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Biomedical subjects

P C Elwood

Publications and source records attributed to P C Elwood.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Effects of solid foods on growth of bottle-fed infants in first three months of life.

We studied 821 infants who were bottle-fed from birth to determine whether non-milk solids begun within the first 3 monts of life affect early growth. The infants were seen seven to 10 days and three months after birth. They were divided into three groups-those who had started solids before 6 weeks of age (657 infants); those who had started solids between the ages of 6 weeks and 3 months (124 infants); and those given cow's milk formulae alone during the first three months (40 infants). The infants were weighed and measured seven to 10 days after birth and at three months. Mean weekly rates of weight and length gain over the 3 months were calculated and did not differ significantly between the three groups. As no record was made of quantities of food taken we cannot explain the failure of solid foods to affect growth. Studies of how young infants utilise these foods are needed.

Bottle Feeding

Mortality and the concentration of elements in tap water in county boroughs in England and Wales.

To explain the associations of water hardness and air temperature with area differences in ischaemic heart disease mortality, samples of tap water were obtained from homes in 61 county boroughs in England and Wales, and the concentration of calcium and 12 other elements was estimated. Multiple regressions were calculated with the death rates from various causes as dependent variables and with the concentration of the elements in the tap water, mean annual temperature, mean annual rainfall, and a socioeconomic index as independent variables. The well known negative association between water hardness and ischaemic heart disease was shown to be due to calcium, and none of 12 other elements examined appeared to contribute significantly to the association. Area differences in other causes of death also showed an association with calcium. There was little association between temperature and ischaemic heart disease.

Adult

The hazard of old lead mines in Wales.

Two population surveys were conducted near old lead workings in Wales. The first, at Y Fan in the middle of Wales, gave evidence suggestive of a gradient in blood lead level, highest in subjects resident close to the contaminated spoil heaps, and lowest in those who lived in farms some distance away. However, the gradient was significant (P less than 0.05) only in males, and all but one of the blood lead levels were below 2.0 mumol/l. In the second survey, at Halkyn in North Wales, levels in subjects living in the area contaminated by spoil were compared with those in subjects living in a nearby industrial area, and with subjects in a market town some distance away. Mean blood lead in people living in the three areas were homogeneous. These studies give no evidence that old lead workings in Wales are a serious hazard to health.

Adult

A randomized controlled trial of vitamin C in the prevention and amelioration of the common cold.

A randomized controlled trial of the effect of 1 g ascorbic acid per day in the prevention of the common cold was conducted on 688 adult women. There is evidence of a small reduction by vitamin C in the mean number of chest colds, but no evidence of any effect on simple colds. The existence of a subgroup of vulnerable women in the community who benefit from vitamin C was considered but further examination of the data gives no support to this conclusion.

Adult