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Biomedical subjects

R Beaglehole

Publications and source records attributed to R Beaglehole.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

Sudden death in runners.

Coronary heart disease risk factors and circumstances of death were examined in 258 people who were a representative sample of all persons, less than 70 years of age, dying suddenly and unexpectedly in Auckland during the twelve month period from 1 March 1981. From this sample we identified nine individuals who had been running regularly for more than three months prior to death. All those identified were men aged between 35 and 56 years, all had historical evidence of abnormal coronary heart disease risk factors and six were known to have had symptomatic cardiovascular disease. Seven of the nine died during or within 30 minutes of exercise and eight of the nine had postmortems showing severe coronary artery disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Mortality from asthma: a new epidemic in New Zealand.

Trends in mortality attributed to asthma in the 5-34-year age group were examined in New Zealand, Australia, England and Wales, the United States, Canada, and West Germany for the years 1959-79. An epidemic of deaths from asthma occurred in the mid-1960s in New Zealand, Australia, and England and Wales but not in the other countries. In Australia and England and Wales the death rate quickly returned to pre-epidemic levels, but in New Zealand the decline in mortality was slow, and by 1974 the death rate was still almost double the pre-epidemic level. Of great concern was an abrupt increase in reported deaths from asthma in New Zealand after 1976 with the mortality rate during 1977-9 being greater than during the previous epidemic. In contrast, asthma mortality had remained relatively stable in the other populations.The new epidemic in New Zealand was investigated and appeared to be real. It could not be explained by changes in the classification of deaths from asthma, inaccuracies in death certification, or changes in diagnostic fashions. The most likely explanation appeared to be related to the management of asthma in New Zealand, and this is being investigated.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Trends in cerebrovascular disease mortality in New Zealand.

Death rates for cerebrovascular disease (CVD) in New Zealand have declined by 15 percent and 47 percent for non-Maori men and women respectively in the period 1953-1979. While women have experienced a progressive decline, most of the decline for men has occurred since the early 1970s. Death rates for CVD are consistently higher for Maoris than for non-Maoris, with Maori women experiencing death rates almost double that of Maori men. While death rates among Maori women show a steady decline, this is not the case for Maori men. The overall decline appears to be a real one and is not accounted for by changes in diagnostic fashion or death certificate coding practices. The New Zealand death rates are similar to those noted in other Western industrialised countries, and show the same trend. The decline in cerebrovascular mortality among women began before the widespread use of hypotensive therapy, although improvements in the community control of high blood pressure may explain the more recent decline.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Trends in coronary heart disease mortality and associated risk factors in New Zealand.

Coronary heart disease mortality declined by 17 percent and 14 percent for New Zealand European men and women respectively between 1968 and 1978. The fall occurred in all age groups and in Maoris and cannot be attributed to change in diagnostic fashions. The decline has been associated with a decrease in the consumption of diary products and more recently with a levelling off of cigarette smoking, an increased awareness of the importance of treating hypertension, and an apparent increase in habitual physical activity in the community. There have also been improvements in the medical management of patients with coronary heart disease which may be contributing to the continuing decline in mortality rates. A programme to monitor trends in CHD incidence and case fatality and the level of risk factors in the community is required to elucidate the reasons for the decline in CHD mortality.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Death in the South Pacific.

The pattern of mortality and the influence of blood pressure, serum cholesterol, and body mass on mortality is examined in 1980 adults in four contrasting South Pacific populations. Three of the populations are Polynesian: Pakapuka, an isolated coral atoll, Rarotonga, a less isolated volcanic island, and the New Zealand Maoris, and they are compared with a New Zealand caucasian sample. The baseline examinations were performed in 1963-64 and the cardiovascular risk factors and associated disease were found to be more prevalent in Polynesians with increasing westernisation. The dead or alive status was ascertained in 1974 for 99 percent of the subjects. The age standardised 10-11 year death rates also increased with increasing westernisation from 11.7 percent in Pukapukan men to 26.7 percent in Maori men. The Mantel-Haenszel method of analysis of survivorship data demonstrated a significant inverse relationship between baseline serum cholesterol and mortality in the New Zealand Maoris. Cox's proportional hazards regression model was used to examine the population differences in mortality and it was found that the variables studied do not explain these differences. This study demonstrates the adverse effect of esternisation on the health of Polynesians and suggests that the relationsip between risk factors and mortality differs between populations.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Cholesterol and mortality in New Zealand Maoris.

The relation between serum cholesterol concentration and mortality was studied prospectively over 11 years in 630 New Zealand Maoris aged 25-74. Serum cholesterol concentration was measured at initial examination in 1962-3 in 94% of the subjects and whether each was dead or alive was determined in 1974. The causes of death were divided into three categories: cancer, cardiovascular disease, and "other." The Mantel-Haenszel method of analysis of survivorship data showed a significant inverse relation between serum cholesterol concentration and overall mortality in men (x 2/2 = 11.6; p = 0.003) and women (x 2/2 = 7.6; p = 0.02) with odds ratios of 2.3 and 1.9 respectively. Similar significant inverse relations were found for cancer and "other" causes of death. These relations remained significant when baseline age, systolic blood pressure, and the Quetelt index were controlled in Cox's proportional hazards regression model. The results of this study provide evidence for a potentially deleterious effect of low serum cholesterol concentration. Hence, further research is needed before indiscriminate efforts are made to lower serum cholesterol concentrations in New Zealand Maoris.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol: association with measurements of body mass. The Lipid Research Clinics Program Prevalence Study.

Relationships between weight, height and ponderal indexes and plasma high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and triglyceride were assessed by the Lipid Research Clinics Prevalence Study for 6865 white children and adults (3517 males and 3348 females). Overall, weight, weight/height, weight/height and weight/height were significantly and inversely associated with plasma HDL cholesterol levels and positively associated with plasma triglyceride levels. When the relationships of Quetelet index (weight/height) to HDL cholesterol were assessed by multiple regression analysis, including the explanatory variables of cigarette smoking, alcohol intake and exogenous estrogen hormone use, the Quetelet index was significantly and inversely associated with HDL cholesterol levels in children (by age 12-16 years) and adults of both sexes. After covariance adjustment for smoking, alcohol intake, hormone use and age, mean HDL cholesterol levels for individuals at the Quetelet tenth percentile were 3 mg/dl higher than for those at the fiftieth percentile, and these in turn were 3-4 mg/dl higher than for those at the ninetieth percentile. These differences in HDL cholesterol differences reported to be related to coronary heart disease mortality. Improved approaches to the primary prevention of atherosclerosis may be realized by a better understanding of the inverse relationship of body mass to HDL cholesterol levels.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in children and young adults. The Lipid Research Clinics Program Prevalence Study.

We examined the decline in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in adolescent males and the postadolescent sex differences in HDL cholesterol levels. Prevalence data are presented for 1639 white males and females ages 6-25 years from six populations of the Lipid Research Clinics Program. The association of HDL cholesterol with age, smoking habits, and anthropometric, clinical chemistry and nutritional variables was examined by correlation and regression analyses. Although mean HDL cholesterol levels in children ages 6-10 years were lower in females than in males, HDL cholesterol levels gradually increased with age in females, while in males the mean HDL cholesterol levels declined form 55.9 mg/dl at ages 6-10 years to 45.5 mg/dl at ages 18-25 years. In young adults, HDL cholesterol levels were an average of 10.5 mg/dl higher in females than in males. In the 6-10-year-old age group, none of the study variables was significantly associated with HDL cholesterol. In the 11-17-year-old subjects, significant associations were noted with several variables, especially in the males. The strongest association was an inverse association with weight in males. In the young adults ages 18-25 years, significant inverse associations were found with weight and alkaline phosphatase in both sexes and with sucrose and smoking in females. The data suggested that the most important influence on HDL cholesterol levels in adolescent males are changes in gonadal hormone levels and that some of the factors known to influence HDL cholesterol levels in older adults are already associated with HDL cholesterol in adolescents and young adults.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

High density lipoprotein cholesterol and other serum lipids in New Zealand Maoris.

The pattern of fasting serum lipids, with emphasis on high density lipoprotein cholesterol, and the relationship of the lipids with each other and with other risk factors is examined in a population based sample of New Zealand Maoris. There are no sex differences in the distribution of total cholesterol and cholesterol fractions but triglycerides are higher in men. High density lipoprotein cholesterol levels are lower in Maoris than reported in other populations. High density lipoprotein cholesterol is negatively correlated with low density lipoprotein cholesterol but not associated with total cholesterol. High density lipoprotein cholesterol is negatively correlated with body mass index and in men high density lipoprotein cholesterol levels are higher in current alcohol drinkers. The possible relationship between the low levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol and the high risk of coronary heart disease in Maoris requires investigation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Blood pressure and migration in children.

The effect of migration on childhood blood pressure levels has been studied by comparing children before and after migration to New Zealand with children who stayed at home on the Pacific atolls of Tokelau. Data were collected in 1971 on 502 children (97% response rate) aged 5--14 years resident in Tokelau and follow-up data were collected in New Zealand and in Tokelau in 1975--1977 (respknse rate 91%). No selection factors were detected before migration. After migration, the younger migrants had significantly higher blood pressures and were heavier, but not taller, than the non-migrants. Weight differences explained some but not all of the blood pressure differences. There were no differences in body size between the 2 groups of older children although the older non migrant girls had higher blood pressure than the migrant girls.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Coronary heart disease in Maoris: incidence and case mortality.

In a sample of Maoris, the association between a five year incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) and standard risk factors is examined. Prediction of new cases of CHD is attempted, and systolic blood pressure is found to be the most important predictor in both males and females. Approximately half the new cases are not predicted by the best sets of discriminatory variables.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

A controlled smoking intervention programme in secondary schools.

This paper reports the result of an attempt to modify the cigarette smoking habits and attitudes of third and fourth form secondary school pupils. Baseline data was collected in two schools using an interviewer administered questionnaire. In one school a new intervention programme based on curriculum development was introduced. The other school had routine anti-smoking education only. The smoking habits and attitudes of the pupils were remeasured after seven months. In neither school was there a change in either smoking habits or attitudes. The implications of these results for future health education programmes are discussed.

Adolescent↗