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Biomedical subjects

D D Celentano

Publications and source records attributed to D D Celentano.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Prevalence of migraine headache in the United States. Relation to age, income, race, and other sociodemographic factors.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the magnitude and distribution of the public health problem posed by migraine in the United States by examining migraine prevalence, attack frequency, and attack-related disability by gender, age, race, household income, geographic region, and urban vs rural residence. DESIGN: In 1989, a self-administered questionnaire was sent to a sample of 15,000 households. A designated member of each household initially responded to the questionnaire. Each household member with severe headache was asked to respond to detailed questions about symptoms, frequency, and severity of headaches. SETTING: A sample of households selected from a panel to be representative of the US population in terms of age, gender, household size, and geographic area. PARTICIPANTS: After a single mailing, 20,468 subjects (63.4% response rate) between 12 and 80 years of age responded to the survey. Respondents and non-respondents did not differ by gender, household income, region of the country, or urban vs rural status. Whites and the elderly were more likely to respond. Migraine headache cases were identified on the basis of reported symptoms using established diagnostic criteria. RESULTS: 17.6% of females and 5.7% of males were found to have one or more migraine headaches per year. The prevalence of migraine varied considerably by age and was highest in both men and women between the ages of 35 to 45 years. Migraine prevalence was strongly associated with household income; prevalence in the lowest income group (less than $10,000) was more than 60% higher than in the two highest income groups (greater than or equal to $30,000). The proportion of migraine sufferers who experienced moderate to severe disability was not related to gender, age, income, urban vs rural residence, or region of the country. In contrast, the frequency of headaches was lower in higher-income groups. Attack frequency was inversely related to disability. CONCLUSIONS: A projection to the US population suggests that 8.7 million females and 2.6 million males suffer from migraine headache with moderate to severe disability. Of these, 3.4 million females and 1.1 million males experience one or more attacks per month. Females between ages 30 to 49 years from lower-income households are at especially high risk of having migraines and are more likely than other groups to use emergency care services for their acute condition.

Adolescent

Undiagnosed migraine headaches. A comparison of symptom-based and reported physician diagnosis.

BACKGROUND: Although migraine headaches are a common cause of temporary disability, many people with migraine have not been diagnosed. In a sample of the US population, we sought to determine the proportion of migraineurs diagnosed by a physician and to identify the headache characteristics and sociodemographic profiles associated with undiagnosed migraine. METHODS: A mail questionnaire survey was sent to 15,000 US households, selected from a panel to be representative of the US population. Of a total study base population of 23,611, excluding 3043 subjects less than 12 years of age and respondents with unreported gender, we analyzed data for 20,468 subjects aged 12 to 80 years. Migraine diagnoses were assigned on the basis of reported symptoms by means of operational diagnostic criteria. Physician diagnosis of migraine was ascertained on the basis of self-report. RESULTS: Forty-one percent of female and 29% of male migraineurs reported having been diagnosed by a physician. Diagnosis was more likely in females, in people with high income levels, and in individuals who reported migraine associated with aura, vomiting, or disability. Of the undiagnosed subjects, 80% experienced at least some headache-related disability. CONCLUSIONS: Results of this survey indicate that the majority of people with migraine in the United States do not report having been diagnosed by a physician. Given the high proportion of undiagnosed subjects with headache-related disability, efforts to improve the diagnosis and treatment of migraine are recommended.

Adolescent

Medication use and disability among migraineurs: a national probability sample survey.

OBJECTIVE: To measure the use of prescription medication in treating migraine headache and the associations between medication use and sociodemographic factors, and headache characteristics. DESIGN: National sample survey using a mailed questionnaire to determine symptoms accompanying or preceding severe headaches; frequency, duration, and disability from severe attacks: use of medications to control pain; and medical-care use for severe headaches. SETTING: A stratified sample of United States households. PATIENTS: A sample of 20,468 respondents, aged 12 to 80 years, who responded to a survey on "severe" headaches during the prior year. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Overall, 20.2% of respondents reported severe headaches. Migraine was found in 17.6% of females and 5.7% of males. Of the migraineurs, 40.1% of female and 28.3% of male migraineurs reported using prescription drugs to control pain. Blacks were less likely than whites to report prescription use. Insignificant differences were seen in rates of prescription use among various income levels and regions of the country. Use of prescription medication varied considerably by symptoms and characteristics of migraine attacks. Vomiting and sensory aura were most frequently associated with medication use, as were severity and duration of attacks. Use of urgent-care services for severe headache attacks was associated with frequent use of prescription medications. Patients who reported a physician diagnosis of migraine were more likely to use prescription medication than other migraineurs. CONCLUSIONS: Most migraineurs in the United States are not being treated with prescription medications. Many active migraine patients would benefit from appropriate treatment if care was sought and diagnosis made.

Adolescent

Age- and sex-specific incidence rates of migraine with and without visual aura.

Age- and sex-specific incidence rates for the onset of migraine headache with and without preceding visual aura were estimated from a population-based telephone interview survey conducted between March 1986 and June 1987 of 10,169 randomly selected residents of Washington County, Maryland, between the ages of 12 and 29 years. A total of 392 males and 1,018 females were identified as having a history of migraine. Of these, 27% of male cases and 28% of female cases were defined as having migraine with visual aura. Among both males and females, the incidence rate for migraine with visual aura appears to have peaked as much as 3-5 years earlier than the age peak for migraine without aura. For males, the age-specific incidence for migraine with visual aura appears to have peaked on or before 5 years of age at 6.6/1,000 person-years, or possibly higher. In contrast, the highest incidence for migraine without aura occurred between 10 and 11 years of age at 10.1/1,000 person-years. New cases of migraine were uncommon among males in their late 20s. The initial onset of migraine headache begins at a later age among females than among males. For females, the highest incidence of migraine with aura occurred between 12 and 13 years of age at 14.1/1,000 person-years; the highest incidence for migraine without aura occurred between 14 and 17 years of age at 18.9/1,000 person-years. In contrast to males, new onset of migraine was relatively common among females in their late 20s.

Adolescent

Interpartner reliability of reporting of recent sexual behaviors.

Epidemiologic studies exploring risks for sexually transmitted diseases, including human immunodeficiency virus infection, typically rely on self-report of sexual behaviors. Estimates of the incidence and prevalence of sexual practices are important measures for assessment of behavioral interventions as well as for examining disease transmission. This study examined the degree of agreement within heterosexual couples reporting frequency and type of sexual behaviors, including condom use. Self-reports were obtained from 71 couples attending Baltimore sexually transmitted disease clinics in 1989-1990 regarding the number of days and number of episodes of three specific sexual practices (any type of sexual activity, vaginal sex, and vaginal sex with condom use) over a 30-day period. Paired t test analysis revealed both sexes to be very consistent in their reporting of recent sexual experiences. Multivariate analysis showed that agreement did not vary by socioeconomic status, by whether the partners were married to each other, or by age. These findings suggest that reliable information regarding sexual behaviors may be obtained from men or women.

Adult

Needs and recommendations for behavior research in the prevention and early detection of cancer.

Because life-style patterns affect many cancer risks, research on health-risk behavior and behavior change is critical to cancer prevention. This report recommends priorities for the next decade of psychosocial research on cancer prevention and detection. The leading priority for future research is to fill gaps in basic knowledge left by the rush to intervention and outcome studies. Such research must be theoretically driven and should aim to develop broad principles applicable to diverse health behaviors. Studies that include relevant process data on various stages of behavior change are considered more desirable than simple outcome studies. Epidemiologic investigations should be expanded to include measures of relevant behaviors, so that their impact on clinical outcomes might be established. More research is needed on lay perception of health risks and on individual and health-system barriers to effective cancer prevention and detection. Studies that address the needs of minority and underprivileged populations are crucial. Funding agencies' narrow categorical mandates impede interdisciplinary research on multiple risk factors and their interactions; these boundaries must be relaxed to promote such approaches. Funding agencies should also consider basic research as a long-term investment towards the development of effective interventions.

Health Behavior

Epidemiologic perspectives on life-style modification and health promotion in cancer research.

The clinical, patient-oriented focus of medicine and psychology is contrasted with the epidemiologic (public health) approach in assessing the role of life-style factors and health promotion in cancer research. The unifying host-agent-environment epidemiologic paradigm is applied to contemporary cancer prevention issues, principally smoking cessation and dietary modification, to demonstrate differences in inferences, prevention strategies, and research opportunities. An integration of population-based approaches with the dynamics of patient behavior and risks for cancer is especially salient when considering the role of psychosocial stress and personal and social resources. The social epidemiologic perspective, the study of the psychosocial determinants of physical health status, offers one approach for resolving the outlined differences in perspectives and is particularly relevant for understanding the etiology of life-style behaviors and how they might be altered.

Epidemiologic Methods

Structural determinants of the psychosocial work environment: introducing technology in the work stress framework.

To extend current models of psychosocial work stress research into organizational structure, technology is introduced. An exploratory model is developed combining research from ergonomics, epidemiology, and organizational science. It is hypothesized that technology influences a worker's health by structuring the job, and the relationship between the job and a worker's health is mediated by attitudes at work. To test the model, data are used from a 1978 NIOSH survey of postal workers sorting mail (N = 4903). Path analysis shows technology is indirectly associated with job satisfaction and psychosomatic symptoms by how it structured the job. A machine-paced technological system of work is associated with greater job demands, less control in the job, and less co-worker support but not with supervisor support. The implications of this model for prevention strategies at the workplace are discussed suggesting that influencing supervisor support is the most effective way to affect a person's job satisfaction and level of psychosomatic symptomology.

Adult

HIV seroconversion and disinfection of injection equipment among intravenous drug users, Baltimore, Maryland.

To examine the putative protective effect of disinfectant use on HIV seroconversion among intravenous drug users, we conducted a nested case-control study comparing 22 black heterosexual HIV seroconverters with 95 persistent seronegatives matched on gender, use of cocaine, date of study entry, and duration of follow-up. For intravenous drug users who reported using disinfectant all the time, the odds of seroconversion was 0.77 (95% CI: 0.25-2.38) compared with those who reported no use of disinfectants; for those who used disinfectants some of the time, the corresponding odds ratio was 0.91 (95% CI: 0.26-3.31). The odds ratio for use of disinfectant all the time was 0.63 (95% CI: 0.10-3.91) for those injecting at galleries and 1.08 (95% CI: 0.35-3.11) for those not injecting at galleries. These data suggest a limited protective effect of disinfectant use in the field which may be more beneficial to those injecting in shooting galleries.

Adult

Risk factors for shooting gallery use and cessation among intravenous drug users.

BACKGROUND: Shooting galleries, locations where intravenous drug users (IVDUs) can rent or borrow needles and syringes, are a high-risk environment for HIV-1 transmission. This study investigates risk factors for lifetime attendance at shooting galleries and differentiates characteristics of those who continue to frequent shooting galleries and those who have stopped. METHODS: We interviewed 2615 active IVDUs in Baltimore in 1988 and 1989 and determined patterns of IV drug use, sociodemographics, and HIV-1 serostatus as related to persistence vs cessation of shooting gallery use. RESULTS: Over half (52%) of active IVDUs reported ever using a shooting gallery, with 33% reporting use within the prior 3 months. In multivariate analysis, lifetime shooting gallery use was associated with male gender, homosexuality/bisexuality, low socioeconomic status, Black race, and heavier drug involvement. Persistent shooting gallery users were more frequently male, homosexual/bisexual, homeless, less educated, and started IV drug use more recently compared with those who ceased going to shooting galleries. CONCLUSIONS: Shooting gallery attendance may be pragmatic from a sociological and economic perspective, but it carries with it a heightened risk of acquiring HIV-1 infection.

Adult

Inner-city women at risk for cervical cancer: behavioral and utilization factors related to inadequate screening.

This study investigated the relationships between health care utilization, knowledge, attitudes, sociodemographic characteristics, and adequacy of cervical cancer screening among a random sample of women from inner-city neighborhoods with high rates of cervical cancer mortality. Of 416 women interviewed, 30.3% reported hysterectomies; women with intact uteri (N = 290) are the subjects of this analysis. Over two-fifths (44.1%) reported not receiving adequate Pap testing during the previous 4 years. Compared with adequately screened women, they were more likely to be 45 years or older, have no medical insurance, report never having been to an obstetrician-gynecologist, recall never having been told by a medical provider how often to get a Pap test, rely on providers for adequate screening, report not seeking care as often as they think they should, have less knowledge of risk factors for cervical cancer, and believe that women should get Pap tests less than yearly. Separate models for younger and older women showed that these factors vary by age, demonstrating the need for interventions to be sensitive to age subgroups. These findings suggest that cancer control activities should place more emphasis on motivating women as well as influencing the health care delivery system to maximize reductions in cervical cancer.

Adolescent

Gender differences in the experience of headache.

Since 1940 numerous studies have shown that women report higher rates of symptoms, illness, disability and medical care utilization than men. The present analysis addresses gender differences in headache, with a focus on symptom frequency and associated pain and duration of each subject's most recent headache attack experienced within 4 weeks of interview. A random sample of 10,167 Washington County, Maryland residents (ages 12-29 years) were administered a standardized telephone interview in a large epidemiologic study of headache during 1986-87. Among the respondents, 6347 described one or more headaches occurring within 4 weeks of the interview. Women reported few specific symptoms more frequently than men, and the relative rankings of the symptoms were nearly identical for each gender (rs = 0.98). Estimated pain associated with each subject's headache and the duration of the attack were systematically greater for women than men. Although the relative rankings of symptoms by associated pain were very similar (rs = 0.90), the correlation for the ranking of symptoms for duration by gender was less strong (rs = 0.59). Women were significantly more likely to report recent headache-related disability and to seek health care services for their headaches, even after adjusting for headache severity. The results suggest that a strong interplay of an underlying physiological difference with socially determined role perceptions and illness orientations lead to greater reporting of symptoms by women.

Activities of Daily Living

Gender differences in the effect of unemployment on psychological distress.

In this paper we examine whether unemployment has a differential impact on the expression of psychological distress among men and women. Based on the traditional centrality of the work role to men and the family role to women, we defined several key domains that might affect unemployed men and women differentially: family circumstances, concerns and worries about children and family; coping responses; social support and social integration; and the centrality of the work role. While the study population either were or hoped to be in the labor force and had dependent children, they varied in their marital status and whether they were the custodial parent. Using data collected in Baltimore from those who had been unemployed but had returned to work, those who had remained continuously unemployed for a year, and those who had been continuously employed, we compared the patterns of men's and women's reactions to unemployment. The important differences in psychological symptoms in this population were related to employment status, problems with parenting, financial difficulties, perceived lack of social support, hostility, and feelings about unemployment. By and large, the patterns of these relationships were similar for men and women. These findings suggest that when gender differences in psychological distress are found they may be due to differences in role configurations of men and women rather than intrinsic gender differences.

Adaptation, Psychological

The relationship of headache symptoms with severity and duration of attacks.

Efforts to develop clinically useful headache classification schemes have generally focused on linking specific symptom groupings with specific headache subtypes. An alternative conceptual approach, the "severity model" of headache, considers a continuum of headache ranging from mild to severe forms with specific headache subtypes distinguished by level of severity rather than unique constellations of symptoms. A population-based telephone interview was carried out among 10,169 subjects aged 12-29 to estimate the prevalence of serious headaches and better characterize symptoms that accompany headache attacks. In an analysis of frequency of occurrence, pain and duration of recent (within 4 weeks prior to interview) headache attacks, the data revealed that common symptoms (such as forehead pain and pain in the back of the head, neck and shoulders) were reported frequently, but headaches with these symptoms were generally characterized by low levels of pain and short duration. Although not an original study objective, the data were analyzed to determine whether distinct symptom constellations could be identified or whether symptoms overlapped between headache types. Symptoms of migraine were frequently experienced concomitant with tension-type symptoms; the resultant headaches were usually characterized as moderate in intensity. In contrast, symptoms usually associated with migraine in the absence of concomitant tension-type symptoms were infrequently experienced, but resulted in headaches causing the greatest disability. The data provide some support for the severity model of headache.

Adolescent

Association of drug injection patterns with antibody to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 among intravenous drug users in Baltimore, Maryland.

During 1988 and 1989, intravenous drug users recruited through extensive community outreach efforts in Baltimore, Maryland, were interviewed about drug injection and sex practices in the prior 11 years, with screening for antibody to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). Neither interviewers nor subjects were aware of HIV-1 serostatus until 2 weeks after the interview. Among 2,616 intravenous drug users who last injected drug within the same calendar year as screening, HIV-1 seroprevalence was 30.1% for those with any use of shooting galleries, 23.3% for those who shared needles but did not use shooting galleries, and 16.3% for drug users who denied both needle-sharing and gallery use between 1977 and 1987. Among 608 drug users who reported persistent use of shooting galleries since 1977 or subsequent initiation into drug use, there was a tendency for HIV-1 seroprevalence to increase with more recent onset of an injection career. Combined with a milder but similar tendency among 739 drug users who reported persistent sharing of needles, and a seroprevalence of 15.1% among participants who had just started injecting drugs in the 18 months prior to baseline, these data provide indirect evidence that a high risk for HIV-1 infection might occur early during a drug injection career.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome