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Biomedical subjects

M Zemach

Publications and source records attributed to M Zemach.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Invasive meningococcal disease: patient and strain characteristics set new challenge for prevention and control.

Differences in the course of invasive meningococcal disease, in prevalence, case-to-carrier ratio, geographical pattern, age distribution and antibiotic resistance have been related to major serogroups and their serotypes. The relationships between Neisseria meningitidis serogroups and clinical manifestation, outcome and patient characteristics are assessed. All hospitalized patients in six major hospitals in central Israel with a verified meningococcal disease during 1990-1994 were included (n = 66). Their personal and clinical data and the results of bacteriological and serological tests of their blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were recorded. Meningococci were isolated from both blood and CSF, from blood alone, and from CSF alone in 60.6%, 18.2%, and 21.2% of the cases, respectively. The highest proportion of isolations were from infants < 1 year (34.8%), followed by children aged 1 to 5 years (25.8%). Serogroup B prevailed in 62.1%, while groups C and W135 accounted for 28.8% and 9.1%, respectively. Serogroup B predominated in children < 1 year, while in patients aged 5-22 years, C strains were the major pathogen (P < 0.001). Serogroup B accounted for 93% of the cases of meningitis, 58% of meningococcemia and 42% of fulminant meningococcemia, while group C strains were the major cause of fulminant meningococcemia (50%). The overall case fatality rate was 7.6%: fulminant meningococcemia 8.3%, and meningococcemia 10%. It was concluded that N. meningitidis group C continues to account for almost a third of the cases of meningococcal disease and is the major cause of fulminant meningococcemia.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

The contribution of personal resources to physical and mental health: looking into age and gender effects.

In this study, a model that specified the effects of socioeconomic and psychological resources on physical and mental health was investigated. It was hypothesized that (a) both kinds of resources would affect physical and mental health more strongly in older than in younger adults, and that (b) socioeconomic resources would exert stronger effects in men, whereas psychological resources would exert stronger effects in women. Data were collected in an Israeli national sample. Structural modeling analyses indicated that the model fit the data. A comparison of 4 groups of participants (2 age groups--18-39 and 40-84--and both genders) showed that, for men, the respective effects of socioeconomic and psychological resources on physical and mental health were strong in the older, but not in the younger, group. For women, socioeconomic resources had nonsignificant effects, whereas psychological resources had strong effects on mental health in both age groups; psychological resources also had a moderate effect on physical health in the older group. The results suggest that the contribution of personal resources to health is regulated by the joint impact of age and gender, presumably involving shifting roles and vulnerabilities of men and women across the life span.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1994

A nation's response to attack: Israelis' depressive reactions to the Gulf War.

We examined Israelis' reactions to the Gulf War and SCUD missile attacks. Four national samples of Israelis (n = 3,204) were interviewed as to depressive mood on four occasions--prior to the Gulf Crisis, as the war approached, during the SCUD missile attacks, and after cessation of hostilities. There was an expected increase in depressive mood during the period of SCUD missile attacks and a quick return to base-line levels following the hostilities. Less educated and older individuals reported higher base-line levels of depressive mood and were at higher risk for clinical depression. Women and men did not differ in depressive mood before or after the SCUD missile attacks. However, women experienced a marked increase in depressive mood when the SCUD missile attacks occurred.

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMed1990

Subjective well-being and its domains across different age groups: an Israeli sample.

Subjective well-being (SWB) across the life span was studied in a representative Israeli sample by a national survey of 1183 subjects, ranging from 18 to 80 years of age. Subjects were given "life scales", on which they rated their SWB in their present life, as well as their satisfaction regarding health, relations with friends, family, work, economic status, sense of personal achievement, and sense of control. The results indicate that: (a) SWB is negatively correlated with chronological age; (b) the relative strength of most of SWB domains changes in the different age groups; (c) SWB is best explained by different sets of domains in different age groups; and (d) economic status is the strongest domain, accounting for SWB in 6 out of 8 age groups. Explanations for these results confronted the developmental view of changing tasks across the life span vs cohort-based differences between the age groups. The decreasing number of domains that account for SWB variance with progressing age, as well as some unexpected findings with regard to the oldest age group (71-80) are also discussed.

Adolescent↗