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Methadone and criminality: a suburban perspective.

In a suburban methadone program, using official police records, a study was made of patients' arrest records before and after methadone treatment. Eighty patients were willing to allow the researchers to secure their arrest records. These 80 patients were similar to the total clinic population of 226 in terms of demographic variables, arrest records, and addiction history. For these 80 patients both the rate of arrest and the number of patients arrested declined in association with entering methadone maintenance treatment. The decline was statistically significant for drug-related offenses but not for nondrug-related offenses. Overall, the decline in both rate of arrest and number of patients arrested was significant, but this was due to the decrease in drug-related arrests. Drug-related arrests play a dominant role in the criminality of the suburban patients in this study. Because of this, the reduction in drug-related arrests is more significant for this group of patients than it would have been for an inner-city patient population.

Adolescent↗

Parents' knowledge of respiratory disease: A comparison of inner-city and suburban parents.

The difference in knowledge of common diseases between inner-city parents and suburban parents may be even greater than generally thought. Measuring this difference should serve to emphasize the general neglect of the subject of parent (or patient) education in medical schools, residency programs, and in pediatric texts and journals. The present study of parents' knowledge of respiratory disease shows that inner-city parents scored 20 points lower than suburban parents (67% vs. 87%). In the inner-city group Spanish-American parents scored 11 points lower than non-Spanish-American parents (61% vs. 72%). Thus, the urgent need for better health education, especially in the inner city, is emphasized. Several basic reviews of articles on health education show clearly that this subject is very complex and poorly understood by many investigators. Adequate controls are hard to establish, and long-term benefits are hard to prove. Hospitals are reluctant to spend additional funds on health education unless a convincing cost-benefit relationship can be shown. However, the costs of ignoring the problems of health education are probably much greater than the costs of conducting a well-organized program.

Adult↗

Cockroach allergy in Kentucky: a comparison of inner city, suburban, and rural small town populations.

The cockroach has been reported as a major allergen in inner city asthmatic patients. The retrospective chart review of 799 patients tested over a 10-year period (1981-1991) derived from a private allergy practice and a university allergy clinic is reported. Patients from both groups were divided geographically by home zip codes into inner city, suburban, or rural small town populations. Criteria for positive skin tests were wheal greater than 5 mm for prick and greater than 10 mm for intradermal tests with flare. Overall, 36.9% (295/799) of all patients surveyed were positive by either prick or intradermal skin testing. Cockroach reactivity was observed in 38.6% (95/246) of the private patients tested with 36.2% (200/553) of the university patients showing positive results. The inner city populations in both groups of patients were similar with 43.7% and 40.3% of the private and university patients, respectively, testing positive, with an overall positivity of 41% for all inner city patients. Inner city and rural small town populations for both study groups demonstrated almost identical reactivity with 41% and 43% overall positivity, respectively. Of the suburban group, 37.5% of the private patients and 28.8% of the university patients had reactive skin tests results with an overall rate of positivity of 30.1%. This rate (30.1%) is significantly less than the rate for either inner city (41.0%, P < .05) or rural small town (43.6%, P < .01) populations.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗

[Study on breast feeding in a suburban area].

Human milk is considered the best nourishment a child can have during his first months of life, providing that it exists in sufficient amount. In a study of the feeding characteristics in suburban areas of Mexico City, it was found that 71 mothers would continue to breast-feed their children up to the twelfth month. Supplemental feeding began during the first four months with: fruit, vegetables, eggs, meat and in final stages, soups and cereals. The great majority of the mothers thought that human milk is the ideal food for their babies. The medical concept about breast-feeding in the suburban areas of Mexico City is mistaken, due to information based on foreign studies contrary to national reality. In spite of the widespread belief that breast-feeding has decreased in frequency, in this study it was found that it is still popular and commonplace. We recommend that through all information sources, the inestimable value of human milk as an ideal nourishment, due to its nutritional, economical, psychological and hygienic properties, should be emphasized.

Age Factors↗

Transmission cycles of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato involving Ixodes ricinus and/or I. hexagonus ticks and the European hedgehog, Erinaceus europaeus, in suburban and urban areas in Switzerland.

The European hedgehog, Erinaceus europaeus Linnaeus, 1758, is a common host of Ixodes ricinus L. and I. hexagonus Leach, vectors of the Lyme disease spirochaete, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. To investigate whether hedgehogs are reservoirs for B. burgdorferi, hedgehogs were captured in a suburban area suitable for both tick species and in an urban area where I. ricinus is absent. The infection status of the hedgehogs was determined by xenodiagnosis using I. ricinus and I. hexagonus larvae. I. hexagonus and/or I. ricinus were found on all hedgehogs (n = 8) from the suburban area. In contrast, only I. hexagonus was infesting animals (n = 5) from the urban area. A total of 12/13 hedgehogs harboured B. burgdorferi infected ticks. Xenodiagnostic I. ricinus and I. hexagonus larvae that fed on hedgehogs became infected. The results clearly show that European hedgehogs are reservoir hosts of the Lyme disease spirochetes. DNA of B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, B. garinii and B. afzelii was detected in culture from ear biopsy and needle aspiration material and characterized by using a genospecies-specific PCR assay. One hedgehog presented a mixed infection of the skin with B. burgdorferi sensu stricto and B. garinii. This study also identifies an enzootic transmission cycle in an urban area involving E. europaeus and I. hexagonus. The close association of I. hexagonus with the burrows of its hosts mean that the risks of contact between I. hexagonus and humans may be low.

Animals↗

Care by general practitioners and district nurses of patients receiving home nursing: a study from suburban Stockholm.

OBJECTIVES: To review the care by general practitioners (GPs), district nurses and assistant nurses of patients receiving home nursing. DESIGN: Retrospective data from questionnaires, records and official statistics. Statistical comparisons. SETTING: Primary health care from October 1995 to October 1996. SUBJECTS: One-third (158) of all patients receiving home nursing in a suburban area were sampled; 73% (116) participated. All patients of comparable age in one practice served as a control group. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Number of and reasons for visits and other contacts. Nature of care. Relation between patient problems and care given. RESULTS: Most patients were seen by the nurses two to five times a month. They met their GPs less often than other patients. More measures were undertaken without direct contact between GP and patient. The most common measures concerned medication and the assessment of symptoms. Patients with cognitive problems seemed to get less active GP care. CONCLUSION: GPs played an active role in the care of patients receiving home nursing even though they seldom met them. Many patients were regularly assessed by the nurses, which might have diminished the need for doctor visits. The care of patients with cognitive problems needs further study.

Aged↗

"Where have all the people gone?" Recent inconsistencies between population growth and housing development in suburban Chicago.

"An examination of recent growth in suburban Chicago suggests that rates of population and housing increase tend to vary principally by age of housing, and secondarily by distance from the central city's business district. Population loss or small increases relative to housing gains typified the most centrally located older suburbs. Although much higher rates of population and housing increase characterized newer places, especially those between 21 and 30 miles from the CBD, their population gain was smaller than that accompanying comparably high levels of residential development in earlier periods."

Americas↗

Wound myiasis in urban and suburban United States.

BACKGROUND: The epidemiologic characteristics of human myiasis in the United States remain undefined. OBJECTIVE: To describe the most common clinical conditions associated with human myiasis and the causative maggot species. METHODS: Multicenter, prospective observational study of urban and suburban patients who were infested with maggots. RESULTS: Forty-two cases of US-acquired myiasis were collected from 20 participating centers. Most infestations occurred within preexisting wounds. No cases of tissue invasion were recorded. Host age averaged 60 years, with a male-female ratio of 5.5:1. Homelessness, alcoholism, and peripheral vascular disease were frequent cofactors. Two patients (5%) were hospitalized at the time of their infestation. The most common species was Phaenicia sericata (green blowfly; family: Calliphoridae). Other blowflies, flesh flies (Sarcophagidae), and humpbacked flies (Phoridae) also were identified. In 6 cases, 2 coinfesting species were identified. CONCLUSIONS: Results of this prospective study of myiasis differ significantly from those of our analysis of previously published reports and suggest that most cases of human myiasis are caused by noninvasive blowflies laying eggs in preexisting wounds. Five percent of infestations were nosocomially acquired and not necessarily associated with patient neglect.

Adult↗

Adults with community-acquired bacteremias in two suburban hospitals: factors predicting outcome.

In a suburban hospital, 38 adult patients with community-acquired bacteremic infections and without "rapidly fatal" disease were studied. In univariate analyses, the 31 patients discharged alive had higher initial temperatures, blood pressures, and calcium and albumin values, and lower immature leukocyte counts, and were treated sooner with appropriate antibiotics than those who died. With the exception of time elapsed before appropriate treatment, these factors were used in discriminant analysis to identify patients who would die during hospital admission from bacteremic infection. The resulting model, which had a sensitivity of 71% and a specificity of 68% in the first group of patients, was validated in a second cohort with a sensitivity of 40% and a specificity of 69%. This analysis presents a model that may allow clinicians to assess the risk of death from community-acquired bacteremic infections.

Adolescent↗

Helminth fauna of the Siberian chipmunk, Tamias sibiricus Laxmann (Rodentia, Sciuridae) introduced in suburban French forests.

The spread of an immigrant host species can be influenced both by its specific helminth parasites that come along with it and by newly acquired infections from native fauna. The Siberian chipmunk, Tamias sibiricus Laxmann (Rodentia, Sciuridae), a northeastern Eurasiatic ground nesting Sciurid, has been introduced in France for less than three decades. Thirty individuals were collected from three suburban forests in the Ile-de-France Region between 2002 and 2006. Two intestinal nematode species dominated the helminth fauna: Brevistriata skrjabini [Prevalence, P, 99% C.I., 87% (64-97%); mean intensity, M.I., 99% C.I., 43 (28-78)] and Aonchotheca annulosa [P, 47% (25-69%); M.I., 35 (3-157)]. B. skrjabini is a direct life cycle nematode species of North Eurasiatic origin, with a restricted spectrum of phylogenetically related suitable hosts. This result indicates that B. skrjabini successfully settled and spread with founder pet chipmunks maintained in captivity and released in natura. Chipmunks acquired A. annulosa, a nematode species with a large spectrum of phylogenetically unrelated suitable host species, from local Muroid rodent species with similar behavior, life-history traits and habitats. Quantitative studies are needed to evaluate the potential for both B. skrjabini and A. annulosa to impede the spread of Tamias and for B. skrjabini to favor chipmunk colonization through detrimental effects upon native co-inhabiting host species.

Animals↗

An analysis of maternal transport within a suburban metropolitan region.

Data on 185 infants transported for perinatal and/or neonatal care from suburban metropolitan hospitals were analyzed. Following birth, 100 infants were transferred from community hospitals. A total of 85 infants were transported in utero and delivered at a tertiary (Level III) perinatal center. Survival rate was 90% for infants transported in utero contrasted with 81% for the infant transports. This difference was not significant. When hospitalization cost and length of stay were used as an index of morbidity, there was a significant difference between the two groups. The mean hospitalization cost of survivors was $6,473 for in utero transports compared to $12,208 for infant transports (p less than 0.005). The mean length of stay for in utero transports was 19 days contrasted to 27 days for infant transports (p less than 0.05). The findings of this study indicate that in utero transports resulted in reduced morbidity for infants of high-risk pregnancies.

Female↗

Hepatitis C in the health care setting. II. Seroprevalence among hemodialysis staff and patients in suburban New York City.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a newly identified blood-borne virus that may pose an occupational hazard for health care workers. Hemodialysis nurses could be anticipated to be at high risk for HCV infection because this group of health care workers frequently comes into contact with blood of a patient population with a seroprevalence rate of at least 10%. METHODS: To assess the risk of HCV infection for hemodialysis nurses, serum samples from all of the nurses (22/22, 100%) and patients (125/125, 100%) in one hemodialysis unit (unit A) and 85% (29/34) of nurses from a second unit (unit B), both units in suburban New York City, were tested for HCV antibodies. Samples with positive results of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay underwent supplemental testing by a first-generation recombinant immunoblot assay. RESULTS: Twenty-four (19%) of the hemodialysis patients in unit A were HCV seropositive. Despite an average of 4.7 years spent working in hemodialysis unit A, none of the nurses tested seropositive for HCV antibody. In unit B, despite an average of 6.4 years working in the unit studied, only one nurse tested seropositive for HCV antibody. This nurse reported a long history of elevated liver function values and a negative HBV core antibody status that predated her hemodialysis nursing career. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to the experience with hepatitis B virus infection, hemodialysis nurses appear to be at low risk for occupationally acquired HCV infection.

Adult↗

Comparison of beliefs about AIDS among urban, suburban, incarcerated, and gay adolescents.

Beliefs about AIDS were surveyed among opportunistic samples of 1572 adolescents to compare four subgroups of youth: urban public high school students; suburban private school students; youth incarcerated in a detention facility; and a group who were contacted through a gay youth organization. The questionnaire items formed four important theoretical constructs derived by an expert group extensively involved with AIDS education. The constructs were: 1) agreement with health guidelines; 2) perceived personal threat of AIDS; 3) a sense of personal efficacy to prevent infection and the spread of AIDS; and 4) perceived norms of safe sex behaviors. In all groups, females were more likely to endorse higher norms for safe sex practices than males. Older adolescents of both sexes tended to perceive less personal threat of AIDS, and also rated lower norms for safe sex practices than did the younger adolescents. The incarcerated group of adolescents demonstrated significantly poorer knowledge and lower agreement with health guidelines (p = 0.0000), lower perceived personal threat of AIDS (p = 0.005), lower personal efficacy to prevent AIDS (p = 0.003), and lower perceived norms of safe sex practices (p = 0.0000), compared to the other groups. The education implications of these findings are discussed, including the necessity of program elements directed toward subculture peer norms and support, a realistic sense of vulnerability about AIDS, and self-confidence building as well as specific skills to prevent the infection and spread of the human immunodeficiency virus among adolescents.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Eating attitudes, health-risk behaviors, self-esteem, and anxiety among adolescent females in a suburban high school.

In order to determine whether adolescent females with abnormal eating attitudes display lower levels of self-esteem and higher levels of anxiety than their peers, and whether these adolescents participate in health-risk behaviors to a greater or lesser degree than their peers, we administered a series of questionnaires to the females attending a suburban high school in New York State. The questionnaires, completed by 268 students (mean age, 16.2 years), included data on health-risk behaviors and weight attitudes, an Eating Attitudes Test, a self-esteem scale, and an anxiety inventory. Results indicated that almost two-thirds of the students described themselves as overweight, almost three-quarters felt they were above the healthiest weight for their age and height, and almost four-fifths were above the weight at which they would be most happy; 18% of the students scored 30 or more on the Eating Attitudes Test, a score suggestive of an eating disorder. Use of Spearman-rank correlation coefficients and multiple linear regression analysis revealed that those with more unhappiness with their weight and higher scores on the eating attitudes test were more likely to have lower self-esteem and higher anxiety and to participate more in health-risk behaviors, including cigarette smoking, alcohol use, drug use, and sexual activity with more total partners. The data from this study further corroborate the growing belief that health-risk behaviors tend to cluster together in vulnerable adolescents and demonstrate that abnormal eating attitudes and behaviors may be part of this cluster, especially in females with low self-esteem and high levels of anxiety.

Adolescent↗

Homicide in Alabama: an analysis of urban, suburban and rural murders in the Deep South.

Eleven hundred forty-four (1144) homicides occurring in Alabama, U.S.A. during a 2-year period are presented and analyzed according to the demographic parameters of the victims, location in urban, suburban, or rural community, type of homicide based on a medical examiner's classification, presence of drugs, weapon employed and other factors. Urban dwellers, Blacks and males are found to be at high risk. Alcohol is much more prevalent than other drugs in homicide victims. Although the handgun is the weapon most commonly used throughout the state, in the rural regions the longgun is used almost as often. The difficulty of making valid comparisons with other homicide studies is discussed and the establishment of a uniform classification of homicides urged.

Adolescent↗

Association of intersection approach speed with driver characteristics, vehicle type and traffic conditions comparing urban and suburban areas.

A mobile recording system, with integrated laser speed gun, video from CCD-cameras and auxiliary battery system, was used to observe driving behavior at an urban intersection and a suburban analog. After removal of instances of interference, 1538 driving behaviors were recorded. Multiple regression was then utilized to examine the factors affecting approaching speed. Speed limit violation was considered a dichotomous variable with two categories, violation and compliance. Binary logistic regression was also used to examine the risk of speeding as a function of covariates and interaction terms. The results of analysis revealed that the major contributing factors for approaching speed were site, rush-hour-status, traffic light condition, vehicle type and driver gender. In particular, light status was the highest contributor to speed. In addition, the results of logistic regression showed significant sites and rush-hour effects on speeding, with the risk of limit violation in the suburbs nearly six-fold that in urban areas. The relative risk of speeding for travelling in non-rush hours is three times higher than that for rush-hour. In terms of driver characteristics, male drivers under 55 years of age had the greatest speeding propensity in our sample. The results of the present study may provide meaningful information applicable to the design and operation of signalized intersections.

Age Factors↗

Obesity rates, income, and suburban sprawl: an analysis of US states.

In a decade of economic growth and rising income, obesity has risen dramatically. This is puzzling when researchers have found that there is an inverse relation between income and obesity. This paper argues that new location patterns produced by suburban sprawl are an important cause of rising obesity rates. New location patterns are such that work, school and social activities are not as easily accessible by foot. Changes in sprawl then drive changes in the causes of obesity identified by medical researchers (e.g., low activity levels). We define sprawl as increases in the amount of developed land, holding population constant. Determinants and outcomes are analyzed on a population basis. We use state-level data from the 1990s on obesity to show that states that increased the amount of developed land (holding population constant) showed larger increases in obesity. As a result, town planning efforts to reduce sprawl may be justified not only on aesthetic grounds but also based on efforts to reduce the costs associated with treating medical conditions related to obesity.

Aged↗

Dental lead levels in children from two different urban and suburban areas of Turkey.

The lead content of shed primary teeth has proved to be a reliable measure of cumulative lead exposure in children as it is an indicator of the degree of exposure over several years, from in utero life to loss of the tooth. Totally 297 shed deciduous teeth were collected from 263 children between ages 4 and 15 to determine the level of lead exposure in Ankara and Balikesir in Turkey. Ankara is the capital of Turkey and characterized by heavy traffic and high air pollution. On the other hand, Balikesir has less traffic. Balikesir-Centre (R) had the highest mean (SD) lead level (1.77+/-1.03microg/g) whereas Ankara-Centre (U) had the lowest level (1.30+/-0.59microg/g). We could not observe a statistically significant difference between urban and suburban regions (Table 1), and in terms of type of tooth, incisors had a statistically significant higher lead level than canines and molars (p<0.05, Table 2). No difference was observed between boys and girls and the accumulation of lead in teeth (p<0.05, ).

Adolescent↗