Biomedical subjects

M R Polen

Publications and source records attributed to M R Polen.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1992

Alcohol problems and sense of coherence among older adults.

The relation between alcohol problems and sense of coherence (SOC), a salutogenic model developed by Antonovsky, was assessed on a sample of 952 older members of a health maintenance organization. Data on alcohol problems (5-item index) and SOC (9-item scale) were obtained from mailed questionnaires. Multiple regression analyses indicated that SOC was a significant negative predictor of alcohol problems while controlling for alcohol consumption level, frequency of drunkenness and demographic characteristics. In addition, SOC scores were significantly higher for a subsample of lighter drinkers who reported no alcohol problems in the last year and had not been drunk in the last year (n = 419) as compared to heavier drinkers who reported at least one alcohol problem in the last year, and reported being drunk at least once in the last year (n = 107). These findings emphasize the importance of assessing factors which contribute to healthier behaviors as opposed to focusing exclusively on predictors of pathogenic outcomes.

Age Factors↗

PubMed1991

The effect of retirement on health services utilization: the Kaiser Permanente Retirement Study.

The relationship of retirement and use of medical services was investigated among members of the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in Northern California. A mailed survey of a 10 percent random sample of members 60-66 years old (N = 10,202) was followed by a telephone interview of (a) all respondents who had planned to retire in the next year, and (b) a random sample of respondents who had not planned to retire: 253 had retired (Retired group) and 238 were still working 20 hours a week or more (Not Retired group). Medical charts were reviewed for one year before and after the retirement date for the Retired group and for one year before and after a randomly assigned anchor date for the Not Retired group. With the exception of urgent care and emergency visits, no significant difference was found between the two groups in overall use of outpatient and inpatient services following retirement.

Aged↗

PubMed1988

US Preventive Services Task Force. Automobile injury--selected risk factors and prevention in the health care setting.

Every year, highway crashes cause tens of thousands of deaths and millions of nonfatal injuries, many of which can be prevented. Following a mandate from the US Preventive Services Task Force, in this article we describe the magnitude of the automobile injury problem, identify injury risk factors that might be reduced by clinically based preventive programs, and review reports of interventions by health professionals to promote the use of child restraint devices, the only area in which we found published evaluations. We conclude that despite the lack of experimental evidence of the long-term effectiveness of clinically based efforts to promote occupant restraint use, such efforts may be warranted because of the enormous social and economic costs of automobile injury. In addition, physicians and other health professionals are urged to consider promoting nonclinical automobile injury prevention measures.

Accidents, Traffic↗

PubMed1988

The risk of miscarriage and birth defects among women who use visual display terminals during pregnancy.

Use of visual display terminals (VDTs) was examined in a case-control study of pregnancy outcome among 1,583 pregnant women who attended three Kaiser Permanente obstetrics and gynecology clinics in Northern California, 1981-1982. We found a significantly elevated risk of miscarriage for working women who reported using VDTs for more than 20 hr per week during the first trimester of pregnancy compared to other working women who reported not using VDTs (odds ratio 1.8, 95% CI: 1.2-2.8). This risk could not be explained by age, education, occupation, smoking, alcohol consumption, or other maternal characteristics. No significantly elevated risk for birth defects was found among working women although odds ratios were 1.4 for both moderate and high VDT exposure, compared with no exposure (95% CI: 0.7-2.7 and 0.7-2.9, respectively). One possible explanation for these findings is that women who had adverse pregnancy outcomes may have overreported their exposures to VDTs and/or women with normal births may have underreported theirs. The findings may also be due to unmeasured factors confounded with high VDT use such as poor ergonomic conditions or job-related stress. That VDTs themselves are hazardous to the pregnant operator remains a possibility. Our results underscore the need for large cohort studies of working women that will provide objective measures of VDT exposures, ergonomic factors, and stress.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗

PubMed1986

Smoking habits among multiphasic examinees, 1979 to 1984.

In tabulating the smoking habits of 95,744 residents of the San Francisco Bay Area, as reported between July 1979 and June 1984 at multiphasic health checkups, the prevalence of current smoking was found to be higher in men than in women aged 30 years and above, but in those younger than 30 the reverse was true. In every age group, compared with male smokers, female smokers tended to smoke fewer cigarettes per day, to inhale less and to smoke cigarettes with lower tar and nicotine yield. Blacks showed the highest percentage of smokers, whites were second highest and Asians were lowest, with Asian women being substantially lower than other race-sex groups. On average, white smokers smoked more cigarettes per day and inhaled more than did black smokers, but whites were more apt to smoke low-yield cigarettes. Compared with a 1964 to 1968 study in the same setting, there has been a decrease in the prevalence of cigarette smokers but, among smokers, a higher proportion in 1979 to 1984 smoked at least 20 cigarettes per day. During the 1979 to 1984 period, there were small downward trends in the prevalence of cigarette smoking in men and white women and in the prevalence of heavy smoking among male smokers, but there was no apparent increase in the use of lower-yield cigarettes by smokers. Although this study group contained relatively fewer smokers, most of the age, sex and racial differences and long-term trends parallel what has been observed nationally.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1985

Methodologic issues in evaluating stop smoking programs.

Three methodologic issues (definitions of smoking, period of follow-up, composition of study group) were assessed in 426 persons five years after participation in a stop smoking program of a prepaid medical plan. When smoking was defined by measurement interval or by type or amount of tobacco smoked, smoking rates varied only slightly. Little information was gained by extending the follow-up period beyond the first year. However, study group composition (as defined by attendance at program sessions) had a pronounced effect on smoking rates. Those who attended fewer sessions were more likely to smoke during the follow-up period.

Adult↗