Biomedical subjects

B C Allan

Publications and source records attributed to B C Allan.

17 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1983

Dementia in old age and the need for services.

A randomly selected sample of subjects aged 65 years and over was investigated to determine the prevalence of dementia. The sample, which was stratified by age, consisted of 559 subjects living in the community and institutions. It was estimated that 7.7% of those aged 65 years and over suffered from dementia. The disorder affected both sexes equally. There was a marked increase in the prevalence with age so that in those 80 years and over the prevalence rate of dementia was found to be 19%. Those suffering from dementia were significantly more likely to be receiving institutional care than those with normal intellectual function. Those with dementia used significantly more domiciliary services than did those with normal mental function and were more likely to require additional services not already provided. There was a particular need for district nursing supervision, day care and relief admissions. The high prevalence rate of dementia in the elderly, and the high use those suffering from the disorder make of both domiciliary and institutional services, should be appreciated in the planning of services for the elderly.

Aged↗

PubMed1982

Prevalence of ocular disease in a population study of subjects 65 years old and older.

During a two-year period a randomly selected age-stratified sample of subjects 65 years old and older living in Gisborne, New Zealand, was examined by an ophthalmologist to investigate visual acuity and the prevalence of the major disorders of vision in old age. A total of 481 subjects (a response rate of 86.2%) completed the study. When the results were weighted to remove the effect of stratified sampling, the following prevalence rates for the population 65 years and over were obtained: cataract, 30.1% with no sex difference and an increasing prevalence with increasing age; senile macular degeneration, 6.4% with no sex difference and an increasing prevalence with increasing age; glaucoma, 3.6% with no sex difference except for women 90 years old or older who had a higher rate. The prevalence of glaucoma increased with increasing age in women, but in men there was no clear pattern; diabetic retinopathy, 0.5%. In the population 65 years old and older, we estimated that 81% of the men and 68.8% of the women had best corrected visual acuities of 6/9 (20/30) or better in the better eye.

Age Factors↗

PubMed1981

Why skip the general practitioner and go to the accident and emergency department?

The families of 441 children seen in accident and emergency departments over a 10 week period were interviewed to find the reasons why they bypassed their general practitioner and took the child to the department. One-quarter of the children did see the general practitioner first. Almost 40 percent were taken straight to the accident and emergency department because it was seen as providing more appropriate treatment than the general practitioner, while nearly one-quarter went because the department was seen as more accessible. The closer the child's home was to either the general practitioner or the accident and emergency department, the more likely that service was to be used. Children from lower socio-economic status families were more likely than other children to see their general practitioner first.

Child↗

PubMed1981

Thyroid disease in the elderly in the community.

In a clinical and biochemical study of 559 subjects over the age of 65 years living in the community, in residential homes and in hospital, seven patients with thyroid disease were found. This gave a prevalence rate of 0.94% of hypothyroidism and 0.47% of hyperthyroidism in people aged 80 years or more. Five of these seven subjects were suspected clinically of having thyroid disease. Therefore routine biochemical screening does not appear to be justified. Within each of the age strata there was no significant change in serum thyroxine with age. Women had significantly higher serum thyroxine levels than men, in the group aged 75 years or more.

Aged↗

PubMed1981

Falls in old age: a study of frequency and related clinical factors.

An analysis of falls experienced by a stratified population sample of 553 subjects, 65 years and over, was performed. It is estimated that one third of people 65 years and over experience one or more falls in a year. To analyse the association of physical and social variables with falls, the falls were divided into pattern falls and occasional falls. Pattern falls were those which, on history and examination, were assessed as arising from only minimal external upset and primarily from a disorder of balance or postural stability in the subject. Occasional falls were those which had arisen under circumstances which would be liable to cause a fit person to fall. Bivariate analysis showed those having pattern falls tended to have more functional disability, to have increased impairment of mobility, to use more aids to mobility, to be more depressed, to have lower mental test scores and to need more professional support. Women experiencing pattern falls also tended to be older and have poorer vision, while men had lower systolic blood pressure. Discriminant analysis showed that the principal effective 'predictors' of pattern falls in women were functional disability, the need for support services and informal help and the use of walking aids. In men they were functional disability and the need for support services and informal help.

Accidents↗

PubMed1976

Infection with Mycoplasma pneumoniae: clinical and serological data on 286 patients.

In a 14-month period from January, 1971, 286 patients, referred for investigation of a variety of illnesses, were found to have complement-fixing antibodies to Mycoplasma pneumoniae to a titre of 1:32 or greater. Clinical findings in these patients are presented in a form which relates them to different antibody levels. Patients with central nervous system disease are described in some detail and the occurence of rash, arthropathy and a variety of other syndromes is noted. The suggestion is made that low-titred M. pneumoniae antibody appears as an anamnestic response to infection with other agents.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1974