Biomedical subjects

A Awaritefe

Publications and source records attributed to A Awaritefe.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1989

Epilepsy: the myth of a contagious disease.

The belief among Nigerians that epilepsy is infectious is widely reported in the relevant professional literature. This belief, however, has not been subjected to scientific investigation and its magnitude has not been assessed, despite the fact that it is one of the most serious obstacles to the care and rehabilitation of epileptics. The study reported here attempted to provide such information interviewing a wide spectrum of the Nigerian population, including medical students. It was found that most Nigerians, including some medical students, share the belief that epilepsy is contagious. They would therefore not eat, drink, or sleep in the same room with an epileptic, or touch him during his fit. The origin of the belief is now lost in obscurity, but traditional healers seem to be its current respository and propagators. The views of the latter are reinforced and sustained by people fleeing in panic from a patient experiencing a grand mal attack. These findings suggest treatment and rehabilitative strategies.

Attitude to Health↗

PubMed1988

Clinical anxiety in Nigeria.

Two hundred patients clinically certified as suffering from anxiety state were investigated with a view to understanding the clinical manifestation of the condition in Nigeria. We found that 67 symptoms were manifested by those patients, but only 15 symptoms were presented by about 10% of the sample. These common symptoms were: frequent headaches, difficulty in falling asleep, flushing, difficulty in concentrating, rapid or irregular heart beating, weakness, hot flashes, dizziness, feeling of something crawling in the head, heaviness of the head, nervousness, poor appetite, poor sight, nightmares, and chest pain. The five major precipitating factors were physical ailments, studying and examinations, use of drugs, psychological phenomona, pregnancy and childbirth, in decreasing order of magnitude. The most vulnerable age group was between 18 and 23 years old. The first born children account for the highest number of anxiety patients, but as the number of siblings increases, the vulnerability of the last-born increases. Anxiety neurosis as seen here is predominantly a problem of single males and females with secondary school education.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1982

The state-trait anxiety inventory and sex.

This study sought to investigate the response pattern of male and female subjects to the state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI) under anxiety-provoking and normal conditions. The relationship between the STAI and systolic and diastolic blood pressures for both men and women under the above-mentioned conditions was also examined. We found that the STAI X-2 and the systolic blood pressure discriminated between the sexes and the treatment conditions. On the average, both men and women scored significantly higher during the anxiety-provoking stimulus situation than during the normal condition on systolic and diastolic blood pressures. The men seemed to be more prone to anxiety than the women. We also found that, STAI X-1 related negatively to both the systolic and diastolic blood pressures in the anxious condition among men, while it related positively to the systolic and diastolic blood pressure among women. During the "calm" period, while STAI X-1 and X-2 were unrelated to systolic and diastolic blood pressure among men, the STAI X-2 correlated positively with systolic and diastolic blood pressures among women.

Anxiety↗

PubMed1980

Personality and menstruation.

An attempt was made to relate personality to premenstrual tension (PMT), using two groups of 40 parous and 40 mulliparous women, respectively composed of 20 single and 20 married subjects with an age range of 21 to 30 years. The menstrual instruction group had identical age range and means with the nonmenstrual group. Control for pregnancy, use of contraceptives, and irregularity of periods was by exclusion. The influence of civil status and parity was also examined. Standard measures of personality and anxiety were utilized. It was found that: 1) The menstrual instruction group had higher scores in state anxiety than the nonmenstrual group. 2) State anxiety scores were positively and significantly correlated with trait anxiety scores. 3) The differences in state anxiety between the menstrual and nonmenstrual groups manifested in the form of exaggeration of symptomm reporting. 4) The Maudsley Personality Inventory did not discriminate between our menstrual and nonmenstrual groups. 5) The global scores of the premenstrual sympto checklist did not discriminate between our menstrual and nonmenstrual groups but the sections on breast, urinary, and pelvic symptoms did. 6) Neither marital status nor parity by itself had any significant effect on the performance of our menstrual and nonmenstrual groups.

Adult↗

PubMed1978

Anxiety and menstrual bleeding in Nigerian females.

This paper reports on a study which examined the relationship between menstrual bleeding and anxiety as a multidimensional concept. Anxiety was measured using a standardized psychological instrument, the STAI. It was hypothesized that (1) state anxiety was raised during menstruation and (2) the amount of increase in state anxiety during menstruation depended on the level of trait anxiety in a given female. These hypotheses were confirmed. It was also found that the experimental group scored higher than the control group on both positive and negative items, which may be an indication that the former exaggerated their symptoms.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Epilepsy and psychosis: a comparison of societal attitudes.

Pioneer investigators in Nigeria have presented a gloomy picture of epilepsy as a highly infectious and disastrous disease in the eyes of the public. As a result, epileptic persons suffer untold social deprivations and discrimination in education, employment, housing, marital life, etc. These assertions have been repeated over the years more as a result of incidental observations while reviewing hospital cases than as products of attitude research on the subject. We assumed, therefore, that these statements should be considered as impressive hypotheses needing to be tested. By employing the Osgood semantic differential and the behavioral differential of Triandis, we assessed the attitude of the normal literate general public toward persons with epilepsy and "cured" psychotic patients and how closely the public would associate or socialize with these people. We also inquired into the public's opinion about the causes of epilepsy and psychosis, since this knowledge is necessary for attitude formation and change. On the whole, the general attitude toward epileptic patients is negative, and toward "cured" psychotic patients, positive. There are sex differences, in that males perceive epileptic patients more favorably than females do. However, both males and females would discriminate against both the epileptic and "cured" psychotic person in terms of employment, residential accommodation, friendship, and marital relations. The major perceived causes of epilepsy reported were heredity, witchcraft, and brain damage, in that order, not infection. About 25% admitted ignorance of the cause of epilepsy, as against 1% for psychosis. The psychoses were reportedly caused mainly by Indian hemp smoking, drug abuse, brain damage, and witchcraft, in that order.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗