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Biomedical subjects

G C Hyner

Publications and source records attributed to G C Hyner.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

A procedural model for planning and evaluating behavioral interventions.

OBJECTIVE: A model for planning, implementing and evaluating health behavior change strategies is proposed. Variables are presented which can be used in the model or serve as examples for how the model is utilized once a theory of health behavior is adopted. RESULTS: Examples of three innovative strategies designed to influence behavior change are presented so that the proposed model can be modified for use following comprehensive screening and baseline measurements. Three measurement priorities: clients, methods and agency are subjected to three phases of assessment: goals, implementation and effects. CONCLUSION: Lifestyles account for the majority of variability in quality-of-life and premature morbidity and mortality. Interventions designed to influence healthy behavior changes must be driven by theory and carefully planned and evaluated. The proposed model is offered as a useful tool for the behavior change strategist.

Behavior Therapy↗

Facilitating changes in exercise behavior: effect of structured statements of intention on perceived barriers to action.

Two groups of worksite employees (58 in a control, 53 in an experimental group) underwent three 90-min. educational sessions designed to increase participation in exercise. At the end of the third session, experimental subjects were asked to complete a structured statement of exercise intention which addressed the major barrier to exercise. Two weeks following the program, chi-squared analysis showed that the two groups were proportionately different in changes in frequency and intensity of exercise such that the experimental group in both cases showed greater changes than the control. Experimental subjects showed a twofold increase in frequency and intensity of exercise over the control group. Pearson r indicated a statistically significant association between the completeness of structured statements of intention and an increase in frequency of exercise. We conclude that structured statements of intention are useful for distinguishing between contrived barriers to exercise (excuses) and actual barriers that require practical solutions.

Adult↗

Loneliness, emotional repression, marital quality, and major life events in women who develop breast cancer.

Women awaiting mammograms at a breast clinic were given questionnaires to investigate the role of psychosocial variables in the development of breast cancer while controlling for established breast cancer risk factors. Questionnaires to determine loneliness, emotional repression, marital quality, and major life changes were completed by 826 female volunteers who were later classified into groups according to their diagnoses. The total emotional repression score showed a hierarchy of most repression to least repression for the most-diseased to the most-healthy subjects. A breakdown of the emotional repression scale revealed that each group was significantly different from the other in suppression of anger and unhappiness. Women in the new cancer group showed significantly more loneliness than the women in the fibrocystic and normal groups. The newly diagnosed cancer group also had a higher proportion of women who experienced the death of a spouse or close family member within the past two years compared to the other groups.

Adult↗

The effects of aerobic and anaerobic exercise conditioning on resting metabolic rate and the thermic effect of a meal.

This study examined resting metabolic rate (RMR) and thermic effect of a meal (TEM) among athletes who had participated in long-term anaerobic or aerobic exercise. Nine collegiate wrestlers were matched for age, weight, and fat-free weight with 9 collegiate swimmers. Preliminary testing included maximal oxygen consumption, maximal anaerobic capacity (MAnC) for both the arms and the legs, and percent body fat. On two separate occasions, RMR and TEM were measured using indirect calorimetry. VO2max was significantly higher in the swimmers while MAnC was significantly higher in the wrestlers for both the arms and the legs. RMR adjusted for fat-free weight was not significantly different between groups. The differences in total and percentage of TEM between the groups were not statistically significant, and there were no differences in baseline thyroid hormones. These data suggest that despite significant differences in VO2max and WAnT values following long-term aerobic and anaerobic exercise training, resting energy expenditure does not differ between these college athletes.

Adult↗

Health practices before and after a work-site health screening. Differences among subpopulations of employees.

The workplace has evolved as a venue for health promotion programs that attempt to reduce employees' risk behaviors and encourage positive health practices. There is little information about the efficacy of such programs for selected subpopulations of employees. Questionnaires designed to measure health practices were administered before and 10 weeks after a work-site health screening. Results indicated that subpopulations had distinctly different patterns of health behaviors both before and after the health screening, and the pattern of variability was inconsistent across various health practices. In general, females and salaried employees had healthier practices than males and hourly employees, respectively. Several interesting interactions between participation status and gender and occupational status need further investigation. Understanding health behaviors of subpopulations may provide insights for implementation of work-site programs that will enhance health-promoting behaviors of all employees.

Adolescent↗

Body Mass Index and perceived weight status in young adults.

Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated from self-reported height and weight for 1,123 university students who returned a questionnaire mailed to a 10 percent random sample of the entire undergraduate population of a large midwestern university. Seventeen percent of the females and 20 percent of the males were determined to be in excess of normal BMI standards. However, significantly more women (40%) considered themselves overweight in comparison to men (24%). Also, significantly more women (53%) than men (20%) reported experiencing discomfort due to excessive weight. Inaccurate perceptions of body image are common among individuals with eating disorders. There is a higher incidence of eating disorders among college-age women than among their male peers. A distorted body image as reflected by perceived overweight may serve as a marker for individuals at risk for eating disorders.

Body Image↗

Blood pressure and anthropometric differences in regularly exercising and nonexercising black adults.

Few studies have examined the relationship between exercise and BP in Black adults, a population with substantial risk for hypertension. This pilot study was undertaken to examine BP, anthropometric characteristics, dietary intake, and resting pulse rate by level of exercise participation in a group of Black Seventh Day Adventists. Subjects were classified as regular exercisers (n = 54, age = 54.6 yrs) if they reported at least two exercise sessions per week (x = 4.0 times per week) lasting a minimum of 20 minutes each, in which they engaged in vigorous exercise. Nonexercisers (n = 60, age = 56.2 yrs) were those who reported participation in such exercise no more than once per week (x = 0.1 times per week). There were no group differences in dietary intake of any macro or micronutrients, but exercisers exhibited significantly lower body mass index, waist circumference, triceps skinfold thickness, and resting pulse rate. Forty-two percent of the nonexercisers were confirmed hypertensives compared to only 20 percent of the exercisers. Age and gender-adjusted BP was significantly lower in the exercisers (BP = 123.8/73.4 mm Hg) compared to the nonexercisers (BP = 133.5/77.1 mm Hg). After adjustment for anthropometric differences, the systolic BP of the exercisers remained approximately 8 mm Hg lower than their nonexercising counterparts. These data suggest that participation in vigorous exercise is favorably related to blood pressure and may attenuate the risk of hypertension in Black Seventh Day Adventists.

Anthropometry↗

Relation between vegetarian/nonvegetarian diets and blood pressure in black and white adults.

We examined the possible interaction of race and diet on blood pressure (BP) in volunteer Black Seventh Day Adventists compared to volunteer White church members. Height, weight, waist and hip circumference, and resting seated BP were recorded in Black vegetarians (n = 55; age: 54.7 +/- 16.9 yrs), Black nonvegetarians (n = 59; 56.1 +/- 14.1 yrs), White vegetarians (n = 164; 52.2 +/- 16.7 yrs), and White nonvegetarians (n = 100; 52.6 +/- 15.6 yrs) attending a regional conference. Forty-four percent of the Black nonvegetarians were medicated hypertensives, compared to only 18 percent of the Black vegetarians, 7 percent of the White vegetarians, and 22 percent of the White nonvegetarians. Black vegetarians exhibited lower age and sex-adjusted systolic BP (means = 122.9/74.4 mm Hg) than Black nonvegetarians (means = 132.2/75.9 mm Hg). After further adjusting BP for body mass index and waist/hip ratio, the systolic BP among Black vegetarians remained lower (122.8) than Black nonvegetarians (129.7) but higher than that of the Whites who showed no diet-related BP differences.

Black or African American↗

Metabolic differences between subjects whose blood pressure did or did not respond to oral calcium supplementation.

In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of a 1500 mg/d calcium supplement taken over a 12-wk period, the mean arterial pressure of normotensive adult males (n = 37) was modestly but significantly lowered as compared with a placebo group (n = 38). Within the Ca group only, responders (greater than or equal to 5 mm Hg decrease in mean arterial pressure, n = 14) were compared with nonresponders (less than 5 mm Hg decrease in mean arterial pressure, n = 23). The responders were older (p = 0.002) and exhibited higher mean arterial pressure (p = 0.00001), higher serum parathyroid hormone (p = 0.01), and lower serum total Ca (p = 0.001) at baseline. A stepwise discriminant function analysis revealed that mean arterial pressure and serum total Ca correctly classified 78.38% of the responders and nonresponders and, thus, were the most important determinants of blood pressure response to supplemental Ca.

Adult↗

Blood pressure and metabolic effects of calcium supplementation in normotensive white and black men.

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted to examine the effect of calcium supplementation on blood pressure in normotensive black (n = 21) and white (n = 54) men, aged 19 to 52 years. After a four-week baseline period of weekly blood pressure measurement, subjects were randomly assigned within racial groups to either a treatment (calcium, 1500 mg/d) or placebo group for a 12-week period. During the experimental period, multiple blood pressure measurements were taken every two weeks in both the seated and supine positions, using a random baseline sphygmomanometer. A repeated-measures analysis of covariance yielded a modest but significantly lower seated mean arterial pressure in the treatment group compared with the control group, but no differences between the races. Results were similar for supine blood pressure. Calcium supplementation, in comparison with placebo, resulted in lower mean arterial pressure in normotensive white and black men during a 12-week period. The overall blood pressure-lowering effect was not correlated with the response of serum levels of total and ionized calcium, total inorganic phosphorus, or parathyroid hormone, or overnight urinary electrolyte values.

Adult↗

Correlates of blood pressure in elementary schoolchildren.

This cross-sectional study determined which anthropometric, dietary, and physical fitness variables were best predictors of blood pressure (BP) in 323 white elementary schoolchildren. Height, weight, triceps, and subscapular skinfold thickness were measured, followed by two resting BP measurements. Cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed by time in a one mile run. A food frequency questionnaire measured habitual dietary intake. Correlational analysis revealed height, weight, body mass index (wt/ht2), and skinfold thicknesses were anthropometric variables associated significantly with both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Physical fitness was not correlated with BP and, among dietary variables, only estimated daily caloric intake, dietary cholesterol, and nondiscretionary sodium were related to blood pressure. A multiple regression analysis selected weight, body mass index (BMI), and total caloric intake as factors explaining the greatest amount of BP variability. For some individuals, hypertension may originate in childhood, thus, these results could have implications for primary prevention of high blood pressure.

Blood Pressure↗

Effects of an educational intervention on the rate of recurrent urinary tract infections in selected female outpatients.

This study was designed to prospectively study the effect of health education on the recurrence rate of urinary tract infections in female outpatients. Thirty-four volunteers were randomly assigned to either an experimental education group or a control group. Controls were offered routine patient information provided by practitioners at the outpatient clinic. Members of the experimental group participated in an educational session which addressed urinary tract infections, its risk factors, and behavioral changes which might reduce its recurrence. At follow-up three months after the educational session, the experimental group had a statistically significant (p less than .05) reduction in the recurrence of urinary tract infections.

Female↗

Health education: perspective for PAs.

Health Education is a valid part of the PA's armamentarium which should be developed to maintain pace with the continuing role evolution of PAs. The Health Belief Model is useful as a means of understanding how patients are motivated to accept health-promoting behavioral and life-style changes. The PA, according to his or her own unique interests, experience, and ingenuity, must develop plans and methods for implementation of specific interventions, but the five priority actions delineated by the Surgeon General can serve as a basis. These include the areas of smoking cessation, alcohol and drug management, nutritional guidance, and the management of psychosocial stress. The authors provide a table of references in these areas.

Health Education↗