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Biomedical subjects

J Powles

Publications and source records attributed to J Powles.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Excess cases of prostate cancer and estimated overdiagnosis associated with PSA testing in East Anglia.

This study aimed to estimate the extent of 'overdiagnosis' of prostate cancer attributable to prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing in the Cambridge area between 1996 and 2002. Overdiagnosis was defined conceptually as detection of prostate cancer through PSA testing that otherwise would not have been diagnosed within the patient's lifetime. Records of PSA tests in Addenbrookes Hospital were linked to prostate cancer registrations by NHS number. Differences in prostate cancer registration rates between those receiving and not receiving prediagnosis PSA tests were calculated. The proportion of men aged 40 years or over with a prediagnosis PSA test increased from 1.4 to 5.2% from 1996 to 2002. The rate of diagnosis of prostate cancer was 45% higher (rate ratios (RR)=1.45, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.02-2.07) in men with a history of prediagnosis PSA testing. Assuming average lead times of 5-10 years, 40-98% [corrected] of the PSA-detected cases were estimated to be overdiagnosed. In East Anglia, from 1996 to 2000, a 1.6% excess of cases was associated with PSA testing (around a quarter of the 5.3% excess incidence cases observed in East Anglia from 1996 to 2000). Further quantification of the overdiagnosis will result from continued surveillance and from linkage of incidence to testing in other hospitals.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Head and neck cancer in patients with human immunodeficiency virus-1 infection: incidence, outcome and association with Epstein-Barr virus.

Head and neck cancers have been described in patients with human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infection. However the incidence, aetiology and clinical features of the disease remain unclear. Patients with head and neck cancer and HIV were identified from a large HIV centre. The incidence and clinical features were recorded, and the tumours were stained for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Head and neck cancer occurred more frequently than in an age-matched control group (1.66 vs 0.55/10,000 patient years respectively p < 0.05). Highly active anti-retroviral therapy has not significantly altered the incidence of the disease. All of the tumours tested were positive for EBV. Patients were moderately immunosuppressed at diagnosis and had aggressive tumours. All but one of the patients died of cancer with a median survival of 28 months. Head and neck cancer occurs more frequently in HIV. It is an aggressive disease and EBV may play a role in its pathogenesis.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

A comparison of the alcohol-attributable mortality in four European countries.

BACKGROUND: Deaths due to alcohol consumption are an important component of all-cause mortality, particularly premature mortality. However, there are considerable regional variations, the reasons for which are unclear. METHODS: Estimates were made as reliably as possibly using vital statistics and best estimates of risk of the alcohol-attributable mortality, by age, sex and cause for four European countries (England and Wales, Germany, Denmark and Italy). Twenty-seven alcohol-related conditions were considered including the possible cardio-protective effects of alcohol. RESULTS: It was estimated that there are approximately 2% fewer deaths annually in England and Wales than would be expected in a non-drinking population and 0.3% fewer deaths among East German females. In West Germany, Denmark, Italy and among East German males there are more deaths caused by alcohol than are prevented (between 0.7 and 2.6% of all deaths). The highest age-specific proportion of alcohol-attributable deaths is found in East Germany where around 30% of deaths among males aged 25-44 years are due to drinking. Among young men in all four countries the largest contributor to alcohol-related deaths is road traffic accidents involving alcohol. CONCLUSIONS: Possible explanations for the variation in alcohol-attributable deaths between countries include different underlying heart disease rates, different patterns of alcohol consumption and beverage preferences, and different use of mortality classification. Differences in the reported alcohol consumption levels explain little of the variation in alcohol-attributable deaths. Estimating alcohol-attributable mortality by age and sex across countries may be a useful indicator for developing alcohol strategies and exploring ways of preventing premature mortality.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Effectiveness of the ultrasonic harmonic scalpel for tonsillectomy.

The Ultracision harmonic scalpel (UHS) cuts and coagulates tissue with high-frequency ultrasound. We describe the results of our use of the UHS to perform tonsillectomies in 59 patients. The mean operative blood loss was 7 ml (range: 0 to 75); 56% of patients experienced no measurable blood loss. The mean length of operating time was 8 minutes and 10 seconds (range: 3:45 to 20:25). Patients were assessed for 2 weeks for postoperative pain on the basis of a 10-point linear analog scale. The mean pain score on postoperative day 1 was 4.7; the score peaked at 6.0 on day 4 and fell to less than 3.0 by day 11. Patients returned to full function in an average of 10.9 days (range: 3 to 15). Three patients experienced secondary hemorrhage, one of whom required surgical intervention. We found the UHS to be a well-designed and easy-to-use instrument. Operating time was short, blood loss was minimal, and the degree of early postoperative pain was low. We believe that our findings are encouraging and that the UHS might well have a place in the surgical armamentarium for tonsillectomy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Fruit and vegetables and ischaemic heart disease: systematic review or misleading meta-analysis?

In a recent meta-analysis published in this journal Law and Morris (1998) sought to quantify the association between fruit and vegetable intake and ischaemic heart disease. They estimated that for six dietary markers of fruit and vegetables the risk of ischaemic heart disease was on average reduced by 15% at the 90th centile of consumption when compared to the 10th centile. In this commentary we will argue that this figure is misleading; and that a more cautious and considered approach should be adopted when reviewing the body of evidence that is available on this issue.

Humans↗
PubMed1998

The Australian mortality decline: all-cause mortality 1788-1990.

This review describes the Australian decline in all-cause mortality, 1788-1990, and compares this with declines in Europe and North America. The period until the 1870s shows characteristic 'crisis mortality', attributable to epidemics of infectious disease. A decline in overall mortality is evident from 1880. A precipitous fall occurs in infant mortality from 1900, similar to that in European countries. Infant mortality continues downward during this century (except during the 1930s), with periods of accelerated decline during the 1940s (antibiotics) and early 1970s. Maternal mortality remains high until a precipitous fall in 1937 coinciding with the arrival of sulphonamide. Excess mortality due to the 1919 influenza epidemic is evident. Artefactual falls in mortality occur in 1930, and for men during the war of 1939-1945. Stagnation in overall mortality decline during the 1930s and 1945-1970 is evident for adult males, and during 1960-1970 for adult females. A decline in mortality is registered in both sexes from 1970, particularly in middle and older age groups, with narrowing of the sex differential. The mortality decline in Australia is broadly similar to those of the United Kingdom and several European countries, although an Australian advantage during last century and the first part of this century may have been due to less industrialisation, lower population density and better nutrition. Australia shows no war-related interruptions in the mortality decline. Australian mortality patterns from 1970 are also similar to those observed in North America and European countries (including the United Kingdom, but excluding Eastern Europe.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

The Australian mortality decline: cause-specific mortality 1907-1990.

This review describes the changes in composition of mortality by major attributed cause during the Australian mortality decline this century. The principal categories employed were: infectious diseases, nonrheumatic cardiovascular disease, external causes, cancer, 'other' causes and ill-defined conditions. The data were age-adjusted. Besides registration problems (which also affect all-cause mortality) artefacts due to changes in diagnostic designation and coding are evident. The most obvious trends over the period are the decline in infectious disease mortality (half the decline 1907-1990 occurs before 1949), and the epidemic of circulatory disease mortality which appears to commence around 1930, peaks during the 1950s and 1960s, and declines from 1970 to 1990 (to a rate half that at the peak). Mortality for cancer remains static for females after 1907, but increases steadily for males, reaching a plateau in the mid-1980s (owing to trends in lung cancer); trends in cancers of individual sites are diverse. External cause mortality declines after 1970. The decline in total mortality to 1930 is associated with decline in infection and 'other' causes. Stagnation of mortality decline in 1930-1940 and 1946-1970 for males is a consequence of contemporaneous movements in opposite directions of infection mortality (decrease) and circulatory disease and cancer mortality (increase). In females, declines in infections and 'other' causes of death exceed the increase in circulatory disease mortality until 1960, then stability in all major causes of death to 1970. The overall mortality decline since 1970 is a consequence of a reduction in circulatory disease, 'other' cause, external cause and infection mortality, despite the increase in cancer mortality (for males).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Prevalence of goitre in the southern mountainous regions of Bulgaria, 1986-1989.

Iodine supplementation programmes began in designated high risk mountainous districts in Bulgaria in 1958. The prevalence of goitre fell. But the programmes became less effective and by the mid 1980s there were strong indications that goitre was resurgent. Ten villages that had been surveyed in 1956 and 1974 were re-surveyed between 1986 and 1989. All persons available were examined (not just residents)--at home, workplace or school--by a trainee or specialist endocrinologist. Goitres were graded according to the WHO/ICCIDD system. 2,901 females and 1,885 males were examined. Diffuse, stage 1 enlargements were common in males and females under 35, with prevalences exceeding 20% in several age/sex groups. Nodular stage 1 and 2 enlargements became commoner at ages above 45, with prevalences exceeding 15% in females over 55. Overall prevalences were 28% in females and 14% in males. 6 cretins were identified. In recognised endemic areas of Bulgaria, epidemiological surveillance of IDD should be maintained. Detailed studies are required to determine why iodine supplementation became less effective after the mid 1970s and to develop and test new, cost-effective public health strategies appropriate to the changed socio-political circumstances.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Cardiovascular risk reduction: a randomized trial of two health promotion strategies for lowering risk in a community with low socioeconomic status.

AIM: To compare the effects of information pamphlets with those of group counselling on cardiovascular risk among individuals from a community with low socioeconomic status. METHODS: Risk factors for coronary heart disease were assessed in 1131 men and women from a community with low socioeconomic status in suburban Melbourne. Individuals deemed to be at moderate risk, on the basis of an integrated risk score greater than 65, were asked to participate in a randomized trial comparing two simple interventions designed to reduce cardiovascular risk. One hundred and sixty-four individuals were randomly assigned to group A (n = 85) and participated in a single group counselling session lasting between 1.5 and 2.0 h. Group B (n = 79) received a specially prepared pamphlet that provided brief written information concerning risk-factor modification. Both groups were asked to attend a follow-up assessment of risk factors 3 and 6 months after entry. RESULTS: There were no significant difference in the change in risk-factor levels between those receiving information pamphlets and those attending the group counselling session after 3 or 6 months of follow-up. Small but significant decreases (P<0.05) were seen in systolic and diastolic blood pressures (-5/4 mmHg for group A, -5/3 mmHg for group B), total plasma cholesterol level (-0.30 mmol/l for groups A and B) and overall coronary risk score (-14.4 and -13.9 for groups A and B, respectively). Body weight remained unchanged during the study period in both groups. CONCLUSION: Screening together with 1.5-2h group counselling had no more influence on cardiovascular risk factors than screening together with provision of information pamphlets in a population with low socioeconomic status.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Changes in disease patterns and related social trends.

Both the material and non-material aspects of social life are viewed as determinants of major transformations in the patterns of fatal disease and injury. A 'worst case' scenario for the burden of fatal disease is taken as a poor agrarian society precariously dependent on starchy staples and a narrow range of other foods. In such a society life expectancy may be as low as 20. However in many 'pre-modern' societies the regime of roughly matching fertility and mortality levels was set at a 'submaximal' level, with completed fertility rates moderated by marriage conventions. The relative importance of the factors contributing to the historical decline in fatal infection continues to be debated. Evidence on the central role of maternal literacy in the recent decline in Third World mortality suggests the importance of changes in the body of civil society as well as the activities of professionals and public agencies. The decline in fatal infections has been offset to varying extents by an increase in non-communicable disease (NCD): the Mediterranean and East Asia having smaller epidemics of NCDs and Eastern Europe having sustained rises of NCDs. Most industrialised countries have experienced declines in overall NCD mortality in the last 2 decades. Both the fall in fatal infection and the rise and early fall of NCDs can usefully be viewed against the baseline of hunter gatherer cultures. When this is done, the relationship between economic development and disease is seen to be complex. Much 'progress' has been achieved by countering (and then doing better than countering) the adverse effects of earlier developments. Although most members of the generation now alive have experienced marked health benefits from economic and technical advance, it is unclear whether these gains can be both sustained and generalised. It is possible that adverse lagged effects of current industrial (and military) activities will disrupt the habitat of future generations of our species through processes such as stratospheric ozone depletion, global warming and others as yet unpredicted. Modern hygienists have dealt successively with influences on survival mainly operating in early life (infection) and influences operating across the lifespan (determinants of chronic disease). They have now to deal with even greater separations in time and space between potential health determinants and their ultimate effects. To a high level of scientific uncertainty is added the ethical problem of equity between generations.

Cause of Death↗
PubMed1990

Health-related expenditure patterns in selected migrant groups: data from the Australian Household Expenditure Survey, 1984.

Australians born in Italy, Greece and East and South East Asia all have substantially lower mortality levels than those born in Australia, the British Isles or Holland and Germany. Using data from the 1984 Household Expenditure Survey, the health-related consumption expenditure of these six groups was compared (excluding expenditure on medical care). The heterogeneity of household types was largely removed by confining attention to married couple households with dependent children. The two groups with mortality levels comparable to those of the Australian-born (British Isles and Holland/Germany) also shared a similar pattern of consumption expenditures. There was a tendency (not always fully consistent), for the low mortality groups to spend more on fruits, vegetables, cereal products and fish and substantially less on alcohol. Patterns that might be 'unexpected' in low mortality groups are the (presumptively) substantial expenditures on tobacco among males (especially in the Greek group) and the substantial expenditures on red meat in all three groups. Analysis of available data sets such as this can provide useful descriptions of the distribution of health-influencing behaviour in our population.

Adolescent↗