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Biomedical subjects

K M Robson

Publications and source records attributed to K M Robson.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Development of constipation in nursing home residents.

PURPOSE: Constipation is a common complaint among geriatric patients and may result in significant morbidity, especially among nursing home residents. The prevalence of constipation increases with advancing age and may be a result of the aging process, but the exact cause is unknown. The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of constipation and to determine risk factors for the development of constipation in a large population of nursing home residents. METHODS: The Minimum Data Set is an assessment instrument used in nearly all Medicare-certified and Medicaid-certified nursing facilities. Nursing home residents who were at least 65 years of age and who had assessments at baseline and at three months were included in the study (N = 21,012). Baseline risk factors were included in a multivariate logistic regression to determine their association with the development of constipation. To allow causal implications, nursing home residents with constipation at baseline were excluded. The variables examined included medications, mobility, comorbid illness, and nutrition. RESULTS: The mean age (+/- standard deviation) of nursing home residents was 83 +/- 8 years, and the population was 70 percent female and 83 percent white. At baseline, the prevalence of constipation was 12.5 percent (N = 2,627). By the three-month assessment, 7 percent (N = 1,291) of nursing home residents had developed constipation. The factors associated independently with the development of constipation were, in order of magnitude, race, decreased fluid intake, pneumonia, Parkinson's disease, and the presence of allergies. Congestive heart failure and the use of a feeding tube were two factors identified as having a protective effect. CONCLUSION: The variables associated with the development of constipation may be used to identify geriatric nursing home residents at risk and to prevent constipation and its potential complications. Further study is needed to demonstrate a causal relationship between the risk factors and the development of constipation.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

Maternal depression and the emotional development of the child.

Ninety-two women and their first-born children took part in a longitudinal survey of maternal mental health. When the children were four years old, their mothers were interviewed by means of the Behavioural Screening Questionnaire, and the children's problems were rated by a psychiatrist, who was unaware of the mothers' psychiatric histories or of assessments of their current health. As expected, mothers who were concurrently depressed reported significantly more behavioural difficulties in their children. Marital disharmony during pregnancy and a history of paternal psychiatric problems were also associated with later childhood behavioural difficulties. Children who scored below average on the McCarthy scales of cognitive abilities were also reported by their mothers to have more behavioural problems, but the children's behavioural difficulties at four showed no clear links with post-natal depression.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Impact of maternal postnatal depression on cognitive development of young children.

Ninety four women and their first born children took part in a longitudinal study of maternal mental health during pregnancy and after delivery. The children's cognitive functioning was assessed at age 4 using the McCarthy scales, without knowledge of the mothers' psychiatric history or current health. As expected girls performed slightly better than boys and children from middle class and professional families did better than children from working class homes, as did children whose mothers had achieved at least one A level at school. Significant intellectual deficits were found in the children whose mothers had suffered with depression, but only when this depression occurred in the first year of the child's life. Marital conflict and a history of paternal psychiatric problems were independently linked with lower cognitive test scores; together with a working class home background these were the only factors that contributed to the deleterious effect of maternal postnatal depression.

Child Development↗
PubMed1984

Development of a self-administered questionnaire to measure maternal adjustment and maternal attitudes during pregnancy and after delivery.

Having a baby entails very great changes in maternal intrapsychic and interpersonal adjustment, and childbearing is associated with an increased risk of psychiatric disorder. It may be possible, as pregnancy progresses, to find clues to such disturbances among the changes that occur in maternal attitudes and self-perceptions, This report describes the development and validation of a 60-item, self-administered questionnaire which aims to measure a mother's perceptions of her body, of somatic symptoms, the marital relationship, attitudes to sex and attitudes to the pregnancy and the baby. A pilot study of 99 women in late pregnancy was followed by repeated measures taken from 119 first-time mothers who were subjects in a longitudinal survey of mental health in a routine obstetric service setting. The questionnaire was acceptable to the mothers, it was reliable (test-retest and split-half) and comparisons with independently gathered interview data showed that it had criterion-related validity. The questionnaire is appended to this report (Appendix I).

Attitude↗
PubMed1984

A prospective study of emotional disorders in childbearing women.

A group of first-time mothers (119) were interviewed repeatedly at fixed intervals during their pregnancies and until their babies were a year old; they were then followed up at four years. A similar investigation was carried out on 38 other primiparae and 39 multiparae, but only postnatally. The incidence of depressive neurosis rose significantly in early pregnancy and in the first three months after delivery (10 per cent and 14 per cent of the main sample respectively). Subjects mainly suffered either from antenatal or postnatal depression, not both. Marital conflict and severe doubts about having the baby were associated with depression at either time. Bereavement and preterm birth were the only life events to relate with the onset of depression and bereavement had a greater impact during pregnancy. Depressed mothers were more likely to express negative or mixed feelings about their three-month-old babies. Many who had become depressed for the first time in their lives continued to experience psychological problems for up to four years after childbirth.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Maternal sexuality during first pregnancy and after childbirth.

Information about sexual activity, enjoyment and libido was obtained at intervals from 119 primiparous women during a longitudinal survey of maternal emotional health in pregnancy and for a year after delivery. Most subjects described some reduction in the frequency of sexual intercourse and a diminution of libido and sexual enjoyment during pregnancy; this was most marked in the third trimester. After delivery, about a third of subjects had resumed intercourse by six weeks and nearly everyone had done so by three months. Nevertheless, 77% and 57% of the women were having intercourse less often at three and 12 months after delivery respectively, in comparison with the month before they became pregnant. Selected variables were examined for relationship with a low, or reduced frequency of intercourse and with a lack of enjoyment. Significant associations were found with aspects of maternal personality and childhood relationships, marital conflict, maternal depression, previous miscarriages, difficulties in conceiving and fears of harming the fetus. Nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, the mode of delivery and related obstetric and medical variables, breast-feeding and characteristics of the baby, did not appear to significantly influence maternal sexuality.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Delayed onset of maternal affection after childbirth.

Information about perceptions of labour and delivery and about immediate emotional reactions to their newborn babies was obtained from two groups of primiparous women (n = 112 and n = 41) and from 40 multiparae. About 40 per cent of primiparae and 25 per cent of multiparae recalled that their predominant emotional reaction when holding their babies for the very first time had been one of indifference. Maternal affection was more likely to be lacking after delivery if the mother had had a forewater amniotomy and had, in addition, either experienced a painful and unpleasant labour or been given more than 125 mg of pethidine. Most mothers developed affection for their babies within a week of delivery and, in all groups of subjects, no longer term adverse effects were seen, such as post-natal depression or aggressive impulses directed at the baby. Three months post-natally it was, however, found that a mother was more likely to express feelings of dislike or indifference towards her baby if she was clinically depressed at the time.

Adult↗