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Biomedical subjects

M S Gaylor

Publications and source records attributed to M S Gaylor.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Medical withdrawals from college for mental health reasons and their relation to academic performance.

A collaborative study among the university health service, the dean's office, and the registrar's office examined the academic performance of 77 students who took medical withdrawals for mental health reasons from Dartmouth College during a 3-year period. In 71.4% of the cases, students withdrew from a term in progress; the remainder arranged to withdraw after they had completed a term but before starting a new term. Depression was a major factor in approximately half of the withdrawals. Grade point average improved significantly after return from the withdrawal, with a large jump in individual term averages occurring between the terms immediately preceding and immediately following return. We found no significant difference between the number of students who experienced disciplinary trouble before withdrawal and those who were disciplined afterward. Students who were depressed at the time of withdrawal did not fare as well academically upon return as those students who had not been depressed. The data suggest that procedures for handling mental health withdrawals and readmission are important ways in which the campus counseling center can support the university's academic mission.

Educational Status↗
PubMed1990

Alcohol consumption by college undergraduates: current use and 10-year trends.

In a carefully executed study with a high response rate, a random sample of 10% of the undergraduate student body at a rural New England university was surveyed as to the subjects' use of alcohol in 1987. Over 87% of the surveyed students returned questionnaires. The results were compared to similar studies conducted on the campus in 1977 and 1983. "Daily or almost daily" use of alcohol was registered by 4.7% of the respondents, which represents a continuing decrease in daily consumption from earlier studies. One-fourth of the sample indicated drinking only one drink or fewer per week, contrary to the common perception on the campus. Nevertheless, 25.5% recorded a hangover, 7.5% recorded vomiting from drinking too much and 4.4% recorded a blackout, all "in the last week." Compared to the U.S. population, alcohol consumption appears to be more evenly distributed in the college sample but, still, most of the drinking is done by one-fifth of both groups.

Absenteeism↗
PubMed1990

Drug use among college undergraduates: current use and 10-year trends.

A random sample of 10% of the undergraduate student body at a rural New England university were surveyed as to their use of drugs in 1987. Over 87% of the surveyed students returned questionnaires. Results indicated that alcohol is clearly the "drug of choice" on the campus, and the second most used drug is marijuana. The 1987 survey findings were also compared to similar studies conducted on the campus in 1977 and 1983. Over the decade there has been a decrease in daily, weekly, and monthly use of marijuana. Cocaine use was greatest in the 1983 survey, but the 1987 figures were still somewhat higher than those of 1977. Hallucinogen use has remained low across all three observation points. Students indicating they had substance-dependent parents showed more use of cocaine, "ecstasy," and sedative-hypnotic drugs than their fellow students.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Visits to the college health service for alcohol-related injuries.

A study of alcohol-related injuries presenting to the local emergency room and the campus health service indicated an annualized rate of 25.16 injuries per thousand students. Twenty-four percent of injuries presenting to the emergency room were assessed as alcohol-related; another 6% were listed as being "suspected." Less than 4% of the injuries presenting to the campus health service were assessed as alcohol-related, and a similar number were listed as "suspected." Males had a significantly higher rate of alcohol-related injuries than females, and undergraduates had a higher rate than graduate students. Differences among the undergraduate classes were not significant. An investigation of the time of presentation indicated that most alcohol-related injuries occurred after hours and on weekends.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Relief of continuous chronic pain by intraspinal narcotics infusion via an implanted reservoir.

Ten patients with intractable pain (five cancer and five nonmalignant) were treated with continuous intraspinal morphine delivered by an implanted continuous infusion system. Both patient groups were evaluated and compared using an identical battery of psychometric examinations administered before and 12 weeks after therapy. The cancer-pain group reported significant reduction in pain on serial visual pain analogue scales at 12 weeks compared with no change in the nonmalignant-pain group reports despite a much lower baseline report in the cancer group. Both groups of patients reduced their oral narcotic requirement significantly during continuous intraspinal morphine infusion. While the cancer patients took more oral narcotic at baseline, at 12 weeks no difference existed in oral intake between the two groups. Both groups required significant serial increases in infused morphine, indicating that spinal opiate receptor tolerance occurs. The results of this study confirm the sustained analgesic efficacy reported earlier in cancer-related pain syndromes, thus supporting further cautious expansion of this therapy within the cancer-related pain population. In contrast, a poor response was seen in the nonmalignant-pain group, consistent with the unsatisfactory responses to many potentially analgetic approaches to chronic nonmalignant pain. We are thus discouraged from further use of this therapy in the patient with chronic nonmalignant pain.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1981

Behavioral approaches to treatment of chronic pain: the inaccuracy of patient self-report measures.

This study was designed to examine the accuracy of patient self-report of physical activity and social behavior and a 3X daily log of pain intensity. Concomitantly, staff members made unobtrusive, hourly observations of patient activity and social behavior. Results showed that some patients report significantly lower levels of physical activity and social behavior than observed by staff despite reporting decreased levels of pain. These results suggest that the efficacy of therapeutic intervention is best determined by systematic observational data rather than patient self-report.

Adult↗