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Biomedical subjects

C P Szabo

Publications and source records attributed to C P Szabo.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Muscular strength changes in hospitalized anorexic patients after an eight week resistance training program.

We investigated whether an eight week, light resistance program could increase the muscular strength of the knee and elbow extensors and flexors in a group of hospitalized anorexic patients compared to anorexic controls (AC) who did not participate in the training program, but received the same caloric intake, and non-anorexic exercisers (NAE) who undertook the resistance training program. After the resistance training program, the seven anorexic exercisers (AE) significantly increased the peak torque (PT) of their knee extensors (p < 0.001), flexors (p < 0.0001) and elbow flexors (p < 0.01). In comparison, the seven anorexic non-exercisers (anorexic controls, AC) and seven non-anorexic exercisers (NAE), who performed the same program, showed no significant increase in peak torque after the program (p > 0.05). The study has demonstrated that an eight week, light resistance program increases the knee and elbow strength of the hospitalized anorexic patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

The impaired practitioner - scope of the problem and ethical challenges.

Practitioner impairment occurs when a physical, mental or substance-related disorder interferes with his or her ability to engage in professional activities competently and safely. The Health Professions Council of South Africa makes reporting of impaired colleagues and students mandatory. The ethical dilemma faced by many colleagues on the issue of reporting an impaired practitioner is that of having to choose between protecting the privacy of the practitioner and the safety of patients. However, medicine as a profession with an acknowledged fiduciary relationship has a clear responsibility to assure the public, and all patients, that its practitioners and institutions are trustworthy. An awareness of and sensitivity to physician vulnerability and early detection and prevention of impairment is important.

Ethics, Medical↗
PubMed2006

HIV-positive status among surgeons - an ethical dilemma.

HIV/AIDS is a manageable disease with a reasonable expectation that affected individuals might be able to experience both reduced mortality and morbidity. Within the socio-political context of the illness there has been a very strong emphasis on human rights issues, especially in relation to discrimination, which has seemingly been influenced more by emotion than science. This article explores and addresses the potential risk of an HIV-positive surgeon transmitting the virus to a patient. We argue that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) guidelines are too restrictive, especially against a background of limited transmission risk, and hence that these guidelines could be more harmful than beneficial to our health systems.

General Surgery↗
PubMed2002

Hospitalized anorexics and resistance training: impact on body composition and psychological well-being. A preliminary study.

Ritualised exercise commonly accompanies the clinical presentation of anorexia nervosa (AN) sufferers, but there is a paucity of research on structured exercise as a therapeutic intervention. This study examined the usefulness of resistance training as part of a treatment programme for hospitalized anorexics. The study sample consisted of 21 subjects: seven anorexics participating in the exercise programme, seven non-participating anorexics, and seven subjects unaffected by an eating disorder but who participated in the exercise programme. The results show that resistance training is associated with an improvement in body composition and psychological well-being and, although it does not confer an outcome advantage in this regard, it seems to be a useful adjunct in the treatment of hospitalized anorexics.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2000

Ethics in the practice of psychiatry in South Africa.

OBJECTIVE: To determine attitudes with regard to ethics in the practice of psychiatry in South Africa. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. METHOD: The study utilised clinical vignettes, with gender and race of the patient as potential modifying variables in diagnosis and management. Open-ended questions pertaining to potential abuses were included. SETTING AND SUBJECTS: Questionnaires were mailed to all practising psychiatrists in South Africa in 1993 and 1994. OUTCOME MEASURES: Responses to questionnaire. RESULTS: A 40% response rate was obtained (N = 73). Patient race and gender did not influence diagnosis or have a marked impact on the prescription of treatment. Pressure from the patient's family on the psychiatrist did alter case management, as did the psychiatrist's age and gender in some instances. Racial discrimination, sexual misconduct and economic abuses were the most frequently cited areas of observed abuse. CONCLUSION: The development of an ethical framework for the practice of psychiatry in South Africa would appear to be of critical importance.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

The augmented platelet intracellular calcium response to serotonin in anorexia nervosa but not bulimia may be due to subsyndromal depression.

OBJECTIVE: Serotonergic dysregulation is associated with both bulimia and anorexia nervosa. This study attempted to measure the levels of basal and serotonin-stimulated intracellular calcium in patients with bulimia and anorexia Nervosa. METHOD: In this study, basal levels of platelet intracellular calcium as well as the effects of serotonin on intracellular calcium were studied using the Fura-2 method in subjects with bulimia (N = 11), anorexia nervosa (N = 12), and in matched normal controls (N = 17). Depressed patients, defined as meeting DSM-IV criteria for major depression or having a Hamilton Depression Scale score over 16 were excluded from the study. RESULTS: An enhanced serotonin-mediated mobilization of intracellular calcium was found in anorexia compared to both bulimics and controls at serotonin concentrations of 100 nM (p < .002), 500 nM (p < .001), and 1 microM (p < .001, ANOVA), respectively. However, when the anorexic group was subdivided into high and low Hamilton Depression scale groups, only the high Hamilton group demonstrated an augmented intracellular response to serotonin, with the low Hamilton group not differing from controls. DISCUSSION: These results suggest that the augmented intracellular calcium response to serotonin in anorexia may be due to subsyndromal depression in that group rather than to a primary eating disorder.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Abnormal eating attitudes in secondary-school girls in South Africa--a preliminary study.

OBJECTIVES: To document the existence of eating attitudes that may reflect current, pre- or subclinical eating disorders. To establish preliminary prevalence figures for abnormal eating attitudes. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey of eating attitudes. SETTING: Non-clinical, community-based. SUBJECTS: Female high-school pupils. OUTCOME MEASURES: Total score derived from a self-report questionnaire, Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), which measures eating attitudes. Factor profile describing dimensions of eating-related psychopathology, derived from the clustering of questions on the EAT-26. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: An overall prevalence figure of abnormal eating attitudes of 21.66% was documented. Black pupils had a higher prevalence than white pupils (37.5% v. 20.67%). The factor profile of respondents with abnormal eating attitudes did not differ between the race groups, although within the total sample, black respondents had a significantly stronger drive toward thinness. A significant developmental continuum was established, with prevalence figures for abnormal eating attitudes increasing with each standard from Standard 7 onward. The study provides preliminary epidemiological data on the prevalence of adolescent girls either suffering from or at risk of the development of an eating disorder. In addition, the study also provides evidence of the need for intervention strategies that commence in the pre-teen years.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Factors influencing eating attitudes in secondary-school girls in South Africa--a preliminary study.

OBJECTIVES: To establish factors in the environment, e.g. family, peer or media, as well as individual factors, e.g. self-perception, which may influence eating attitudes. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Non-clinical, community-based. SUBJECTS: Female high-school pupils. OUTCOME MEASURES: Responses to questions pertaining to environmental as well as individual factors for each respondent ('dieting questionnaire'; self report). Total scores derived from a self-report questionnaire pertaining to eating attitudes (Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26)). Statistical analysis, using analysis of variance procedures, to determine significant associations between the two questionnaires. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Specific individual wishes, perceptions, behaviours and topics of conversation appear to influence as well as predict eating attitudes. Family, especially maternal, factors play a role in determining eating attitudes. Peer and media (television) factors are not significantly influential. The findings provide preliminary data on factors that influence eating attitudes in a group at risk for the development of eating disorders. The findings have implications for the formulation of preventive strategies within a comprehensive treatment approach.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Antidepressant induced mania in obsessive compulsive disorder.

Five cases of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and antidepressant (clomipramine, fluoxetine and citalopram) treatment emergent manic symptoms are presented. This is of relevance in terms of management, and may suggest an association between OCD and bipolar disorder.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Playboy centrefolds and eating disorders--from male pleasure to female pathology?

OBJECTIVE: To highlight a potential environmental risk factor promoting the development of eating disorders. DESIGN: A retrospective analysis of calculated body mass indices of Playboy centrefolds. SETTING: South African editions of Playboy magazine. SUBJECTS: Playboy centrefolds, February 1994- February 1995. OUTCOME MEASURE: Body mass index. RESULTS: Of surveyed centrefolds, 72% achieved a body mass index under 18, implying undernourishment. CONCLUSIONS: Body mass indices calculated on the basis of stated weights and heights of Playboy centrefolds reveal the majority to be technically undernourished, which is clearly not so on inspection of the centrefolds. The body dimension data in such magazines should be treated with circumspection. Acceptance of the validity of such data may create the erroneous impression that undernourishment is desirable. This notion may have an impact on self-perception and dieting behaviour in certain individuals, precipitating and promoting disturbed eating attitudes and behaviour that may lead to the onset of eating disorders.

Body Mass Index↗