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Biomedical subjects

I Waldron

Publications and source records attributed to I Waldron.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Part-time employment and women's health.

The relationships between part-time employment and self-reported health are analyzed for a national probability sample of middle-aged women. Overall, there was a tendency for full-time workers to have the best health, part-time workers to have an intermediate level of health, and women who were not in the labor force to have the poorest health. However, the pattern varied by race and marital status. For married black women, part-time workers reported poorer health than full-time workers. This appeared to be due in part to the lower socioeconomic status of the black part-time workers. For married white women, there was little or no difference in health or socioeconomic status between part-time and full-time workers. Additional hypotheses and relevant evidence are presented.

Black or African American↗
PubMed1983

Behavioral and content components of the structured interview assessment of the Type A behavior pattern in women.

The purpose of this study was to analyze relationships among (1) the global assessment of the Type A behavior pattern determined by the Structured Interview (SI), (2) the Type A score of the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS), and (3) ratings of individual behaviors and content items in the SI. These relationships were analyzed in a sample of 88 white suburban women. The individual behaviors rated were four speech characteristics and motor pace. The correlation between SI global assessment of behavior pattern and JAS Type A score was only 0.27. SI global assessment was strongly correlated with ratings of individual behaviors such as speech speed, speech emphasis, and rapid motor pace. There was little or no correlation between these behaviors and the JAS Type A scores. For items reflecting the content of the interview responses, correlations with JAS Type A scores were generally stronger than correlations with SI global assessment. The findings for this sample of women are quite similar to results from previous studies of men. Thus, the characteristics that influence SI global assessment appear to be similar for women and men.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Sex differences in illness incidence, prognosis and mortality: issues and evidence.

This paper reviews current research and presents new evidence concerning sex differences in morbidity and mortality. Attention is focused primarily on the following topics: (1) sex differences in incidence, prognosis and mortality for several major types of chronic disease, (2) causes of sex differences in morbidity and mortality, (3) sex differences in physician visits and (4) a methodological issue, whether there are sex differences in reporting morbidity. Relationships between sex differences in incidence, prognosis and mortality have been analyzed for various types of cancer, ischemic heart disease and rheumatoid arthritis. There was little or no correlation between sex differences in incidence and sex differences in prognosis. Sex differences in prognosis were generally smaller than sex differences in incidence. In most cases, sex differences in prognosis made a relatively small contribution to sex differences in mortality, and sex differences in incidence were the primary determinant of sex differences in mortality. These patterns indicate that the causes of sex differences in incidence frequently have little effect on sex differences in prognosis. Reasons for this are discussed in the text. The causes of sex differences in morbidity and mortality are discussed, with attention to the contributions of genetic and environmental factors, sex roles, sex differences in stress responses and sex differences in risk-taking and preventive behaviors. One conclusion is that, although men take more risks of certain types, there does not appear to be a consistent sex difference in propensity to take risks or to engage in preventive behavior. Rather sex differences in risk-taking and preventive behavior vary depending on the specific behavior and the culture considered. Sex differences in physician visit rates are influenced by a variety of biological and cultural factors. For example, women's more complex and demanding reproductive functions are a major reason for women's higher rates of physician visits, at least in Western countries. The importance of cultural factors is indicated by the cross-cultural and historical variation in sex differences in physician visit rates. In order to test whether there are sex differences in the reporting of health and illness, discrepancies between self-report and medically-evaluated morbidity measures have been assessed for males and females in twelve studies. These data indicate that sex differences in reporting vary depending on the particular type of morbidity measure considered. For example, for self-ratings of general health women may be more predisposed than men to rate their health poor, but no significant sex differences were observed in reporting of physician visits or hospital admissions. The evidence discussed in this paper illustrates the diversity and complexity of factors that influence sex differences in morbidity and mortality...

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMed1983

Sex differences in human mortality: the role of genetic factors.

This paper reviews evidence concerning genetic factors that influence sex differences in human mortality, with attention to the interactions between genetic and environmental factors. Some widely quoted earlier conclusions, for example, that males have consistently higher fetal mortality than females, are not supported by current evidence. For example, for late fetal mortality, males had higher rates than females in earlier historical data, but not in recent data for several advanced industrial countries. This reflects a changing balance between an inherently greater female vulnerability for one major type of late fetal mortality and inherently greater male vulnerability for several other types of late fetal mortality that have declined in importance as health care has improved. Males appear to be inherently more vulnerable than females to infant mortality, although the causes of this vulnerability are poorly understood. X-linked immunoregulatory genes appear to contribute to greater female resistance to infectious diseases. Despite these apparent inherent advantages for females, in some situations females have had higher infant mortality and higher infectious disease mortality than males, apparently due to environmental disadvantages for females, such as less adequate diet and health care. Inherent sex differences in reproductive physiology and anatomy contribute to higher female mortality for breast cancer and maternal mortality. For these causes of death, as for the other categories discussed, the death rates and thus the contributions to sex differences in total mortality vary considerably depending on environmental conditions. Several hypothesized contributions of sex hormones to sex differences in mortality are at present controversial due to contradictions and limitations in the available data. There may be effects of male sex hormones on sex differences in behavior which contribute to males' higher death rates for accidents and other violent causes. Women's endogenous sex hormones may reduce women's risk of ischemic heart disease. For both violent deaths and ischemic heart disease it appears that any genetic contributions to sex differences in mortality are strongly reinforced by the cultural influences that foster more risky behavior in males, including more use of weapons, employment in hazardous occupations, heavy alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking. It appears that these cultural influences on sex differences in behavior are widespread cross-culturally in part because of the effects of inherent sex differences in reproductive functions on the cultural evolution of sex roles. These examples illustrate the complexity and importance of interactions between genetic and environmental factors in determining sex differences in human mortality.

Accidents↗
PubMed1982

Cross-cultural variation in blood pressure: a quantitative analysis of the relationships of blood pressure to cultural characteristics, salt consumption and body weight.

This study has analyzed the relationships of cross-cultural variation in blood pressure to cultural characteristics, salt consumption and body weight. The data used were blood pressures for adults in 84 groups, ratings of cultural characteristics (based on anthropological data and made by raters who had no knowledge of the blood pressure data) and, where available, salt consumption and body mass index (weight/height2). Blood pressures were higher and the slopes of blood pressure with age were greater in groups which had greater involvement in a money economy, more economic competition, more contact with people of different culture or beliefs, and more unfulfilled aspirations for a return to traditional beliefs and values. Blood pressures were also higher in groups for which the predominant family type was a nuclear or father-absent family, as opposed to an extended family. For Negroes, groups who were descended from slaves had higher blood pressures than other groups. The correlations between blood pressures and involvement in a money economy were substantial and significant even after controlling for level of salt consumption and, for men, also after controlling for body mass index. For men there were also significant partial correlations between blood pressure and salt consumption, controlling for type of economy. For women there were significant partial correlations between blood pressure and body mass index, controlling for type of economy. In conclusion, cross-cultural variation in blood pressure appears to be due to multiple factors. One contributory factor appears to be psychosocial stress due to cultural disruption, including the disruption of cooperative relationships and traditional cultural patterns which frequently occurs during economic modernization. In addition, both the protective effects of very low salt consumption in some groups and differences in body weight appear to contribute to cross-cultural variation in blood pressure.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

How valid are self-report measures for evaluating relationships between women's health and labor force participation?

For a sample of white women aged 45-64, women who were out of the labor force had poorer self-reported health and higher mortality than women who were in the labor force. It has been hypothesized that women who are out of the labor force may tend to exaggerate their poor health in self-report data. However, no evidence of bias of this type was found in an analysis of the relationships between self-reported health and subsequent mortality. The validity of self-reports of illness as a reason for not seeking work has been assessed using data for a sample of 30-44 year old women who were out of the labor force. Over 90% of the women who gave illness or disability as their main reason for not seeking work had previous or contemporaneous independent, self-report evidence of poor health. The findings of this study and previous evidence indicate that poor health reduces the likelihood that a woman will join the labor force, and this is a major reason why women who are not in the labor force have poorer health than those who are in the labor force.

Employment↗
PubMed1982

Reciprocal effects of health and labor force participation among women: evidence from two longitudinal studies.

Longitudinal data were analyzed to provide information concerning the effects of health on women's labor force participation and the effects of labor force participation on women's health. The data were from a representative national sample of middle-aged women and a representative sample of women from Alameda County, California. Significant relationships were observed between self-reported health and subsequent changes in labor force participation. Women who reported poorer health were more likely to leave the labor force and less likely to join the labor force. In contrast, no significant relationships were observed between labor force participation and subsequent self-reported change in health. (These latter relationships could be tested only for married women in the national sample.) In conclusion, our analyses provide substantial evidence that health affects women's labor force participation (the healthy worker effect). In contrast, we did not find evidence that, on the average, labor force participation has either harmful or beneficial effects on the general health of middle-aged married women in the United States.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Type A behavior pattern: relationship to variation in blood pressure, parental characteristics, and academic and social activities of students.

This study has analyzed the relationships between the Type A, or coronary-prone, behavior pattern and several physiological, behavioral and psychosocial characteristics and also has tested whether an increase in academic demands was associated with an increase in students' Type A scores. The Type A behavior pattern, as assessed by the Type A score of the Jenkins Activity Survey, was not related to average blood pressure, variability in blood pressure over a nine-week period, or increases in blood pressure following weeks when the respondent's normal life routine had been disrupted. Students who were more Type A spent more time studying or in classes. Type A students also had higher grade point averages. In contrast, Type A students were not more successful in relationships with the opposite sex nor in social relationships generally. Thus, the Type A behavior pattern appears to contribute to career success, which has traditionally been emphasized for men, but not to social success of the type that has traditionally been emphasized for women. Type A men recalled their fathers as having been more severe, having punished them more often physically, and having made them feel resentful rather than guilty when punished. Type A women recalled their mothers as having punished them more often physically. These parental behaviors may contribute to the development of anger and aggression, which are important components of the Type A behavior pattern. For the students who showed a large change in Type A scores between the beginning and the end of the academic semester, Type A scores increased at the end of the semester. Students with greater evidence of academic pressure showed more increase in Type A scores.

Blood Pressure↗
PubMed1980

Employment and women's health: an analysis of causal relationships.

Housewives report more chronic illness than employed women, and housewives are more likely than employed women to rate their health as poor or fair. Poor health can deter a woman from seeking or keeping a job, and this appears to be one important reason why poor health is reported more frequently by housewives than by employed women. The differences between housewives and employed women in self-reported health do not appear to be due to differences in marital status, race, or education. The available data do not provide an adequate basis for estimating the overall effects of employment on women's health in the contemporary United States. Women in certain jobs are exposed to serious occupational hazards including carcinogens, cotton dust, and infectious agents. Employment may result in increased stress for certain groups of women, but decreased stress for other groups, such as women who are employed part-time. Increased social contact and social support on the job may reduce the risk of illness for employed women. The net effect of employment on women's health appears to vary, depending on the type of job, and probably also on the woman's family situation.

Employment↗
PubMed1977

Increased prescribing of Valium, Librium, and other drugs--an example of the influence of economic and social factors on the practice of medicine.

Drug prescriptions per capita in the United States have more than doubled since 1950 without a commensurate improvement in health. Drugs are often prescribed for clinical conditions in which therapeutic benefits do not outweigh the risk of adverse drug reactions. Deaths due to adverse drug reactions are roughly as frequent as deaths due to automobile accidents. Valium and Librium are the first and fourth most commonly prescribed drugs in the U.S., used by one ten adults each year. The rapid rise in use of these drugs has occurred during a period of rising social stress, as indicated by increases in alcohol consumption, suicide, and homicide, Valium and Librium are frequently prescribe for patients who go to doctors with social or other nonmedical problems, often in lieu of attempts to resolve these underlying problems. Overprescribing occurs because the decision to prescribe is influenced not only by consideration of therapeutic benefit, but also by nonmedical factors, for example the widespread expectation by both patient and doctor that the doctor will provide a drug or some other technological treatment. Prescribing decisions are also influenced by the profit-motivated activities of drug companies, including the expenditure of almost one-quarter of every sales dollar on drug promotion. The most widely used source of drug information for doctors is the industry-sponsored Physicians' Desk Reference, which overrates the therapeutic value of Valium and Librium as compared to disinterested medical sources. Drug companies also contribute to overprescribing by introducing numerous minor variants of existing drugs. The therapeutic benefits of such new drugs are often overestimated in the early years of use when adverse side effects are not well known and apparent efficacy is enhanced by placebo effects in uncontrolled observations.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Why do women live longer than men?

In the contemporary United States, males have 60 percent higher mortality than females. In Part I, published in the previous issue, we showed that 40 percent of this sex differential in mortality is due to a twofold elevation of arteriosclerotic heart disease among men. Major causes of higher rates of arteriosclerotic heart disease in men include greater cigarette smoking among men; probably a greater prevalence of the competitive, aggressive Coronary Prone Behavior Pattern among men; and possibly a protective role of female hormones. In addition, men have higher death rates for lung cancer and emphysema, primarily because more men smoke cigarettes. In Part II we analyze the other major causes of men's higher death rates: accidents, suicide, and cirrhosis of the liver. Each of these is related to behaviors which are encouraged or accepted more in men than in women in our society--for example, using guns, being adventurous and acting unafraid, working at hazardous jobs and drinking alcohol. We conclude with suggestions for reducing male mortality; for example, by changing the social conditions which foster in men the behaviors that elevate their mortality.

Accidents↗