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R Taylor

Publications and source records attributed to R Taylor.

At least 739 records · Page 41Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Differential aging: an exploratory approach using cluster analysis.

This article uses cluster analysis to identify different patterns of personal resources within a random sample of the well, elderly population. Ten such patterns or natural groupings are identified and their implications for coping and successful aging are discussed. It is apparent that there are a number of ways both of aging well and aging badly, and that these patterns cannot be predicted solely on the basis of structural data. The article poses a number of questions on the performance of cluster members over time and draws attention to the importance of longitudinal data.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Experimental intercomparisons of younger and older driver perceptions.

Drivers over sixty-five years of age and drivers under twenty-one years of age have the highest relative frequency of crashes resulting in injury and death. Attitudes of these two groups were investigated using questionnaires. One hundred twenty-seven (127) younger and one hundred eight (108) older drivers who had voluntarily registered in driving education courses satisfactorily completed questionnaires about attitudes and behaviors pertinent to safe driving. Half of each sample rated the average driver in their age group and the average driver in the opposite age group as regarded thirty-three attitudes promoting safe driving, twenty courteous safe driving behaviors and eleven discourteous, unsafe driving behaviors. Data shows that younger drivers viewed older drivers as overly cautious, too slow to act and apt to cause accidents, and rated their peers as overly aggressive and discourteous. Older drivers characterized younger drivers as deficient in courtesy and safe driving practices, and they rated their peers as cautious, courteous, and aware of age-related limitations. The findings indicate that each group was aware that safety hazards are created by drivers in their age group. It also shows that both groups had a positive impression of some driving practices of their age group, and that the other group was depreciated. The outcome confirms and expands upon conclusions derived from less formal studies about how drivers perceive other roadway users. It also specifies the extent to which particular attitudes and driving practices are attributed to the peer group and to the opposite age group.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Plasma free insulin profiles after administration of insulin by jet and conventional syringe injection.

Plasma free insulin profiles in insulin-dependent diabetic subjects were compared after jet and syringe injection of insulin. Jet injection of insulin resulted in a shift of the free insulin profile to the left. Thus higher plasma free insulin levels were found over the first 30 min after injection (P less than 0.05), while after 240 min plasma free insulin levels were lower than those seen following syringe injection (P less than 0.05). Significant differences in the response of blood glucose and 3-hydroxybutyrate levels reflected the differences in plasma free insulin levels. Jet administration results in more rapid absorption of insulin and could be useful in providing a more physiologic postprandial insulin profile than that seen after conventional injection.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Limitation of fasting plasma glucose for the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus.

We have analyzed data from 3370 OGTTs performed during epidemiologic studies in three different ethnic groups (Micronesian, Polynesian, and Melanesian) in various Pacific countries to examine the value of a single fasting plasma glucose greater than or equal to 140 mg/dl as a diagnostic test for diabetes (defined as 2-h plasma glucose greater than or equal to 200 mg/dl). A fasting plasma glucose greater than or equal to 140 mg/dl is a highly specific test for diabetes, specificity in the various populations ranging from 98.1% to 99.7%. On the other hand, the sensitivity of fasting plasma glucose was not high and varied greatly between the populations (46.2%-79.0%). The predictive value of fasting plasma glucose for the diagnosis of diabetes was lowest in populations with a low diabetes prevalence and improved in higher prevalence groups. These data indicate that a fasting plasma glucose greater than or equal to 140 mg/dl is not a good screening test, apart from populations with a high prevalence of diabetes mellitus, and the 2-h postload plasma glucose is preferable.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Non-insulin-dependent diabetes (NIDDM) in a newly independent Pacific nation: the Republic of Kiribati.

A population-based survey of 2938 subjects has demonstrated a high prevalence of non-insulin-dependent diabetes (NIDDM) in the Micronesian population of Kiribati (formerly the Gilbert Islands). This finding provides further support for evidence from Nauru, Guam, and the Marshall Islands that Micronesians are particularly susceptible to NIDDM. The age-standardized prevalence was over twice as high in an urban, as compared with a rural, sample (9.1 versus 3.0 in men, 8.7 versus 3.3 in women). To test the a priori hypotheses that obesity, reduced physical activity, and a nontraditional diet are associated with NIDDM, indices of these factors were compared in rural and urban subjects. The rural population was found to be leaner, to have a higher estimate of habitual physical activity, and to have a lower percentage of daily energy intake derived from imported foods. Further analysis demonstrated that obesity alone was insufficient to explain the rural-urban difference in prevalence of NIDDM. The multiple logistic regression model demonstrated a significant association between the prevalence of NIDDM and both obesity and urbanization in men. In women, obesity, physical inactivity, and urbanization were all associated with increased prevalence of NIDDM.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The effect of enalapril on advanced diabetic nephropathy in African-American females.

This paper examines the effect of enalapril in African-American (AA) females with advanced type 2 diabetic nephropathy (DN)--the leading cause of end stage renal disease (ESRD) in this group. AA females followed in our university nephrology clinic with type 2 DN and a serum creatinine level (Cr) > or = 2.5 mg/dl were eligible. Historical controls who never received an ACE inhibitor were selected (matched for age and Cr) from a database of patients reaching ESRD between 1993 and 1998, with a primary diagnosis of DN. Patients enrolled (N = 6) were started on enalapril at 5 mg per day with the dose titrated upward to a blood pressure (BP) goal of 140/90 mm Hg. The enalapril group tended to be older than controls (58.8 vs 51.5 years of age, P = ns) and had had their diabetes longer (18.5 vs 13.2 years of age, P = ns). At baseline, there were no significant differences in blood pressure, blood, urea, nitrogen (BUN), Cr, or BMI between groups. One of the 6 treated with enalapril had the agent stopped due to hyperkalemia. Five of 6 in the enalapril group reached ESRD, but there was no significant difference between the groups in the time it took to reach this stage (69.5 +/- 13.8 weeks vs 92.0 +/- 21.4 weeks, enalapril group vs control group, P = ns). In the enalapril patient who did not reach ESRD, the Cr level increased from 2.9 to 3.8 mg/dl in approximately 3 years. From this small study, we conclude that, although enalapril is tolerated in AA females with advanced DN, the agent had no significant effect on renal survival.

Black or African American↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Gene probes in diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolemia.

In the United Kingdom, about 5% of patients with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) have a detectable deletion or rearrangement of part of the LDL-receptor gene, which results in the detection of shorter or abnormally sized fragments of the LDL-receptor gene in a Southern blot hybridization. This gene deletion can be used for following the inheritance of the defective gene and for diagnosis in the families of these individuals. In the families of the remaining patients, diagnosis may be possible using linked restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) detected with the LDL-receptor probe. There are now 10 common RFLPs of the LDL-receptor gene, with variable sites in the 3' half of the gene. Over 80% of patients are heterozygous for at least one of these RFLPs, and, therefore, RFLPs are potentially informative for DNA diagnosis. For a fetus at risk of homozygous FH, antenatal diagnosis may also be possible using these methods. However, family studies require samples to be available from affected or unaffected relatives of the patient, and this limits the applicability of the tests. For some mutations, the base-pair change causing the defect in the LDL receptor itself creates or destroys a site for a restriction enzyme. Such "mutation-specific" RFLPs could be used for population screening, but, so far, such use has only been reported for the FH mutation common in Lebanon. In the future, it may be possible to develop mutation-specific oligonucleotide probes for the diagnosis of FH. These would be appropriate for screening populations or patients with hyperlipidemia. This information may also be useful if different mutations require different therapeutic strategies.

Cholesterol↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Fertility and contraception in the Marshall Islands.

Data on fertility and contraception in Micronesian women in the Marshall Islands were collected during a women's health survey in 1985. High total fertility rates were found. The reproductive pattern of many Marshallese women is one that has been associated with adverse health consequences: pregnancies in teenagers and in women over 39 years, high parities of four or more births, and short birth intervals. The practice of breastfeeding is declining in younger women. The prevalence of contraceptive use is low, and the availability of reversible methods is limited. Most contraceptive nonusers would like to practice contraception, but are inhibited by the lack of information about family planning. It is suggested that more attention needs to be given to family planning services in the Marshall Islands, in particular to improving the availability of reversible methods of contraception and of information about family planning. Further research is also needed on how family planning services might best be organized to maximize participation by women and their partners who wish to use such services.

Adolescent↗