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Biomedical subjects

P H Fentem

Publications and source records attributed to P H Fentem.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Exercise in prevention of disease.

Measures to increase individual participation in adequate amounts of physical exercise have a key place among the strategies to improve health and prevent disease. The scientific justification is based on a variety of evidence drawn from numerous epidemiological, clinical and physiological studies and is accepted as sound. The prevalence of physical disability is high. Disability attributable to age or chronic disease is helped by exercise. Inactivity compounds the effects of disability--an effect which deserves recognition because it is reversible and not inevitable. The association between a high level of habitual physical activity and a reduction in the individual risk for coronary vessel disease (CVD) is real and appears to be causal. Regular vigorous aerobic exercise is certainly effective in maintenance of health. Weight-bearing exercise has been shown to prevent osteoporosis at any age. The links between many of the functional adaptations which occur with exercise and improvements in health have been demonstrated. The exercise programmes which are effective have been defined.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

Prevalence, frequency, and duration of hypnotic drug use among the elderly living at home.

Details of consumption of hypnotic drugs derived from a nationally representative sample of elderly people were analysed in terms of the prevalence, duration, and likely frequency of use. Of 1020 randomly selected subjects aged 65 and over 16% (166) reported using (mainly benzodiazepine) hypnotic drugs, and of these 89% reported having taken such a drug the night before the interview. Most of these users (73%) had been taking hypnotic drugs for more than one year, with 25% reporting drug use for more than 10 years. These results suggest that for most elderly users of hypnotic drugs, patterns of consumption encourage the development of cumulative effects and benzodiazepine dependence.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

Characteristics of subjective insomnia in the elderly living at home.

Profiles of sleeping habits, subjective sleep quality, and mental and physical well-being were obtained from 1023 elderly individuals randomly sampled from the Nottinghamshire Family Practitioner Committee's records. Subjective insomnia at least 'sometimes' was reported by 37.9% of the sample. Discriminant analysis of selected health and demographic variables indicated that symptoms of anxiety, sex and self-ratings of health were the factors most influential in predicting reports of problem sleep. Thus, respondents classified as subjective insomniacs tended to have significantly higher anxiety scores, to be women, and to rate their health as below average. Relative to the non-insomniac respondents, those complaining of sleep problems also perceived their sleep latency as longer, and their total sleep as shorter. These results emphasize that, in addition to apparently 'normal' age-related changes in the structure of sleep, subjective insomnia in old age may often be mediated by the physical and psychological disorders which can accompany ageing.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

Falls by elderly people at home: prevalence and associated factors.

Of 1042 individuals aged 65 years and over who were successfully interviewed in a community survey of health and physical activity, 35% (n = 356) reported one or more falls in the preceding year. Although the overall ratio of female fallers to male fallers was 2.7:1, this ratio approached unity with advancing age. Mobility was significantly impaired in those reporting falls. Asked to provide a reason for their falls, 53% reported tripping, 8% dizziness and 6% reported blackouts. A further 19% were unable to give a reason. There was no association between falls and the use of diuretics, antihypertensives or tranquilizers, but a significant association between falls and the use of hypnotics and antidepressants was found. Discriminant analysis of selected medical and anthropometric variables indicated that handgrip strength in the dominant hand and reported symptoms of arthritis, giddiness and foot difficulties were most influential in predicting reports of recent falls.

Accidental Falls↗
PubMed1988

Levels of customary physical activity among the old and the very old living at home.

With an activity inventory designed specifically for use among elderly people, detailed profiles of customary physical activity were obtained from 507 old (aged 65-74 years) and 535 very old (aged 75 years and over) individuals randomly sampled from the community. Participation in four categories of activity was assessed: outdoor productive activities; indoor productive activities; leisure activities; and walking. Customary engagement in many activities was found to be low, age (old versus very old) and sex being among the most important determinants of participation. The method of assessment is described, and activity profiles normative for older age groups are presented.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1987

Human orthostatic reflexes after taking temazepam at night.

1. Cardiovascular orthostatic reflexes have been studied at night in 12 healthy male subjects who were given two soft gelatin capsules each containing 0 or 10 mg temazepam at 21.30 h. 2. The changes in heart rate, blood pressure and forearm blood flow on consecutive 5 min exposures to lower body negative pressure (suction) at 30, 40 and 50 mm Hg were measured before and then 1.5 and 9.5 h after giving doses of 10 or 20 mg temazepam in a placebo-controlled double-blind cross-over study. 3. Pre-suction resting values were not affected by temazepam, but 1.5 h after giving the capsules there were significant differences in the responses to suction between the placebo and 20 mg temazepam experiments: the tachycardia after 20 mg temazepam was about one-third greater and the forearm vasoconstriction was about 50% less. The effect of the 10 mg dose was equivocal. No residual effects were detected the next morning. 4. These alterations in orthostatic reflexes soon after the administration of temazepam at night did not impair the maintenance of arterial blood pressure in these healthy subjects.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Effect of beta-blockers on arrhythmias during six weeks after suspected myocardial infarction.

Twenty-four-hour electrocardiographic tape-recording was used to investigate the incidence of arrhythmias in patients with suspected myocardial infarction who were receiving either propranolol, atenolol, or placebo. Recordings begun within 24 hours after admission to a coronary care unit showed that 76% of patients eventually found to have had a myocardial infarction had ventricular arrhythmias of a type generally regarded as serious, whereas of patients in whom myocardial infarction was not substantiated, only 24% had such arrhythmias. At one and six weeks after admission the incidence of arrhythmias ranged from 25% to 33% irrespective of diagnosis. Of patients monitored at both one and six weeks, however, only 5% had arrhythmias on each occasion. Patients treated with propranolol and atenolol showed a similar incidence of arrhythmias to those taking placebo. There was no difference in the incidence or type of arrhythmias recorded between patients who died and those who were still alive at six weeks.These results confirm that "serious" ventricular arrythmias occur in most patients during the acute phase of myocardial infarction and suggest that they do not constitute an independent risk factor. Beta-blockers showed little evidence of useful antiarrhythmic action in the dosage used, but increasing the dosage in suspected myocardial infarction is not practicable because of the risk of hypotension. The findings raise grave doubts about the value of studying arrhythmias to assess drugs intended to reduce mortality from myocardial infarction.

Arrhythmias, Cardiac↗
PubMed1978

Advice on exercise.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena↗
PubMed1977

A study of exercise performance and heart rate: the response to exercise of a small group of manual workers before and after retirement.

Measurements of walking pattern, exercise performance, heart rate response to exercise and body composition have been made in 13 male manual workers at retirement and again one and two years later. The exercise consisted of walking, in accordance with standard instructions; heart rate and footfall signals were recorded on magnetic tape during the test using body-borne tape recorders. After the first year highly significant reductions in walking speed were found but no significant changes in walking pattern, heart rate response or body composition. When the measurements made at the end of one year of retirement were compared with those made at the end of two years no significant changes were found.

Aged↗
PubMed1977

Assessment of vagal control of the heart in diabetes. Measures of R-R interval variation under different conditions.

R-R intervals and R-R interval variation were measured in 2 selected groups of diabetic subjects; 1 group was selected because vagal control of the heart appeared normal, the other group was selected because they lacked vagal control of the heart. The means of the R-R intervals for the 2 groups were not significantly different under various conditions (sleeping, lying, during deep breathing, sitting, standing, and during upright activity). The standard deviations of the R-R intervals for the 2 groups were only significantly different during deep breathing and upright activity. It is suggested that cardiac vagal function is not reliably assessed by measurement of R-R interval variation during quiet standing, but useful information may be obtained during deep breathing.

Diabetes Mellitus↗
PubMed1977

A method for counting ectopic beats by computer analysis of R-R intervals.

A method is described for detecting and counting ectopic beats using a small computer. The occurrence of an ectopic beat is identified by the relative duration of adjacent pulse intervals as demonstrated by simple arithmetical procedures. The method was validated by manual counting of records from 18 patients. 89% of 1474 ectopics were correctly identified. There were few false positive identifications 42. Although the method is unsuitable for the diagnosis of arrhythmias it is likely to be of value in epidemiological studies of such disturbances.

Arrhythmias, Cardiac↗
PubMed1976

Control of distension of varicose veins achieved by leg bandages, as used after injection sclerotherapy.

A study was performed to determine whether the pressures routinely produced by bandaging for compression sclerotherapy of varicose veins are adequate to maintain the superfical veins almost empty of blood. The results suggest that well-applied bandages can provide sufficient support to combat the high distending pressures found in varicose veins. The large variation among different surgeons, however, indicates that any clinical assessment of compression sclerotherapy should include measurement of the pressure at which the bandages are applied.

Bandages↗
PubMed1976

The involvement of noradrenergic nerves in the cardiovascular reflex responses to lower body negative pressure in the anaesthetised rabbit.

1. Resting cardiovascular status and the reflex responses to lower body negative pressure (LBNP) were examined in control rabbits and in rabbits sympathectomised with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA). 2. Resting systemic arterial pressure and total peripheral resistance were significantly higher in control than in 6-OHDA treated animals. 3. Control animals responded to LBNP at -25 mm Hg with a peripheral vasoconstriction and tachycardia. These responses were absent in 6-OHDA-treated animals. 4. Control animals responded to LBNP at -70 mm Hg with a peripheral vasoconstriction and a bradycardia followed by a tachycardia. There was no significant change in heart rate in response to this stimulus in 6-OHDA-treated animals, although a slight vasoconstriction was seen. 5. Bethanidine blocked the tachycardia and vasoconstriction seen in response to LBNP in control and 6-OHDA-treated rabbits. Under these conditions there was no significant difference between the total peripheral resistance of the control and treated animals. 6. The results indicated that neither the maintenance of the resting systemic arterial pressure nor the reflexes elicited by LBNP in control or in chronically sympathectomised rabbits involved hormonal mechanisms, but LBNP was maintained for 1 min only. These findings are discussed in the context of previous observations.

Animals↗