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Biomedical subjects

R E Roberts

Publications and source records attributed to R E Roberts.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1981

Measuring nonspecific psychological distress and other dimensions of psychopathology. Further observations on the problem.

The reliability and validity of the Psychiatric Epidemiology Research Interview (PERI) are examined using data from a triethnic (white, black, and Mexican -American) sample of community respondents. The PERI scales attempt to measure both nonspecific psychological distress and different dimensions of psychopathology. Internal consistency reliability is assessed using Cronbach's coefficient alpha. Concurrent and discriminant validity are evaluated by comparing the PERI scales with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and the Bradburn Negative Affect Scale. These scales show high internal consistency reliability in all three ethnic groups. The Demoralization Scale measures a separate dimension from the other psychopathology scales, and the latter scales are distinct from one another. While the criterion validity of the PERI in population samples remains unknown, it is possible to measure important dimensions of psychopathology in the general population. The PERI may constitute one such measure.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Usefulness of the PERI demoralization scale screen for psychiatric disorder in a community sample.

The authors gave the PERI Demoralization Scale (PERI-D), a measure of nonspecific psychological distress, to 528 subjects drawn from a larger longitudinal community survey. Respondents also were interviewed using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (SADS), a structured clinical interview. Based on the SADS, subjects were given diagnoses based on Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDC). The results corroborate earlier findings of a modest relationship between self-reported symptoms of distress and the diagnosis of clinical psychiatric disorder. There was somewhat better fit between RDC diagnoses of depression, particularly major depression, and PERI-D symptom scores, suggesting the PERI-D items may be slightly more useful for detecting cases of depression in the community than for the broader range of psychiatric disorders. In general, the authors concur with earlier writers who suggest that brief psychiatric symptom scales may be useful as screening tests in community surveys, but such instruments do not in themselves provide good-estimates of the prevalence of clinical psychiatric disorders in the community.

Affective Symptoms↗
PubMed1981

Prevalence of depressive symptoms among Mexican Americans.

The evidence from most previous research suggests that Mexican Americans may have less mental illness because they either report less psychological distress than other population groups or use mental health services less frequently. Data from two surveys conducted in Alameda County, California, in 1974 and 1975 do not support either body of research. Responses to items relating to depressive symptoms suggest that the prevalence of depression may be as high or higher than it is in other groups. These results, although at variance with previous surveys and the bulk of the studies based on treatment data, do substantiate the few studies which report that mental health services utilization rates of Mexican Americans are equal to or greater than those for other groups. Although interesting, these results emanate from one community, and are based on self-reports of psychological distress. More definitive investigation of the incidence and prevalence of depression, and of other psychiatric disorders among Mexican Americans, will require epidemiological surveys using diagnostic procedures which are linguistically and culturally appropriate to this population.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Symptoms of depression among blacks and whites in an urban community.

Prevalence of reported depressive symptoms among blacks and whites is examined using data from a survey (N = 3119) conducted in Alameda County, California, in 1974. Based on crude rates, depressive symptoms were more prevalent among blacks than whites. However, adjusting statistically for the effects of age, sex, education, income, marital status, and employment essentially eliminated the black/white differential. These data corroborate the results reported by Comstock and Helsing (Psychol. Med., 6: 551-563, 1976) as well as the results of several other investigations carried out in various U.S. communities.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Reliability of the CES-D Scale in different ethnic contexts.

Reliability of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, a 20-item symptom checklist, is examined using data from a sample of community respondents containing Anglos (254), Blacks (270), and Mexican Americans (181). Although the survey response rate was lower for Mexican Americans, quality of the data provided by this group was not significantly different from that for Anglos or Blacks. That is, there were no differences among these groups in terms of missing data or internal consistency reliabilty (as measured by Cronbach's alpha and Spearman-Brown split halves). Factor-analytic results also demonstrate the same general structure of responses among the three groups.

Black or African American↗
PubMed1980

The health of Mexican Americans: evidence from the human population laboratory studies.

Data are presented from sample surveys conducted in 1974 (N = 3,119) and 1975 (N = 657) in Alameda County, California, by the Human Population Laboratory. Mexican Americans are compared to Anglos and Blacks on selected health status indicators; chronic conditions, disability, symptoms and a summary measure, the Physical Health Spectrum. Comparisons of crude percentages indicate that, compared to Anglos, Blacks report having more chronic conditions, more disability and more symptoms, while Chicanos generally report fewer health problems than these two groups. Controlling for the effects of age, sex, education, family income, marital status, and perceived health reduces the Anglo/Black differentials in reported health problems, primarily by reducing the rates for Blacks. However, even after adjustment the prevalence rates for Blacks remain higher. After controlling for the effects of the six covariates, the rates for Chicanos remain essentially unchanged in both samples, e.g., lower than the other groups. Results of binary regression analysis indicate that the two most powerful predictors of health status in both samples are age/sex and perceived health. Ethnicity overall is not a good predictor of health status, accounting for 1 per cent or less of the explained variance. Socioeconomic status, while predicting slightly better than ethnicity, still accounts for less than 2% of the variance in health status.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Medical care use by Mexican-Americans: evidence from the human population laboratory studies.

Data are presented from sample surveys conducted in 1974 (N = 3,119) and 1975 (N = 657) in Alameda County, California, by the Human Population Laboratory. Mexican-Americans are compared to Anglos and blacks in terms of physician visits, dental examinations, general physical examinations, and eye examinations. Comparison of crude percentages indicates that there is very little ethnic variation in either sample regarding regular source of medical care or health insurance coverage, although the trend is for fewer Chicanos to have such coverage. In terms of physician visits, there is little difference between Anglos and Chicanos. By contrast, fewer Chicanos and blacks report dental examinations in the past year (Chicanos have the lowest rate). Fewer Chicanos report a general medical examination in the past year and more report never having had a medical checkup. Likewise, more Chicanos report never having an eye examination while relatively fewer report such an exam in the past year. Controlling for the effects of age, sex, education, family income, health insurance, regular source of care, physical health status and perceived health reduces differences in rate of physician visits among the ethnic groups, primarily by reducing the rate for blacks and increasing the rate for Chicanos. Likewise, adjustment for all 8 factors reduces ethnic differences in general medical examination rates, in this case by increasing the rates for the minority groups. Adjustment reduces the ethnic differences in dental examination rates by increasing the minority group rates, but large differences still remain. For eye examinations, adjustment has little effect on the rates for Anglos and blacks, but substantially increases the rate for Chicanos. For all 4 types of medical care behavior, controlling for the effects of education and family income (so-called inequitable reasons for lower access to care) consistently produces the greatest effect, particularly for Chicanos. In each case, the effect is to create greater parity between Chicanos and Anglos by increasing the utilization rate for Chicanos. However, even after adjustment, the rate for Chicanos remains lower.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Dental care for handicapped children reexamined: I. Dental training and treatment of the handicapped.

1) Training experience is closely related to whether or not handicapped children are treated. If practitioners attended a postgraduate pedodontic training program, or received classroom education or clinical training in the treatment of handicapped children, they are much more likely to treat such patients. (Worth noting is the fact that one fourth of the pedodontists treating handicapped children had not received postgraduate pedodontic training and 20-30 percent reported no training on the treatment of such patients at all.) 2) Slightly less than half of the general practitioners and 96 percent of the pedodontists surveyed report that they currently treat the dental problems of handicapped children. 3) Practitioners currently treating handicapped children report treating more such patients during their dental training and are more likely to feel that they received sufficient exposure to these patients during their training. (Twenty percent of the general practitioners and 53 percent of the pedodontists felt they had sufficient exposure.) 4) Dentists treating handicapped children were more likely to report both classroom education and clinical training about the use of multidisciplinary health manpower in the treatment of their patients, and to report using such personnel as consultants in their dental practice.

Child↗
PubMed1978

Enzyme-coupled ultraviolet determination of alpha-amylase activity with the GEMSAEC centrifugal analyzer.

We evaluated the Harleco alpha-glucosidase/hexokinase/glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase-coupled alpha-amylase method, bu use of the GEMSAEC centrifugal analyzer. Performance evaluation included kinetic studies of substrate and maltose hydrolysis as well as effects of endogenous glucose and fructose. The reagent was found to give a linear response with alpha-amylase activity to greater than 1200 U/liter. Within-run precision resulted in coefficients of variation (CV) of 0.9 to 3.2% over the range studied. Day-to-day precision corresponded to CV's of 2.4 to 4.4% over the same range of alpha-amylase procedure was found to be good (r = 0.997) for patients' sera examined.

Amylases↗
PubMed1977

Hemoglobin interference with Du Pont Automatic Clinical Analyzer procedure for calcium.

Hemoglobin in concentrations of approximately 2.5 g/liter or greater significantly increases values for apparent calcium in serum as determined with the Du Pont aca, an interference attributable to the 575-nm absorption band of oxyhemoglobin being uncompensated by the 577--600 nm differential absorption reading of the calcium o-cresolphthalein complexone complex.

Autoanalysis↗
PubMed1976

Excess and deficit lung cancer mortality in three ethnic groups in Texas.

Based on Texas vital statistics for 1969-71, patterns of lung cancer mortality in three ethnic groups are examined. Among males, the risk of lung cancer for Mexican Americans is considerably lower than for Blacks and Anglos for ages under 75 and slightly higher for older ages. Among females, Mexican American exhibit a distinct excess of lung cancer mortality for ages 70 and over and a deficit for younger ages. The excess among Mexican American females is confined mainly to the older foreign-born women and the excess is reduced for ages 45-60 and diminishes for younger immigrants. This suggests that the excess risk among Mexican Americans will completely disappear within a generation and a general deficit pattern will emerge for all ages. The implications of the diminishing excess and the emerging deficit lung cancer mortality among Mexican Americans clearly call for further study in exploring the effect of cultural change on mortality patterns, particularly for cancer.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

Sampling and analysis of pesticides in the environment.

Environmental monitoring is now recognized as essential in areas of pesticide use in order to assess the impact of these pesticides on the environment. During the last two decades, advances in instrumentation in terms of detection limits and specificity, along with the growing expertise of residue chemists, have made reports of pesticide residue levels in the parts per billion range commonplace. Using this technical ability and carefully assessing the significance of the data obtained, pesticides can be used in a more efficacious manner with less possible damage to the environment.

Air Pollution↗