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Biomedical subjects

Michael P Dunne

Publications and source records attributed to Michael P Dunne.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2007

Childhood sexual abuse and adult sexual dysfunction: response to commentary by Rind and Tromovitch (2007).

Rind and Tromovitch (2007) raised four concerns relating to our article (Najman, Dunne, Purdie, Boyle, & Coxeter, 2005. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 34, 517-526.) which suggested a causal association between childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and adult sexual dysfunction. We consider each of these concerns: magnitude of effect, cause and effect, confounding, and measurement error. We suggest that, while the concerns they raise represent legitimate reservations about the validity of our findings, on balance the available evidence indicates an association between CSA and sexual dysfunction that is of "moderate" magnitude, probably causal, and unlikely to be a consequence of confounding or measurement error.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2006

Child sexual abuse in Henan province, China: associations with sadness, suicidality, and risk behaviors among adolescent girls.

PURPOSE: To assess the prevalence of child sexual abuse (CSA) and possible effects on mental health and risky behavior among female adolescents living in China. METHOD: A retrospective survey was conducted among 351 female students in a medical secondary school in the central China province of Henan in June 2004. The anonymous, self-administered questionnaire included items about unwanted sexual experiences before age 16, depression, suicidality, and risky health-related behaviors. RESULTS: Over one in five young women (21.9%) reported at least one type of CSA (any one of 12 forms of nonphysical contact and physical contact CSA) before the age of 16 years, with one in every seven (14.0%) reporting CSA involving physical contact. Risk of CSA was not associated with parents' education level, existence of siblings, or rural/urban residence during childhood. Although some indicators of poor mental health were slightly elevated among girls who had experienced noncontact CSA only, the most significant impact is among victims of contact CSA, including higher rates of depression, overwhelming sadness, suicidal thinking and planning, alcohol drinking, smoking, fighting, and having sexual intercourse. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of CSA in this sample of Chinese female adolescents seems similar to young women in many Western countries, and the pattern of associated mental health and behavioral problems is entirely consistent with international research.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Symptom prevalence and clustering of symptoms in people living with chronic hepatitis C infection.

Quality of life has been shown to be poor among people living with chronic hepatitis C. However, it is not clear how this relates to the presence of symptoms and their severity. The aim of this study was to describe the typology of a broad array of symptoms that were attributed to hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Phase 1 used qualitative methods to identify symptoms. In Phase 2, 188 treatment-naïve people living with HCV participated in a quantitative survey. The most prevalent symptom was physical tiredness (86%) followed by irritability (75%), depression (70%), mental tiredness (70%), and abdominal pain (68%). Temporal clustering of symptoms was reported in 62% of participants. Principal components analysis identified four symptom clusters: neuropsychiatric (mental tiredness, poor concentration, forgetfulness, depression, irritability, physical tiredness, and sleep problems); gastrointestinal (day sweats, nausea, food intolerance, night sweats, abdominal pain, poor appetite, and diarrhea); algesic (joint pain, muscle pain, and general body pain); and dysesthetic (noise sensitivity, light sensitivity, skin problems, and headaches). These data demonstrate that symptoms are prevalent in treatment-naïve people with HCV and support the hypothesis that symptom clustering occurs.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Prevalence and risk factors for lifetime exposure to Pap smear abnormalities in the Australian community.

BACKGROUND: This study examined the prevalence, correlates and consequences of abnormal Pap smears in a population-based survey of sexuality and health in the Australian community. METHODS: Cross-sectional telephone survey of 908 women aged 18-59 years randomly selected from the Commonwealth electoral roll. RESULTS: Most women (91%) reported having had at least one Pap smear test, a figure directly comparable with national estimates. Being single (prevalence ratio (PR) 4.61; 95% CI 2.09-10.17) and not having had sexual intercourse (PR 5.31, 95% CI 3.11-9.07) were strong predictors of never having been tested. One in four women (26%) who reported being screened also reported having had an abnormal Pap smear result, of whom 66% said they had further testing and 52% some form of treatment. A minority (19%) reported negative effects of treatment on their sex lives. Having been diagnosed with human papillomavirus (HPV) (PR 2.87, 95% CI 1.84-4.48), and to a lesser degree, having had a greater number of male sexual partners (PR 1.38, 95% CI 1.01-1.89), and experiencing sexual problems in the last year (PR 0.99, 95% CI 0.99-1.88) were independently associated with reporting of abnormal Pap smear results. CONCLUSIONS: Approximately one in four women self report lifetime exposure to Pap smear abnormalities. It is important that women are well prepared for this common experience. A causal association between multiple sexual partners and risk of acquiring HPV infection is supported by these data.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

[A retrospective survey of childhood corporal punishment by school teachers in students].

OBJECTIVE: To ascertain the prevalence of childhood corporal punishment by teachers in students, to explore the influencing factors and associations between childhood corporal punishment and psychological problems. METHODS: Five hundred and twenty-eight students from a college and a technical secondary school in Hebei province were surveyed by self-administered questionnaire anonymously in Dec. 2004. The questionnaire used for this survey mainly included (1) general demographic information; (2) 5 forms of childhood corporal punishments, in this study, cases of teachers' corporal punishments were defined as those who answered positively one or more of the 5 questions relating to childhood corporal punishment by school teachers occurring before the age of 16 years; (3) Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90); (4) Youth Risk Behaviours. RESULTS: Overall, 57.6% of students reported having been corporally punished at least one time, one of four forms of corporal punishment by teachers before age of 16 years, the four forms corporal punishment were non-contact corporal punishment, e.g., running for punishment, repeat-doing homework many times for punishment, standing for punishment, kneel down for punishment, not allowing to eat, sending outside in winter, etc. (53.4%), hitting/kicking/pushing very hard with open hands/fist/feet/other part of body (16.1%), beating with an object (10.2%), and locking in a small compartment/tying with rope (0.2%). No students reported having been choked, or burned/scalded, or stabbed with a sharp object by the teachers. Males had a significantly higher overall prevalence rate than females (66.4% vs. 46.6%, chi(2) = 21.01, P = 0.000). There was no statistically significant association between a history of childhood corporal punishment and the three other demographic indicators, which included residence region (rural and non-rural area) prior to 16 years of age, parental education level, and whether the respondent lived in a single or multiple children family. Compared with their peers who had not experienced childhood corporal punishment by teachers, the students with two or more forms of corporal punishments by teachers showed significantly higher scores (punished group vs. unpunished group) of psychological symptoms of somatization (0.78 vs. 0.42), obsessiveness (1.22 vs. 0.98), interpersonal sensitivity (1.24 vs. 0.89), depression (1.06 vs. 0.76), anxiety (0.90 vs. 0.64), hostility (1.11 vs. 0.68), paranoid ideation (1.11 vs. 0.71) and psychoticism (0.84 vs. 0.56), and showed significantly higher rates in sadness (54.7% vs. 26.3%), drunk (37.2% vs. 20.1%), involving in physical fighting (15.1% vs. 3.6%) in the past year and current smoking (36.0% vs. 14.5%). CONCLUSIONS: The problem of corporal punishment by teachers is common in schools, and the problem has a significant correlation with youth mental health problems. The results highlighted urgent needs to increase public awareness on children rights, creating learning-friendly environment in school.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Sexual abuse in childhood and sexual dysfunction in adulthood: an Australian population-based study.

This study examined self-reported adult sexual functioning in individuals reporting a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) in a representative sample of the Australian population. A sample of 1793 persons, aged 18-59 years, were randomly selected from the electoral roll for Australian states and territories in April 2000. Respondents were interviewed about their health status and sexual experiences, including unwanted sexual experiences before the age of 16 years. More than one-third of women and approximately one-sixth of men reported a history of CSA. Women were more likely than men to report both non-penetrative and penetrative experiences of CSA. For both sexes, there was a significant association between CSA and symptoms of sexual dysfunction. In assessing the specific nature of the relationship between sexual abuse and sexual dysfunction, statistically significant associations were, in general, evident for women only. CSA was not associated with the level of physical or emotional satisfaction respondents experienced with their sexual activity. The total number of lifetime sexual partners was significantly and positively associated with CSA for females, but not for males; however, the number of sexual partners in the last year was not related to CSA. CSA in the Australian population is common and contributes to significant impairment in the sexual functioning of adults, especially women. These consequences appear not to extend to the other areas of sexual activity considered in this study.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2005

Test-retest repeatability of self-reported environmental exposures in Parkinson's disease cases and healthy controls.

There is substantial disagreement among published epidemiological studies regarding environmental risk factors for Parkinson's disease (PD). Differences in the quality of measurement of environmental exposures may contribute to this variation. The current study examined the test-retest repeatability of self-report data on risk factors for PD obtained from a series of 32 PD cases recruited from neurology clinics and 29 healthy sex-, age- and residential suburb-matched controls. Exposure data were collected in face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire derived from previous epidemiological studies. High repeatability was demonstrated for 'lifestyle' exposures, such as smoking and coffee/tea consumption (kappas 0.70-1.00). Environmental exposures that involved some action by the person, such as pesticide application and use of solvents and metals, also showed high repeatability (kappas>0.78). Lower repeatability was seen for rural residency and bore water consumption (kappa 0.39-0.74). In general, we found that case and control participants provided similar rates of incongruent and missing responses for categorical and continuous occupational, domestic, lifestyle and medical exposures.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

Case-only study of interactions between genetic polymorphisms of GSTM1, P1, T1 and Z1 and smoking in Parkinson's disease.

Current opinion contends that complex interactions between genetic and environmental factors play a role in the etiology of Parkinson's disease (PD). Cigarette smoking is thought to reduce risk of PD, and emerging evidence suggests that genetic factors may modulate smoking's effect. We used a case-only design, an approach not previously used to study gene-environment interactions in PD, specifically to study interactions between glutathione-S-transferase (GST) gene polymorphisms and smoking in relation to PD. Four-hundred PD cases (age at onset: 60.0 +/- 10.7 years) were genotyped for common polymorphisms in GSTM1, P1, T1 and Z1 using well-established methods. Smoking exposure data were collected in face-to-face interviews. The independence of the studied GST genotypes and smoking exposure was confirmed by studying 402 healthy, aged individuals. No differences were observed in the distributions of GSTM1, T1 or Z1 polymorphisms between ever-smoked and never-smoked PD cases using logistic regression (all P > 0.43). However, GSTP1 *C haplotypes were over-represented among PD cases who ever smoked (odds ratio for interaction (ORi) = 2.00 (95% CI: 1.11-3.60, P = 0.03)). Analysis revealed that ORi between smoking and the GSTP1-114Val carrier status increased with increasing smoking dose (P = 0.02 for trend). These data suggest that one or more GSTP1 polymorphisms may interact with cigarette smoking to influence the risk for PD.

Acyltransferases↗
PubMed2004

Child sexual abuse in China: a study of adolescents in four provinces.

OBJECTIVE: Little is known about Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) in Chinese societies. This study examined CSA experiences and associations with demographic factors, self-reported health and risky behaviors among senior high school students in four provinces in central and northern China. METHOD: Students in four schools in Hubei, Henan, Hebei, and Beijing provinces participated in an anonymous, self-completed questionnaire survey. From a total enrollment of 3,261 students in the target classes in years 11 and 12, 2,300 (70.5%) returned valid questionnaires. Mean age was 17.2 years. The questionnaire was adapted from prior CSA research in Australia and utilized standard scales for depression, self-esteem, and youth risk behavior. RESULTS: Prevalence of any unwanted sexual experience before the age of 16 years was higher among females (16.7%) than males (10.5%). Sexual penetration was rarely reported (1%), while 7% reported at least one type of physical contact abuse (female 8.9%, male 5.0%). Risk of any CSA was not associated with the existence of siblings (one-child vs. two- or more child families), rural/urban residence during childhood, or parental education. Males and females with CSA were more depressed and suicidal, and drank alcohol more often, than unaffected adolescents. Contact CSA was strongly associated with sexual intercourse (ever) for both males and females. Females with CSA were more likely than others to engage in anorexic and bulimic behaviors, while males with CSA were often involved in violence. CONCLUSION: Social norms for consensual sexual experiences differ between Eastern and Western societies. CSA experiences also differ, with substantially less penetrative and physical contact abuse in China. However, the psychological and behavioral profile of abused, young Chinese people, including the additional burden associated with contact abuse, is similar to that found in other cultures.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

[Child sexual abuse: a study among 892 female students of a medical school].

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to ascertain the prevalence of child sexual abuse (CSA) among female students of a medical school and to explore the impact of CSA on the mental health and health related risk behaviors of the victims being sexually abused and to provide useful reference for CSA prevention. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was carried out among 892 female students from a medical school by anonymous self-administered questionnaire during Oct. 2002. The questionnaire used for this study mainly included (1) general demographic information; (2) sexual experiences; (3) 12 forms of CSA. In this study, cases of CSA were defined as those who answered positively to one or more of the 12 questions relating to childhood sexual experiences (including non-physical contact CSA and physical contact CSA) occurring before age 16 with a person when a child did not want to. (4) Center for Epidemiologic Studies (CES)-Depression Scale; (5) Self Esteem Scale; (6) Risk Behaviors; (7) Health status' self-evaluation. Survey procedures were designed to protect students' privacy by allowing anonymous and voluntary participation. Students were seated separately, completed the self-administered questionnaire in their classrooms during a regular class period. Respondents were encouraged to participate in this survey, but given the sensitive nature of the subject, they could skip portion of the questionnaire if they were not comfortable with the questions. The completed questionnaires were sealed in envelopes by students themselves (the envelope was distributed with questionnaire at the same time), and then collected together. Data were analysed by using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software. Frequency, percentage, Chi-square test and t-test of statistics were used to analyze the CSA prevalence and explore the influence of CSA on mental health of students. RESULTS: Among 892 female students, 25.6% reported having experienced CSA (any one of 12 forms non-physical contact and physical contact CSA) before the age of 16 years. The median age at first episode was 12 years. Comparing the rates of CSA of female students in different parents' education level, between one-child in a family and more than one-child in a family, among rural area, county and city, there were no significant differences. Compared to the students who had not experienced CSA, the students who had experienced CSA reported higher levels of depression (CES-D score 18.78 vs. 16.68, t = 2.81, P = 0.005), lower levels of health status self-evaluation (score 3.53 vs. 3.78, t = 2.94, P = 0.003); higher proportion of subjects who reported drinking alcohol and having ever smoked during the past 30 days (drinking 32.7% vs. 22.9%, chi(2) = 8.51, P = 0.004; smoking 8.8% vs. 4.4%, chi(2) = 6.17, P = 0.013); a higher percentage engaged in sexual intercourse (19.3% vs. 5.9%, chi(2) = 33.48, P = 0.000); ever seriously considered attempting suicide (23.7% vs. 15.4%, chi(2) = 8.09, P = 0.004), making a plan about how would attempt suicide (17.9% vs. 9.7%, chi(2) = 10.62, P = 0.001), being threatened or injured by someone with a weapon such as a knife, or club on school property (3.5% vs. 1.1%, chi(2) = 6.17, P = 0.013), being involved in physical fight (16.7% vs. 5.6%, chi(2) = 27.05, P = 0.000) during the 12 months preceding the survey. CONCLUSIONS: The results further showed that the CSA of girls in our country is not uncommon, as reported before in our country and in the other countries and is associated with poor mental health and risky behaviors. The findings highlight the urgent need for the further research into CSA epidemiological characteristics, health services for the victims abused sexually, sexual abuse prevention programs in schools and the general community in China.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Is child sexual abuse declining? Evidence from a population-based survey of men and women in Australia.

OBJECTIVE: Substantiated cases of child sexual abuse (CSA) in the United States have declined significantly over the past decade. This may, or may not, reflect change in the underlying rate in the general population. This study examines age-cohort differences in the prevalence of self-reported CSA experiences of men and women aged 18-59 years in a community-based sample from a comparable western nation. METHOD: In April 2000, we completed a cross-sectional, telephone-based survey of a randomly selected national sample of men and women in Australia. Volunteers (876 males, 908 females) answered a range of questions about health status and sexuality, including unwanted sexual experiences before the age of 16 years. Of selected adults with publicly-listed telephone numbers, 61% agreed to participate. There were few differences between the volunteers and the Australian population on demographic variables and health indicators. RESULTS: Non-penetrative CSA was twice as common among women (33.6%) than men (15.9%). Approximately 12% of women and 4% of men reported unwanted penetrative experiences. CSA was reported significantly less often by younger males, with a linear decline from the oldest to youngest men. Among all females who had intercourse before age 16, older women were much more likely than younger women to say they were an unwilling partner on the first occasion. If first intercourse occurred at age 16 or later, there were no age-cohort differences in risk of first-time abuse. Self-reported "openness" and "comfort" during the telephone interviews was not systematically related to prevalence of CSA. CONCLUSION: These population-based findings provide evidence of a decline in the underlying rate of CSA in Australia. Although every measure of CSA inevitably is flawed to some extent, these trends in self-report complement official statistics that show substantial decline in recent years.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Early patterns of sexual activity: age cohort differences in Australia.

Patterns of first sexual activity among Australians born between the 1940s and 1980s were analysed using data from a national telephone survey of 1784 adults (876 males; 908 females). Sixty-one percent of those randomly selected from the Australian electoral roll and contactable by telephone responded. Many trends, including earlier first intercourse--from 20 to 18 years (females) and 18.8 to 17.8 years (males)--were established with the 40-49 year cohort, whose sexual debut was in the late 1960s-70s. Significant age-cohort effects saw women in the contemporary (18-29 year) cohort draw level with males for age at first intercourse and first sex before age 16 and before leaving school. First intercourse contraceptive use climbed from 30% to 80%. Condom use quadrupled to 70%. Australian age-cohort effects are remarkably consistent with those in similar western cultures: gender convergence in sexual experience and increasing avoidance of sexually transmitted disease and pregnancy. If such trends continue, positive long-term outcomes for health and social wellbeing should result.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Sexual dysfunction in the Australian population.

AIM: To describe the prevalence and forms of sexual dysfunction experienced by Australians, and compare these with people in the United States. METHODS: A cross sectional, telephone interview survey of a randomly selected sample of men (n = 876) and women (n = 908) aged between 18 and 59 years on the electoral roll in all states and territories of Australia (response rate = 61%) was conducted between November 1999 and April 2000. RESULTS: Large proportions of Australian men (55.0%) and women (60.5%) reported at least one sexual problem within the preceding year. More serious sexual dysfunction (> 3 symptoms) was observed in 13.2% of men and 19.7% of women. DISCUSSION: Australia and the USA are similar with regard to the high rate of symptoms of sexual dysfunction observed in the population. The low rate of treatment points to both patient and doctor reluctance to discuss sexual performance and practices.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Association between self-reported childhood sexual abuse and adverse psychosocial outcomes: results from a twin study.

BACKGROUND: Increased risk for serious adverse outcomes has been associated with a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA). Whether these risks are directly attributable to CSA rather than family background remains controversial. METHODS: Structured psychiatric telephone interviews were conducted from February 1996 to September 2000 with both members of 1991 same-sex pairs (1159 female and 832 male pairs) from a young adult Australian volunteer twin panel (mean [SD] age, 29.9 [2.5] years). A binary composite CSA variable was constructed from responses to 5 component questions. The association between CSA and adverse psychosocial outcomes was examined, controlling for family background. RESULTS: A history of CSA, reported by 16.7% of the women and 5.4% of the men, was more common among those reporting parental alcohol-related problems. Significantly increased risk was observed in women reporting a history of CSA for subsequently occurring major depression, suicide attempt, conduct disorder, alcohol dependence, nicotine dependence, social anxiety, rape after the age of 18 years, and divorce; most similar risks reached statistical significance in men. The greatest risks were associated with CSA involving intercourse. Childhood sexual abuse-negative twins (ie, those who denied having experienced CSA) from CSA-discordant pairs compared with other CSA-negative individuals had increased risk for many adverse outcomes suggesting correlated family background risk factors. Childhood sexual abuse-positive members (ie, those who reported having experienced CSA) of CSA-discordant pairs had significantly greater risk for all 8 examined adverse outcomes than their co-twins. CONCLUSIONS: Self-reported CSA was associated with increased risk for adverse outcomes, controlling for family background. Family background risk factors also were associated with adverse outcome risk. Discordant pair analysis seems to provide an effective means of controlling for family background risk factors.

Adolescent↗