Joji Ohshima | PubMed Health

PubMed2006

A passive smoking screening program for children.

BACKGROUND: There has been no report to date on mass screening of passive smoking in children using biomarkers. METHOD: To identify children exposed to actual environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), 261 children were divided into the following 3 groups: (A) both parents smoke; (B) one parent smokes; and (C) no parent smokes. Child urinary cotinine measurement and a parent questionnaire were obtained. RESULTS: Urinary cotinine was positive (>10 ng/ml) in 92 (35.2%) of the 261 children. Of the 92 children, 29 were classified into group A, 47 into group B, and 16 into group C. The percentages of children who tested positive for urinary cotinine in groups A, B, and C were 56.9%, 31.1%, and 27.1%, respectively. However, in group B, the percentage of children who tested positive for urinary cotinine was significantly higher if only the mother smoked (47.1%) than if only the father smoked (29.1%) (P<0.05). The mean+SD urinary cotinine level in group A was 12.9+/-6.5 ng/ml, and that in group B was 10.4+/-3.8 ng/ml if the mother smoked and 5.4+/-2.6 ng/ml if the father smoked. CONCLUSIONS: This smoking screening program may be useful in identifying children with actual ETS exposure and motivating their parents to either quit smoking or modify their smoking behavior around children.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Comparison of changes in pulse wave velocity in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis one year after introduction of dialysis therapy.

Damage to large arteries is a major contributory factor to the high cardiovascular morbidity and mortality of patients with end-stage renal disease. Among the methods for assessment of arterial damage, measurements of pulse wave velocity (PWV) are considered to predict cardiovascular risk. In the present study, we compared changes in the PWV of patients on hemodialysis (HD) and on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). Patients were eligible for entry into the study if they had been on HD or CAPD for at least 3 months, but for fewer than 5 months, and if they had had no clinical cardiovascular disease during the 6 months preceding study entry. We followed a total of 22 patients (average age: 57.9 +/- 9.8 years) on HD and 22 patients (average age: 59.7 +/- 11.4 years) on CAPD for 1 year. Baseline PWV was determined, and a second measurement was performed 1 year after the baseline PWV had been obtained. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures in the two groups were similar [144.8 +/- 18.4 mmHg over 83.2 +/- 8.7 mmHg (CAPD) vs. 147.4 +/- 18.8 mmHg over 87 +/- 12.3 mmHg (HD)]. In the patients on CAPD, urine volume was fairly constant at about 546.1 +/- 365 mL daily; however, urine volume for most of the patients on HD was less than 100 mL daily. Although no significant difference was observed in baseline PWV [1726.2 +/- 374 m/s (CAPD) vs. 1774.2 +/- 531.36 m/s (HD)], a significant difference in PWV was seen between the two groups at 1 year [1631.9 +/- 380.8 m/s (CAPD) vs. 1853.2 +/- 434.2 m/s (HD), p < 0.05]. With the exception of level of serum cholesterol [256 + 24 mg/dL (CAPD) vs. 187 + 25 mg/dL (HD), p < 0.05], other laboratory data were not significantly different between the two groups. Despite higher serum cholesterol in the patients on CAPD, PWV was faster in the patients on HD. There may be less arterial damage in patients on CAPD than in patients on HD.

Blood Flow Velocity↗