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Biomedical subjects

G V Glass

Publications and source records attributed to G V Glass.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1984

A new look at evidence about reduced cost of medical utilization following mental health treatment.

Meta-analysis of 58 controlled studies and analysis of the claims files for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Federal Employees Plan for 1974-1978 provide mutually supporting evidence of the cost-offset effects of outpatient mental health treatment. These two complementary resources provide a powerful tool for investigating the nature of associations between mental health services and subsequent reductions in the use of other medical services. The authors found that the reductions in use of medical services are associated with inpatient rather than with outpatient utilization and tend to be larger for persons over 55 years of age.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Mental health treatment and medical care utilization in a fee-for-service system: outpatient mental health treatment following the onset of a chronic disease.

Charges for medical services of persons covered by the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Federal Employees Program from 1974 through 1978 who were first diagnosed as having one of four chronic diseases in 1975 and within one year began mental health treatment (MHT) were compared with persons who also were first diagnosed as having one of these diseases in 1975 but had no subsequent MHT. In the third year following the diagnosis, those having seven to 20 MHT visits had medical charges $309 lower and those having over 21 MHT visits had medical charges $284 lower than the comparison group. The savings in medical charges over three years of the group having seven to 20 MHT visits were a function of lower use of inpatient services and roughly equaled the cost of 20 MHT visits. Outpatient mental health treatment can be included in a fee-for-service medical care system to improve the quality and appropriateness of care and, if not extensive, may also serve to lower medical care costs.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

The effects of exercise on blood lipids and lipoproteins: a meta-analysis of studies.

The results of 66 training studies involving the measurement of human blood lipid and lipoprotein changes over time, conducted over the last 26 yr, and representing 2925 subjects (2086 experimental and 839 control) were collected and statistically aggregated using the meta-analysis technique. Across all types of subjects, treatments, sources, and research designs, the average exercising subject was found to have a reduction in total cholesterol of 10 mg X dl-1 (P les than 0.01), total triglyceride decreased by 15.8 mg X dl-1 (P less than 0.01), DHL-C increased by 1.2 mg X dl-1 (NS), LDL-C decreased by 5.1 mg X dl-1 (P less than 0.05), and total/HDL-C ratio showed a large decrease of 0.48 (P less than 0.01). None of the changes for the control groups were significant. Initial levels of total cholesterol, total triglyceride, HDL-C, and total/HDL-C ratio were strongly correlated with their respective changes as a result of training, regardless of the data partitioning. Higher initial levels of total cholesterol, total triglyceride, and total/HDL-C ratio resulted in greater decreases post-exercise (r = 0.48, 0.76, and 0.75, respectively; P less than 0.01), and lower initial levels of HDL-C resulted in greater post-exercise increases (r = 0.50; P less than 0.01). Overall, physical training seemed to produce beneficial changes in blood lipids and lipoproteins. However, researchers must be careful when examining the relationship between physical training and serum lipids and lipoproteins because initial levels, age, length of training, intensity, VO2max, body weight, and percent body fat have been shown in this meta-analysis to interact with exercise and serum lipid and lipoprotein changes.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1982

The effect of psychological intervention on recovery from surgery and heart attacks: an analysis of the literature.

A quantitative review of 34 controlled studies demonstrates that, on the average, surgical or coronary patients who are provided information or emotional support to help them master the medical crisis do better than patients who receive only ordinary care. A review of 13 studies that used hospital days post-surgery or post-heart attack as outcome indicators showed that on the average psychological intervention reduced hospitalization approximately two days below the control group's average of 9.92 days. Most of the interventions were modest and, in most studies, were not matched in any way to the needs of particular patients or their coping styles. Beyond the intrinsic value of offering humane and considerate care, the evidence is that psychological care can be cost-effective.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Diet, tobacco, alcohol, and stress as causes of coronary artery heart disease: an ecological trend analysis of national data.

The present investigation examined the temporal relationships between changes in coronary artery heart disease (CAHD) mortality rates from whites (1938-1980) and changes in national measures of dietary elements, tobacco consumption, alcohol consumption, and unemployment. The magnitude and latency of the causal relationships were estimated with the use of cross-lagged correlation functions (CCFs) and Granger causality tests. Preliminary CCFs showed consistent correlational patterns between CAHD and tobacco, ethanol, and dietary fats. There was little association between CAHD and dietary cholesterol. Ethanol, tobacco, and the ratio of saturated to polyunsaturated fats (S:P) were analyzed for directional causality using Granger causality tests. The S:P ratio demonstrated a unidirectional Granger causal relationship with CAHD mortality in all sex and age groups. The estimated latency of this relationship was 23 to 30 years. This finding supports a causal relationship between diet, specifically fats, and the risk of CAHD two or three decades later.

Aged↗