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Biomedical subjects

D Skuse

Publications and source records attributed to D Skuse.

51 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Oral-motor dysfunction and failure to thrive among inner-city infants.

Non-organic failure to thrive among socio-economically deprived inner-city infants may be associated with abnormal oral-motor functioning and aspects of social adversity, such as disorganised meal-times. A Feeding Assessment Schedule was devised to rate oral-motor behaviour objectively and was used to test nine pairs of case and comparison children while they were being fed at home. Video-recordings were made for later analysis. The case infants had immature and abnormal oral-motor development that made them less able to be fed successfully. Temperamentally they were more 'difficult' than the comparison infants, and they were less adept at signalling their needs during meal-times. The case infants also were fed in inappropriate positions for their age, with more distractions and less suitable utensils.

Child↗
PubMed1988

Consultation for physical illnesses by patients diagnosed and treated for psychiatric disorders by a general practitioner: 20 year follow up study.

Patterns of consultation for physical illness were analysed in a body of consultation data covering a continuous 20 year period from a single general practitioner in south London. Three groups of adult patients were identified: patients with a psychiatric disorder and a new prescription for a psychotropic drug; patients with a psychiatric disorder but no new prescription for a psychotropic drug; and a control group without psychiatric disorder. The percentages of patients having one or more consultation for physical illnesses were stable over the years studied, being roughly 90%, 85%, and 60% respectively. For groups identified in 1972 their patterns of consultation for physical illness were examined in 1957, 1962, and annually from 1967 to 1976. In every year studied except 1957 the group with a psychiatric disorder and a new prescription for a psychotropic drug exceeded both other groups in the percentage of patients having one or more consultations for physical illnesses. Both groups with psychiatric disorders had an excess of consultations over the control group; this excess halved in about four years for the group with a new prescription and in about one year for the group without a new prescription. Mental health care by general practitioners for patients with psychiatric disorders does not seem to have an offset effect on general health care of these patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Depressive thoughts in general practice attenders.

Depressive thoughts were commonly reported by a sample of patients attending a south London general practitioner. Their occurrence corresponded more closely with a psychiatrist's than the general practitioner's diagnosis of depression; a 'scale' composed of questions about depressive thinking discriminated well between depressed and non-depressed men, but was a much poorer discriminator in the women.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Physiological growth hormone (GH) secretion during the recovery from psychosocial dwarfism: a case report.

We describe a 6.4 year old boy who had reversible GH insufficiency secondary to psychosocial dwarfism. On removal to a more favourable environment we observed the recovery of physiological GH secretion by progressive increase in GH pulse amplitude. These observations are relevant to our understanding of the control of GH secretion in that GH pulse frequency appears invariable and alteration in GH secretion is by pulse amplitude modulation.

Child↗
PubMed1987

Growth retardation and developmental delay amongst inner-city children.

A whole population survey of an inner-city health district (population 130,000) was undertaken in order to study the association between social deprivation and non-organic growth delay in preschool children. Potential cases were identified from health clinic records. Cases comprised white, full-term singletons, whose weight and height lay below the tenth centile at 4 years of age. Allowance was made for parental stature. A comparison group was closely matched for socio-economic conditions, and other salient variables. Case children were comparatively significantly delayed in all areas of their cognitive development. One-third were seriously retarded and likely to require special education.

Body Height↗
PubMed1987

Nutrition and mealtime behaviour in families of growth-retarded children.

A sample of 4-year-olds from a London inner city area whose growth fell below the 10th population centile for height and weight were matched with children whose rate of growth was within normal limits. Neither food intake nor gross environmental variables distinguished the two groups. However, mealtime observations revealed considerably more disorganization and negative attitudes in case group families. Retrospective information obtained by interview indicates that these factors had been operative since early infancy. The findings suggest that in surveys of child nutrition the role of family dysfunction should be considered.

Attitude↗
PubMed1985

The nature and qualities of parenting provided by women raised in institutions.

A repeated pattern of difficulties in parenting is often found in successive generations of the same families. That finding, together with a concern to identify potential adverse influences upon child behaviour and development, was the focus of this study into the parenting provided by women who were raised within institutions. Relationships with their 2- to 3-year-old infants were assessed using complementary interview and naturalistic observational techniques. Differences in parenting styles between the case and comparison groups were on the whole subtle. Ex-care women were relatively less sensitive to their children's cues and, in response to their demands and opposition, exercised control by confrontation rather than by circumvention.

Affect↗
PubMed1984

Screening for psychiatric disorder in general practice.

The extent of psychiatric morbidity was investigated in a consecutive series of patients attending a south London general practitioner. The GP identified a psychiatric component in the reason for consultation in 40% of the sample, and he regarded 24% as 'psychiatric cases'. The estimated true prevalence of psychiatric morbidity in the sample was 34%. These data are used as the basis for a theoretical discussion of prescriptive screening strategies for psychiatric disorder in general practice.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Extreme deprivation in early childhood--I. Diverse outcomes for three siblings from an extraordinary family.

An unusual family is described which has been studied for several years. Accounts are given of the later development of two sisters who had suffered severe social and emotional deprivation in infancy. One girl appears to have completely recovered. The other remains handicapped, mainly in language skills, and shows a variety of autistic features. She is also microcephalic as is their mother. The development of a half brother who was raised elsewhere is recounted. He is an albino, severely mentally retarded and autistic. The later discrepancies in development of these children are discussed, with reference to former case studies of extreme deprivation in early childhood.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Extreme deprivation in early childhood--II. Theoretical issues and a comparative review.

Five previously published and one novel case history of children who suffered extreme deprivation in early childhood are reviewed. Aspects of cognitive, emotional and social development are subject to critical appraisal and three main issues, central to theories about the origins of developmental disorders, are addressed. Firstly, what minimal experiences during childhood are sufficient and necessary for normal psychological development? Secondly, are there critical periods in development during which inadequate exposure to certain experiences has long-lasting or permanent sequelae? Thirdly, what minimal compensatory influences are necessary to alleviate psychological handicaps resulting from an adverse early environment?

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

The natural history of depression in general practice: stochastic models.

Three statistical models are presented to describe different aspects of the natural history of depression (as recognized by a general practitioner) during a 20-year study of a single general practice. After controlling for age, the prevalence of recognized depression in men increased during the 20 years of the study (1957-76), but there was little change in women. In any given year, however, women are both more likely to become depressed than men, and are less likely to recover. The changes in prevalence are shown to be due to changes in observed incidence and recovery rates. Taking into account attendances over the previous 5 years at which a diagnosis of depression was made, the models enable one to predict, for example incidence rates for 'first episodes' of recognized depression, and recovery rates for 'chronic' patients. In all situations there is a significant sex difference (women always being more likely to be recognized as depressed), but this difference is smaller at the end than at the beginning of the 20 years.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Recognition of children with psychosocial short stature: a spectrum of presentation.

We describe 65 children (32F, 33M) with psychosocial short stature from 51 families. Average age was 6.6 years (range 0.9-16.5) and all but five were prepubertal. 67% of the patients lived in families with three or more children, but in 73% of cases the patient was the first or the second born child. 45% of the parents were divorced and in 31% of the families the father was unemployed. In 56 children, the birth weight was known and in only 29% was it above 3000 g; 21% were premature, 29% had features of low birth-weight syndrome (including four with Russell-Silver syndrome). Average birth weight was 2786 g (range 1650-4676). In all patients, the predominant reason for referral was growth failure. In 28% an environmental aetiology was suspected and in a further 29%, social or emotional problems were known to the referring physician but not suspected as the aetiology of the growth failure, despite social services involvement in 60% at the referral to our unit. At initial presentation in our clinic, we found additional features leading to the suspicion of psychosocial short stature; 54% abnormal eating pattern, 42% behaviour problems, 26% encopresis, 18% nocturnal enuresis and 12% inappropriate urination. During the observation period of a mean of 3.7 years, 27 (41%) of our patients were found to have been sexually or physically abused. In these 27 children hyperphagia, bizarre eating habits, behaviour problems, soiling and nocturnal enuresis were more common.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Tooth eruption in failure-to-thrive infants.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether differences existed between the numbers of erupted teeth of infants who were failing to thrive and their controls. The results suggest a relationship does exist.

Age Factors↗