconsistencies in the designation of race and ethnicity. In Other Whites, age-adjusted mortality rates from lung cancer and from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease increased progressively in males and females. Mortality rates for both diseases also increased in Hispanics during the study period, but the most recent rates for Hispanics were well below those for Other Whites. Age-specific mortality rates for lung cancer declined for more recently born Hispanic women at older ages. In Native Americans, rates for both diseases were low throughout the study period and did not show consistent temporal trends.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1988

Cancer treatment protocols. Who gets chosen?

We compared the age distribution of all adults in New Mexico with cancer incident from 1959 through 1982 with that of all adult New Mexican patients enrolled in cancer treatment protocols sponsored by the Southwest Oncology Group (New Mexico). For all cancer sites, elderly patients were substantially underrepresented in the Southwest Oncology Group protocols. While 31% of all adult patients with cancer were over age 70 years, only 7% of patients with cancer enrolled in Southwest Oncology Group protocols were in that age group. The underrepresentation of elderly individuals in cancer treatment protocols will make it difficult to determine optimal therapies for older patients with cancer.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1987

The effect of marital status on stage, treatment, and survival of cancer patients.

The effects of marital status on the diagnosis, treatment, and survival of patients with cancer were examined in population-based data on 27,779 cancer cases. Unmarried persons with cancer had decreased overall survival (relative hazard, 1.23; 95% confidence limits, 1.19 to 1.28). We identified three complementary explanations for the poorer survival of the unmarried persons. First, unmarried persons were more likely to be diagnosed at a regional or distant stage (odds ratio, 1.19; 95% confidence limits, 1.12 to 1.25). After adjustment for stage, unmarried persons were more likely to be untreated for cancer (odds ratio, 1.43; 95% confidence limits, 1.31 to 1.55). Finally, after adjustment for stage and treatment, unmarried persons still had poorer survival. Previous studies have demonstrated that unmarried persons have decreased overall mortality. For cancer, our results suggest that the favorable consequence of being married on overall survival is secondary to the beneficial effects at several steps in the diagnosis, choice of treatment, and response to treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Hypochondriacal concerns and somatic symptoms in patients with chronic airflow obstruction.

In order to explore hypochondriacal concerns in patients with Chronic Airflow Obstruction (CAO) the authors administered the Illness Attitude Scales and the somatization, anxiety, depression and anger-hostility scales of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist to 50 patients with CAO and to matched family practice patients. Somatic symptoms were significantly correlated with fears of disease and hypochondriacal concerns in family practice patients, but were unrelated in CAO. Patients with CAO, although more anxious, depressed and with more severe somatic symptoms than family practice patients, had fewer hypochondriacal concerns. In this respect patients with CAO were unlike any other group previously studied.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1987

Respiratory effects of indoor air pollution.

Since the early 1970s, the health effects of indoor air pollution have been investigated with increasing intensity. A large body of literature is now available on diverse aspects of indoor air pollution: sources, concentrations, health effects, engineering, and policy. This article provides a selective summary of this new information with an emphasis on health effects relevant to health care practitioners concerned primarily with immunologically mediated respiratory diseases. We address exposures associated with acute and chronic respiratory effects: tobacco smoke, nitrogen dioxide, wood smoke, and formaldehyde. The article also describes the diverse health problems experienced by workers in newer sealed office buildings. The importance of indoor concentrations in determining personal exposures to pollutants is emphasized.

Air Pollution↗
PubMed1987

Use of quantified and frequency indices of vitamin A intake in a case-control study of lung cancer.

Recent publications have examined the extent of food frequency data needed to estimate nutrient intakes in epidemiological studies. The need for amount (usual portion size) data to supplement information on average frequency of intake has been questioned. In a case-control study of risk factors for lung cancer, we have collected data on frequency, amount and past pattern of intake for common or rich sources of vitamin A. These data have been combined with standard content information to calculate three different types of indices: one based on frequency alone, a quantitative index that included both frequency and amount, and a past-weighted index that combined the frequency, amount and data on relative consumption in the past. Odds ratios by tercile of carotene, retinol and total vitamin A intake varied little between the frequency index and the quantified and past-weighted indices. Higher intakes of carotene and total vitamin A were associated with a lower risk for lung cancer regardless of index type. This consistency of results is explained by a stability of relative intakes regardless of index type. Spearman rank order correlation coefficients between the frequency and quantitative indices exceeded 0.90 for total vitamin A, carotene, and retinol. This stability is attributable to parallel trends of increased frequency of consumption and portion size at higher levels of nutrient intake. Because similar trends were observed in five main food groups included in these analyses, these findings may be generalizable to other nutrients.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Histopathology of lung cancer in New Mexico, 1970-72 and 1980-81.

In conjunction with a population-based case-control study of lung cancer in New Mexico, the histopathology of cases diagnosed during 1980 and 1981 and during 1970-72 was reviewed. Adequate histologic or cytologic material was obtained for 725 cases, with 308 during 1970-72 and 417 during 1980-81. The light microscopic histologic type was classified on the basis of review by 2 pathologists. No significant differences were found in the histologic-type distributions in Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites. In males, the distributions of histologic types were similar in the two time periods, but in non-Hispanic white women the proportion of adenocarcinoma declined during 1980-81 as the proportion of small cell carcinoma increased. The panel classification was compared with that recorded by the New Mexico Tumor Registry. Overall agreement was 52.1% for 1970-72 and increased to 65.2% for 1980-81. The discrepancies between the two classifications were largest for the categories of large cell undifferentiated carcinoma and "other malignancy."

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1987

History of residence and lung cancer risk in New Mexico.

Participants in a population-based case-control study of lung cancer in New Mexico between 1980 and 1982 were asked to identify all locations where they had resided for six months or more. These residential data were coded at the county and state levels and combined with county-level socioeconomic data from the 1910, 1930, 1950, and 1970 decennial censuses to generate indices of time lived in counties or metropolitan areas of different sizes, degrees of urbanization, or extents of employment in manufacturing industries. Urban residence was not associated with employment of male controls in jobs or industries considered to increase lung cancer risk. However, in the non-Hispanic white female controls, urban residence before age 30 years in a county of 500,000 or more residents was associated with a fourfold higher odds ratio for starting to smoke cigarettes. Male and female non-Hispanic controls who had ever lived in more populous counties smoked more cigarettes per day than did those who had not lived in such counties. Residential history patterns were the same in cases and controls; multiple logistic regression showed no consistent associations of the residence history variables with lung cancer risk.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Salivary cotinine levels and involuntary tobacco smoke exposure in children and adults in New Mexico.

We conducted a population-based household survey of respiratory disease in 2,029 children and adults and measured salivary cotinine levels by radioimmunoassay in 1,360 nonsmokers and ex-smokers. At all ages median and mean cotinine levels among nonsmokers and ex-smokers increased with the number of smokers in the home. The prevalence of a detectable level of cotinine was about 35% for those not living with a cigarette smoker and was greater with the number of cigarettes smoked by household members. In a multiple logistic regression model, the major determinants of a detectable level of cotinine in children were mother's smoking (odds ratio (OR) = 3.2), father's smoking (OR = 2.1), and smoking of other household members (OR = 4.0). Among adults, the effects of spouse's smoking were smaller with OR = 1.3 and 1.4 for husband's and wife's smoking, respectively. We conclude that in the general population cotinine can be frequently detected in the saliva of nonsmokers, even among those not living with a smoker.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Health effects and sources of indoor air pollution. Part I.

Since the early 1970s, the health effects of indoor air pollution have been investigated with increasing intensity. Consequently, a large body of literature is now available on diverse aspects of indoor air pollution: sources, concentrations, health effects, engineering, and policy. This review begins with a review of the principal pollutants found in indoor environments and their sources. Subsequently, exposure to indoor air pollutants and health effects are considered, with an emphasis on those indoor air quality problems of greatest concern at present: passive exposure to tobacco smoke, nitrogen dioxide from gas-fueled cooking stoves, formaldehyde exposure, radon daughter exposure, and the diverse health problems encountered by workers in newer sealed office buildings. The review concludes by briefly addressing assessment of indoor air quality, control technology, research needs, and clinical implications.

Air Pollutants↗