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Biomedical subjects

M Russell

Publications and source records attributed to M Russell.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Measures of maternal alcohol use as predictors of development in early childhood.

The effect of prenatal alcohol exposure on growth, dysmorphology, and cognitive development at 6 years was examined in children whose mothers had completed a self-administered questionnaire during pregnancy. Drinking patterns prior to pregnancy recognition and indications of problem drinking (IPD) were assessed. Heavier alcohol intake was associated with slower growth in height and head circumference and increased dysmorphology, as evidenced by facial features associated with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and the prevalence of probable/possible fetal alcohol effects (FAE). Indications of problem drinking predicted facial features associated with FAS and cognitive deficits (i.e., lower WPPSI Verbal IQ scores and lower scores on a test of receptive language function, the Token Test). Effects of alcohol consumption on head circumference and of indications of problem drinking on Verbal IQ and Token Test scores remained significant, even after excluding children born to mothers having drinkers (over seven drinks a day) and children with probable/possible FAE. Verbal IQ was an average of 7.1 points (95% confidence interval = 0.01, 14.25) lower among children born to mothers having more than one indication of problem drinking than it was among those born to women having fewer indications; Token Test scores were 4.3 points lower (95% confidence interval = 1.38, 7.24). Although the confidence intervals for these estimates are broad in this small, heterogeneous sample, their magnitude, if confirmed, is significant given that the population standard deviation for Verbal IQ is 15, and that for the Token Test is 5.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1991

Alcohol drinking patterns and blood pressure.

BACKGROUND: Although blood pressure tends to increase with average alcohol consumption, little is known about the effects of drinking patterns on blood pressure. Therefore, the effects of average drinks per day and drinking pattern (defined as the independent and interactive effects of quantity and frequency) on blood pressure were compared. METHODS: Data were obtained from a random sample survey of 1,635 household residents in Erie County, New York. Alcohol-blood pressure relationships were examined using multiple regression analyses that controlled for the potentially confounding influence of 13 additional risk factors for elevated blood pressure. RESULTS: Consistent with prior research, a positive relationship was found between average drinks per day and diastolic and systolic blood pressure. Analyses examining the effect of drinking pattern indicated that drinking frequency had a positive effect on both diastolic and systolic blood pressure, whereas drinking quantity did not affect either. Furthermore, there was little evidence that the frequency-by-quantity interaction affected blood pressure. CONCLUSIONS: Low average alcohol intake and low blood pressure were associated with infrequent drinking, rather than with frequent drinking of small amounts of alcohol. Results suggest that the standard practice of averaging alcohol consumption may obscure important effects of drinking frequency on health.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Calcium intake and blood pressure in blacks and whites.

This study focuses on 1790 residents of Erie County, New York, over age 19, who participated in a study of blood pressure in 1986. Subjects were selected using a highly stratified sampling procedure to obtain a sample that included approximately equal numbers of blacks and whites in three educational strata (less than 12 years, 12 years, and more than 12 years of education). Calcium intake was estimated using questions regarding usual frequency of intake of foods high in calcium and of calcium-containing supplements and antacids. Calcium intake by normotensives tended to be higher than intake by hypertensives; differences were significant for females but not for males. Calcium intake was significantly inversely associated with systolic blood pressure for black females and diastolic blood pressure in black and white females after control for age, education, body mass index, smoking, and alcohol. For other sex-race groups, there was generally a trend (although not significant) toward decreased blood pressure with increased calcium intake. Diastolic blood pressure was inversely associated with calcium from milk and yogurt (but not cheese) for white females. A similar association (although not significant) was found for black females; no association was found for males. No differences were found between blacks and whites in response to calcium. This cross-sectional study provides some additional evidence of a protective effect of calcium intake on blood pressure in both black and white females.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

In-vitro and in-vivo susceptibility of Borrelia burgdorferi to azithromycin.

The in-vitro and in-vivo susceptibility of Borrelia burgdorferito tetracycline, erythromycin and azithromycin was investigated. A macrodilution broth technique was used to determine MBCs. B. burgdorferi was most susceptible to azithromycin (MBC 0.04 mg/l) followed by erythromycin (MBC 0.16 mg/l) and tetracycline (MBC 1.6 mg/l). Syrian hamsters were used to determine ED50S for the three antimicrobials. Azithromycin was most effective in the elimination of spirochaetes from experimentally infected hamsters with an ED50 of 3.71 (+/- 1.9) mg/kg followed by tetracycline (ED50 15.6 (+/- 4.58) mg/kg). Erythromycin possessed low activity, having an ED50 of 122.2 (+/- 51.9) mg/kg. Tissue concentrations of azithromycin exceeding the MBC were present 24 h after the final treatment.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

The influence of sociodemographic characteristics on familial alcohol problems: data from a community sample.

The moderating influence of race (black versus white), age, sex, and socioeconomic status on the relationship between alcohol abuse/dependence in offspring and a family history of alcoholism/problem drinking was investigated in a representative general population sample (N = 1659). Significant family history by race by age and family history by race by sex interactions were observed when predicting lifetime risk of alcohol abuse/dependence in offspring. Socioeconomic status did not moderate the effect of familial alcoholism/problem drinking on offspring alcohol abuse/dependence. Relative odds ratios indicated that the risk of alcohol abuse/dependence associated with a positive family history increased with increasing age among whites; whereas, it decreased with increasing age among blacks. Among whites, the relative odds ratio for the effect of family history was higher for females than for males; however, among blacks it was higher for males than females. Although these findings need to be replicated in other populations, they suggest that it is important to take race, age, and sex into consideration when investigating familial alcohol problems.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Preferential proximal coronary dilation by activators of guanylate cyclase in awake dogs.

The vasodilation effects of activators of guanylate cyclase, atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), nitroglycerin (NTG), and acetylcholine (ACh), on the epicardial conductance arteries and the distal resistance coronary vessels were examined in chronically instrumented awake dogs and related serially to plasma guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP) levels. Left atrial bolus injections of ANP (3 micrograms/kg; n = 7), NTG (13 micrograms/kg; n = 7), or ACh (0.13 micrograms/kg; n = 3) induced sustained increases in epicardial coronary dimension (ultrasonic crystals), 3.3, 5.7, and 6.7%, respectively, lasting greater than 40 min for ANP and NTG and greater than 3 min for ACh, and relatively brief increases in blood flow (resistance artery vasomotion) for each agent. Plasma samples withdrawn serially after injections of each agent demonstrated that only ANP increased cGMP level; the time course of ANP-induced epicardial vasodilation followed more closely the increase in cGMP than that of plasma ANP. These data demonstrated that these three activators of guanylate cyclase induced preferential sustained epicardial vasodilation and only brief distal coronary vasodilation with minor or no change in systemic hemodynamics. The prolonged increase in plasma cGMP after ANP injection suggested continuous cGMP production during ANP-induced proximal vasodilation. These data demonstrate a striking heterogeneity of vasomotor responses in the coronary arterial vasculature and suggest that cGMP-mediated vasodilation mechanisms are more predominant in proximal conductance arteries compared with distal resistance vessels.

Acetylcholine↗
PubMed1990

Five-year reliability of self-reported alcohol consumption.

Reliability of alcohol consumption reported on a self-administered questionnaire was examined in 73 gynecologic outpatients. The questionnaire included quantity-frequency questions on current beverage-specific alcohol use (wine, beer and liquor). The questions were replicated 5 years later for both the earlier period and for current drinking patterns. Results indicated that, in general, original and retrospective data were highly correlated. Only recall of wine, the least frequently drunk beverage, was more highly correlated with current than with original consumption. Frequency of drinking was typically recalled better than quantity per occasion. Beverage-specific absolute alcohol per day (AA) was less reliable than total AA. Retrospective AA values accounted for 86% of the variability in original scores. The heaviest drinkers, however, tended to report disproportionately greater alcohol intake in retrospect. Thus, almost twice as many heavy drinkers were identified on the basis of their retrospective reports compared to those identified by their original reports. Results from this study suggest that considerable confidence can be placed in retrospective reports of total alcohol consumption by nonalcoholic women over a relatively long-term interval and that heavy drinking may be reported more accurately retrospectively than currently.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

The Vale of Leven health promotion project.

A two stage health promotion programme is in progress in the Vale of Leven in Dunbartonshire. The first stage has been completed within a local factory (Polaroid UK Limited), the largest private employer in the district. A total of 1205 employees, representing 87% of the workforce, took part in the programme and were initially screened for coronary artery risk factors. Blood pressure, serum cholesterol, body composition and aerobic fitness were measured and smoking habits determined. Aspects of lifestyle were assessed by questionnaire. All employees whose initial cholesterol concentration was greater than 6.5 mM were given simple dietary advice and their cholesterol concentration thereafter remeasured. Eighty-two per cent of these men and 72% of these women succeeded in reducing their cholesterol, the men by a mean of 1.3 mM, the women by a mean of 0.7 mM. The health initiatives undertaken within the factory at the same time as screening are also described in this paper.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Work stress and alcohol effects: a test of stress-induced drinking.

Drawing on both tension reduction and social learning theories, we hypothesized that work stressors lead to increased distress, which in turn promotes problematic alcohol use among vulnerable individuals. Vulnerable individuals are hypothesized to possess few personal and social resources for responding adaptively to work-related stressors and distress and to hold positive expectancies for alcohol's effects. We tested our model in a random sample of 574 employed adults, using a combination of path analytic and hierarchical moderated regression techniques. Results revealed no support for a simple tension reduction model of work stress-induced drinking and only limited support for a social learning model. We conclude that a much more circumscribed view of the etiologic role of work stress in problematic alcohol use is indicated.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Quantitative ultrasonic detection and classification of diffuse liver disease. Comparison with human observer performance.

A multiparameter ultrasonic tissue characterization system has been developed and tested on several types of diffuse liver disease. The four tissue characterization parameters used are based on the first and second order statistics of the B-scan image. Performance of the system was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis and was compared with the performance of experienced human observers viewing B-scan images. The machine-based multiparameter system achieved an area under the ROC curve (Az) of 0.88 for detection of chronic hepatitis in more than 100 proven cases of the disease. This was dramatically better than the performance of human observers (Az = .64, P less than .05) and compares favorably to the performance of other accepted diagnostic tests such as head CT and the PAP smear. For detection of Gaucher's disease, the Az for the system was .92, whereas for separating hepatitis from Gaucher's disease Az was .84. Human observers also did well at these tasks (P greater than .8) using organomegaly as their major criterion for diagnosing Gaucher's disease. For primary biliary cirrhosis the system Az was .80, for glycogen storage disease Az was .94. These results suggest that use of multiparameter tissue characterization can significantly increase the usefulness of ultrasound for evaluation of diffuse liver disease.

Gaucher Disease↗
PubMed1988

Heavy drinking and regular psychoactive drug use among gynecological outpatients.

Self-reported patterns of alcohol and drug use were examined in gynecological outpatients (n = 1967). Seventeen percent were heavy drinkers, 14% regularly used psychoactive drugs with the potential for nonmedical use, and over 3% both drank heavily and regularly used psychoactive drugs. Significantly higher alcohol intakes (mean usual number of drinks per occasion was 3.6 compared to 3.1, p less than 0.01) and more heavy drinkers (26% compared to 19%, based on quantity-frequency, p less than 0.01) were associated with regular psychoactive drug use. However, the relationship between other measures of alcohol use and regular psychoactive drug use varied as a function of age, marital status, and employment status. Regular psychoactive drug use was significantly elevated among outpatients who were in their fifties, retired/other (not housewives, employed, or looking for work, e.g. students or disabled), not married, or white. The risk of regular psychoactive drug use was more than 1.5 times higher among heavy drinkers than among nonheavy drinkers. It is estimated that there are over 35 million gynecologic office visits per year; therefore, increased case-finding in this population has the potential to reach large numbers of women at risk who otherwise might not be identified.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Early measures of maternal alcohol misuse as predictors of adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Pregnancy outcome was studied in 531 obstetric outpatients with respect to maternal alcohol consumption prior to pregnancy recognition, (absolute alcohol per day prior to pregnancy, PPAA) and indications of problem drinking (IPD). Multiple regression was used to predict pregnancy outcome with PPAA and IPD, controlling for potentially confounding sociodemographic and health factors. PPAA predicted spontaneous abortion and lowered Apgar scores. The risk of spontaneous abortion increased an average of 25% for each additional ounce of absolute alcohol consumed per day (p less than 0.05). Adverse pregnancy outcomes related to intrauterine growth were more strongly related to IPD than PPAA, and IPD remained a significant predictor even after controlling for PPAA. The strongest association was with head circumference (p less than 0.01); logistic regression indicated that for each additional indication of problem drinking reported, risk of head circumference below the 10th percentile increased 2.77 times. Other pregnancy outcome measures negatively related to IPD were 5-min Apgar scores (p less than 0.05), birth weight (p less than 0.10), and 1-min Apgar scores (p less than 0.10). No significant curvilinear alcohol effects or interactions were observed. These findings highlight the potential clinical utility of PPAA and IPD in the early identification of women whose alcohol use puts their pregnancies at high risk.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗