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Biomedical subjects

P Heywood

Publications and source records attributed to P Heywood.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Selenium intakes of children from Malawi and Papua New Guinea consuming plant-based diets.

Dietary selenium intakes were determined over three seasons for 66 children aged 4-6 y in rural Malawi, and at one season for 67 children aged 6-10 y in rural Papua New Guinea. The selenium content of the foods consumed was assessed using instrumental neutron activation analysis. Median intakes of selenium for the Malawian children were 20 micrograms per day, 21 micrograms per day, and 15 micrograms per day at harvest, postharvest, and preharvest seasons, respectively. More than 43% of the Malawian intakes were below the U.S. Recommended Dietary Allowances for 4-6 y olds (20 micrograms per day). Median intake of Se for the Papua New Guinean children was 20 micrograms per day, with 87% of the intakes below the recommended level for 7-10 y olds (30 micrograms per day). Statistical comparisons of selenium intakes over three seasons for the 51 children present in all survey periods revealed that mean intakes were not significantly different in survey periods one and two, but decreased significantly in survey period three, when expressed per day (p less than 0.002), per MJ (p less than 0.003), or per kg (p less than 0.001).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Child↗
PubMed1991

Survey of general practice audit in Leeds.

OBJECTIVE: To determine general practitioners' attitudes to medical audit and to establish what initiatives are already being undertaken; to define future ideas for audit and perceived difficulties in implementing audit in primary care. DESIGN: Analysis of responses to a self administered postal questionnaire. SETTING: Urban conurbation with a population of about 750,000. PARTICIPANTS: 386 general practitioners on the general medical list of Leeds Family Practitioner Committee. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Extent of recording of practice activity data and outcome measures and clinical data, use of data, and audit performed; ideas for audit and perceived difficulties. RESULTS: 317 doctors responded to the questionnaire (individual response rate 82%) from 121 practices (practice response rate 88%). In all, 206 doctors thought that audit could improve the quality of care; 292 collected practice activity data, though 143 of them did not use it. A total of 111 doctors recorded some outcome measures, though half of them did not use them. Varying proportions of doctors had registers, for various diseases (136 had at least one register), disease management policies (60 doctors), and prescribing policies. In all, 184 doctors met monthly with other members of the primary health care team. CONCLUSIONS: Much poorly focused data collection is taking place. Some doctors have experience in setting up basic information systems and practice policies, and some audit is being performed. The family health services authorities need to take seriously the perceived difficulties of time, organisation, and resources concerned with audit.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1991

Growth in children from the Wosera subdistrict, Papua New Guinea, in relation to energy and protein intakes and zinc status.

In a cross-sectional study of 123 children aged 24-120 mo from the Wosera subdistrict of Papua New Guinea, height, weight, hematocrit, hemoglobin, hair zinc, and presence of malaria were measured. Two 24-h recalls were undertaken in 67 of the children aged 72-120 mo; 52%, 73%, and 76% had energy, protein, and zinc intakes, respectively, less than two-thirds of the FAO/WHO/UNU recommendations. Stunting was prevalent (29%); 16% were moderately wasted. The prevalence of stunting and hair zinc concentrations less than 1.68 mumol/g was gender related; 38% of males vs 20% of females had Z scores for height-for-age (HAZ scores) less than -2 (P = 0.04); 26% of males vs 11% of females had hair zinc less than 1.68 mumol/g (P less than 0.05). Analysis of variance showed that age, sex, hemoglobin, and log hair zinc influenced HAZ scores, depending on the age group; both sex and the log of the hair zinc values were significant factors in the older children. Stunting in Worsera children was related to chronic deficits in energy and protein and was excerbated in the older male children by suboptimal zinc status.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1991

Ineffectiveness of amodiaquine against Plasmodium falciparum malaria in symptomatic young children living in an endemic malarious area of Papua New Guinea.

The standard in vivo 7-day test of drug resistance was conducted on 83 children with symptomatic P. falciparum infection, using a full 3-day course of amodiaquine. All children were living in an endemic malarious area of the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea. Analysis of blood amodiaquine levels by an ELISA method showed increased blood amodiaquine concentration with progressive days of treatment. By day 7 of the study period parasites had cleared in 68 (82 per cent) of the children while 15 (18 per cent) had persistence or recrudescence of P. falciparum. Of these 15 resistant cases, four were R1 resistant (early recrudescence), seven were R2, and four were R3. This is a higher proportion of R2/R3 resistance than has usually been reported in Papua New Guinea. In vivo amodiaquine resistance declined significantly with increasing age of the child. Resistance was found to be more common in children with low weight for age: this possible association requires further investigation in the study area, which has one of the highest rates of malnutrition in Papua New Guinea.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1991

The Australian food and nutrition system: a basis for policy formulation and analysis.

The Australian food and nutrition system can be seen as composed of four subsystems: production; processing and distribution; consumption; and nutrition. The production subsystem has a large number of producers and is largely export-oriented. Processing is domestically focused, with a low level of innovation and a relatively high concentration of ownership. Export activity in this subsystem involves mostly low value-added products. Ownership of food stores is highly concentrated and their influence on innovation in food processing is increasing. The food service industry has many outlets and is growing rapidly. Most food consumption and decisions about it are made in the context of households. Nutrition is now known to be a causal factor in a wide range of chronic degenerative diseases. Improved nutrition, an important avenue for improving the health of Australians, requires coordinated activities across a number of sectors and would be facilitated by a national food and nutrition policy. An understanding of the food and nutrition system will facilitate formulation and analysis of such a policy.

Agriculture↗
PubMed1991

PACT and audit.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Cost Control↗
PubMed1991

PACT levels 1 and 2.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Costs and Cost Analysis↗
PubMed1991

Mid-upper-arm circumference (MUAC) in relation to other indices of nutritional status in Papua New Guinea.

Mid-upper-arm circumference (MUAC) measurements made during the 1982-1983 National Nutrition Survey were compared to other anthropometrics indices of nutritional status and it was found that MUAC was a poor predictor of the other measures. Whilst this does not necessarily imply that MUAC cannot be used to identify children at high risk it is one of a number of considerations which limit its utility in Papua New Guinea. Low MUAC measurements were particularly common in middle-altitude zones, where malnutrition is more frequent; this suggests that MUAC may be more useful in identifying malnourished groups than individuals.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1989

Glucose tolerance in Papua New Guinea: ethnic differences, association with environmental and behavioural factors and the possible emergence of glucose intolerance in a highland community.

That Melanesians of non-Austronesian genetic ancestry may be relatively resistant to glucose intolerance was supported by the results of a study of two semitraditional non-Austronesian villages in the Papua New Guinean highlands in 1983, in which an absence of diabetes and a high degree of glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity were observed. The second of this series of surveys was conducted in 1985 in three non-traditional communities: a periurban, non-Austronesian village in the highlands, and rural and periurban Austronesian villages in coastal locations. Although an absence of diabetes was demonstrated once again in the highlanders, these periurban subjects showed an unexpectedly high insulin response which may be a precursor of glucose intolerance. The notion that highland communities that are living in non-traditional circumstances in Papua New Guinea presently are in "metabolic transition" towards diabetes and other non-communicable diseases, if correct, is of importance to the public health of the nation. In the periurban, coastal-dwelling Austronesians, diabetes with severe hyperglycaemia was demonstrated, and there was some evidence of a secular trend towards increasing glucose intolerance. The two-hour plasma glucose concentrations were shown to be associated with obesity, modernity and Seventh-Day Adventist religious persuasion. However, important and unexplained differences in glucose tolerance remained between rural and periurban coastal dwellers after taking these factors into account.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Behavioral effects of iron supplementation in infants in Madang, Papua New Guinea.

The effect of iron supplementation on attending behavior of 96 1-y-old infants was assessed in a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial of iron dextran in Papua New Guinea. The treatment group received an injection of iron dextran at 2 mo; the controls received a placebo injection. Because many children had malarial parasitemia at testing, presence of malaria was used in the analysis. A significant interaction was found between iron and malaria infection on total fixation time: iron-supplemented groups and placebo-treated parasitemic children showed significantly higher total fixation scores than did placebo-treated aparasitemic children. Blood analysis of iron status showed similar results, with lowest iron status evident in the placebo-treated aparasitemic group. There was no effect of treatment on rate of habituation or dishabituation. Supplemental iron treatment has a significant effect on attention but the direction of the effect depends on the presence of malaria infection.

Anemia, Hypochromic↗
PubMed1985

A monoclonal antibody-based immunoradiometric assay for detection of circulating antigen in Bancroftian filariasis.

A monoclonal antibody designated Gib 13 has been used in an immunoradiometric assay (IRMA) to detect circulating antigen in the sera of Wuchereria bancrofti-infected subjects from an endemic area of Papua New Guinea. A clear association between the presence of patent infection and the Gib 13 target epitope in serum was established because 93% of microfilaremic individuals were antigen-positive. Moreover, there was a significant correlation between levels of serum antigen and blood microfilarial counts. Detection of circulating antigen in amicrofilaremic subjects with acute symptoms of lymphatic filariasis, and 53% of asymptomatic amicrofilaremic subjects, but not in nonendemic controls, suggests that the Gib 13 IRMA will also be of value in the diagnosis of occult filariasis. However, as in all IRMA based on detection of potentially immunogenic molecules in man, antibodies can be expected to be the major contributor to reduced sensitivity of the assay.

Adolescent↗