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Biomedical subjects

H Brownstein

Publications and source records attributed to H Brownstein.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Substance involvement among juvenile murderers: comparisons with older offenders based on interviews with prison inmates.

We evaluated substance involvement among incarcerated juvenile offenders convicted of murder of manslaughter. Patterns of substance involvement among juvenile offenders were compared with patterns found in older offenders. Irrespective of age group, close to one-third of all homicide perpetrators reported that they were affected by alcohol prior to the offense. In every age group, alcohol was the substance showing the highest rate of "regular" lifetime use and the highest rate of ingestion in the week preceding the homicide. In many respects, the reported substance use patterns in the 16-17-year-old age group were closer to the patterns demonstrated by the oldest (36+) age group than they were to the adjacent 18-20-year-old group. Juvenile offenders were generally less substance involved than all but the oldest group of offenders. Almost all of the juveniles who were substance involved prior to the homicide attributed the homicide to the effects of those substances. Narrative accounts suggest that substances (almost always alcohol) escalated impulsive, spontaneous violent outbursts. Implications for the interpretation of self-reports about substance use provided by murderers are also discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

The role of marijuana in homicide.

In this paper we examine the relationship between marijuana use and homicide. Data derive from interviews with 268 individuals incarcerated in New York State correctional facilities for homicides that occurred in 1984. We found that in terms of lifetime use, marijuana was the most commonly used illicit drug in this sample; that about one-third of respondents who had ever used marijuana used the drug in the 24-hour period before the homicide; and that almost three-quarters of those respondents were experiencing some type of effect from the drug when the homicide occurred. A total of 18 respondents (7% of the total sample) said that the homicide was related to their marijuana use. We examine the reasons these respondents gave for this relationship and the other substances they reported using at the time of the homicide. We also demonstrate that from the perspective of a conceptual framework that specifies the ways that drugs and violence may be linked, there are various nuances in the ways that marijuana and homicide are related. We discuss the implications and limitations of using self-report data from perpetrators of violence for our understanding of the drugs-violence connection.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Prevalence of anemia and correlation of hemoglobin with age in a geriatric screening clinic population.

A retrospective review of 1,024 charts of Geriatric Screening Clinic patients was carried out to evaluate the prevalence of anemia and degree of correlation of aging with changes in hemoglobin (Hgb) level in a healthy, elderly population (age range, 60 to 96 years; mean age, 70 years). Twelve per cent of participants were anemic overall, although there was a sex difference; more males (17.7%) were anemic than females (8.4%). Mean Hgb levels did not change significantly with age group except in males over 85 years of age. Pearson Correlation Coefficients were small for age versus Hgb in females (-0.10) as well as in males (-0.21). Likewise, linear regression slopes were small for females (-0.01) and males (-0.04). Based on this set of data, one would not expect a change in Hgb with advancing age in healthy elderly patients.

Aged↗
PubMed1985

Anthropometric measurements for Asian and Caucasian elderly.

While differences in height and weight were observed, the results of this study indicate that there are similarities between Caucasian and Asian-American elderly in skin-fold measurements and prevalence of obesity. These results illustrate the value of skinfold thickness as a more accurate measure of adiposity than indexes on the basis of weight for given height. In addition, our results provide evidence for ethnic similarities in the distribution of subcutaneous fat and the prevalence of obesity in elderly Caucasians and Asian-Americans.

Aged↗
PubMed1983

Aspects of medical care of Soviet Jewish Emigrés.

Soviet Jewish emigrés are a recently arrived refugee group in San Francisco and in other cities in the United States. They have frequently been perceived as a demanding and complaining population, particularly the elderly, often chronically ill members. These behaviors can also be seen as positive survival mechanisms that have evolved in response to the Soviet health care system and cultural background. An understanding of that background and system, together with time, greatly improves the interaction between Soviet Jewish patients and American physicians.

Aged↗
PubMed1981

Geriatric education in a teaching hospital: the role of geriatric services.

Geriatric education and training are most successful when taught in a setting that provides the medical and social services that elderly persons often require. At Mount Zion Hospital and Medical Center, medical students and trainees participate in several geriatric services that introduce them to the special health needs of the elderly, including the ambulant and the homebound. In the Mount Zion/University of California, San Francisco, geriatric education and training program, we have defined three principles of geriatric medicine that are unique to the field and are best applied directly within the service setting. This setting emphasizes (1) the special body of knowledge regarding aging and health care of the elderly, (2) the importance of assessing functional capacity and (3) the role of the health team. Our experience indicates that when students and trainees observe the application of these principles in a range of geriatric services they begin to understand the complex health problems with which geriatric medicine is concerned.

California↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Drug use by homicide offenders.

This article uses data derived from interviews with 268 homicide offenders incarcerated in New York State correctional facilities to examine their drug use prior to and at the time of the homicide, and their perceptions as to whether and how the homicides were related to their drug use. Most respondents who used a drug were not hard-core users of that drug. About one in five of the respondents could be considered polydrug abusers. Thirty percent of the sample believed that the homicide was related to their drug use. Alcohol was the drug most likely to be implicated in these homicides. The implications of this research are discussed.

Adult↗