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Biomedical subjects

B A Berman

Publications and source records attributed to B A Berman.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Targeting adult smokers through a multi-ethnic public school system.

In a unique approach to utilizing an existing intervention, "opportunistic" and targeted school-based strategies were used to enroll 446 adults into a tailored preventive health program featuring a health screening and smoking-cessation intervention. Implemented through a public school district serving a multi-ethnic low-to-middle income urban community, subjects in this randomized trial were interviewed at enrollment and at three-, six-, and 12-month follow-up, and rescreened at 12 months, to assess changes in smoking-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Using conservative assumptions, self-reported ever-quit rates and continuous abstinence rates of 57.5% and 2.6%, respectively, were achieved across groups; point-prevalence abstinence rates were 13.2%, 12.9%, and 10.3% at three, six, and 12 months. The study examines issues relevant to smoking status and stages of change in this population. The role of the school in increasing access to needed health programming in underserved communities is explored.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

A randomized trial of a self-help smoking cessation intervention in a nonvolunteer female population: testing the limits of the public health model.

Reaching nonvolunteer female smokers with effective smoking cessation programs is a critical public health challenge. Smokers (N = 2,786) among 15,004 female members of a health maintenance organization who completed a routine needs assessment were invited into the "UCLA Preventive Health Behavior Study," consisting of five telephone interviews over 2 years assessing health practices. Participants (N = 1,396) were randomized into experimental or control conditions of an unsolicited, mailed, self-help smoking cessation program. Subjects were not alerted to the link between the program and the health study. Smoking status was assessed at 1, 6, 12, and 18 months. Across all subjects, point prevalence at 18 months was 18.62, and continuous abstinence was 2.71%. No difference was found between treatment and control groups regarding smoking status or readiness to stop smoking--raising questions about the value of mailing cessation materials to nonvolunteers. Quit rates increased over the 18-month follow-up; those still smoking at 18 months reported increased readiness to quit. Predictors at each follow-up point were examined multivariately.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Efficacy and safety of cetirizine therapy in perennial allergic rhinitis.

A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was undertaken to assess the safety and efficacy of once daily cetirizine in alleviating the symptoms of perennial allergic rhinitis. Subjects were adults with perennial allergic rhinitis, characterized by nasal congestion, postnasal discharge, sneezing, rhinorrhea, nasal itching, lacrimation, ocular itching, and itching of the roof of the mouth, and a total pretreatment symptom severity score of greater than or equal to 8. Patients were randomized to treatment with 10 mg cetirizine, 20 mg cetirizine, or placebo for 4 weeks. Efficacy was assessed in 215 patients and safety in 216. Cetirizine in once daily dosages of 10 or 20 mg proved to be effective in relieving the overall symptoms of perennial allergic rhinitis and particularly postnasal discharge and sneezing. The 10-mg dose afforded optimal symptomatic relief, and the 20-mg dose provided little or no additional benefit. Cetirizine was well tolerated, and the frequency of somnolence was not significantly greater in patients receiving this drug than in those given placebo.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Women and smoking: current trends and issues for the 1990s.

Despite significant change in smoking patterns among women during the 1980s, the toll in tobacco-related morbidity and mortality remains high and will continue to rise for some diseases (e.g., lung cancer). Women with lower educational attainment are at particularly high risk for smoking initiation and continuation. Advances in gender-specific knowledge regarding the processes of initiation, cessation, and relapse provide more specific opportunities for targeted intervention. Strategies for change involve media, clinical approaches, and public health efforts. Emphasis needs to be placed on tailoring the message and on utilizing innovative channels through which women can be effectively reached. Advocacy groups are targeting public policies affecting women. Ongoing gender-specific research is needed in the next decade.

Female↗
PubMed1990

Perennial allergic rhinitis: clinical efficacy of a new antihistamine.

Nasal itching, sneezing, and rhinorrhea are troublesome symptoms in patients with perennial allergic rhinitis. Most first-generation H1-receptor agonists achieve a 50% reduction in these symptoms, but their benefits are frequently offset by annoying anticholinergic and sedative side effects. Cetirizine is a major metabolite of hydroxyzine that has little anticholinergic activity and causes significantly less sedation. In addition, it can be given once a day. In placebo-controlled comparisons with terfendadine, both active drugs were comparably effective and significantly better than placebo in relieving sneezing, rhinorrhea, and nasal itching. In a multicenter, double-blind comparison with placebo, both cetirizine, 10 and 20 mg given once daily, were similarly effective and superior to placebo in reducing the overall symptoms of rhinitis. In another multicenter, double-blind study, cetirizine was comparable with diphenhydramine and significantly superior to placebo in reducing total symptom severity, sneezing, rhinorrhea, and ocular itching. The safety of cetirizine was demonstrated in all studies. Cetirizine tended to be less sedating than diphenhydramine.

Benzhydryl Compounds↗
PubMed1989

Asthma costs.

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Asthma↗
PubMed1989

Ethnic variations in the prevalence of smoking among registered nurses.

A survey of smoking behavior was conducted on 1,569 registered nurses in six unrelated acute care hospitals in Los Angeles in 1984-1985. Smoking prevalence, higher than for other health professionals but lower than for women in the United States or in other recently surveyed samples of nurses, was closely linked to the ethnicity and the age distribution of the nurses surveyed. Patterns for black and white nurses, who account for the majority of nurses nationally, were similar to those found in other recent studies of registered nurses. Among Asian nurses, however, prevalence was lower, age of initiation was higher, and the mean number of cigarettes smoked daily was lower than for other nurses. Smoking prevalence for younger nurses was lower than for other nurses, and these nurses were more likely to report themselves as never having smoked. Smoking patterns among nurses remain a significant public health concern.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Allergic rhinitis: mechanisms and management.

Allergic rhinitis is a multifactorial disease that often requires a multimodal treatment program. Most medications, studied individually, demonstrate only a 50% reduction of specific symptoms. Antihistaminics, including the newer generation of nonsedative agents, decongestants, cromolyn sodium, topical synthetic corticosteroids, and orally administered delta-1 steroids, are the commonly prescribed medications used alone or in various combinations. Cromolyn sodium, with its novel mechanism of action and remarkable safety record, is ideally suitable for preventing symptoms resulting from allergic challenge and for substantially reducing symptoms after exposure.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1988

Cost-effectiveness of including cromolyn sodium in the treatment program for asthma: a retrospective, record-based study.

The treatment of chronic mild to moderately severe asthma is expensive for families and for society. Controlling the costs of asthma-related medications, physician visits, emergency room visits, and hospital admissions is therefore an important consideration. A retrospective, record-based study was undertaken to determine the costs of treating asthma in patients for whom cromolyn sodium was included in the routine treatment plan (n = 27) and those for whom treatment did not include cromolyn sodium (n = 26). Significant reductions in the number of emergency room visits and hospital admissions were obtained in patients who were treated with cromolyn sodium. The estimated average cost of emergency room visits was $33 a year for the patients given cromolyn sodium compared with $624 a year for patients in the comparison group. The estimated average cost of hospital admissions was reduced by $1,298 for the cromolyn sodium group compared with a $357 reduction for the comparison group. Computed for the entire course of treatment, the average (+/- SD) daily cost of medications for the comparison group was $0.84 +/- $0.37 versus $0.93 +/- $0.25 for the cromolyn sodium treatment group. Thus dramatic savings in costs of emergency room visits and hospitalizations when cromolyn sodium was included in therapy were effected at a small increase in the overall cost of medications. Analyzed visit by visit, the average daily cost of treatment that included cromolyn sodium decreased while that of the comparison group increased. We conclude that including cromolyn sodium in a regular anti-asthma regimen is a cost-effective and therapeutically effective treatment strategy.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗
PubMed1986

An allergist's view of atopic dermatitis.

Based on the disagreements about the role of atopy in the condition known as atopic dermatitis, it is not surprising that there have been divergent views concerning the appropriate treatment of the disease. A large population of physicians, including most dermatologists and some allergists, believe that the fundamental approach to a successful outcome of the dermatitis is to control the itching and to improve the chronic dryness of the skin. Following a completely different approach are physicians, including many allergists, who are convinced that atopic dermatitis usually involves an imbalance of, or an abnormality in, the immunologic system. For this group, one of the main features of treatment is to remove or avoid offending allergens. Because of the demonstrated pathogenic role of food allergy in the majority of patients with eczema, any child with chronic moderate or severe disease that requires daily medications should be considered for allergic evaluation of this disorder. Further studies still need to be performed concerning the role of environmental and food allergens and the early- and late-phase reactions in atopic dermatitis.

Child↗
PubMed1985

Food allergy.

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Animals↗
PubMed1984

Mast cells.

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Antigen-Antibody Reactions↗