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Biomedical subjects

J Snel

Publications and source records attributed to J Snel.

45 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Tracking of health and risk indicators of cardiovascular diseases from teenager to adult: Amsterdam Growth and Health Study.

Cardiovascular disease is recognized as a serious public health problem. Because the underlying pathological processes start shortly after birth, tracking of recognized cardiovascular disease indicators during childhood and adolescence can help in developing preventive pediatric strategies. A prospective follow-up of both genetic and behavioral lifestyle parameters (serum cholesterol, blood pressure, percentage body fat, maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), smoking, physical inactivity, and type A behavior) was designed. In the Amsterdam Growth and Health Study a population of 93 males and 107 females was measured annually from 1977 to 1980 and a fifth measurement was made in 1985. In that way longitudinal data covering a period of 8 years was collected for a group of adolescents/adults between 13 and 21 years of age. Analyses of these parameters provided the following results: The stability over the 9 years of tracking cardiovascular disease indicators, measured as the interperiod correlations, is fairly high. It varies from 0.4 to 0.8 in percentage body fat, cholesterol, and VO2max. Blood pressure values are low (between 0.3 and 0.4). The probability of 13-year-olds having relatively high values of cardiovascular disease indicators on the basis of a quartile distribution with that at age 21 indicated a moderate to high predictive value. According to the literature, the levels of subjects that are continuously relatively high over the years are more in the direction of optimal health than risk values. The exception is for percentage body fat. Interrelation of the seven cardiovascular disease indicators in constantly relatively high-risk and relatively low-risk groups during the teenage period, measured during young adulthood (21.5 years), appeared to be weak: only males and females with a high percentage body fat and a low VO2max showed significantly high total cholesterol, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and high total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. From the three environmental cardiovascular disease indicators (smoking, physical activity, and type A/B behavior) measured in 1985, only physical activity was significantly correlated among males and females with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, percentage body fat, and VO2max. It can be concluded that measurement of percentage body fat in the early teenage period seems to be the most important cardiovascular disease indicator in predicting risk levels in the young adult. The amount of physical activity measured at young adult age is the only behavioral parameter to show a significant interrelation with other cardiovascular disease risk indicators.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Does DGAVP influence memory, attention and mood in young healthy men?

The influence of an increasing dose of the vasopressin-like peptide DGAVP (desglycinamide-arginine-vasopressin) on memory was investigated in two groups of ten healthy male volunteers to provide information about the hypothesis of improvement of memory by vasopressin. At the same time we evaluated the effect of DGAVP on mood, alertness or sleepiness in a double-blind placebo-control design. The treatment group received at 9.15 a.m. intranasally a daily increasing dose from 0.1 mg at day 1 to 10.0 mg at day 5. DGAVP did not significantly affect any measure of memory or alertness. DGAVP did, however, produce a significant increase in concentration level and mood. The results of the present study provide no support for the vasopressin theory of memory improvement; rather, the results direct the attention to attention modulating effects.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

Biological age and habitual physical activity in relation to physical fitness in 12- and 13-year-old schoolboys.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between biological age, habitual physical activity and anthropometrical and physiological characteristics in 12- and 13-year-old schoolboys (n = 70). METHODS: At the beginning and the end of the school year 1971/2 biological age was determined by measuring skeletal age from left hand X-ray photographs. Habitual physical activity was determined by questionnaire interview and pedometers. RESULTS: All anthropometrical characteristics showed significant correlations (P less than 0.05) with skeletal age except for bicipital and tricipital skinfolds. Out of 9 physical fitness tests handgrip was the only test that showed a significant correlation (0.52) with skeletal age. Pedometer scores gave significant negative correlations (P less than 0.05) with anthropometrical characteristics except for tricipital skinfold. The fitness tests bent arm hang, 12 min run walk, sit and reach and W-170 showed significant correlations (P less than 0.05) with pedometer scores.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Smoking behaviour and biological maturation in males and females: a 20-year longitudinal study. Analysis of data from the Amsterdam Growth and Health Longitudinal Study.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: (1) Describe the longitudinal smoking behaviour of boys and girls during adolescence in relation to calendar age, skeletal age, years from peak height velocity (PHV) and years from menarche (in girls). (2) and (3) Investigate the timing of biological maturation (early or late maturation) in relation to smoking behaviour in adolescence and in adulthood (i.e. calendar age 32/33). HPOTHESIS: We hypothesized skeletal age, years from PHV and years from menarche to be better predictors of smoking than calendar age. RESEARCH DESIGN: This study is part of the Amsterdam Growth and Health Longitudinal Study (AGAHLS) that was started in 1977 with 619 pupils from two secondary schools (mean age 13.0 SD 0.6). METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Smoking behaviour was assessed four times between 1977 and 1980 and once in 1996/1997. Calendar age and skeletal age were measured annually whereas height and menarche were measured every 4 months. Maturation rate (skeletal age minus calendar age), age at PHV and age at menarche were used to estimate timing of biological maturation. Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) analysis was used to study maturation rate in relation to smoking during adolescence, whereas logistic regression analyses were used to study mean maturation rate, years from PHV and years from menarche in relation to smoking in adulthood. OUTCOME AND RESULTS: Skeletal age, years from PHV and years from menarche are no better predictors of smoking during adolescence than calendar age. The prevalence of smoking rises gradually with the increase in all four estimates of biological maturation. Timing of biological maturation was positively related to smoking but only at calendar age 13 (OR 3.34, CI 1.58, 7.07). None of the three measures to estimate timing of biological maturation was significantly related to smoking status in adulthood.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Relation between the longitudinal development of personality characteristics and biological and lifestyle risk factors for coronary heart disease.

OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken to assess the stability of personality characteristics (ie, inadequacy, rigidity, dominance, self-sufficiency, and social inadequacy) over a 15-year period covering adolescence and young adulthood and to analyze the longitudinal relationships between personality characteristics and both biological (ie, lipoproteins, blood pressure, and body fatness) and lifestyle (ie, physical activity, dietary intake, smoking, and alcohol consumption) risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD). METHODS: The data were derived from the Amsterdam Growth and Health Study, an observational longitudinal study in which, over a period from 13 to 27 years of age, six repeated measurements were performed on 181 subjects. Both the stability analysis and the analysis of the longitudinal relationships were performed by generalized estimating equations (GEE). This method is suitable for both continuous and dichotomous outcome variables, by using all available longitudinal data. RESULTS: Stability coefficients for the personality characteristics varied between 0.39 for self-sufficiency and dominance and 0.53 for social inadequacy. Self-sufficiency was inversely related to total serum cholesterol (only male subjects) and body fatness; inadequacy was inversely related to systolic blood pressure. Dominance (female subjects) was positively related to body fatness and social inadequacy (male subjects) was positively related to total serum cholesterol. Furthermore, inadequacy was positively related to smoking behavior. Social inadequacy and rigidity were inversely related to smoking behavior. Self-sufficiency was inversely related to alcohol consumption. CONCLUSIONS: Over a period of 15 years, personality characteristics showed marginal stability. Weak relationships were found between personality characteristics and both biological and lifestyle CHD risk factors.

Adolescent↗