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Biomedical subjects

Howard Morrison

Publications and source records attributed to Howard Morrison.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Evaluation and measurement of health-related quality of life for individuals with diabetes mellitus by Health Utilities Index Mark 3 (HUI3) system.

The Health Utilities Index Mark 3 (HUI3) is an important indicator when measuring the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and assessing the burden of disease, especially for chronic conditions such as diabetes mellitus (DM). The objectives of this study were to evaluate the scores of HRQOL for respondents with DM to examine associations between overall HUI3 scores and eight component attributes, and various sociodemographic and lifestyle attributes, and by doing so, provide information to improve the HRQOL of individuals with diabetes. The study was based on the Canadian National Population Survey (NPHS) longitudinal data, from 1994-1995 to 2002-2003. We evaluated overall HUI3 scores and eight attributes (vision, hearing, speech, ambulation, dexterity, emotion, cognition, and pain) between respondents with and without diabetes in relation to demographic characteristics (age, sex, lifestyle, and socioeconomic status using ANCOVA[analysis of covariance]). Awareness of diabetes appeared to affect the HRQOL of older age groups more so than younger age groups (p < 0.01). Diabetes also appeared to have a greater impact on males' quality of life compared to females', and among individuals with single marital status and low socioeconomic status (p < 0.01). These findings add to what is known about cognitive representations and the self-regulation of diabetes as well as the relationships between cognitive representations of diabetes, HRQOL, and behavioral factors. In particular, results from this study suggest the need to address ways of reducing the burden of diabetes associated with health behaviours, and increasing the quality of life for the individuals with diabetes in Canada.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Prevalence of diabetes and cardiovascular comorbidity in the Canadian Community Health Survey 2002-2003.

Diabetes mellitus is a major risk factor for heart disease (heart attack, angina, and heart failure), stroke, and hypertension, which shorten the average life expectancy. The main objective of this study was to describe the prevalence of heart disease, hypertension, and stroke among Canadians with diabetes compared to those without diabetes in the Canadian general population aged 12 years and over. It also estimated the strength of association between diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and other factors such as age, gender, cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking, education status, body mass index (BMI), and other socioeconomic factors. Descriptive statistics were used initially to estimate the prevalence of related comorbidities by age and gender. Logistic regression was then employed to determine the potential strength of association between various effects. Data included 127,610 individuals who participated in the 2.1 cycles of the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) in 2002-2003. The prevalence of self-reported hypertension, heart disease, and stroke among individuals with diabetes were 51.9, 21.7, and 4.8%, respectively. By comparison, prevalence among those without diabetes was 12.7, 4.2, and 0.9%. Adjusted Odds Ratios (OR) were 4.15, 5.04, and 6.75 for males', and 4.10, 5.29, and 4.56 for females' hypertension, heart disease, and stroke, respectively. Lower income (OR from 1.27-1.94) and lower education (OR from 1.23-1.86) were independently associated with a high prevalence of hypertension, heart disease, and stroke among diabetics. Alcohol consumption (OR from 1.06-1.38), high BMI (OR from 1.17-1.40), physical inactivity (OR from 1.21-2.45), ethnicity, and immigration status were also strongly associated with hypertension, heart disease, and stroke. The adjusted prevalence of hypertension, heart disease, and stroke in the CCHS-2003 health survey in Canada was significantly higher among those with diabetes compared to those without. Other factors such as age, gender, BMI, lifestyle, family incomes, physical activity levels, and socioeconomic status also affected the strength of association between diabetes and resulting comorbidities.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Obesity, high energy intake, lack of physical activity, and the risk of kidney cancer.

The authors conducted a population-based case-control study of 810 cases with histologically confirmed incident kidney cancer and 3,106 controls to assess the effect of obesity, energy intake, and recreational physical activity on renal cell and non-renal cell cancer risk in Canada from 1994 to 1997. Compared with normal body mass index (BMI; 18.5 to <25.0 kg/m2), obesity (BMI, >or=30.0 kg/m2) was associated with multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) of 2.57 (2.02-3.28) for renal cell cancer and 2.79 (1.70-4.60) for non-renal cell cancer. The OR (95% CI) associated with the highest quartiles of calorie intake was 1.30 (1.02-1.66) for renal cell cancer and 1.53 (0.92-2.53) for non-renal cell cancer. Compared with the lowest quartile of total recreational physical activity, the highest quartile of total activity was associated with an OR (95% CI) of 1.00 (0.78-1.28) and 0.79 (0.46-1.36) for the two subtypes. There were no apparent differences between men and women about these associations. The influence of obesity and physical activity on the risk of renal cell and non-renal cell cancer did not change by age, whereas the effect of excess energy intake was stronger among older people. No significant effect modifications of physical activity on BMI among both genders and of energy intake on BMI among men were observed, with a synergic effect of obesity and high energy intake on renal cell cancer risk found among women. This study suggests that obesity and excess energy intake are important etiologic risk factors for renal cell and non-renal cell cancer. The role of physical activity needs further investigation.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Trends in mortality from ischemic heart disease in Canada, 1986-2000.

This study examined trends in ischemic heart disease (IHD) mortality rates in Canada from 1986 to 2000, including analyses at the county level. The study population comprised Canadians aged 35 and over. Age-standardized mortality rates (ASMRs) were computed. Linear regression and Poisson regression were used to calculate average annual percentage change (AAPC) by age, sex, county and province. A substantial decrease in mortality rates was observed in those aged 35 and over for both sexes; the AAPC indicated a decline of 3.44 percent for males and 3.42 percent for females. The ASMRs were plotted for three time periods; the rates increased with each successive age group and decreased with each consecutive time period for both sexes. A significant decline in the IHD mortality rate was found in 47.2 percent and 46.9 percent of the counties among males and females, respectively; those counties had a statistically significant lower prevalence of daily smoking in both genders, and obese in females only. Only two counties showed a significant increase in the ASMRs of IHD in males and females, respectively. Enhanced prevention and control strategies should be considered to address IHD in countries where more modest decreases (or no decrease at all) in IHD mortality have been observed.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Can scientists and policy makers work together?

This paper addresses a fundamental question in evidence based policy making--can scientists and policy makers work together? It first provides a scenario outlining the different mentalities and imperatives of scientists and policy makers, and then discusses various issues and solutions relating to whether and how scientists and policy makers can work together. Scientists and policy makers have different goals, attitudes toward information, languages, perception of time, and career paths. Important issues affecting their working together include lack of mutual trust and respect, different views on the production and use of evidence, different accountabilities, and whether there should be a link between science and policy. The suggested solutions include providing new incentives to encourage scientists and policy makers to work together, using knowledge brokers (translational scientists), making organisational changes, defining research in a broader sense, re-defining the starting point for knowledge transfer, expanding the accountability horizon, and finally, acknowledging the complexity of policy making. It is hoped that further discussion and debate on the partnership idea, the need for incentives, recognising the incompatibility problems, the role of civil society, and other related themes will lead to new opportunities for further advancing evidence based policy and practice.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed2004

Human prostate cancer risk factors.

Prostate cancer has the highest prevalence of any nonskin cancer in the human body, with similar likelihood of neoplastic foci found within the prostates of men around the world regardless of diet, occupation, lifestyle, or other factors. Essentially all men with circulating androgens will develop microscopic prostate cancer if they live long enough. This review is a contemporary and comprehensive, literature-based analysis of the putative risk factors for human prostate cancer, and the results were presented at a multidisciplinary consensus conference held in Crystal City, Virginia, in the fall of 2002. The objectives were to evaluate known environmental factors and mechanisms of prostatic carcinogenesis and to identify existing data gaps and future research needs. The review is divided into four sections, including 1) epidemiology (endogenous factors [family history, hormones, race, aging and oxidative stress] and exogenous factors [diet, environmental agents, occupation and other factors, including lifestyle factors]); 2) animal and cell culture models for prediction of human risk (rodent models, transgenic models, mouse reconstitution models, severe combined immunodeficiency syndrome mouse models, canine models, xenograft models, and cell culture models); 3) biomarkers in prostate cancer, most of which have been tested only as predictive factors for patient outcome after treatment rather than as risk factors; and 4) genotoxic and nongenotoxic mechanisms of carcinogenesis. The authors conclude that most of the data regarding risk relies, of necessity, on epidemiologic studies, but animal and cell culture models offer promise in confirming some important findings. The current understanding of biomarkers of disease and risk factors is limited. An understanding of the risk factors for prostate cancer has practical importance for public health research and policy, genetic and nutritional education and chemoprevention, and prevention strategies.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

The medical care cost of childhood and adolescent cancer in Manitoba, 1990-1995.

The main purpose of this study is to estimate the medical care costs of childhood and adolescent cancer in Manitoba, and to determine the elements that influence these costs. Retrospective chart reviews were done to obtain all the information. A total of 118 childhood (age 0-14 years) and 41 adolescent (age 15-19 years) cancer patients were included. For childhood cancer, in-patient hospitalizations accounted for 59% of the total cost, followed by bone marrow transplant (BMT) (9%), medications (8%), laboratory investigations (7%) and physician fees (7%). For adolescent cancer, in-patient hospitalization accounted for 37% of the total cost, followed by bone marrow transplant (BMT) (25%), physicians' fees (11%), medications (9%) and laboratory investigations (7%). Overall, the average cost for the first, second and third year following diagnosis was $50,902 (median 35,708), $13,939 (4,127) and $6,769 (2,565) respectively for childhood cancer patients, and $57,354 (24,192), $16,888 (3,267) and $3,436 (3,267) respectively for adolescent cancer patients. Further work involving long-term data linkage of medical charts with hospital and clinic financial billing codes is needed to provide more accurate estimates of the costs of childhood and adolescent cancer care.

Adolescent↗