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Biomedical subjects

Paul Levy

Publications and source records attributed to Paul Levy.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

Population-based age standards for interpreting results on the test of motor infant performance.

PURPOSE: The goals of this study were establishment of age standards for the Test of Infant Motor Performance (TIMP) and evaluation of possible group differences based on sex, medical risk for poor developmental outcome, and race/ethnicity. SUBJECTS: Subjects were 990 infants with a range of risk for poor outcome from 11 geographic locations across the United States that were recruited to reflect the distribution of race/ethnicity in the US population of low birth weight infants. METHODS: Between 67 and 97 infants were tested in each two-week age range from 34-35 weeks' postconceptional age through 16-17 weeks after term. Boys made up 52% of the subjects. Fifty-eight percent of the sample was white, 25% black, and the remainder were of other ethnicities. Scores for all infants in each age group were averaged to form age expectations for each two-week period. Multiple regression was used to explore the effect on TIMP scores of sex, risk, and race/ethnicity. RESULTS: Means ranged from 49 (standard deviation = 15) at 34-35 weeks' postconceptional age through 120 (standard deviation = 16) at 16-17 weeks after term. High-risk infants scored significantly lower than other infants (beta = -0.133, P < 0.0001). Latino infants scored lower than infants of all other ethnicities (beta = -0.052, p < 0.006). Performance did not differ by sex. CONCLUSIONS/CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: These standards for performance on the TIMP can be used to identify infants with delayed motor development.

Age Distribution↗

The Black Seventh-Day Adventist exploratory health study.

African Americans are at high risk for stroke and dementia. Modifications of lifestyle, however, might lower this risk. The Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) Church encourages both spiritual adherence and a healthy lifestyle. Members are encouraged to exercise and are discouraged from smoking, drinking alcoholic or caffeinated beverages, or eating meat. The present study describes an exploratory project in 2 Black SDA congregations (N = 82) designed to characterize the lifestyle, dietary, and spiritual health habits of these congregations, and to test the feasibility of collecting such information in the Black SDA community at large. Three separate data collection methods are described and evaluated. Data demonstrate that the sample differs significantly from the African-American community at large in dietary, lifestyle, and spiritual health habits. The Black SDA community represents a unique opportunity to test the effects of diet, lifestyle, and spirituality on risk for stroke and dementia.

Black or African American↗

Toxic inhalation fatalities of US construction workers, 1990 to 1999.

Construction workers account for a disproportionately large number of occupational fatalities. A small percentage of these deaths is attributable to poisoning. Risk factors for such deaths using national data have not been reported previously. Construction poisoning fatalities from 1990 to 1999 in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Integrated Management and Information System data set were analyzed. Risk and risk factors were determined using Bureau of Labor Statistics and census data. Eighty-seven poisoning deaths of construction workers are characterized, all attributable to toxic inhalation. Cellular and simple asphyxiants accounted for the largest numbers of fatalities. The majority of these deaths occurred in confined spaces. Water, sewer, and utility line workers are at increased risk for poisoning fatality. Toxic inhalation fatalities in the construction industry are preventable. Extending the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's confined space standard could save lives, particularly among water, sewer, and utility line industry workers.

Administration, Inhalation↗