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Biomedical subjects

K E Powell

Publications and source records attributed to K E Powell.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Physical activity behaviors in lower and higher socioeconomic status populations.

Few data on physical activity habits among populations of low socioeconomic status have been published. The authors studied physical activity habits--leisure-time physical activity, job-related physical activity, household physical activity, and walking--among 172 lower socioeconomic status women and 84 lower socioeconomic status men and compared their habits with those of 208 higher socioeconomic status women and 95 higher socioeconomic status men. All subjects resided in the greater Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area. Data collection occurred throughout 1986. Lower socioeconomic status women, the least active group, averaged 1,536 +/- 1,701 minutes/week (+/- standard deviation) of total physical activity, whereas higher socioeconomic status women, the most active group, averaged 2,079 +/- 1,807 minutes/week (p less than 0.0001). Higher socioeconomic status men averaged 1,952 +/- 1,799 minutes/week, and lower socioeconomic status men averaged 1,948 +/- 1,916 minutes/week. Higher socioeconomic status women spent significantly more time each week in leisure-time physical activity, job-related physical activity, and household physical activity than did lower socioeconomic status women. Lower socioeconomic status men spent significantly more time each week walking and doing household chores, whereas higher socioeconomic status men tended to be more active in leisure-time physical activity. These data suggest important quantitative and qualitative differences in physical activity among population subgroups. In view of the important role of physical activity in promoting physical and mental health, reasons for the differences among groups of varying socioeconomic status must be examined and elucidated.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

The dimensions of health promotion applied to physical activity.

Health promotion is a complementary array of educational and environmental strategies applied in various settings and targeted at selected populations. The few successful and well-described physical activity projects have applied multiple strategies in multiple settings to specific target groups. There is clear and persuasive evidence that regular physical activity improves health. Over the past 20-25 years participation in leisure-time physical activity has increased in Canada, Finland, the USA, and the German Democratic Republic. Unfortunately, more than half the population in each of these four countries remains inactive during leisure time, and total physical activity probably has decreased because of declining activity on the job and for transportation. National physical activity promotion programs need to include both educational and environmental strategies. Regular surveys of physical activity patterns and continued research into the most effective methods to promote regular physical activity are needed.

Exercise↗
PubMed1989

A multivariate study of determinants of vigorous exercise in a community sample.

The purpose of this study was to explore the associations between several social learning theory variables and self-reported vigorous exercise and to consider the implications for exercise promotion. A random sample of adults in San Diego, California, was surveyed by mail. The 2,053 respondents (response rate, 43.4%) overrepresented Caucasian, affluent, and well-educated groups. A model of 24 variables accounted for 0.27 of the variance in exercise, and results strongly supported social learning theory. The strongest correlates were self-efficacy (i.e., confidence in the ability to exercise in specific situations), perceived barriers to exercise, modeling, dietary habits, support from friends, and age. Smoking was inversely associated with exercise in men only. We encourage researchers to conduct intervention trials to test the hypotheses generated in this study.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Predicting lower-extremity injuries among habitual runners.

This prospective study of 583 habitual runners used baseline information to examine the relationship of several suspected risk factors to the occurrence of running-related injuries of the lower extremities that were severe enough to affect running habits, cause a visit to a health professional, or require use of medication. During the 12-month follow-up period, 252 men (52%) and 48 women (49%) reported at least one such injury. The multiple logistic regression results identified that running 64.0 km (40 miles) or more per week was the most important predictor of injury for men during the follow-up period (odds ratio = 2.9). Risk also was associated with having had a previous injury in the past year (odds ratio = 2.7) and with having been a runner for less than 3 years (odds ratio = 2.2). These results suggest that the incidence of lower-extremity injuries is high for habitual runners, and that for those new to running or those who have been previously injured, reducing weekly distance is a reasonable preventive behavior.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Patterns of physical activity among German adolescents: the Berlin-Bremen Study.

Patterns of leisure-time physical activity among 932 West German boys and girls from two distinct socioeconomic groups were examined longitudinally over a 2-year period beginning with seventh to eighth grade students. Activity indices reflect the weekly time spent in activities, the weekly frequency of participation, and the average duration per activity episode. The indices refer to all activities, to moderate or vigorous activities, or to each individual activity. The average seventh to eighth grade student spent 10.1 hr/week engaged in all of the activities measured. Overall, the time devoted to these activities declined by 10% during the 2-year study period, with the relative decrease being larger for vigorous than for moderate activities. The decline in time spent in vigorous activity was due to a decreased frequency of participation; whereas the decline in moderate activity was primarily attributable to the decreased average duration per episode. Boys spent about 3 hr/week more in all activities than girls, with the difference largely being due to the boys' greater participation in vigorous activities. Weekly activity time among girls did not vary substantially with socioeconomic status. However, compared with boys of higher socioeconomic status, boys in the lower socioeconomic grouping were 2-3 hr/wk more active because they devoted more time to moderate activities. The results indicate that the identified activity patterns in the population strongly depend on the activity dimensions on which the measure focuses.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Physical activity and the incidence of coronary heart disease.

Our review focuses on all articles in the English language that provide sufficient data to calculate a relative risk or odds ratio for CHD at different levels of physical activity. The inverse association between physical activity and incidence of CHD is consistently observed, especially in the better designed studies; this association is appropriately sequenced, biologically graded, plausible, and coherent with existing knowledge. Therefore, the observations reported in the literature support the inference that physical activity is inversely and causally related to the incidence of CHD. The two most important observations in this review are, first, better studies have been more likely than poorer studies to report an inverse association between physical activity and the incidence of CHD and, second, the relative risk of inactivity appears to be similar in magnitude to that of hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and smoking. These observations suggest that in CHD prevention programs, regular physical activity should be promoted as vigorously as blood pressure control, dietary modification to lower serum cholesterol, and smoking cessation. Given the large proportion of sedentary persons in the United States (91), the incidence of CHD attributable to insufficient physical activity is likely to be surprisingly large. Therefore, public policy that encourages regular physical activity should be pursued.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Failure to use seat belts in the United States. The 1981-1983 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveys.

Although seat belt use could prevent thousands of highway deaths and save billions of dollars annually, most Americans do not routinely buckle up. To understand better this phenomenon and other health-related behaviors, 28 states, the District of Columbia, and the Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, surveyed over 22,000 US adults from 1981 through 1983. Overall, 76% of US adults reported not using seat belts. Blacks, 18- to 24-year-olds, persons with no more than a high school education, and persons with other risk behaviors (especially drunk driving) were least likely to use seat belts. Legislation by the states and education by physicians can increase seat belt use and reduce morbidity and mortality due to motor vehicle collisions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Recent trends in tuberculosis in children.

From 1976 through 1981, the incidence of tuberculosis in the United States among children 0 through 14 years of age failed to decline. The incidence had declined at a rate of about 9% per year from 1962 through 1975. The failure was observed for both sexes and for white children and children of "other" races. Data confined to 1980 and 1981 suggested that Hispanic children with tuberculosis may have accounted for the stability of the tuberculosis case rate among white children. Tuberculosis among Indochinese refugee children accounted for the stability of the case rate among children of other races.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Evaluation of tuberculosis control programs: some national trends.

Increasing numbers of tuberculosis control programs compile information about the number, location, bacteriologic status, and chemotherapy status of tuberculosis patients within their jurisdiction. Reports from these programs show that during the 1970s the prevalence of patients requiring supervision decreased three times faster than the incidence of tuberculosis; this decline occurred because low relapse rates among patients who had received adequate therapy allowed the recommended duration of follow-up after completion of therapy to diminish from lifetime to none. The prevalence of patients hospitalized for tuberculosis decreased four times faster than the incidence of tuberculosis because the duration of hospitalization decreased from many months to a few weeks and because a small proportion of patients were hospitalized. Future declines in these two program aspects are expected to be much smaller and should parallel the decline in morbidity more closely. Other measures of program performance have shown a less favorable trend and suggest an impeded flow of information to the health department from other persons or agencies involved in the care of tuberculosis.

Antitubercular Agents↗
PubMed1984

Should women taking antituberculosis drugs breast-feed?

Most of the commonly used antituberculosis drugs are excreted in the breast milk of nursing mothers. However, only a small fraction of the adult dose appears in breast milk, and we estimate that breast-fed infants would receive no more than 20% of the usual therapeutic dose for infants for any of these drugs. Based on these considerations, we believe the risk of toxic reactions to drugs in infants of nursing mothers receiving antituberculosis drugs is very low. Nevertheless, the decision to breast-feed while taking antituberculosis drugs must be an individual one that takes into account the known facts, professional opinion, and the patient's values and preferences.

Antitubercular Agents↗
PubMed1983

Tuberculosis among Indochinese refugees in the United States.

Surveys of state tuberculosis control programs revealed that of the 262,602 Indochinese refugees who entered the United States in 1979 and 1980, approximately 1.5% either had tuberculosis at the time of entry or developed it by the end of 1980; another 18% were placed on preventive therapy. The refugees comprised 5.3% of the nationally counted cases during the two-year period. Age- and sex-specific incidence rates among Indochinese refugees were 30 to 200 times higher than those for other persons in the United States. For refugees who arrived in 1979, the incidence of tuberculosis during 1980 (231 per 100,000) was only one third the incidence during 1979 (719 per 100,000). For refugees who entered the United States in 1980, the incidence during 1980 was 480 per 100,000. Bacteriologic confirmation of the diagnosis was reported for only 26% of refugees, compared with 79% of other patients with tuberculosis in the United States, suggesting overdiagnosis of tuberculosis among refugees. However, age-specific rates of bacteriologically positive tuberculosis were still 14 to 70 times higher for refugees than for the United States as a whole.

Adolescent↗