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Biomedical subjects

J H Abramson

Publications and source records attributed to J H Abramson.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Work-health relationships in middle-aged and elderly residents of a Jerusalem community.

Work-health relationships were examined cross-sectionally in 1886 men and women aged greater than or equal to 50 years in Jerusalem in 1985-1987, in the third round of a multipurpose longitudinal community health study. The main occupational variables were employment status, reasons for not working, and satisfaction with work. Sex and age were controlled in all comparisons. Workers were clearly healthier than nonworkers with respect to general, physical and emotional health, and people who had given up work were less healthy than those still working, whether they had stopped for health reasons, only because of their age, or only for extrinsic reasons (retrenchment or dismissal). Workers who expressed satisfaction with their work were healthier than others, the odds ratio in favour of good general health being 2.4 at 50-64 and 2.5 at greater than or equal to 65 years of age. The associations between job satisfaction and health remained apparent when education and origin were controlled. Multivariate analyses suggested that the associations were not spurious ones attributable to proneness to report both dissatisfaction and ill-health. Job dissatisfaction was not significantly associated with angina pectoris, possible myocardial infarction, or hypertension. Taken at their face value, the findings support the impact of job satisfaction or its determinants on the health of middle-aged and elderly men and women. The associations will be re-appraised in the longitudinal analysis of the study data.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

A simplified index of physical health for use in epidemiological studies.

A battery of simple questions designed to measure physical health, in terms of ability to perform physical activities, was appraised in 1839 men and women aged greater than or equal to 50 years in a community survey in Jerusalem. The number of "Yes" answers to six questions, five of which could be skipped if the first one was answered positively, was found to be a satisfactory index, with a high degree of consistency-reliability in the total sample (Cronbach's alpha coefficient = 0.97) and in subgroups categorized by sex, age, education, or father's region of birth. The index constituted an excellent Guttman scale (coefficient of reproducibility = 0.96, coefficient of scalability = 0.94), indicating that the score serves both as a measure of physical health and as an indication of the profile of capabilities. Associations with age and other variables conformed with expectations, attesting the construct validity of the index.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

Ten-year evaluation of hypertension, overweight, cholesterol, and smoking control: the CHAD program in Jerusalem. Community Syndrome of Hypertension, Atherosclerosis and Diabetes.

Control of hypertension, overweight, hypercholesterolemia, and smoking is a major objective of the CHAD program, a multifactorial cardiovascular risk factor program built into a family practice, which has operated in a neighborhood of western Jerusalem since 1971. By 1975-1976, there was a significantly larger decrease in risk factors in this population than in a neighboring population receiving ordinary medical care. Follow-up based on clinical records of a cohort of 441 people exposed to the program until 1981 revealed that the mean blood pressures decreased and the prevalence of hypertension continued to decrease between 1976 and 1981, from 12.5 to 9.1%. Prevalence of cigarette smoking among people ages 30 years or more also decreased in this period, mainly due to a decrease in heavy smoking, at a time when national surveys provided no evidence of a smoking decrease in this age group. Effects on overweight and cholesterol were not demonstrated during this period. This 10-year evaluation demonstrates the effects of intervention by primary care practitioners in the framework of a community-oriented program.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Emotional distress among concentration camp survivors--a community study in Jerusalem.

Three hundred and eighty former concentration camp inmates were identified and interviewed in the course of a community health survey in Jerusalem. A set of 8 questions derived from the Cornell Medical Index was used as an index of emotional distress. The concentration camp survivors had a higher prevalence of emotional distress and more symptoms of this type than other European-born members of the community, controlling for age and education. The findings suggested that 16.0% of the emotional distress observed in male camp survivors and 22.9% of that among female camp survivors could be attributed to the camp experience almost three decades after the Holocaust. In this survey, data were elicited in a context unrelated to benefit-seeking such as clinic or compensation claims.

Concentration Camps↗
PubMed1984

Prevalence of diabetes among ethnic groups in Jerusalem. The Kiryat Hayovel Community Health Study.

The prevalence of diabetes was determined in a community health survey in the Kiryat Hayovel neighborhood of west Jerusalem. The prevalence rates of diabetes among 4,938 people aged greater than or equal to 15 years were 5.8% in men and 4.6% in women, with a male/female age-adjusted ratio of 1.15. One-third of the diabetics were first diagnosed in this study. In both sexes, the rates increased steeply with age. A higher prevalence rate of diabetes was found in Jews of North African origin, especially in men, than in the other ethnic origin groups. These ethnic differences in men do not appear to be explained by differences in body mass.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Training for community-oriented primary care.

Despite growing interest in community-oriented primary care (COPC) few opportunities are available for learning the skills required for this integrated practice of community medicine and primary health care. Courses in epidemiology seldom pay specific attention to the use of epidemiology in COPC. Many programs for medical students include primary care or family or community medicine, but few bring these components together in an integrated curriculum for the teaching of COPC. "Community orientation" is used with a wide variety of meanings, and community-oriented educational programs do not necessarily include instruction in COPC. In graduate and continuing education, opportunities to gain experience in COPC are also limited. The development of services in which COPC is practiced is a prerequisite for effective training for COPC.

Community Medicine↗
PubMed1982

Risk markers for mortality among elderly men-a community study in Jerusalem.

Risk markers for mortality among elderly men were investigated in a community survey in a neighborhood of western Jerusalem. The aim was to develop a practical method of identifying men with a high risk of mortality, for use in community health services caring for the ageing and aged. Men aged 60 yr or more who had been interviewed and examined in 1969-71 were followed up for 5 yr and the characteristic of the 75 who died were compared with those of the 312 who remained alive. The results of stepwise discriminant function analyses were translated into a simple set of criteria for the identification of men with a high risk of dying within 5 yr. The sensitivity of this mortality risk indicator hazard in this sample was 72% and its specificity was 78%. The components were age, inability to work, impaired mobility, impaired memory for recent events, electrocardiographic evidence of coronary heart disease, the presence of moderate or severe illness, diastolic hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and overweight.

Aged↗
PubMed1982

Clustering of chronic disorders--a community study of coprevalence in Jerusalem.

Associations between chronic disorders were appraised in a community survey in western Jerusalem in order to identify clusters of mutually related conditions. Two sets of interrelated diseases were observed. The first comprised coronary heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and their complications. The second included migraine and other chronic disorders whose diagnosis was largely based on subjective symptoms. The presence of these complaint-based disorders was associated with a high prevalence of emotional symptoms, with reported difficulties in the life situation, and with frequent doctor visits. The design of appropriate programs of preventive and therapeutic intervention for this cluster of disorders remains an important challenge.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

A community program for the control of cardiovascular risk factors: a preliminary evaluation of the effectiveness of the CHAD program in Jerusalem.

A community program for the control of cardiovascular risk factors, the CHAD program, was instituted in a family practice in western Jerusalem in 1971. The effectiveness of the program was evaluated by comparing the findings of community surveys conducted in 1970 and 1975 and by comparing the changes with those observed in an adjacent control neighborhood. This paper reports the findings among men aged 35 years and above. In the community exposed to the program there was a decrease in mean systolic and disatolic pressures, in the prevalence of hypercholesterolemia, and in the prevalence of cigarette smoking. The changes in blood pressures and smoking habits were significantly greater than those observed in the control population. In the control population (only) there was a small increase in mean body weight and a decrease in reported physical activity. The findings suggest that it is possible for a program that operates and through primary health care to have an appreciable influence upon cardiovascular risk factors in the community.

Adult↗