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Biomedical subjects

A Kalache

Publications and source records attributed to A Kalache.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Health status of the rural elderly.

An enormous proportion of the worlds elderly live in rural areas and show wide variations in health status. Many, particularly those in the developing countries, are vulnerable to greater socioeconomic and health marginalization mainly due to inadequate provision of services and economic deprivation. As with the urban elderly, locomotor, visual and hearing disabilities, as well as life-threatening conditions of coronary heart disease, diabetes and hypertension are common among rural elders also. Infections continue to take a heavy toll in many parts of the world. Higher prevalence of health and functioning impairments and of risk factors like sedentarism and current smoking have been reported for the rural elderly in developed countries like the United States, where less frequent use of certain preventive services also has been observed among the rural elderly. The positive association of well-being and health with variables such as living with family, having children, and community involvement, which has been reported from developing countries like Ghana and India, supports the usefulness of the time-honored value of joint family systems and lifelong social and physical activity--all known to foster healthy aging. Such traditional virtues therefore need to be preserved and strengthened. Effective geriatric health care services need to stress a community approach to primary health care, with provision of support and training for both family caregivers and professionals. In addition, emphasis on health promotion, cost-effective indigenous systems of medicine and gender-sensitive programs is needed.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

The greying world: a challenge for the twenty-first century.

As we approach the next millennium, an unprecedented rapid increase of total and relative numbers of older persons in both the developed and the developing world is being observed. The total aged population (aged more than 60 years) world-wide will rise from 605 million in the year 2000 to 1.2 billion in 2025. Population ageing is due to two factors: increased life expectancy and decreasing fertility rates. Public health interventions are major contributor to both. A significant consequence of ageing is the shift from communicable to non-communicable diseases. The World Health Organization (WHO) is addressing the multiple challenges posed by population ageing through integrated activities that include consolidation of databases, capacity building (research and training), advocacy and policy development. These are all approached through WHO perspectives on ageing and health: life-course, health promotion, socio-economic, community based, intergenerational, cultural, gender and ethical.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Stroke: the global burden.

Stroke is a major global health problem. It is a major cause of mortality, morbidity and disability in developed and increasingly in less developed countries. Worldwide, it is the leading cause of healthy years lost in late adulthood, and evidence indicates that the burden of stroke, particularly in terms of morbidity and disability, will almost certainly increase in the foreseeable future. This review aims to generate a better understanding of the present and projected future global burden of stroke, with particular emphasis on the non-established market economy countries (NEMEC). The first part summarizes and interprets the currently available evidence on stroke mortality, incidence, case-fatality and related disability rates from both established and non-established market economy countries. The second part reviews the main risk factors for stroke. For the modifiable factors, it examines current prevalence rates in NEMEC with a view towards identifying patterns that are relevant for predicting future rates of the disease. Reversing the consequences of stroke is difficult, thus primary prevention is of utmost importance. The potential for prevention is illustrated by the experience of Japan, which in the last two decades has seen substantial declines in stroke mortality--mostly due to reductions in dietary salt intake. The last section discusses potential strategies and approaches to effective stroke prevention and highlights other areas that need to be addressed if stroke management in the coming decades is to be effective.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1993

Age at last full-term pregnancy and risk of breast cancer.

Age at first full-term pregnancy (FTP) has long been thought to be the major reproductive risk factor in breast cancer but a Norwegian study suggested that age at last FTP might be more important. In Norway "high parity" means 4 or more deliveries. Does this finding hold in an area with a much broader distribution of parity? Data from a case-control study done in 1980-82 in Fortaleza and Recife, two cities in Brazil's impoverished north-east, have been used to explore further the influence of age at last FTP. The cases were 509 women with histologically diagnosed breast cancer who were matched with hospital controls for age and area of residence. The analysis was based on case-control pairs interviewed by the same person. High breast cancer risk was associated with low parity; after adjustment for parity, breast cancer risk was related both to late age at first FTP (odds ratio [OR] 1.21 for each 5 year increase, p = 0.008) and to late age at last FTP (OR 1.24, p = 0.0007). However, multivariate analysis revealed that the effect of age at last FTP dominated that of age at first FTP: once age at last FTP was taken into account the effect of age at first FTP was no longer significant (OR 1.08, p = 0.38) while the association with parity became more striking. These results challenge the view that age at first FTP is the principal reproductive variable related to breast cancer risk. Moreover, they suggest that high parity is protective independent of ages at first and last FTP. Given recent worldwide reductions in fertility rates, breast cancer incidence may be expected to increase. Balancing that may be the willingness of some women to complete their families by, say, age 35 if they were to be told that this might reduce their risk of breast cancer.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Health needs of older adults displaced to Sudan by war and famine: questioning current targeting practices in health relief.

The high rates of death, disability and illness and the scarcity of resources associated with relief operations for victims of oppression, war and famine have led to some support systems of triage for health and nutritional care in relief. Two vulnerable groups have often been given priority for targeting in health relief--young children and their mothers. This paper reports the findings of a study of the health needs of another vulnerable group, older adults, among those who had been recently displaced to Sudan in 1984-1985 by the war and famine in Tigray region of Ethiopia. The study attempted to determine the extent to which morbidity events and migration affected the life-style of older adults and the socio-economic support mechanisms which were available to them. The findings indicate that older adults (those over 45 years of age) were a very small proportion of the population and that over half of those aged 60 years and over (defined as 'elderly' in this paper) had been left behind in Tigray. This may well indicate that disability, illness or both, forced many older adults, particularly those most in need, to remain in Tigray. Among older adults living in Sudan, high levels of minor disability, social isolation and total economic dependency indicated vulnerability, but older adults had not been specifically considered in health policies and plans. Their primary needs were basic--for cloth, food, shelter, transport, seeds, oxen and farming tools. We conclude that priority in relief should be to support individuals, families and entire communities by adequately providing for basic needs. Furthermore, international relief agencies should give equal consideration to those who remain in their homes and those who migrate for assistance. This approach would take into consideration quality of life, not just the number of lives saved among those who reach the camps and shelters, and would assume responsibility for 'Health for All', not just for selected 'vulnerable groups'.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

Human papillomavirus types 16 and 18 in carcinomas of the penis from Brazil.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) type-16 DNA sequences were found in 26/53 (49%) and HPV type-18 in 5/53 (9%) of penile cancers. In only one specimen was HPV18 found on its own. HPV16 sequences were integrated into the host cell chromosomes although some monomeric and oligomeric free forms of DNA were detected in a few tissues. HPV18 was, as far as detectable, free and unintegrated in all tissues tested. HPV16 DNA was also detected in 40% of cases of carcinoma of the cervix in 19 women from the same social groups as the males. The viral DNA in the female cases was a mixture of integrated and free forms. The DNA binding protein (ICSP 11/12) of herpes simplex type 2 (HSV2) was not detected in 10 penile cancers tested with a monoclonal antibody.

Antigens, Viral↗
PubMed1984

Breast cancer: views of general practitioners on its detection and treatment.

A considerable proportion of women with breast cancer in this country present for treatment in late stages of the disease; Britain's primary health-care system means that in most cases the possible diagnosis of breast cancer is first made in general practice. This offers ample opportunity for early diagnosis and a better understanding about the way the general practitioners perceive the problems associated with the disease. With that specific aim, the present article reports on a survey conducted simultaneously in Oxford and in Edinburgh. Results show that general practitioners in the survey are deeply concerned about breast cancer and see a definite role for themselves in its early detection and long-term management. They also see a need for more health education that includes the encourgement of breast self-examination programmes. Most are in favour of open-access breast clinics for women and, in general, they feel positive about self-education programmes.

Adult↗