Biomedical subjects

A M Koivisto

Publications and source records attributed to A M Koivisto.

59 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

PubMed1997

Should depression in young school-children be diagnosed with different criteria?

In a two-stage epidemiological study 5686 randomly selected 8 to 9-year-old children were screened using the CDI (Children's Depression Inventory), of whom 418 were questioned with the DISC-C1 (Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children). According to DSM-III criteria the prevalence of MDD (Major Depressive Disorders) was 0.48% and of DD (Dysthymic Disorder) 0.06%. The prevalence rates did not change when DSM-III-R and DSM-IV criteria were employed. Fifteen children reported suicidal thoughts but according to DSM-III criteria only 1 of these children was depressed. Duration and frequency of depressive symptoms are essential for making a diagnosis of depressive disorder by the DSM-III, but children's reliability in reporting them is questionable. Omitting the duration and frequency of symptoms from the DSM-III criteria raised the prevalence of MDD to 4.0% and of DD to 2.2%. Eight of the children with suicidal thoughts were depressed. By the adapted DSM-III-R and DSM-IV criteria the prevalence rate of MDD was 4.0% and of DD 9.7%.

Child↗

PubMed1997

The effect of short-term fasting, apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism, and sex on plasma lipids.

The effect of 1 wk of supervised fasting on plasma lipid concentrations in subjects with different apolipoprotein E (apo E) phenotypes was studied in 58 healthy free-living volunteers. The participants consumed an 870-kJ(208 kcal)/d liquid diet containing fruit and berry juices, tea, and water. The decline in plasma total cholesterol during 1 wk of fasting was 0.46 mmol/L in women and 0.35 mmol/L in men. The decreases were significant in both women and men. The response patterns of plasma total cholesterol were not significantly different between the sexes. In men, the changes in plasma low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol during the fast differed significantly (P = 0.0181) between the apo E phenotypes, whereas in women there were no differences due to phenotype (P = 0.695). The magnitude of the change in plasma triacylglycerol during the fast was different between the sexes (P = 0.0099). The changes in plasma triacylglycerols differed significantly between apo E phenotype groups in men (P = 0.0295) but not in women (P = 0.0661). Statistical comparison between different apo E phenotypes was performed with and without the small apo E3,2+E2,2 group, with essentially similar results. During fasting, plasma high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations decreased slightly but not significantly. The study shows significant differences in the associations of apo E alleles and sex on plasma lipid responses during fasting and illustrates the importance of gene-diet interactions in the regulation of lipid metabolism in humans.

Apolipoproteins E↗

PubMed1996

Excess mortality among former adolescent male out-patients.

Mortality among 156 males and 122 females referred to an out-patient adolescent psychiatric clinic in a Finnish town between 1984 and 1989 was examined. During the follow-up (mean duration 6 years; range 0-6.3 years for the deceased, 0.6-10.3 years for the survivors), 16 male subjects but no females had died. Among those who had died, the mode of death was suicide in 11 cases. The mortality for any cause for males was 10.3% and that for suicide was 7.1%. All male victims had similar high levels of individual and familial disturbances. Current suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, poor psychosocial functioning and a recommendation for psychiatric hospital treatment during the index treatment were associated with male mortality/suicidality. A high risk for mortality for several years after psychiatric treatment was found. It is concluded that, in clinical settings, perceived current suicidal tendencies should be assessed carefully.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1995

Assessment of blood pressure measurement quality in the baseline surveys of the WHO MONICA project.

Because of the general inavailability of reference standards, there exist no common procedures to assess the quality of blood pressure measurements in epidemiological population surveys. To approach this problem within the collaborative international WHO MONICA Project, a standardized assessment of BP measurement quality was developed and applied to the forty-seven baseline surveys of that project. The entire assessments were carried out in retrospect, that is, only after each population survey had been completed. The assessment was focused on the procedures of quality assurance and control as reportedly applied in each survey, and on quality indicators which were derived from the recorded blood pressure values of each survey. The definitions of specific quality assessment items were based on the MONICA project protocol and on sources in the pertinent literature. The available information on quality assurance and control procedures depended solely on self-reports by local survey organizers and on site visits, and was occasionally found to be at variance with the actual blood pressure recordings. Therefore, quality indicators derived from actual blood pressure recordings were far more informative and comparable between surveys. Each survey was rated as optimal, satisfactory, or unsatisfactory with regard to single quality items and these single scores were used jointly to compute a summary score of blood pressure measurement quality for each survey. This summary score indicated that 39 out of 47 MONICA baseline surveys showed optimal or satisfactory BP measurement quality. Limitations and potentials for improvement of quality assessments became apparent. We conclude that a standardized assessment of BP measurement quality in epidemiological population surveys seems feasible and propose that quality assessment methods similar to the ones suggested here become a routine part of future epidemiological analyses of blood pressure values and hypertension in populations. This should facilitate valid study comparisons.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Apolipoprotein E phenotype alone does not influence survival in Alzheimer's disease: a population-based longitudinal study.

Apolipoprotein E4 (ApoE4) phenotype is a known risk factor for development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Contradictory results exist concerning the role of ApoE4 in the rate of decline and mortality in AD. Conflicting findings have also been reported about ApoE and gender interactions with respect to survival. We examined the survival of subjects with AD and non-AD controls with respect to ApoE phenotype and gender in a population-based longitudinal study. Cognitive evaluation was performed for a total of 980 subjects (then aged 69-78 years), and 48 cases with AD were identified. ApoE4 phenotype was more frequently present among subjects with AD. In the whole study population, survival was not related to the presence of AD or ApoE4 phenotype. Risk of death was increased for men compared to women, independently of the ApoE4 phenotype (HR 0.5, 95% confidence interval 0.44-0.69). In subjects with AD, the presence of ApoE4 alone did not influence survival. However, in the AD group, ApoE4-negative men had significantly increased risk of mortality compared to the risk in ApoE4-negative women (p < 0.01). We conclude that the presence of ApoE4 phenotype or AD did not influence mortality in the aged population. Once AD had become manifest, ApoE4 alone did not relate to survival. However, in subjects with AD not carrying ApoE4, men had reduced survival compared to women.

Aged↗