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Biomedical subjects

J Wingerd

Publications and source records attributed to J Wingerd.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1990

Predictors of Haitian-American infant development at twelve months.

Perinatal and early childhood influences on the development of 66 Haitian-American children were examined as part of an ongoing home visiting program. Although all participants were impoverished, approximately two-thirds lived in an urban setting with some access to social and health services, while one-third lived in a rural farmworkers' community where housing and services were sharply substandard. Measures used to examine the development of infants in these 2 settings included birthweight, household crowding, parental contributions to the child-rearing environment (the HOME), and developmental progress at 12 months on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Results showed that the urban sample was advanced on the Mental Development Index of the Bayley Scales. Regression analyses showed birthweight and the HOME score measuring child-rearing environment to be significant predictors of mental development, while psychomotor development was related to birthweight and household crowding. The results indicate that even within this disadvantaged Haitian entrant population, environmental differences exist that influence infant development in subtle but significant ways.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Intestinal protozoa in homosexual men of the San Francisco Bay area: prevalence and correlates of infection.

To compare the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection in male homosexuals selected from other sources with the levels previously reported from clinic-derived populations, various homosexual groups of the San Francisco Bay Area were checked by means of stool examination and questionnaires for prevalence of intestinal parasites and for related sexual behavioral patterns during a 3-year period. The prevalence of Entamoeba histolytica (28.6%) was similar to that reported in other studies, whereas that of Giardia lamblia was lower. Infection with E. histolytica was correlated significantly with a prior history of syphilis or gonorrhea (P less than 0.0001), with the number of sexual partners in the preceding 12-month period (P less than 0.0001), and with the reported frequency of oral-anal sexual contact (P less than 0.001). Giardial infection was also significantly related to oral-anal sex (P less than 0.001). No relation was seen between the presence or absence of gastrointestinal symptoms and infection with pathogenic protozoa. Factors associated with parasitic infection differed little from those found in previous studies, although significance levels were considerably higher because of the larger size of our study group.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Thyroid supplements: effect on bone mass.

Thyrotoxicosis and thyroid replacement therapy can cause osteopenia. The relative effects of such therapy and of aging, body size, menopausal status and smoking on bone mass were compared by measuring the combined cortical thickness (CCT) of the second metacarpal bone in 151 women taking thyroid hormone. Age was the single factor strongly related to CCT, with the mean CCT decreasing by 0.045 mm per year. Women who had taken estrogen replacement medications had a higher CCT measurement, while those who used thyroid hormone in a dose of at least 3 grains a day had a lower CCT. The rate of loss was reduced in those women using estrogen replacement therapy and increased in those women taking 3 grains or more of thyroid hormone. Women taking 3 grains or more of thyroid hormone should be advised that they are at higher risk for osteopenia.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Risk of vascular disease in women. Smoking, oral contraceptives, noncontraceptive estrogens, and other factors.

We investigated the relation in women of various factors to risk of myocardial infarction, subarachnoid hemorrhage, other strokes, and venous thromboembolism. Smoking significantly increased risk of all four diseases, whereas oral contraceptive use was associated with an increase only in risk of subarachnoid hemorrhage and venous thromboembolism. Use of noncontraceptive estrogens was not associated with increased risk of any of these diseases. Hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, obesity, gallbladder disease, and nondrinking of alcohol were all associated with increased risk of myocardial infarction, whereas only hypertension and hypercholesterolemia were associated with increased risk of other strokes. Cigarette smoking was overwhelmingly the most important risk factor for vascular disease in women. Smoking should be considered a contraindication to oral contraceptive use, or at the very least, women wishing to use oral contraceptives should be strongly urged not to smoke.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Use of oral contraceptives, cigarette smoking, and risk of subarachnoid haemorrhage.

In a large cohort of women, the risk of subarachnoid haemorrhage was significantly associated both with cigarette smoking and with use of oral contraceptives (O.C.S.). The risk of cigarette smokers was 5.7 times that of non-smokers; for current users of O.C.S. the risk was 6.5 times that of non-users. The risk in women who both smoked cigarettes and used O.C.S was 22 times that of women who neither smoked nor used O.C.S. Past use of O.C.S was also significantly associated with increased risk of subarachnoid haemorrhage, the relative risk being 5.3. There was some evidence that risk may increase with duration of O.C. use. In this series no significant associations were found between occurrence of subarachnoid haemorrhage and history of hypertension or of migraine headache.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Serum high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol in women using oral contraceptives, estrogens and progestins.

To determine the associations between high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol levels and use of oral contraceptives or of noncontraceptive estrogens and progestins we analyzed the serum levels of this lipid in 4978 women, 21 to 62 years of age. In estrogen users, the mean level was 6.7 to 15.1 mg per deciliter above the nonuser level (P less than 0.001), whereas in a group of progestin users it was 15.8 mg per deciliter below (P less than 0.001). In women using combination oral contraceptives, the level varied with the type and dose of the component steroids, in general increasing with increasing dose of estrogen and decreasing with increasing dose or potency of progestin. Thus, the net effect of use of a combination oral contraceptive on high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol depends on its formulation.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Oral contraceptives, smoking, and other factors in relation to risk of venous thromboembolic disease.

Analysis of data from the Walnut Creek Contraceptive Drug Study showed a significant increase in risk of venous thromboembolic disease in the absence of surgery, trauma, malignancy, pregnancy, and the puerperium for women with a previous history of thromboembolism, hypertension, diabetes, varicose veins, gallbladder disease, and cigarette smoking. Education, marital status, parity, use of noncontraceptive estrogens, and obesity were not associated with an increase in risk of the disease. When only cases of the disease in the absence of all known predisposing causes (idiopathic cases) were analyzed, both oral contraceptive use and smoking remained as independent risk factors; there was no evidence of a positive interaction between them.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Concentrations of serum protein fractions in white women: effects of age, weight, smoking, tonsillectomy, and other factors;.

We measured the concentrations of protein in electrophoretic fractions (albumin and alpha1-, alpha2-, beta, and gamma-globulins) of serum from 9547 white women to determine their relations to age, weight, smoking and other factors. Albumin concentration decreases with age, beta globulin concentration increases. Increasing weight is associated with a decrease in albumin, but with increases in all the globulins. Cigarrete smoking is associated with highly significant differences in all the protein fractions. Surprisingly, very significantly lower concentrations of beta- and gamma-globulins were also found in women who reported a history of tonsillectomy. Height, amenorrhea, education, and alcohol and coffee consumption have some small but statistically significant effects upon the various fractions. Diurnal variation was also slight.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Placental ratio in white and black women: relation to smoking and anemia.

In a study of 7,000 pregnancies it was found that, particularly in black women, hemoglobin levels were lower in smokers than in nonsmokers. This is the reverse of previously reported findings in nonpregnant persons. At delivery, the mean ratio of placental weight to birth weight (placental ratio) was higher in the infants of smokers than of nonsmokers. This observation is discussed in the light of reported elevated placental ratios at high altitudes or after severe anemia of pregnancy. The relationships are complex, and are not uniform with respect to ethnic group.

Anemia↗
PubMed1975

Prevalence of concurrent diabetes mellitus and idiopathic facial paralysis (Bell's palsy).

Diabetes mellitus was present in 11.4 per cent of 684 patients with Bell's palsy, in 28.4 per cent of the sixty-seven with recurrent or bilateral palsy, and in 16.8 percent of the 440 with palsy who were thirty years or older. Diabetes was present in only 3.8 per cent of 27,399 persons thirty years or older who had never had Bell's palsy and who underwent multiphasic health testing. These figures clearly indicate that diabetes is more common among patients with Bell's palsy than among persons who have never had that disease; and that the risk of Bell's palsy is increased in patients with diabetes. The diabetic patient is more prone than the non-diabetic person to nerve degeneration, and this tendency to nerve degeneration is not age-related. Although 10 per cent of our patients with Bell's palsy and known diabetes were younger than thirty-nine years, we now advise screening for blood sugar elevation only for patients who are forty years or older, or who have recurrent or bilateral facial paralysis.

Adolescent↗