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PubMedDate not supplied

Death anxiety, locus of control, and purpose in life of physicians. Their relationship to patient death notification.

This study explored gender and specialty differences in death anxiety, locus of control, and purpose in life of physicians, and if these variables might influence the clinical behavior of physicians regarding death notification. The subjects were 155 attending and house staff physicians who responded to mailed questionnaires. The female physicians scored higher in death anxiety than the male physicians. The psychiatrists scored higher in death anxiety than surgeons. There was a trend for the internists to have scores indicating a more external locus of control. Purpose in life was inversely correlated with death anxiety and external locus of control. Death anxiety was related to the physicians' preferred mode of conveying the news of an unexpected patient death to the next of kin.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Are some crib deaths sudden cardiac deaths?

Research performed during the past two decades suggests that crib deaths are biphasic phenomena: the infant victims are preconditioned in subtle ways before birth so that some of their most critical physiologic functions are subtly deficient. Then, at 2 to 4 months of age, when confronted by some challenge, such as a head cold, they are unable to overcome or adapt to the stress and die, seemingly without cause. It is likely that these deaths represent a heterogeneous group of pathogenetic phenomena rather than a single entity. Spontaneous idiopathic pathologic apnea, for example, may be responsible for 5 to 7% of crib deaths. Infant botulism may account for another 5%. A recent report on a prospective study of more than 5,000 babies showed that all 3 infants who ultimately succumbed to crib death had had abnormally prolonged corrected QT intervals on day 4 of life; the report contends that that irregularity leads to ventricular fibrillation, which is then the immediate cause of death. Although this work has not been confirmed and some take issue with the method, it now seems the most valid available body of data on the subject and suggests that some crib deaths, probably less than 10%, may be sudden cardiac deaths.

Apnea↗
PubMed2002

Doxorubicin-induced death in neuroblastoma does not involve death receptors in S-type cells and is caspase-independent in N-type cells.

Death induced by doxorubicin (dox) in neuroblastoma (NB) cells was originally thought to occur via the Fas pathway, however since studies suggest that caspase-8 expression is silenced in most high stage NB tumors, it is more probable that dox-induced death occurs via a different mechanism. Caspase-8 silenced N-type invasive NB cell lines LAN-1 and IMR-32 were investigated for their sensitivity to dox, and compared to S-type noninvasive SH-EP NB cells expressing caspase-8. All cell lines had similar sensitivities to dox, independently of caspase-8 expression. Dox induced caspase-3, -7, -8 and -9 and Bid cleavage in S-type cells and death was blocked by caspase inhibitors but not by oxygen radical scavenger BHA. In contrast, dox-induced death in N-type cells was caspase-independent and was inhibited by BHA. Dox induced a drop in mitochondrial membrane permeability in all cell lines. Dox-induced death in S-type cells gave rise to apoptotic nuclei, whereas in N-type cells nuclei were non-apoptotic in morphology. Transfection of SH-EP cells with a dominant negative FADD mutant inhibited TRAIL-induced death, but had no effect on dox-induced apoptosis. These results suggest that S-type cells undergo apoptosis after dox treatment independently of death receptors, whereas N-type cells are killed by a caspase-independent mechanism.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗
PubMed1995

A novel protein that interacts with the death domain of Fas/APO1 contains a sequence motif related to the death domain.

Signaling for cell death by Fas/APO1 occurs via a distinct region in its intracellular domain. This region contains a conserved sequence motif, the death domain motif, that is also found in the intracellular domains of the p55 tumor necrosis factor receptor and the low affinity nerve growth factor receptor, as well as in the regulatory domain of the ankyrins. A novel protein that specifically binds to the death domain of Fas/APO1 but not to Fas/APO1 molecules with a loss of function point mutation occurring in lprcg mice was cloned by a two-hybrid screen of a HeLa cells' cDNA library. The cloned protein itself contains a death domain motif, and this region binds to the death domain of Fas/APO1, while the region upstream to the death domain prompts self-association of the protein. Induced expression of the protein results in ligand-independent triggering of cytotoxicity, suggesting that it is involved in cell death induction by Fas/APO1.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗
PubMed2000

Sensitization to death receptor cytotoxicity by inhibition of fas-associated death domain protein (FADD)/caspase signaling. Requirement of cell cycle progression.

Upon binding of their ligands, death receptors belonging to the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor family initiate a signaling pathway leading to the activation of caspases and ultimately apoptosis. TNF, however, in parallel elicits survival signals, protecting many cell types from cell death that can only be induced by combined treatment with TNF and inhibitors of protein synthesis. Here, we report that in NIH3T3 cells, apoptosis in response TNF and cycloheximide is not inhibited by the broad spectrum caspase inhibitor benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp-fluoromethyl ketone (zVAD. fmk). Moreover, treatment with zVAD.fmk sensitizes the cells to the cytotoxic action of TNF. Sensitization was also achieved by overexpression of a dominant-negative mutant of Fas-associated death domain protein and, to a lesser extent, by specific inhibition of caspase-8. A similar, but weaker sensitization of zVAD.fmk to treatment with the TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) or anti-CD95 antibody was demonstrated. The unexpected cell death in response to TNF and caspase inhibition occurs despite the activation of nuclear factor kappaB and c-Jun N-terminal kinases. The mode of cell death shows several signs of apoptosis including DNA fragmentation, although activation of caspase-3 was excluded. TNF/zVAD.fmk-induced cell death is preceded by an accumulation of cells in the G(2)/M phase of the cell cycle, indicating an important role of cell cycle progression. This hypothesis is further strengthened by the observation that arresting the cells in the G(1) phase of the cell cycle inhibited TNF/zVAD.fmk-induced cell death, whereas blocking them in the G(2)/M phase augmented it.

3T3 Cells↗
PubMed1991

Death anxiety, death competency and self-actualization in hospice volunteers.

A total of 248 hospice volunteers completed the Personal Orientation Inventory, the Templer/McMordie Death Anxiety Scale, the Bugen Coping with Death Scale, and a Death Self-Efficacy Scale constructed for this research. Death anxiety significantly negatively correlated with four Personal Orientation Inventory scales, Coping with Death Scale positively correlated with seven of the twelve Personal Orientation Inventory Scales, and the Self-Efficacy Scale significantly correlated with eleven of them. These findings suggest that death competency constructs may be more useful than the concept of death anxiety in conceptualizing people's emerging self-actualization in the process of confronting mortality.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1998

Seasonality of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) by age at death.

Seasonality of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is a well-established epidemiological finding. The purpose of the study was to determine whether this feature varied significantly with age at death. In total, 13990 cases of SIDS in Scotland, England and Wales during 1982-1992 were studied by age group at death. Seasonality was established by fitting a sinusoidal curve and for each set of monthly data the peak position in the year and its magnitude were determined. Weighted regression revealed significant differences in peak position and amplitude of seasonal variation between those dying at < or = 4 months and those aged > or = 5 months at death. Those infants in the younger age group were more likely to die earlier in the winter months and had a smaller variation in seasonality. The peak (acrophase) months were January for < or = 4 months and February for > or = 5 months at death. Weighted regressions of peak position and amplitude on age at death had p-values of <0.001 and <0.01, respectively. A log linear model relating SIDS incidence to month of birth, month of death and age was able to explain some of these findings. The findings support the hypothesis that in SIDS there may be more than one infant cohort, each of which passes through a vulnerable developmental window at different ages.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2005

Hydrogen peroxide-induced cell death in Arabidopsis: transcriptional and mutant analysis reveals a role of an oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase gene in the cell death process.

Hydrogen peroxide is a major regulator of plant programmed cell death (PCD) but little is known about the downstream genes from the H(2)O(2)-signaling network that mediate the cell death. To address this question, a novel system for studying H(2)O(2)-induced programmed cell death in Arabidopsis thaliana was used. The catalase inhibitor aminotriazole (AT) reduced the catalase activity and caused endogenous accumulation of hydrogen peroxide that eventually triggered cell death. Microarray analysis with a DNA chip representing 21500 genes and subsequent comparison with other PCD-related expression studies revealed a set of new H(2)O(2)-responsive genes that were highly regulated in a common fashion during different types of PCD. These included an oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase and various oxidoreductases, the transcription factors Zat11, WRKY75 and NAM, proteasomal components, a heterologous group of genes with diverse functions, and genes encoding proteins with unknown functions. Knockout lines of the oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase exhibited significantly reduced death symptoms and chlorophyll loss upon H(2)O(2)-induced cell death, indicating a role for this gene in the cell death network.

3,3'-Diaminobenzidine↗
PubMed1985

Relationships among death anxiety, attitudes toward aging, and experience with death in nursing home employees.

Measures of death anxiety, attitudes toward aging, and experience with death were obtained from 133 nursing home employees representing eight occupational subgroups. Increasing death anxiety was associated with greater anxiety toward aging. Greater exposure to deaths of residents was significantly related to more reported comfort in thinking about or discussing death and dying. The results indicate that a connection between old age and death may underlie the relationship between death anxiety and attitudes toward elderly adults.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Are race and length of gestation related to age at death in the sudden infant death syndrome?

Although race and preterm delivery are known to be associated with sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), the relationships between age at death from SIDS and these factors have not been well described. To examine these relationships, we used linked infant birth and death records for the cohort of 1,204,375 White and 283,776 Black postneonates who were born from 1979 to 1981 in five states: California, Georgia, Missouri, South Carolina and Tennessee. Deaths attributable to SIDS occurred to 1404 White postneonates and to 696 Black postneonates. Although postneonatal SIDS rate among Black infants was twice that of White infants, the relative risk was smaller among infants with gestations of less than 35 weeks. For White postneonates, the median postneonatal age at death sharply declined for gestations from 28-29 weeks to 36-37 weeks and levelled off for longer gestations. For Black postneonates, the results do not support an association between length of gestation and age at death. The findings suggest that practitioners investigating approaches to avert SIDS need to maintain their interventions to an older age among White preterm infants. Researchers investigating the causes of SIDS need to consider the relationship between length of gestation and age at death from SIDS as well as possible developmental differences between White and Black preterm infants.

Black or African American↗
PubMed1997

Programmed cell death in neurons: focus on the pathway of nerve growth factor deprivation-induced death of sympathetic neurons.

Extensive programmed cell death (PCD) occurs in the developing nervous system. Neuronal death occurs, at least in part, because neurons are produced in excess during development and compete with each other for the limited amounts of the survival-promoting trophic factors secreted by target tissues. Neuronal death is apoptotic and utilizes components that are conserved in other PCD pathways. In this review, we discuss the mechanism of trophic factor-dependent neuronal cell death by focusing on the pathway of nerve growth factor (NGF) deprivation-induced sympathetic neuronal death. We describe the biochemical and genetic events that occur in NGF-deprived sympathetic neurons undergoing PCD. Participation of the Bcl-2 family of proteins and the interleukin-1beta-converting enzyme family of proteases (caspases) in this and other models of neuronal death is also examined. The order and importance of these components during NGF deprivation-induced sympathetic neuronal death are discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Bed sharing, smoking, and alcohol in the sudden infant death syndrome. New Zealand Cot Death Study Group.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate why sharing the bed with an infant is a not consistent risk factor for the sudden infant death syndrome in ethnic subgroups in New Zealand and to see if the risk of sudden infant death associated with this practice is related to other factors, particularly maternal smoking and alcohol consumption. DESIGN: Nationwide case-control study. SETTING: Region of New Zealand with 78% of all births during 1987-90. SUBJECTS: Home interviews were completed with parents of 393 (81.0% of total) infants who died from the sudden infant death syndrome in the postneonatal age group, and 1592 (88.4% of total) controls who were a representative sample of all hospital births in the study region. RESULTS: Maternal smoking interacted with infant bed sharing on the risk of sudden infant death. Compared with infants not exposed to either risk factor, the relative risk for infants of mothers who smoked was 3.94 (95% confidence interval 2.47 to 6.27) for bed sharing in the last two weeks and 4.55 (2.63 to 7.88) for bed sharing in the last sleep, after other confounders were controlled for. The results for infants of non-smoking mothers were inconsistent with the relative risk being significantly increased for usual bed sharing in the last two weeks (1.73; 1.11 to 2.70) but not for bed sharing in the last sleep (0.98; 0.44 to 2.18). Neither maternal alcohol consumption nor the thermal resistance of the infant's clothing and bedding interacted with bed sharing to increase the risk of sudden infant death, and alcohol was not a risk factor by itself. CONCLUSION: Infant bed sharing is associated with a significantly raised risk of the sudden infant death syndrome, particularly among infants of mothers who smoke. The interaction between maternal smoking and bed sharing suggests that a mechanism involving passive smoking, rather than the previously proposed mechanisms of overlaying and hyperthermia, increases the risk of sudden infant death from bed sharing.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Deaths from international terrorism compared with road crash deaths in OECD countries.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the relative number of deaths in member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) from international terrorism and road crashes. METHODS: Data on deaths from international terrorism (US State Department database) were collated (1994-2003) and compared to the road injury deaths (year 2000 and 2001 data) from the OECD International Road Transport Accident Database. RESULTS: In the 29 OECD countries for which comparable data were available, the annual average death rate from road injury was approximately 390 times that from international terrorism. The ratio of annual road to international terrorism deaths (averaged over 10 years) was lowest for the United States at 142 times. In 2001, road crash deaths in the US were equal to those from a September 11 attack every 26 days. CONCLUSIONS: There is a large difference in the magnitude of these two causes of deaths from injury. Policy makers need to be aware of this when allocating resources to preventing these two avoidable causes of mortality.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2003

Circumstances of death and gross and microscopic observations in a series of 200 cases of sudden death associated with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy and/or dysplasia.

BACKGROUND: Sudden death is a possible consequence of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy/dysplasia (ARVC/D). Prevalence of ARVC/D in unexpected sudden cardiac death (USCD), however, remains imprecise, as do circumstances of death and ARVC/D-associated gross and microscopic findings, especially His bundle anomalies. METHODS AND RESULTS: We reviewed 14 000 forensic autopsies required by judicial authorities from January 1980 to January 1999 in a 2 000 000-resident area. Age, gender, and circumstances of death were recorded. Hearts were examined macroscopically and microscopically. In this series, the ARVC/D group accounted for 200 consecutive cases (10.4%) of USCD, including 108 males and 92 females (average age 32.5 and 34.5 years, respectively). Nearly one third of deaths occurred during the fourth decade of life. Circumstances of death were various, but 75.6% occurred during everyday life events (at home, 63.1%; in the street, 6.6%; or at work, 6.1%); only 7 cases (3.5%) occurred during sports activity. Nineteen cases (9.5%) happened during the perioperative period. Adipose infiltration of the right ventricle was either isolated (20%) or associated with fibrosis (74.5%) and lymphocytes (5.5%). A total of 14.5% of cases had cardiac hypertrophy, assessed by an increase in heart weight and/or left ventricular wall thickness. In most cases, the His bundle and its branches were abnormal either because of infiltration of adipose tissue (8.1%), fibrosis (54.3%), or both (5.6%). CONCLUSIONS: In ARVC/D, both sexes are equally affected, and there is a peak of risk during the fourth decade. Death most frequently occurs during sedentary activity. His abnormalities and left ventricular hypertrophy may be associated with ARVC/D.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Undetermined manner of death. A comparison with unintentional injury, suicide, and homicide death.

Injury deaths can be grouped into four general categories: accident, homicide, suicide, and undetermined. The present study investigates the use of the "undetermined" category. External cause of death, as well as demographic and other variables, were abstracted from death certificates of the 386,936 Californians who died of an injury between 1969 and 1991. Differences among the four manner-of-death groups were examined, and characteristics of the decedent and the injury event were used to predict a classification of undetermined. Coroners classified 1.9% of the deaths as undetermined in manner. Deaths of women, Blacks, Asians, and Native Americans; the very young and the middle aged; or those involving poisoning or submersion were most likely to be classified as undetermined. Acknowledging that individual coroner judgment may not be free of bias, these findings can help provide a better estimate of the frequency and the epidemiologic features of injury deaths that are assigned to the category of undetermined.

Accidents↗
PubMed1994

Death rates and causes of death among children and youth in Göteborg, Sweden 1971-85. Indicators for public health work in a city.

Among children and youth in Göteborg, Sweden, the death rate per 100,000 children decreased from 32 in 1971-75 to 24 in 1981-85 and in youth from 76 to 54. Accidents and human violence together with tumours and congenital malformations remained the most important causes of death in children, together accounting for 2/3 of all deaths. A marked decrease in traffic accident deaths among children and young people is an encouraging result of prevention. Among young people human violence (mainly suicide) emerged as the most important cause of death relative to other causes of death. Alcohol-related mortality was also a notable cause of death in this age group. Preventive measures directed against human violence and alcohol-related mortality should be the subject of consistent and sustained committment to action comparable to that applied over many years to traffic accidents.

Accidents↗
PubMed1982

Personifications of death and death anxiety.

University students (n = 165), graduate nursing students (n = 102), and funeral service students (n = 68) completed Templer's Death Anxiety Scale (DAS) and a Death Personification Exercise (DPE). Responses to the DAS and DPE were subjected to principal components factor analysis using varimax rotational procedures and the factor scores derived for each scale were intercorrelated. Prior to this comparison, DPE responses were contrasted using multiple discriminant function analysis. Results showed there was more communality than uniqueness in the factor structures. Interrelations between the nine common DPE and four DAS factors were generally low but did suggest that: (a) perceptions of death as a gay deceiver were related to a cognitive-affective component of death anxiety; while images of death as a gentle comforter or macabre figure were related to an awareness of the passage of time; and (b) reactions to death and descriptions of the activities of death were associated with concern about physical alterations.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Social inequality and death as illustrated in late-medieval death dances.

Late-medieval murals and books of the then-popular "dances of death" usually represented the living according to their social standing. These works of art thus provide an interesting opportunity to study the relationship between social inequality and death as it was perceived by the works' commissioners or executers. The social hierarchy in these dances of death is mostly based on the scheme of the three orders of the feudal society; variations relate to the inclusion of female characters, new occupations, and non-Christian characters. Many dances of death contain severe judgments on highplaced persons and thus seem to be expressions of a desire for greater social equality. However, a more thorough analysis reveals that the equality of all before death that these dances of death proclaimed held nothing for the poor but only threatened the rich. Because of a lack of reliable data, it is not yet completely clear whether during the late Middle Ages all were indeed equally at risk for premature mortality. Available evidence, however, suggests that the clergy and nobility actually had a higher life expectancy than people placed lower in the social hierarchy. Despite modern changes in the perception of, and knowledge about, social inequality and mortality, these dances of death still capture the imagination, and they suggest that the phenomenon of socioeconomic inequalities in mortality could be used more to emphasize contemporary moral messages on social inequality.

Art↗