PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

S C Hartz

Publications and source records attributed to S C Hartz.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Ascorbic acid, HDL, and total plasma cholesterol in the elderly.

The relationships between ascorbic acid (plasma and dietary) and plasma HDL cholesterol (HDL-C), total plasma cholesterol (T-C) and T-C:HDL-C ratio were examined in a population of 235 males and 445 females, age 60-98 years. Many known or suspected determinants of HDL-C and T-C, including age, sex, triceps skinfold thickness, fasting blood glucose, alcohol intake, and others, were considered as covariates due to their potential confounding or modifying effects on the relationships under study. The results show that plasma ascorbic acid is significantly (p less than 0.05) correlated with HDL-C (r = 0.09), T-C:HDL-C (r = 0.10), but not with T-C (r = 0.03). There is a strong age interaction with the largest effect of ascorbic acid in the youngest age group studied (60-69 years). The effects of dietary ascorbic acid are similar but slightly reduced in magnitude.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Protein nutriture of a group of free-living elderly.

The adequacy of the protein intakes of elderly people without overt debilitating diseases was investigated on 691 free-living men and women divided into those aged 60-75 y and those greater than 75 y. In both age groups men and women had average protein intakes of 1.02-1.06 g/kg body weight, values well above the safe level of 0.75 g/kg recommended in a WHO/FAO/UNU report. Although plasma concentrations of albumin, prealbumin, and transferrin declined with age, these were not related to low intakes of protein by individual elderly people. Similarly, upper-arm muscle mass was not less in those elderly people at the lower end of the range of protein intakes. Thus in this population of overtly healthy elderly men and women, there was no evidence of protein deficiency in contrast to other surveys where elderly people with chronic diseases were included.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1986

Folic acid malabsorption in atrophic gastritis. Possible compensation by bacterial folate synthesis.

Folic acid absorption was studied in 12 elderly subjects with atrophic gastritis and 10 elderly normal controls using tritium-labeled pteroylmonoglutamic acid. Two folic acid absorption tests were carried out on each subject with 120 ml of either water or 0.1 N HCl. Folic acid absorption was significantly lower in subjects with atrophic gastritis than in normal controls (31% vs. 51%, respectively; p less than 0.01). In subjects with atrophic gastritis, folic acid absorption rose significantly to 54% (p less than 0.001) when administered with acid, but did not change in normal controls (50%). Serum folate levels were normal in all subjects. Proximal small intestinal pH was higher in atrophic gastritis subjects than in normal controls (7.1 vs. 6.7, respectively; p less than 0.05), as were bacterial counts of small intestinal fluid (p less than 0.01). Bacteria cultured from the aspirates of subjects with atrophic gastritis were able to synthesize folate in vitro when incubated in a folate-free medium. Atrophic gastritis results in folic acid malabsorption but not in folate deficiency, possibly due to increased bacterial synthesis of folate in the small intestine.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

Fundic atrophic gastritis in an elderly population. Effect on hemoglobin and several serum nutritional indicators.

The ratio of pepsinogen I to pepsinogen II in the circulation decreases progressively with increasing severity of atrophic gastritis of the fundic gland mucosa. Fasting blood was obtained from 359 free-living and institutionalized elderly people (age range, 60 to 99 years). A pepsinogen I/pepsinogen II ratio less than 2.9, indicating atrophic gastritis, was found in 113 (31.5%) subjects. The prevalence of atrophic gastritis increased significantly with advancing age (P less than .05). Within the atrophic gastritis group, 84 had a pepsinogen I level greater than or equal to 20 micrograms/L, indicating mild to moderate atrophic gastritis, and 29 had a pepsinogen I level less than 20 micrograms/L, indicating severe atrophic gastritis or gastric atrophy. A significant increase in the prevalences of elevated serum gastrin levels (P less than .005), low serum vitamin B12 levels (P less than .005), circulating intrinsic factor antibody (P less than .005), and anemia (P less than .025) was observed with stepwise increases in severity of atrophic gastritis. Subjects with atrophic gastritis exhibited a lower mean serum vitamin B12 level (P less than .05) and a higher mean folate level (P less than .05), but no difference was detected in mean hemoglobin levels or serum levels of iron, ferritin, retinol or alpha-tocopherol. It is concluded that serum pepsinogen I and pepsinogen II levels can be used to determine the prevalence and severity of atrophic gastritis, that atrophic gastritis is common in an elderly population, and that atrophic gastritis is associated with vitamin B12 deficiency and anemia. Further, higher folate levels in atrophic gastritis may be related to an accumulation of 5-methyl tetrahydrofolate in serum due to vitamin B12 deficiency and/or greater folate synthesis by the intestinal flora resulting from bacterial overgrowth secondary to hypo- or achlorhydria.

Aged↗
PubMed1982

Patterns of preadmission medication use among hospitalized children.

To determine patterns of medication use prior to hospital admission, we reviewed records of 3,487 infants and children monitored by the Pediatric Drug Surveillance Program. Subjects were admitted to selected monitored wards at the Children's Hospital Medical Center and Brigham and Women's Hospital between 1974 and 1979. The median number of drugs taken in the three months prior to admission was 3.5; 220 children (6%) reported taking no preadmission drugs, and 351 (10%) reported taking ten or more drugs. Preadmission drug use was highest in patients with cancer and children with chronic diseases (such as cystic fibrosis), and use was also high among infants transferred to a referral neonatal ICU. The most common preadmission medications for selected discharge diagnoses and indications are presented. In addition, review of the data revealed changes in the use of specific drugs (chloramphenicol, ampicillin, amoxicillin, Dimetapp, and cimetidine) over the study period. These data suggest that there is substantial use of medications by pediatric patients prior to hospital admission and that the nature of such drug use changes over time.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Elimination of "lead time" bias in assessing the effect of early breast cancer diagnosis.

The relationship between diagnosis of breast cancer in the localized stage of disease and improved prognosis for 234 female breast cancer patients aged 55 years and older was examined. Cause of death was used as an indicator of prognosis because, unlike measures of survival, it is unaffected by "lead time" bias. A three- to fourfold increase in the risk of death from breast cancer was observed among women diagnosed in the advanced stages of breast cancer relative to those diagnosed in the localized stage. The results indicate that diagnosis in the localized stage of breast cancer was associated with an improved prognosis, and that "lead time" bias cannot explain the observed association between stage at diagnosis and prognosis for female breast cancer patients aged 55 years and older.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Factors associated with oral contraceptive use.

We studied factors associated with oral contraceptive (OC) use among 1,855 premenopausal women who were admitted to hospital with conditions unrelated to OC use. Among this group, 15 per cent reported having used OCs within the preceding year and 35 per cent reported having last used them more than a year previously. A higher estrogenic dose (more than 60 micrograms) was reported by past users; the relationship of numerous other variables to past and present OC use is reported.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Relation of cigarette smoking to myocardial infarction in young women.

To examine the relation between myocardial infarction and cigarette smoking in young women, we investigated the smoking habits of women under the age of 50 who had survived a recent myocardial infarction. They had not been using oral contraceptives, and other identifiable risk factors were excluded. Among 55 such women and 220 control matched for age and area of residence, the proportions of cigarette smokers were 89 per cent and 55 per cent respectively (P less than 0.001). A dose-response relation was evident; among women smoking 35 or more cigarettes per day the rate of myocardial infarction was estimated to be some 20-fold higher than among those who had never smoked. This study demonstrates that cigarette smoking is a risk factor for myocardial infarction in young women who are otherwise apparently healthy.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Hypotension due to chlorpromazine. Relation to cigarette smoking, blood pressure, and dosage.

The frequency of hypotension attributed to orally administered chlorpromazine hydrochloride was compared among 187 nonsmokers, 223 "light" smokers, 87 "intermediate" smokers, and 18 "heavy" smokers. Hypotension attributed to the drug occurred in10%, 8%, 5% and 0%, respectively. Other factors found to be independently related to hypotension were high diastolic blood pressure on admission and high dosage of chlorpromazine. The results suggest that smoking status, dosage, and blood pressure must be evaluated in order to estimate the likelihood that a patient may become hypotensive after receiving chlorpromazine.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1976

Anticonvulsants and parental epilepsy in the development of birth defects.

The results of two studies, one in Finland and one in the U.S.A., raise the possibility that fetal damage previously attributed to phenytoin and other anticonvulsant drugs, principally phenobarbitone, may be due to epilepsy itself. In the U.S.A., drug-exposure information was collected before delivery in a cohort of 50 282 mother/child pairs. The total malformation rate in 305 children born to epileptic mothers was 10.5%, as against 6.4% in the remainder (p less than 0.01); corresponding rates for major malformations were 6.6% and 2.7%. When the fathers had epilepsy, the malformation-rates in their children were intermediate. The rates did not vary significantly according to maternal anticonvulsants therapy. Mental and motor scores as 8 months of age, and intelligence quotient scores at 4 years were lower in children of epileptic mothers, but not in children of epileptic fathers. The scores showed only random variation according to maternal anticonvulsant therapy. In Finland, 2784 children with craniofacial anomalies were compared with an equal number of normal children; 8 and 2 mothers, respectively, received anticonvulsants, while pregnant, for epilepsy. In that study, the separate effects of the disease and its treatmet could not be evaluated. Both studies did not find evidence of fetal damage when phenobarbitone was taken for indications other than epilepsy.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗
PubMed1975

Antenatal exposure to meprobamate and chlordiazepoxide in relation to malformations, mental development, and childhood mortality.

In a follow-up study of 50,282 pregnancies (lasting at least five lunar months) and the offspring, malformations identified before the first birthday, or at death before the fourth birthday, were identified in 3248 children (6.5 per cent). A total of 1870 children exposed in utero to meprobamate or chlordiazepoxide were compared with 48,412 children who were not. No significant differences were found either overall or in specific outcomes; rates were also similar when exposures occurred during the first trimester or at other times during pregnancy. Deaths (stillbirth to the fourth birthday) occurred in 2227 children (4.4 per cent), and there was no evidence that antenatal exposure to either drug increased the death rate. Finally, as judged by mental and motor scores at the age of eight months, and intelligence quotient scores at four years, there was no evidence that the drugs cause brain damage.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗