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Biomedical subjects

R G Ziegler

Publications and source records attributed to R G Ziegler.

86 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

Dietary carotene and vitamin A and risk of lung cancer among white men in New Jersey.

A population-based incident case-control study of lung cancer in white males was conducted during 1980-81 in six high-risk areas of New Jersey. Interviews were completed with 763 cases and 900 controls or with their next of kin. In order to assess whether dietary intake of carotene, preformed retinol, or total vitamin A modified the risk of lung cancer, subjects were asked about their usual frequency of consumption, several years earlier, of 44 food items, which provides 83% of the vitamin A in the American diet, and about their use of vitamin supplements. The men in the lowest quartile of carotene intake had 1.3 the risk (P-value for trend = .05) of those in the highest quartile after adjustment was made for smoking duration and intensity and education. No association was seen for retinol (P-value for trend = .11) or total vitamin A (P-value for trend = .30). The inverse association between carotene intake and lung cancer was most compelling for squamous cell carcinoma, with the smoking-and education-adjusted risk of those in the lowest quartile reaching 1.4 (P-value for trend = .03) the risk of those men in the highest quartile. Risk of lung adenocarcinoma was not related to carotene intake. The reduction in risk of squamous cell lung cancer with increasing carotene intake was noted in pipe and cigar smokers and cigarette smokers of different intensities. Among nonsmokers adenocarcinoma predominated. The inverse association between carotene and risk of squamous cell lung cancer was not especially strong or graded in response; but it was consistent and could be noted in each stratum when the subjects were divided by education, age, or mode of interview (direct vs. next of kin). The results of the other 4 case-control and 3 cohort studies that have looked at diet and risk of lung cancer are not consistent, and the question whether dietary carotene or total vitamin A reduces the risk of lung cancer is not yet resolved.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Colorectal cancer in rural Nebraska.

A case-control interview study of colorectal cancer was conducted in two rural counties of eastern Nebraska to determine reasons for the elevated colon cancer mortality rates during 1950 to 1969. Comparison of the information provided by 86 colorectal cancer cases and 176 matched controls (or their next of kin) revealed an increased risk among persons of Czech background, with persons of Bohemian and Moravian extraction predominating in this area. The data suggest an interaction between Bohemian ancestry and certain dietary patterns in the pathogenesis of colon cancer in this region. Colon cancer risk was elevated among commercial beer drinkers regardless of their ethnic background, although Bohemians reported heavier consumption. An excess risk was also associated with intestinal polyps, reported more often by Moravians, and with familial occurrence of gastrointestinal and other cancers. Since 1969, the mortality and incidence rates for colon cancer in this area have declined, possibly as a consequence of acculturation of the American-born descendants of Czech immigrants.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1984

Diet in the etiology of oral and pharyngeal cancer among women from the southern United States.

A case-control interview study involving 227 women in North Carolina with oral cavity or pharyngeal cancer and 405 matched controls showed a protective effect of a usual adult diet high in fruits and vegetables. The relative risks of 0.65 for moderate and 0.52 for high (relative to 1.0 for infrequent) consumption of fruits and vegetables were statistically significant and remained after controlling for demographic characteristics, tobacco and alcohol use, relative weight, and intake of other food groups. Risks were lower with higher bread and cereal intake but higher for those women with the lightest weights, adjusted for height. The inverse associations between oral and pharyngeal cancer and intake of fruits and vegetables and intake of breads and cereals could not be attributed to an association with general nutritional status, since meat and fish consumption was related to an increased risk of oral and pharynx cancer. Moreover, dairy and egg consumption was generally unrelated to cancer risk. The reduction in risk with greater fruit and vegetable consumption is consistent with the hypothesis that vitamin C and/or beta-carotene intake is associated with a reduced risk of oral and pharyngeal cancer.

Aged↗
PubMed1981

Dietary factors and breast cancer risk.

As part of a case-control study in northern Alberta, Canada, 577 women aged 30-80 with breast cancer diagnosed during 1976-77 and a population-based age-stratified random sample of 826 disease-free female controls were questioned about certain aspects of their diet. Computing relative risks (RRs) by tertiles, significant increasing trends were found with more frequent consumption of beef (RRs of 1.0, 2.3, 1.5; test for trends, p less than 0.001), pork (RRs of 1.0, 1.6, 2.2; test for trend, p less than 0.001), and sweet desserts (RRs of 1.0, 1.3, 1.5; test for trend, p = 0.01). Elevated risks were also noted for use of butter at the table and for frying with butter or margarine, as opposed to vegetable oils. The association of total beef and pork consumption with breast cancer was not materially affected by controlling for age at first birth, family history of breast cancer, previous benign breast biopsy or socioeconomic status. Nor was the association reduced by controlling for ages of menarche and menopause, even though within the control series the intake of beef and pork reported in adult life was higher among those with a lower age at menarche or a older age at natural menopause.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Impairments of control and competence in epileptic children and their families.

Epilepsy can introduce disturbances within child, parent, and family systems. Epilepsy, as a medical disorder, disrupts the patient's and parents' sense of control and competence. This, in turn, affects the evolving negotiations (the family process) related to the establishment of the child's growing sense of autonomy and competence. Epilepsy's impact on these central family issues, as well as on the child's sense of self, can become the major long-term complication. The medical management of epilepsy must consider how to assist with these issues as part of the overall treatment plan.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Esophageal cancer among black men in Washington, D.C. I. Alcohol, tobacco, and other risk factors.

A case-control study involving interviews with the next of kin or close friends of 120 black males who recently died of esophageal cancer and 250 similarly aged black males who died of other causes was undertaken to discover reasons for the exceptionally high mortality from this cancer in Washington, D.C. The age-adjusted annual death rate in Washington, D.C., for nonwhite males, 1970-75, was 28.6/100,000, far higher than the national rate of 12.4/100,000 and the rates in other metropolitan areas of the country. The major factor responsible for the excess was alcoholic beverage consumption, with an estimated 81% of the esophageal cancers attributed to its use; high use of alcoholic beverages was also found among the controls. The relative risk (RR) of esophageal cancer associated with use of alcoholic beverages was 6.4 (95% confidence interval=2.5, 16.4). The RR increased with amount of ethanol consumed and was highest among drinkers of hard liquor, although the risk was also elevated among consumers of wine and/or beer only. The RR associated with cigarette smoking was 1.9 (1.0, 3.5) when controls with smoking-related causes of death were excluded but declined to 1.5 (0.7, 3.0) when adjusted for ethanol consumption. Significant differences of approximately twofold were found between low and high levels of a) consumption of fresh or frozen meat and fish, fruits and vegetables, and dairy products and eggs and b) relative weight (wt/ht2). The inverse trends with these general measures of nutritional status were not explained by alcoholic beverage consumption or socioeconomic status as measured by educational level.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Esophageal cancer among black men in Washington, D.C. II. Role of nutrition.

A case-control study of esophageal cancer was conducted among the black male residents of Washington, D.C., to find reasons for the exceptionally high risk in this population. The next of kin of 120 esophageal cancer cases who died during 1975-77 and of 250 D.C. black males who died of other causes were interviewed. Five indicators of general nutritional status--fresh or frozen meat and fish consumption, dairy product and egg consumption, fruit and vegetable consumption, relative weight (wt/ht2), and number of meals eaten per day--were each significantly and inversely correlated with the relative risk of esophageal cancer. Associations with other food groups were not apparent. The least nourished third of the study population, defined by any of these five measures, was at twice the risk of the most nourished third. None of these associations was markedly reduced by controlling for ethanol consumption, the other major risk factor in this population; smoking; socioeconomic status; or the other nutrition measures. When the three food group consumption measures were combined into a single overall index of general nutritional status, the relative risk of esophageal cancer between extremes was 14. Estimates of the intake of vitamin A, carotene, vitamin C, thiamin, and riboflavin were inversely associated with relative risk; but each micronutrient index was less strongly associated with risk than were the broad food groups that provide most of the micronutrient. Thus no specific micronutrient deficiency was identified. Instead, generally poor nutrition was the major dietary predictor of risk and may partially explain the susceptibility of urban black men to esophageal cancer.

Aged↗
PubMed1981

Protocol for a study of nutritional factors and the low risk of colon cancer in Southern retirement areas.

Colon cancer shows a distinct geographic pattern in the United States, with mortality rates in the Northeast exceeding those in the South by about 50%. The North-South gradient remains even after adjustment for differences in urbanization and socioeconomic status. Those counties in the South that attract large numbers of retirees from the North retain the low colon mortality rates characteristic of the South, even at older ages. This observation implies either that certain life-style changes associated with migration at retirement rapidly reduce the risk of colon cancer or that individuals migrate selectively, based on some correlate of health. A specific hypothesis related to the former possibility is that consumption of fruits and vegetables, and the associated vitamin C, carotene, and fiber, is elevated in the South and related to the reduced risk of colon cancer. A protocol is presented for a case-control interview study in Southern retirement areas to assess these possible explanations. A detailed residential history, as well as information on frequency of consumption of specific foods, food groups, and micronutrients, will be collected by interview and will be complemented by selected serum micronutrient determinations and fecal mutagenicity assays.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Task-focused therapy with children and families.

Task-focused psychotherapy for children relies on Piaget's formulations of children's learning through concrete exchanges in the environment. The therapeutic task is designed to embody the child's conflict and to permit therapist and child to share experiences which aid the child in finding a new behavioral and/or conceptual resolution. Children's conflicts are seen as maintained by continuing interactions on the part of the family which allow, foster orperpetuate the troublesome behavior or painful concept of the child. The task-focused model enhances the ability of parents to be enlisted as allies in the process of change. As the therapist tells the parents of the child's struggles with a particular issue/task, the parents can more readily understand the way in which the child's problem relates to a central issue within the family, the parenting or marital system, or the parents' self-image.

Child↗
PubMed1977

Persistent themes: a naturalistic study of personality development in the family.

This pilot longitudinal study of normal children and their families examines the associations noted between behaviors appearing in early childhood and concerns expressed by the same youngster fifteen years later. These concerns were seen to be related to continuing transactions around a particular issue within the family system. A case description of the evolution of the particular patterns of one of the family systems studied and the details of their recurring negotiations includes an examination of two subsystems of the family unit: the mother-infant pair and the parenting couple. The impact of this family system's struggle upon the developing youngster and her personality as a late adolescent is discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

An objective method for the assessment of psychosocial problems in adolescents with epilepsy.

Psychosocial problems in adolescents with epilepsy have been of concern for many years, but have been difficult to assess. This article presents the multicenter development of the Adolescent Psychosocial Seizure Inventory (APSI), an empirically based self-report test patterned after the Washington Psychosocial Seizure Inventory, which is used to evaluate psychosocial problems in adults. After pilot work, 120 adolescents with epilepsy from five centers in North America took the APSI and were interviewed by professionals with respect to adequacy of adjustment in eight psychosocial areas. At least one parent or guardian was also interviewed. Interrater reliability of professional ratings in each area was established. Using an item-by-item, empirically based technique, eight psychosocial scales were developed as well as three validity scales. Reliability of the scales was established by both internal consistency and test-retest procedures. Results for each adolescent are presented in profile form. These results give a visual display of the types and extent of problems that likely would be identified in a detailed professional assessment. It is anticipated that the APSI will be of value in a variety of treatment and research contexts.

Adaptation, Psychological↗