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Biomedical subjects

J R Hebert

Publications and source records attributed to J R Hebert.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Association of dietary fat and lung cancer.

An international comparison study of the relationship among dietary predictors, tobacco consumption, income, and truncated age-adjusted lung cancer mortality was conducted with the use of time-lagged data available for 43 countries. A regression analysis weighting each country by the square root of the appropriate population and adjusting for several covariates showed that calories from dietary fat were highly significantly associated (P less than .0001) with lung cancer mortality. This finding was obtained after accounting for disappearance data for tobacco (P less than .0001), the dominant risk factor for lung cancer, and total nonfat calories (P less than .002). Other covariates included per capita gross national product and proportion of calories from fruits, vegetables, roots, tubers, and pulses. Weaknesses of this study, statistical considerations, biologic plausibility, in particular the modulation of tobacco-smoke carcinogens by lipids in the lung, and suggestions for future study are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Presentation of growth velocities of rural Haitian children using smoothing spline techniques.

The examination of monthly (or quarterly) increments in weight or length is important for assessing the nutritional and health status of children. Growth velocities are widely thought to be more important than actual weight or length measurements per se. However, there are no standards by which clinicians, researchers, or parents can gauge a child's growth. This paper describes a method for computing growth velocities (monthly increments) for physical growth measurements with substantial measurement error and irregular spacing over time. These features are characteristic of data collected in the field where conditions are less than ideal. The technique of smoothing by splines provides a powerful tool to deal with the variability and irregularity of the measurements. The technique consists of approximating the observed data by a smooth curve as a clinician might have drawn on the child's growth chart. Spline functions are particularly appropriate to describe bio-physical processes such as growth, for which no model can be postulated a priori. This paper describes how the technique was used for the analysis of a large data base collected on pre-school aged children in rural Haiti. The sex-specific length and weight velocities derived from the spline-smoothed data are presented as reference data for researchers and others interested in longitudinal growth of children in the Third World.

Body Height↗
PubMed1986

AIDS and mosquitoes.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1985

Relationship of vegetarianism to child growth in South India.

The effect on children's growth of vegetarianism and food expenditure were tested in a sample of 627 children from three fishing communities in Madras, South India. A number of variables known to affect health and nutritional status were controlled in analyses using a two-stage general linear model technique. Using weight- and height-for-age variables as outcome, vegetarianism was a significant determinant (p = 0.02 and p = 0.05, respectively) for children greater than 3 yr of age, after controlling for per capita food expenditure which was insignificant at all ages. Possible explanations for this finding are discussed at length. Specific recommendations for future study are made to elucidate the relationship seen in these data.

Body Height↗
PubMed1985

Effects of components of sanitation on nutritional status: findings from South Indian settlements.

The provision of sanitary facilities to a community neither guarantees they will be used nor that they will provide health benefits if they are used. This study, conducted in three urban communities in Madras, India, follows pre-school children over the course of approximately one year to determine the relative effects on growth of sanitation factors. These factors were defined as being under the control of children, those controlled by parents, and factors not under the direct discretionary control of any family member. Data were also collected on other variables suspected to affect nutritional or health status. A statistical technique was used that accounts for the effects of non sanitation-related variables. Children from 18 to 36 months of age benefit most from their own and their parents sanitary behaviour. Older children benefit from availability of resources for hygiene. Children under 18 months of age tend to be unaffected by any of the sanitation-related variables considered.

Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena↗
PubMed1985

Effects of water quality and water quantity on nutritional status: findings from a south Indian community.

Quantitative assessments of the relative effects on health of various aspects of water supply are virtually absent from the literature. Despite the lack of information, resources are being allocated throughout the developing world, for projects related to water and sanitation. The present study was designed specifically to overcome many of the methodological problems that other researchers have faced. Data were collected concerning the nutritional status of 627 children in three urban communities in South India. Information was also collected on water quality, water quantity, household sanitation, socioeconomic conditions, and housing. A statistical technique is presented that allows for controlling potential confounding factors in the analyses. The results, in general, indicate that at young ages (i.e., under 3 years old) water quality is relatively more important as a determinant of nutritional status, while at older ages water quantity is relatively more important.

Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena↗
PubMed1984

Water quality and water quantity and wasting in south India.

Bacteriological quality, quantity and availability of water are generally considered the important water supply characteristics in terms of human health. The present study shows that for children 18 months old and younger water quality is a relatively more important determinant of wasting than other attributes of water supply. For children 19 to 36 months of age, quality of the water is slightly less important than quantity of water stored in the house.

Body Height↗
PubMed1983

Graphical displays of growth data.

An informative and visually pleasing way of displaying growth information on groups of children is presented. The technique allows for simultaneous comparisons of subgroups of children from a particular survey or study with international growth standards and with other subgroups within the study or the survey. The technique consists of showing, in the form of a boxplot, the median, 5th, 25th, 75th, and 95th percentiles of the distribution of growth parameters. These are characteristics little affected by extreme or deviant values. The plots also show the upper and lower extremes and the mean value of the distribution. Boxplots representing age-specific distributions may be shown on a single graph using the abscissa labeled as the "age" axis. Anthropometric indices for different groups of children may then be compared with one another for specific age intervals and over time. This graphical method also enables establishing local anthropometric norms without the considerable expense and difficulty of generating local growth standards.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1982

Breath suspension during the transcendental meditation technique.

We observed, over four independent experiments, 565 criterion-meeting episodes of breath suspension in 40 subjects practicing the Transcendental Mediation technique (TM), a simple mental technique involving no breath control procedures. The frequency and length of these breath suspension episodes were substantially and significantly greater for TM subjects than for control subjects relaxing with eyes closed. Voluntary control of respiration was most probably eliminated as an explanation of ths phenomenon by the experimental design and by the use of a variety of nonintrusive respiration transducers, including a two-channel magnetometer, an indirect but accurate means of monitoring respiration. Many TM subjects report experience of a completely quiescent mental state characterized by maintained awareness in the absence of thought. Eleven TM subjects were instructed to press an event mark button after each episode of this pure consciousness experience. The temporal distribution of button presses was significantly related (p less than 10(-10) to the distribution of breath suspension episodes, indicating that breath suspension is a physiological correlate of some, but not all, episodes of the pure consciousness experience. In an extensive study of a single advanced mediator, pure consciousness experiences were also associated with reduced heart rate; high basal skin resistance; stable phasic skin resistance; markedly reduced mean respiration rate, mean minute ventilation and mean metabolic rate; and statistically consistent changes in EEG power and EEG coherence (an indicator of long-range spatial order in the nervous system).

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effectiveness of nicotine-containing gum in the Physician-Delivered Smoking Intervention Study.

BACKGROUND: We tested the role of nicotine-containing gum (NCG) in conjunction with brief physician counseling in smoking cessation in the Physician-Delivered Smoking Intervention Project (PDSIP). METHOD: Subjects were smokers randomized to the Counseling + NCG arm of the PDSIP. However, receipt and use of NCG were not randomized. Data from base-line, were not randomized. Data from baseline, pharmacy records, and 6-month monitoring calls were used in these post hoc analyses. RESULTS: Of the 299 study subjects, 57% accepted NCG and 36% of acceptors used it for more than 7 days. Predictors of NCG acceptance included high desire to quit (OR = 1.21; 95% CI 1.10, 1.35), social support to quit (OR = 1.62; 95% CI 1.01, 2.59), being a general medicine patient compared with a family practice patient (OR = 3.22; 95% CI 2.01, 5.21), and receiving the intervention from a female physician (female physician-male patient OR = 2.27; 95% CI 0.95, 5.46; female physician-female patient OR = 1.94; 95% CI 1.06, 3.57) relative to the male physician comparisons. Subjects who refilled the NCG prescription had higher cessation rates than those who did not refill or did not accept the prescription (37% vs 19% and 20%, respectively; P = 0.04). Predictors of 6-month cessation among NCG users included a previous period(s) of abstinence > 3 months (OR = 1.23; 95% CI 1.04, 1.47), abstinence during illness (OR = 0.39; 95% CI 0.17, 0.86), and absence of smoking-related physical complaints the month prior to the physician-delivered intervention (OR = 0.40; 95% CI 0.17, 0.94). CONCLUSION: Amount of NCG use in conjunction with physician-delivered smoking cessation counseling might have contributed in helping unselected smokers quit.

Adult↗