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R Lazarus

Publications and source records attributed to R Lazarus.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Social support, marital status and living arrangement correlates of cardiovascular disease risk factors in the elderly.

Marital status and indices of social support are associated with mortality due to coronary heart disease and stroke. This association seems not entirely due to differences in recognised cardiovascular disease risk factors. The Western Sydney Stroke risk in the Elderly Study examined the relationship between marital status, living arrangements, widowhood and extent of social support, and risk factors for cardiovascular disease in men and women aged over 65 years. Unmarried men had the lowest mean HDL-C levels. Men living alone had the highest mean systolic blood pressures. The lower mean HDL-C levels and higher DBP levels seen among widows were not statistically significant after adjustment for differences in past medical history and education levels. The extent of social support was not associated with any significant differences in cardiovascular risk factor levels among men or women. We conclude that some of the increased risk of cardiovascular disease associated with socio-demographic factors among men in this age-group may be due to differences in primary cardiovascular disease risk factors. However, some of the mechanisms underlying risk of cardiovascular disease in this age-group remains obscure.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1995

Repeatability of nutrient intakes estimated by a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire in elderly subjects.

In order to evaluate the repeatability of nutrient values estimated from a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire being used in a longitudinal study of the relationships between diet, hemostatic factors, and stroke risk in the elderly in Western Sydney, a subsample of 62 participants (24 men, 38 women) completed a repeat questionnaire approximately 1 month after baseline data were collected. The mean age was 78 years (range, 65 to 88; median, 78). Nutrient values calculated from the repeat questionnaire were not significantly different from the baseline results by paired t test. Intraclass correlation coefficients ranged from 0.63 for beta carotene to 0.82 for saturated fat. Quadratic weighted kappa values were calculated for quintile categories and these ranged from 0.50 for fiber to 0.86 for ethanol. These values are comparable to previously published results in elderly subjects and confirm that repeatability of nutrient intakes estimated using semiquantitative food frequency questionnaires is very high in the elderly. Older subjects may be more established in their dietary habits than younger subjects, so any tendency for repeatability to decrease due to impaired memory associated with advanced age is offset by a lower intraindividual variability in dietary habit.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Recommended body mass index cutoff values for overweight screening programmes in Australian children and adolescents: comparisons with North American values.

OBJECTIVE: Guidelines for screening children and adolescents for overweight have recently been published by a North American Expert Committee. As Australian clinicians might uncritically adopt these recommendations, we explore the consequences of applying North American body mass index (BMI) cutoff values to an Australian population. METHODOLOGY: The Australian BMI cutoffs were calculated using the methods recommended from height and weight data for 8492 schoolchildren aged 7-15 years old. RESULTS: Smoothed Australian BMI cutoffs were similar to those derived from the first United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES-I) values for whites. However, the NHANES-I cutoffs would result in systematic misclassification. Among 7 year olds, the NHANES-I 85th percentile cutoff would wrongly classify 4.6% of normal males and 9.1% of normal females as 'at risk of overweight'. At age 14 years, the NHANES-I 95th percentile cutoff would misclassify 3.5% of children as 'overweight' instead of 'at risk of overweight'. CONCLUSION: Australian screening programmes should use BMI cutoffs appropriately derived from local measurements, and these are given for Australian children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Clinical characteristics and outcomes in a cohort of patients who were assessed as in need of nursing-home care.

A cohort of 116 applicants who were assessed by the Bundoora Extended Care Assessment Team during the first six months of 1985 as requiring nursing-home care was followed-up in an attempt to detect the clinical characteristics that were associated with a delay in placement. The demographic and clinical features of this cohort are described. By the end of the follow-up period, 89 applicants had been admitted to nursing homes. The mean time from assessment to placement for this group was 97.1 days. A significant delay in placement was associated with an age of less than 80 years, an inability to speak English, the presence of an indwelling urinary catheter, and the need for assistance with feeding. We concluded that some clinical characteristics had an effect on the time to placement among the nursing-home applicants who were assessed in the catchment area of our team.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1983

Immune interferon induces the receptor for monomeric IgG1 on human monocytic and myeloid cells.

We report here that FcR for human monomeric IgG1 can be induced on cells of myeloid origin cultured in the presence of IFN gamma for 8 h. Supernatant fluids from cultures of lymphocytes infected with a variety of viruses or cocultured with cell lines have the same FcR enhancing effect as IFN gamma. We identify the factor in the supernatant fluid responsible for the induction as immune interferon. Among the different types of IFN, only the gamma type (both purified and recombinant) specifically induces the appearance of FcR for monomeric IgG1 on normal and leukemic myeloid cells but not on cells of lymphoid origin. This effect is also evident on mature PMN. We show that the specificity and the affinity of the receptor induced on HL-60 promyelocytic cells, peripheral blood monocytes, and PMN are identical to those of the receptor spontaneously present on the same cells, except for PMN, which do not spontaneously express this type of receptor. The results of inhibition experiments performed with mouse IgG of and IgG3. These results suggest that the receptor present on human monocytes different isotypes indicate that the receptor can be inhibited by murine IgG2a or immature myeloid cells, selectively inducible by IFN gamma, has a specificity similar to the FcR1 described on mouse macrophages.

Bone Marrow Cells↗
PubMed1983

Respirable dust from lignite coal in the Victorian power industry.

The results from a 12-month program of static sampling for respirable dust in various work sites of the Victorian power industry are presented. Lignite coal is the major source of dust in this industry. The data appear to be nearly lognormal in distribution and are similar in magnitude to levels reported from North American surface mines and surface work sites. Average 8-hour, time-weighted-average dust concentrations of 0.3 mg/m3 (SD = 0.3) were found in open areas. In enclosed coal handling areas, average concentrations of 0.7 mg/m3 (SD = 0.6) were found.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed1983

Human natural killer cells analyzed by B73.1, a monoclonal antibody blocking Fc receptor functions. II. Studies of B73.1 antibody-antigen interaction on the lymphocyte membrane.

In this paper, we characterize the antigen recognized by the monoclonal antibody B73.1 and the modification occurring at the membrane of the positive cells after interaction with the antibody. The B73.1-defined antigen is a protein of 50,000 to 72,000 daltons that is sensitive to pronase but not to trypsin treatment. B73.1 antibody, and its F(ab')2 fragment, directly block, at high concentrations, the binding of IgG antibody-sensitized erythrocytes to the Fc receptors (FcR) of a subpopulation of lymphocytes and neutrophils. B73.1 antibody dissociates rapidly from the positive cells, but concomitant modulation of both B73.1 antigen and FcR is induced when cells are incubated in the continuous presence of antibody or when B73.1 antibody is cross-linked at the cell membrane with an anti-mouse immunoglobulin antiserum. Reaction of lymphocytes with immune complexes also induces modulation of both FcR and B73.1 antigen, without affecting the expression of other antigens on the positive cells. The possibility that the antigen is internalized and digested by the cell after reaction with the antibody is discussed. B73.1 antibody inhibits antibody-dependent cytotoxicity mediated by lymphocytes (K cells) and neutrophils, whereas it does not affect spontaneous cytotoxicity of NK cells. These results suggest the B73.1-defined antigen might be the FcR or a structure closely related to it on K/NK cells.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMed1982

Lung-function reference values from Victorian power-industry workmen.

Reference values for a number of lung function tests performed on a group of apparently healthy Victorian power industry workmen are described. Most workers in this industry have had at least incidental exposure to a range of respiratory hazards, including asbestos dust, at some time in their working lives, but men who recalled handling asbestos materials were excluded from the study. Comparison with other published Australian data shows considerable variation. Differences such as measurement technique, equipment calibration, occupational factors, and selection bias must be considered when reference values from published reports are used for clinical or epidemiological purposes.

Adult↗