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Biomedical subjects

B Burrows

Publications and source records attributed to B Burrows.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1977

Quantitative relationships between cigarette smoking and ventilatory function.

In this study of a general population sample, highly significant quantitative relationships were noted between pack-years of smoking and functional impairment. Subjects with chronic productive cough showed steeper declines in the forced expired volume in 1 sec and forced expiratory flow after exhalation of 75 per cent of the forced vital capacity (Vmax 25), but a definite inverse relationship between ventilatory function and pack-years was demonstrated even among subjects who denied any cough or sputum production. Current smoking showed no relationship to 1-sec forced expiratory volume or Vmax 25 when total pack-years were taken into account. Age appeared to be an important independent determinant of per cent predicted values only in regard to the Vmax 25 in symptomatic nonsmoking women. A history of childhood respiratory trouble was associated with a lower ventilatory function regardless of smoking habits, and for this reason such subjects have been deleted from detailed analyses of dose-effect relationships. Allergy skin test reactivity in young to middle-aged adults showed a significant additive effect to pack-years as a determinant of forced expiratory flow toward the end of the forced vital capacity, but the effect was noted only among present smokers.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1977

The relationship of childhood respiratory illness to adult obstructive airway disease.

This study of a general population sample reveals close relationships between histories of childhood respiratory disorders and pevalences of symptoms, obstructive airway diseases, and ventilatory impairment in 2,626 adults more than 20 years of age. Although a history of pediatric respiratory illness is associated with relatively mild impairment of ventilatory function in young adults, subjects with such a history shown an excessive decline in function with advancing years and with cigarette use. Because some of the data are retrospective and subject to the bias of preferential recall of childhood events, these observations cannot be regarded as definitive. However, present observations are compatible with the hypothesis that pediatric respiratory illness represents an important risk factor for the development of obstructive airway diseases in adult life. It is suggested that these childhood respiratory illnesses cause the adult lung to be unusually susceptible to the adverse effects of a variety of bronchial irritants and infectious agents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

The maximal expiratory flow-volume curve. Normal standards, variability, and effects of age.

From a randomly selected population representative of the white population of Tucson, Ariz., satisfactory flow-volume data were obtained for 3,115 persons. Data from the 746 subjects who were totally free of symptoms or history of cardiorespiratory disease and who had never smoked were used in determining "normal" prediction equations for spirometric parameters and maximal expiratory flows. The maximal expiratory flow-volume curve showed considerable intersubject variability, but little change in shape of the mean maximal expiratory flow-volume curve was seen with advancing age when the effects of disease, insult, or injury were excluded.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Comparison of questionnaires: the BMRC and NHLI respiratory questionnaires and a new self-completion questionnaire.

Interviewer-administered National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI) and British Medical Research Council (BMRC) respiratory questionnaires were compared with each other and with a self-administered questionnaire of our own design in 2,350 adults enrolled in a longitudinal community study. There was a basic 10% disagreement between responses to any 2 questionnaires for all questions that inquired about a perception of a complaint or a disease, but much less disagreement for more factual questions, such as those concerning smoking. Little effect was noted from minor variations in wording, order of questions, method of administration, inclusion of other questions, or time between questionnaires (as long as this interval was less than 1 month). For questions with similar wording, the BMRC and NHLI questionnaires yielded very similar results in terms of over-all prevalence of responses, relationships to answers on an independent questionnaire, and inter-relationships of positive responses. The new self-completion questionnaire used in this study detected more abnormalities and better delineated cough and phlegm "syndromes" than either the NHLI or the BMRC questionnaire, and we believe that self-administration was a very satisfactory technique in the type of population surveyed in this study.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

The maximal expiratory flow-volume curve: its use in the detection of ventilatory abnormalities in a population study.

Flow-volume and spirometric parameters obtained in a randomly selected population were examined with regard to their sensitivity in detecting abnormalities among persons who smoked and/or had respiratory symptoms. Data obtained from subjects who were totally free of cardiorespiratory symptoms and who had never smoked cigarettes were used to develop "normal" prediction equations. Using as normal limits the per cent of predicted value above which 95% of these "normal" subjects fell, maximal expiratory flow at 75% of the expired vital capacity (Vmax75) detected the greatest proportion of abnormalities in the remainder of the population. When examined according to age, however, Vmax75 was most sensitive in older subjects, whereas 1-sec forced expiratory volume was superior in younger subjects. There was a slight tendency for Vmax75 to be affected in subjects with reactive airway syndromes and for the 1-sec forced expiratory volume to be affected in heavy smokers or subjects with chronic productive cough. If one parameter was markedly abnormal, the entire flow-volume curve was likely to be affected, but concordance of the parameters examined was not complete. For the latter reason, considerable caution must be exercised in attempting to use multiple parameters in defining abnormality, unless one applies more stringent criteria for abnormality.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Respiratory symptoms related to smoking habits of family adults.

A study of the effects of family smoking habits on the symptoms of other family members has shown that symptoms of household members, especially children, are related to smoking habits within the households but are not significantly so when symptoms in adults are controlled.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Immediate skin-test reactivity in a general population sample.

To assess the prevalence and distribution of allergic skin-test reactions in a general population sample, allergy prick tests were applied to 3101 subjects older than 2 years of age. Test materials included allergens common to the Tucson environment, and subjects were randomly stratified by age, sex, and socioeconomic status. No difference in the prevalence of measurable reactions was found among male subjects versus female subjects. A definite age relation was apparent, however, with the peak prevalence of reactivity (more than 40%) occurring during the third decade, and falling rapidly past age 50. When present, reactions tended to be multiple, highly reproducible, and more frequent among those in the higher socioeconomic strata. The prick test was judged to be a useful tool for the assessment of atopy.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1976

Respiratory disorders and allergy skin-test reactions.

This study examines the relations of allergy skin-test reactivity, assessed by prick testing, to a variety of respiratory symptoms, findings, and diagnoses in a general population sample consisting of more than 3000 subjects. The independent and combined relations of skin-test reactivity and cigarette smoking are reported. Prevalences of asthma and allergic rhinitis are closely related to the severity of skin-test reactions; all of the 39 subjects with the largest skin-test reactions observed have had one or both of these conditions. A variety of other respiratory findings, not generally considered allergic in nature, are also related to skin-test reactivity, especially in children and in young to middle-aged adults. In subjects 15 to 54 years of age, an atopic predisposition, as manifested by reactions to allergy skin tests, appears to be associated with an increased susceptibility to the bronchoconstrictor effects of cigarette smoking and to recurrent chest infections. It is suggested that an atopic predisposition relatively early in life may be a risk factor for the later development of chronic obstructive lung diseases.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

A community study of the relation of alpha1-antitrypsin levels to obstructive lung diseases.

Since it is still uncertain whether moderate degrees of alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency predispose to the development of lung disease, data obtained from a stratified random sample of white households in Tucson, Arizona, consisting of 2586 subjects over five years of age, were analyzed. No relation was found between serum alpha1-antitrypsin levels, measured as trypsin inhibitory capacity, and ventilatory function, respiratory symptomatology, or frequency of diagnosed pulmonary diseases even among cigarette smokers. The data indicate that an intermediate level of alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency (i.e., inhibitory capacity between 20 and 62 per cent of the population's mean value) is not an important risk factor for the development of chronic obstructive lung diseases. The data militate strongly against the use of any quantitative determination of alpha1-antitrypsin as a test to identify subjects with moderate deficiency for the purpose of predicting later development of chronic respiratory disorders. The rate of severe deficiency is so low as to make population screening for such subjects impractical.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Tucson epidemiologic study of obstructive lung diseases. I: Methodology and prevalence of disease.

Using a multistage stratified cluster sample of Anglo-white Tucson households (based on the 1970 Census block statistics), this longitudinal study enrolled 1655 households. The study sample of 3805 individuals thus selected representatively covered the household structures, including the age and sex subgroupings, of the Tucson Anglo-white population. The estimated prevalence rates had a very low standard error of estimate both overall and in the age- and sex-specific categories, indicating a good selection and sufficient numbers in all age-sex specific subgroups. As anticipated, prevalence rates of diagnosed respiratory and other chronic diseases were higher than those found nationally. Despite much higher rates of diagnosed pulmonary diseases within the age-sex populations over the age of 40, the results of this study are within the ranges of other surveys in terms of prevalence of many common chronic respiratory symptoms. Reasons for this apparent discrepancy are so far undertermined.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Tucson epidemiologic study of obstructive lung diseases. II: Effects of in-migration factors on the prevalence of obstructive lung diseases.

The effects of in-migration factors on respiratory symptoms, chronic health problems, and lung function were examined in the stratified Tucson population as part of a longitudinal epidemiologic study of obstructive lung diseases. Migration to the area specifically for health reasons explained part of the high prevalences of disease found in the study. But natives still had higher rates of disease than those found generally in the United States, especially for asthma and allergic rhinitis; It was found that previous urban residence was related to the prevalence of several conditions, even when controlling for age, sex, and smoking habits. However, the trends were not always clear and the differences were not great enough to explain the Tucson population's much higher rates of these conditions than reported nationally or in similar studies elsewhere.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Further observations on the course and prognosis of chronic obstructive lung disease.

Long-term survival data are presented for 200 patients with chronic airway obstruction of uncertain etiology who were enrolled in a prospective study approximately 14 years ago. Early death rates were closely related to the initial level of ventilatory impairment. Subjects with relatively mild impairment on entry to the study had a favorable prognosis for the first 5 to 7 years of follow-up but then began to show a higher death rate; there are few long-term survivors in the total series.

Arizona↗
PubMed1975

Characteristics of chronic bronchitis in a warm, dry region.

Subjects residing in the warm, dry climate of Tucson, Arizona showed the same relationship of productive cough to smoking as noted elsewhere, but they less regularly reported seasonal or diurnal exacerbations of their symptoms and they less regularly reported phlegm production along with chronic cough. In this locale, even nonchronic dry cough was associated with an increased frequency of other respiratory symptoms and of ventilatory impairment. In comparing characteristics of subjects with a clinical diagnosis of chronic bronchitis with characteristics of subjects who had only questionnaire-detected chronic productive cough, it was found that smoking habits were more closely related to the presence of chronic cough than to the clinical diagnosis. The clinical diagnosis was associated with other features, such as wheezing, at least as often as with productive cough. This was especially true in children, in whom a suprisingly high prevalence of both chronic cough and clinically confirmed chronic bronchitis was noted. These observations led to questions concerning the appropriateness of using a common clinical term such as chronic bronchitis to describe subjects whose only known abnormality is an affirmative answer to a direct question concerning phlegm production.

Adolescent↗