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Biomedical subjects

A H Holguin

Publications and source records attributed to A H Holguin.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Prevalence of obesity among children of military dependents at two major medical centers.

BACKGROUND: Prevalence of childhood obesity is unknown among military dependents. We ascertained the prevalence among all children aged 1 year or older attending the pediatric and adolescent clinics at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) during 1978 and the Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) during 1986 and 1990. METHODS: Obesity was defined according to the child's relative weight computed from growth charts of the National Center for Health Statistics. RESULTS: The study sample included 1715 children (1078 at BAMC, 637 at WRAMC). Among them, 14.8% were overweight, 10.8% were obese, and 7.7% (3.0% males, 4.7% females) were grossly obese. The prevalence of grossly obese children was 5.5% at WRAMC and 9.0% at BAMC; 11.5% among children of retirees and 7.3% among children of active duty personnel (P less than .008); 5.5% among children of officers and 12.2% among children of sergeants (P less than .0005). The prevalence of very obese children was 10.1% for those older than 12 years of age and 3.3% for those aged 6 years or younger (P less than .0001). CONCLUSIONS: Retiree status of the sponsor was more important than sponsor's rank or child's age in determining the prevalence of childhood obesity. Prevalence of obesity approximately doubled over the 8 to 12 years of the study.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

The role of home environment in infant diarrhea in rural Egypt.

In 1982 and 1983, a descriptive environmental survey was conducted in 317 households with newborn infants in rural Bilbeis, Egypt. The incidence of infant diarrhea in these households was ascertained by twice-weekly home visits for a 1-year period (1981-1982). Using univariate and multivariate analyses, the authors identified household factors that were statistically associated with infant diarrhea incidence, including number of children in the house under 4 years of age; number of persons per household; incidence of diarrhea in other family members; having a dirt (vs. concrete) dining room floor; having multiple living areas in the house; having a house or roof in need of repair; using well water rather than tap water for cooking or bathin; the absence of a sewer for waste bathwater; food being left out at room temperature between meals; and having many rodents in the house. Two practices involving interaction with the environment appeared to be protective: butchering of cattle by the family for home consumption, and protection of the infant from flies by a veil during napping. The combined household variables explained 25% of the variance in the total incidence of diarrhea. Categories of variables that accounted for most of the total variance explained by environmental factors are, in decreasing order: house structure (28%); water usage (24%); toilet and bathing area (12%); animal management (11%); food preparation area (10%); hygiene (8%); and wastewater management (6%). This approach may be useful in identifying environmental characteristics whose change would reduce diarrheal illness among infants.

Abattoirs↗
PubMed1990

Firearm-related deaths among children in Texas: 1984-1988.

Although firearms are significant contributors to intentional and unintentional injuries among children in Texas, little information has been published on this topic. We reviewed all firearm-related deaths occurring among persons younger than 15 years of age in Texas from 1984-1988. There were 337 firearm-related deaths among Texas children 0-14 years of age in this 5-year period. Unintentional deaths and firearm homicides were approximately equal for this age group. Black males ages 10-14 years were at highest risk of firearm-related death. The death rate for males was three times that of females. Death rates from unintentional shootings were highest in rural areas, while firearm homicides and suicides were highest in the largest cities.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Health significance of chlorination byproducts in drinking water: the Houston experience.

In 1954, following the construction of Lake Houston, a change from lightly chlorinated ground sources to a heavily chlorinated surface source of drinking water took place for a sizable part of the population in the city of Houston, Texas. This has provided the opportunity to compare the incidence of urinary tract cancer mortality in populations exposed to heavily chlorinated and lightly chlorinated drinking water. The spatial, diurnal, and seasonal concentrations of chlorination byproducts (trihalomethanes) in Houston water were assessed. The range of concentrations varied from below the limits of detection in treated ground water, to more than 200 mg/l (twice the level allowed by US drinking water standards) in treated lake water. The mortality experience by gender, by race, and by age cohorts for the period 1940 to 1970 from urinary tract cancers and three comparison causes was determined for 56 of Houston's census tracts classified by the duration of exposure to the surface water. By the 1970's 20 years following the switch to surface water, an increase was detected in urinary cancer mortality rates for white females without a corresponding increase observed for white males. No clear-cut trends were found for the non-white population. On balance, a detrimental urinary cancer effect associated with a switch to chlorinated surface water has not been demonstrated yet.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

A mortality study of employees at a synthetic rubber manufacturing plant.

A mortality follow-up study was conducted of workers employed at a synthetic rubber manufacturing plant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Interest in the potential health effects of exposure to methyl chloride, one of the substances used in the manufacturing process, provided the impetus for this study. The study cohort consisted of 852 male process workers who had worked at least 1 month during the period from startup of operations in 1943 through December 31, 1978. Mortality from all causes was lower than expected when compared with the U.S. male population. No excess mortality from any specific cause of death was found in the study population after analysis by level and duration of exposure.

Cardiovascular Diseases↗
PubMed1979

Evaluation of the relationship of sodium in drinking water and toxemia of pregnancy.

This study is a retrospective case comparison analysis of the relationship of water-borne Na+ and toxemia of pregnancy as a part of a continuous investigation at our facility on the role of various water constituents in human chronic disease. Five hundred thirty-seven toxemic pregnant women delivered at Jefferson Davis Hospital, Houston, Texas, during 1976 were matched by age, race, obstetrical history, and month of delivery to 537 non-toxemic controls. Sodium concentration in each patient's drinking water was derived, based on her address, from earlier prepared maps of sodium distribution in Houston's water supplies. Paired t-tests were performed to compare the Na+ levels, which varied from 19 to 250 mg/l in water supplies of cases and controls. Odds ratio analysis was used to test for the presence of a gradient in occurrence of toxemia in parallel with the gradient of Na+. No significant impact of water-borne Na+ in the indicated range was observed. Further studies incorporating still higher ranges are contemplated.

Evaluation Studies as Topic↗
PubMed1977

Location of food consumption and travelers' diarrhea.

Daily food histories for one month were obtained in summer, 1975, from students attending a Mexican university to determine the influence of food consumption on the development and etiology of diarrhea. In newly-arrived students from the U.S. who ate half or more of their meals in the school cafeteria and public restaurants there were significant increases in diarrhea (p less than 0.005); shigella infection (p less than 0.05) and toxigenic E. coli infection (p less than 0.025) compared to the students eating a comparable number of meals in private homes. In the summer U.S. students there was also an association of diarrhea and eating from street vendors (p less than 0.05). In full-time U.S. students who had lived in Mexico a year or longer as well as in Latin American students a relationship between location of meals and occurrence of enteric disease was not apparent. High numbers of enteric bacteria were recovered from food from the school's cafeteria, public restaurants, street vendors and small grocery stores. Shigella were isolated from cooked and uncooked hamburger patties from the school cafeteria. Four shigella carriers were found among kitchen personnel at the school. This study demonstrates that food serves as a major vehicle through which travelers' diarrhea occurs.

Diarrhea↗