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Biomedical subjects

J Stokes

Publications and source records attributed to J Stokes.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

Predictors of smoking cessation: the Framingham Study.

The relation of demographic, behavioral, and health-related variables to smoking cessation was studied in 1,178 women and 1,506 men cigarette smokers enrolled in the Framingham Heart Study. Smoking cessation was defined as abstinence from all tobacco products for at least 1 year. Proportional hazard models were used to identify baseline variables associated with long-term cessation. In order to identify factors predictive of cessation in the following 2 years, logistic regression models on person-examination data were used. Recent hospitalization and development of coronary heart disease were predictive of smoking cessation, while diagnosis of cancer or changes in pulmonary function were not. Overall, women were as likely to quit as men; however, women who smoked heavily were the least likely to quit. Secular trends were noted in men only; men were more likely to quit after the release of the 1964 Surgeon General's report on smoking. The relation of illness development and sex to smoking cessation should be considered in developing smoking cessation programs.

Coronary Disease

Psychometric vs. attentional correlates of early onset alcohol and substance abuse.

Adolescent inpatients with a diagnosis of alcohol abuse (n = 28), nonalcohol substance abuse disorders (n = 15), or psychiatric disorders without substance abuse (n = 46) were examined on measures of attentional, intellectual, and personality functioning. High scores on a personality measure, the Substance Abuse Proclivity Scale (SAP), was the best predictor of substance abuse in general. Alcohol abusers were differentiated from other substance abusers by their increased impairment on the Continuous Performance Test. Adolescents with alcohol abuse did not manifest the types of cognitive impairments associated with chronic alcoholism. These data suggest that certain attentional impairments may be associated with early onset alcohol abuse and that earlier conceptions of the role of attentional impairments in risk prediction for alcohol abuse are supported.

Adolescent

Perception of effort during constant work to self-imposed exhaustion.

The purpose of this study was to describe the pattern of change in effort sense and the value of this pattern in predicting work end-point at relatively high work intensity (80% VO2 max). The patterns of change of various physiological functions were also observed. Two modes of work (walking and running) were compared to ascertain generalizability of results. 26 healthy male volunteers served as subjects. Time to exhaustion (ET) did not differ between walking and running. As work continued during both tasks, significant increases of VE, VE/VO2, VE/VCO2 and HR and a significant decrease of ETCO2 were observed; while VO2 and R remained fairly constant. VO2 and VE during the run were about 5% greater than during the walk; there were no differences in other measures. Ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) from the Borg Scale were identical for both conditions, increasing in a near linear fashion from a value of 12.9 at 25% of total work time to 18.9 at exhaustion. Ratings obtained at 25 and 50% ET were extrapolated to time of exhaustion; the point of intercept corresponded to ratings of perceived exertion for maximal work. At exhaustion, subjects rated perception of respiratory exertion for the walk as less than that for the run; perception of leg exertion was not different for the two conditions. Plasma lactate, epinephrine and norepinephrine concentrations following exercise did not differ between the two conditions. The findings for the walking experiment were essentially replicated in a second investigation involving another 28 subjects. It is concluded that, with the exception of VO2 and some ventilatory parameters, walking and running at the same relative work intensity resulted in comparable perceptual and physiological responses. Psychophysical judgments made early during work were reasonably accurate predictors of exhaustion time.

Adult

Polycystic kidney disease in a patient with the oral-facial-digital syndrome - type I.

Bilateral polycystic kidneys and chronic renal failure were observed in a 48-year-old woman with the classic clinical features of the oral-facial-digital syndrome, Type I (OFD-I). Since this association has been previously reported in two other patients, these findings suggest that polycystic kidneys may be a hitherto unrecognized manifestation of the oral-facial-digital syndrome.

Abnormalities, Multiple