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At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Geography of childhood sexual abuse: women's narratives of their childhood environments.

This article explores the geography of childhood sexual abuse by describing characteristics of the home, school, and community environments in which abused girls grew up. Results of this focused life story research involving 20 women survivors who narrated their childhood experiences suggest a topography of 20 distinct characteristics integral to the milieux of these abusive childhood homes. Dynamics of the home environment were reinforced in school and community environments. Implications for prevention and early, environmentally based interventions for girls at risk of abuse and retraumatization are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Geography in a scale-free network model.

We offer an example of a network model with a power-law degree distribution, P(k) approximately k(-alpha), for nodes, but which nevertheless has a well-defined geography and a nonzero threshold percolation probability for alpha>2, the range of real-world contact networks. This is different from p(c)=0 for alpha<3 results for the original well-mixed scale-free networks. In our lattice-based scale-free network, individuals link to nearby neighbors on a lattice. Even considerable additional small-world links do not change our conclusion of nonzero thresholds. When applied to disease propagation, these results suggest that random immunization may be more successful in controlling human epidemics than previously suggested if there is geographical clustering.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Systematic review: the influence of geography and ethnicity in irritable bowel syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Irritable bowel syndrome has been said to be less common in developing countries compared with western populations. In some case series of irritable bowel syndrome from the Indian subcontinent and Africa, the female predominance typical of western patients did not occur. AIM AND METHODS: A systematic review was performed on Medline, of community prevalence studies of irritable bowel syndrome, chronic constipation and chronic diarrhoea using standardized criteria, with special reference to the effect of geography and ethnicity, and the gender distribution in different countries. RESULTS: There is a wide variation, depending in part on the criteria used and differences in diagnostic practices and health care utilization. No convincing evidence emerged of a difference between east and west. Most series, eastern or western showed a female predominance or no gender difference. Several US studies in communities and specific populations suggest that stool frequency is lower, and the prevalence of constipation higher, among Afro-Caribbean Americans compared with white individuals. CONCLUSIONS: Community studies in multi-racial populations are a useful way of assessing possible ethnic differences in the frequency of irritable bowel syndrome, chronic constipation and diarrhoea, and would additionally present opportunities to relate any ethnic differences to dietary and other environmental factors.

Age Distribution↗
PubMed2006

Variation in chemotherapy utilization in ovarian cancer: the relative contribution of geography.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigates geographic variation in chemotherapy utilization for ovarian cancer in both absolute and relative terms and examines area characteristics associated with this variation. DATA SOURCES: Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Medicare data from 1990 to 2001 for Medicare patients over 65 with a diagnosis of ovarian cancer between 1990 and 1999. Chemotherapy within a year of diagnosis was identified by Medicare billing codes. The hospital referral region (HRR) represents the geographic unit of analysis. STUDY DESIGN: A logit model predicting the probability of receiving chemotherapy by each of the 39 HRRs. Control variables included medical characteristics (patient age, stage, year of diagnosis, and comorbidities) and socioeconomic characteristics (race, income, and education). The variation among HRRs was tested by the chi2 statistic, and the relative contribution was measured by the omega statistic. HHR market characteristic are then used to explain HRR-level variation. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The average chemotherapy rate was 56.6 percent, with a range by HRR from 33 percent to 67 percent. There were large and significant differences in chemotherapy use between HRRs, reflected by a chi2 for HRR of 146 (df = 38, p < .001). HRR-level variation in chemotherapy use can be partially explained by higher chemotherapy rates in HRRs with a higher percentage of hospitals with oncology services. However, an omega analysis indicates that, by about 15 to one, the variation between patients in use of chemotherapy reflects variations in patient characteristics rather than unexplained variation among HRRs. CONCLUSIONS: While absolute levels of chemotherapy variation between geographic areas are large and statistically significant, this analysis suggests that the role of geography in determining who gets chemotherapy is small relative to individual medical characteristics. Nevertheless, while variation by medical characteristics can be medically justified, the same cannot be said for geographic variation. Our finding that density of oncology hospitals predicts chemotherapy use suggests that provider supply is positively correlated with geographic variation.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

In vivo genomic variability of human T-cell leukemia virus type I depends more upon geography than upon pathologies.

To investigate the geography- and disease-associated genomic variation of human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I), we studied ex vivo DNA from peripheral blood lymphocytes from nine patients by polymerase chain reaction and direct DNA sequencing. For each viral strain, 1,917 bp was sequenced, including parts of the long terminal repeat, the env gene, and the px II, px III, and px IV coding frames of the px region. The number of genomic variations observed in the U3 region of the long terminal repeat was higher than that seen in the env and px genes. Very few mutations were present in the px II and px III genes. In contrast, the px IV open reading frame exhibited numerous single point mutations. While no specific mutation could be linked to any pathology (adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma or tropical spastic paraparesis/HTLV-I-associated myelopathy), variations among HTLV-I isolates from different geographic areas (Ivory Coast, Caribbean, and Japan) existed. The Ivory Coast HTLV-I appeared to represent a group by itself.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed2006

The geography of despair among 15-44-year-old men in England and Wales: putting suicide on the map.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the spatial patterning and possible contributors to the geographical distribution of suicide among 15-44- year-old men. DESIGN: Small-area analysis and mapping of geo-coded 1988-94 suicide mortality data and 1991 census data using random-effects smoothing. SETTING: 9265 electoral wards in England and Wales (mean population of men aged 15-44- years: about 1220). MAIN RESULTS: Two main patterns emerged: (a) in all of the 10 most densely populated cities studied, suicide showed a "bull's-eye" pattern with rates highest in the inner-city areas and, in some cases, low rates in the peripheries, and (b) suicide rates were high in coastal areas, particularly those in more remote regions. Possible indicators of social fragmentation, such as the proportion of single-person households in an area, were most strongly and consistently associated with rates of suicide in both urban and rural areas. Levels of unemployment and long-term illness accounted for some of the coastal patterning. Although characteristics of areas accounted for more than half of the observed variability, substantial between-area variability in rates remained unexplained. CONCLUSIONS: The area characteristics investigated here did not fully account for the higher suicide rates observed in the most rural or remote areas. Alongside social and economic aspects, rural life itself may have an independent effect on the risk of suicide. A greater understanding of local geographies of suicide, and particularly the possible interactions between characteristics of people and their environments, might assist the design of prevention strategies that target those areas (and their characteristics) where risk is concentrated.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Population geography.

The author reviews recent changes in population research from a geographical perspective. "The deaths in 1990 of two of France's most distinguished demographers, Alfred Sauvy (1899-1990) and Jean Bourgeois-Pichat (1912-90)...seem an appropriate starting point from which to review progress in population research in the early 1990s....Relative to the lifespans and works of Bourgeois-Pichat and Sauvy, it is possible to discern progress in population studies as a whole and population geography in particular. Advances in technical aspects of measuring mortality, fertility and migration have been most marked, as have attempts to inter-relate these demographic processes. Progress towards explanation of population-related phenomena has been slower. Advances have not been towards building more sophisticated general theories, but towards new and more insightful forms of explanation." The author then summarizes other research literature on fertility, migration, and population subgroups. The geographical scope is worldwide.

Demography↗
PubMed1988

Parkinsonism death rates by race, sex, and geography.

Age-adjusted death rates for Parkinson's disease (PD) in the United States from 1959 to 1961 demonstrated significantly lower rates for blacks than for whites, with rates for Oriental Americans the same as for whites. All racial groups showed a male preponderance. Both whites and blacks had a similar excess of PD death rates for residents of the four northern census regions of the US over their rates for the three southern regions. Within each region the sex and race differences remained. Thus, blacks in the US appear to be "protected" against PD, but they share the north: south gradient seen for whites. Race, sex, and geography would therefore seem to be independent risk factors for PD, providing further evidence that this may then be an acquired, environmental disease.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Phylogeography of Ophioblennius: the role of ocean currents and geography in reef fish evolution.

Many tropical reef fishes are divided into Atlantic and East Pacific taxa, placing similar species in two very different biogeographic regimes. The tropical Atlantic is a closed ocean basin with relatively stable currents, whereas the East Pacific is an open basin with unstable oceanic circulation. To assess how evolutionary processes are influenced by these differences in oceanography and geography, we analyze a 630-bp region of mitochondrial cytochrome b from 171 individuals in the blenniid genus Ophioblennius. Our results demonstrate deep genetic structuring in the Atlantic species, O. atlanticus, corresponding to recognized biogeographic provinces, with divergences of d = 5.2-12.7% among the Caribbean, Brazilian, St. Helena/Ascension Island, Gulf of Guinea, and Azores/Cape Verde regions. The Atlantic phylogeny is consistent with Pliocene dispersal from the western to eastern Atlantic, and the depth of these separations (along with prior morphological comparisons) may indicate previously unrecognized species. The eastern Pacific species, O. steindachneri, is characterized by markedly less structure than O. atlanticus, with shallow mitochondrial DNA lineages (dmax = 2.7%) and haplotype frequency shifts between locations in the Sea of Cortez, Pacific Panama, Clipperton Island, and the Galapagos Islands. No concordance between genetic structure and biogeographic provinces was found for O. steincdachneri. We attribute the phylogeographic pattern in O. atlanticus to dispersal during the reorganization of Atlantic circulation patterns that accompanied the shoaling of the Isthmus of Panama. The low degree of structure in the eastern Pacific is probably due to unstable circulation and linkage to the larger Pacific Ocean basin. The contrast in genetic signatures between Atlantic and eastern Pacific blennies demonstrates how differences in geology and oceanography have influenced evolutionary radiations within each region.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

"When I am lonely the mountains call me": the impact of sacred geography on Navajo psychological well being.

As we approach the twenty-first century, sacred geography continues to have a profound impact on Navajo psychological well being. This article explores the extent of the Navajo's bond with their homeland through an emphasis on orderly conditions in their world view, myths, and ceremonies. When traditional Navajos leave their homeland to pursue educational and professional endeavors or to seek biomedical treatment, a sense of emotional dislocation can undermine their success. The emotional trauma goes far beyond mere homesickness because it is based on an often unconscious sense of having violated the moral order of the universe. It is essential that mental health professionals respond with sensitivity to this issue by understanding the extent to which the sacred mountains and other landforms serve as a vital source of spiritual strength.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1999

Linking 1991 population statistics to the 1998 local government geography of Great Britain.

This article describes how 1991 population statistics and other data based on the 1991 Census areas can be produced for the 1998 local authority geography of Great Britain. Since 1991 a large number of boundary changes have taken place rendering comparisons of population data before and after the changes problematic. Re-basing 1991 statistics on the current set of boundaries allows real demographic change over the period since 1991 to be measured. The article focuses on two sets of population statistics: 1991 Census data and mid-1991 estimates.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

[Geographic differences of bronchopulmonary cancer mortality in France and spatial scales of analysis: significance of scale change in health geography].

BACKGROUND: It is important to choose a valid spatial scale to study health differences in a geographical perspective. Many scales can be valid and a combination is required to understand the spatial distribution of a given health problem. Geographic distribution of lung cancer was studied in France using different scales to illustrate the importance of changing scales in health geography. METHODS: Standardized rates (direct method) for lung cancer were calculated for the period 1988-92 and mapped at different scales. RESULTS: Original spatial structure was observed for each scale. This proved that different interactions occur at each scale between environmental and social factors. Changing the scale allowed a better understanding of variations in the spatial distribution of lung cancer. CONCLUSIONS: The validity of a regional scale to study health geographical distributions is questioned. Changing the scale would allow proposing action to improve health promotion.

Bronchial Neoplasms↗
PubMed2004

[Distributed modeling of nutrient transport in basin with support of remote sensing and geography information system].

Agricultural non-point source pollution has become serious in our country. Modeling the processes of nutrient(especially nitrogen and phosphorus) transport in basin and evaluating the adopted management practices are important for controlling the impact of non-point pollution on environment. A research scheme for distributed simulation of nutrient transport processes in Lianshui Basin, Xingguo County, Jiangxi Province was designed, with the support of remote sensing (RS) and geography information system (GIS). The research procedure included model selection, discretization and spatial parameterization of the basin, prediction, and validation. SWAT model was selected, and basin-subbasin-hydrological response unit discretization scheme was designed. Supported by RS and GIS and based on the topographic features of the watershed, the subwatershed discretization divided the watershed into subbasins, and each subbasin could be further partitioned into multiple hydrologic response units (HRUs), which were unique soil/land use combinations within the subbasin and modeled through statistical spatial overlay analysis. The parameters of land use were obtained from the supervised classification of TM imagery based on field training samples, and those of soil were obtained from field sampling and further interpolated through geostatistical method. The simulation was carried out by using the data from 1991 to 2000. The results showed that the simulation accuracy of annual runoff water yield and sediment yield was 89.9% and 70.2%, respectively.

Computer Simulation↗
PubMed1986

A medical geography of perinatal mortality in Metropolitan Cape Town.

An infant's weight at birth as well as its socio-economic environment are recognized as constituting two of the major risk factors associated with perinatal mortality. Spatial analyses of birth weight, socio-economic status and perinatal mortality in Metropolitan Cape Town for the year 1982 are presented in an attempt to assess the relationship between these variables at the suburb (or community) level. Variations in perinatal mortality for each suburb were found to be highly correlated with variations in the distribution of low birth weights. Overall, it would appear that the geography of the interrelationship between low birth weight and perinatal mortality tends, in part, to mirror long-standing gradients in socio-economic status--particularly for those coloured communities which show high perinatal death rates. To what extent these variations are associated with available antenatal and infant health care services can only be postulated. Points for possible community intervention are suggested.

Black or African American↗
PubMed1981

A note on the changing geography of cancer mortality within metropolitan regions of the United States.

An investigation made of the geography of cancer mortality rates within the most populous metropolitan regions of the United States and the New Jersey-New York-Philadelphia metropolitan corridor shows that during the early 1950s, as expected, central city counties has substantially higher cancer mortality rates, especially respiratory and digestive, than did suburbs. Two decades later, differences between the central cities and the suburbs had narrowed and sometimes disappeared.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

[Geography of mortality from all malignant neoplasms (Nr 140-208 according to the international classification of diseases) in the Katowice province in the years 1985-1990].

In the Province of Katowice, taking into account 93 administration units (45 towns and 48 communes), the geography of mortality from all malignant neoplasms of men and women in the years 1985-1990 was established. Some regions of the Province are at particular risk: form men they are mainly regions with mortality index exceeding 240 cases per 100,000 (Fig. 1), and for women regions with mortality index exceeding 130 cases per 100,000 (Fig. 2). In comparison to the available statistics of mortality from malignancies from other countries (and in them especially from industrialized regions similar to Upper Silesia) the level of the risk for malignancy development in the population is, as a rule, higher in Upper Silesia. The cohort analysis demonstrates in turn further progression of mortality from malignancies in the Upper Silesian populations in the next years.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Suicide deaths in England and Wales, 1982-92: the contribution of occupation and geography.

Following two previous articles which described changes that are occurring in suicide rates and trends in factors known to be associated with suicides, this article examines in greater depth the effect of occupation and geography on suicide mortality. For both men and women the highest risk occupations are mostly in Social Class I or II. The occupations at highest risk, which include several medical-related professions, and the method of suicide they choose, suggest that easy access to means of suicide is an important factor. Suicide rates for men aged 15-44 are generally higher in Inner London, rural areas, resort and retirement areas, and urban manufacturing areas.

Adolescent↗