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Biomedical subjects

T L Conway

Publications and source records attributed to T L Conway.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Changes in smoking prevalence following a strict no-smoking policy in U.S. Navy recruit training.

This study examined 449 U.S. Navy recruits who reported that they were current smokers upon entering Navy recruit training. Recruits were prohibited from using tobacco for the duration of the 8 weeks of basic training. Participants completed tobacco surveys at entry into the Navy, upon graduation from recruit training, and after 1 year of service. Forty percent of the smokers at entry into the Navy changed their classification to former smokers at the end of recruit training. At the 1-year follow-up, 19% of the initial smokers classified themselves as former smokers. Multivariate logistic regression analyses indicated that having a higher intent to quit was predictive of reporting oneself as a former smoker at recruit training graduation. Smoking fewer cigarettes per day at entry into the Navy and more years of regular tobacco use were predictive of reporting oneself as a former smoker at the 1-year follow-up. Findings from this study suggested a meaningful impact of the Navy's no-smoking policy during recruit training in reducing smoking prevalence.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

The U.S. Navy Healthy Back Program: effect on back knowledge among recruits.

This study assessed the immediate effects of the U.S. Navy's Healthy Back Program in changing knowledge about back injury prevention. The prevalence of back problems among incoming recruits and correlates of back pain also were examined. Intervention recruits (n = 1,772) received the Healthy Back Program presentation, then completed a questionnaire. Control subjects (n = 1,658) completed an identical questionnaire but received no presentation. Intervention recruits scored significantly higher on back knowledge (67%) than controls (50%). About 41% of all recruits had experienced a back problem, 27% reported at least one back problem within the past year, and 11% reported back pain during recruit training. Lifting, sports participation, and bending were the leading causes of previous back problems. Better self-reported health and fitness were associated with fewer low back problems.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

U.S. Navy health surveillance, Part 1: Feasibility of a health promotion tracking system.

No systematic monitoring procedure is in place that can provide information about successes or deficiencies in Navy health promotion efforts. This study tested the feasibility of using a brief Health Promotion Tracking Form (HPTF) as part of the periodic physical examinations required of all Navy personnel. Clinics in four geographic regions used the HPTF for a 1-month period. Patients completed HPTF items addressing health-related and demographic items; medical examiners completed HPTF items related to blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels. Analyses revealed acceptably low levels of missing data overall. Demographically, the total sample was similar to the Navy in terms of sex, age, and enlisted occupation, although a racial and socioeconomic bias was seen. Results of this study suggest several recommendations for collecting reliable data for an accurate, ongoing assessment of Navy health.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

U.S. Navy health surveillance, Part 2: Responses to a health promotion tracking survey.

This study further evaluated the adequacy of a brief Health Promotion Tracking Form (HPTF) for collecting data during the periodic physical examination required of all Navy personnel. Responses on the HPTF were compared to other recent Navy studies. Overall, HPTF indicators were very similar to results from other, more extensive studies. Tobacco use, back problem prevalence, body fat, hypertension prevalence, cholesterol levels, and elevated cholesterol rates closely resembled those from other recent studies. Seatbelt use, several dietary habits, alcohol consumption, exercise behavior, and Physical Readiness Test performance showed some differences in that the HPTF sample reported slightly more positive health status and practices in these areas than did comparison samples. Overall, the proposed system appears to be a workable option for providing accurate and timely Navy health promotion data on a continuing basis.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Smoking, exercise, and physical fitness.

BACKGROUND: Research on smoking and physical activity provides strong evidence of smoking's negative impact and physical activity's positive impact on long-term health. However, evidence regarding the association between smoking and exercise activity and the independent effects of these factors on fitness is lacking. METHODS: The associations among exercise activity, smoking behavior, and physical fitness were examined in 3,045 Navy personnel. Exercise and smoking behaviors were measured using a lifestyle survey. Physical fitness was assessed using scores on the Navy's Physical Readiness Test. Analyses of variance were conducted to examine the relationships among smoking status, exercise activity, and PRT performance. Multiple regression procedures were used to examine the relationship between smoking and physical fitness after statistically controlling for the effects of exercise. RESULTS: Smoking was associated with lower exercise levels and lower physical endurance--both cardiorespiratory (1.5-mile run) and muscular (sit-ups). After controlling for exercise activity, smoking remained significantly associated with lower physical endurance but was not related to overall body strength (lean body mass) or percentage body fat. CONCLUSION: Smoking is a detriment to physical fitness even among relatively young, fit individuals. Study findings suggest that smokers will have lower physical endurance than nonsmokers, even after differences in the average exercise levels of smokers and nonsmokers are taken into account. Cigarette smokers should be given strong encouragement to stop smoking as part of any effort to improve physical fitness.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

A longitudinal assessment of the impact of health/fitness status and health behavior on perceived quality of life.

This study extended cross-sectional research associating quality of life with health and fitness factors. Longitudinal analyses were performed on data collected from 519 U.S. Navy personnel to assess changes in quality of life with changes in health/fitness status and health behavior dimensions at 1-yr. and 2-yr. intervals. Multiple regression results showed that such changes were positively associated with changes in health/fitness status and behaviors related to accident control and wellness maintenance, with these predictors accounting for 8% of the variance in change in quality of life at the 1-yr. interval. At the 2-yr. interval, such change was associated with health/fitness status and accident control behaviors, accounting for 11% of the variance. Health behavior change made a unique contribution to change in quality of life after controlling for changes in health/fitness status at both intervals. Findings affirm modest yet consistent associations between changes in fitness and health variables and quality of life and suggest that improvements in health behavior influence quality of life independently of one's health/fitness status.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

An assessment of pre- and post-fitness measures in two remedial conditioning programs.

The purpose of this study was to determine if taking part in a command-organized remedial physical condition program based on the OPNAVINST 6110.1 Basic Exercise Program (BEP) is effective in reducing body fat, improving failure-specific performance on components of the Physical Readiness Test (PRT), and improving overall physical fitness level. Pre- and post-program PRT results collected for participants in two BEP-based remedial programs showed trends toward improvement in performance on the curl-ups, push-ups, and run/walk tests as well as a positive change in overall classification scores and percent of participants passing the follow-up PRT. A substantive impact on body fat reduction was not demonstrated.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Starting to smoke in the Navy: when, where and why.

Smoking rates among U.S. military men are much higher than those in the general population. A previous study compared the smoking rates of male recruits coming into the Navy with those of a shipboard sample to find out whether the Navy was attracting or creating smokers. Twenty-eight percent of the incoming recruits were smokers, whereas 50% of the shipboard men were smokers. These findings suggested that the Navy environment somehow encouraged smoking. The present study followed a group of male recruits for one year after they entered the Navy to determine when, where, and why they started smoking during their first year in the service. Two hundred and sixty-two of the original 682 participants returned the one-year follow-up information. Twenty-eight percent of the sample were self-reported smokers upon entry into the Navy. One year later 41% classified themselves as smokers. Of those who started smoking (either for the first time or again after having quit) during their first year, 42% started within their first two months of service (i.e. during recruit training), and another 32% started during their third month in the Navy. In addition to the 42% who started during recruit training, 39% started while attending training school, and 15% started while stationed aboard a ship during their first year in the Navy. The most frequently cited reasons for starting to smoke were: curiosity, friends smoking, calming effect, and wanted to be 'cool'. Because many individuals begin smoking soon after joining the Navy, effective prevention programs need to be implemented in recruit training and repeated in early training schools.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Demonstration of replicable dimensions of health behaviors.

Health behaviors are known to be multidimensional, but the precise number of dimensions involved and their behavioral content have not been clearly established. Using convergence of factor analyses of 40 health behaviors across two samples as the criterion for identifying both the number and content of health behavior dimensions, the present study showed that individual differences in health behavior can be conceptualized in terms of a hierarchical model. At the most general level, health behaviors formed two broad categories or dimensions, preventive behavior and risk taking behavior. Preventive behavior included two empirically distinct subsets of behaviors, wellness maintenance behaviors and accident control behaviors. Risk taking behavior included subsets comprised of traffic-related risk taking and risk taking through exposure to hazardous substances. This hierarchical model is consistent with important theoretical distinctions in health behavior research, can accommodate the findings of prior studies, and should provide a useful framework for formulating research questions regarding antecedents and consequences of individual differences in health behaviors. Brief scales are proposed for use as reference measures in future studies of health behaviors.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Behavioral, psychological, and demographic predictors of physical fitness.

Achieving higher levels of physical fitness has become a goal of many American both for personal reasons (e.g., improved health and well-being) and for organizational reasons (e.g., corporate cost-savings; operational effectiveness). Understanding the factors which relate to physical fitness could help people improve their fitness. This study examined 1,357 Navy men to estimate the associations among behavioral, psychological, and background factors and four components of physical fitness: (a) cardiorespiratory endurance (1.5-mile run), (b) muscular endurance (sit-ups), (c) flexibility (sit-and-reach test), and (d) body composition (estimated percent fat). Controlling for exercise activities, physical fitness was positively associated with "wellness" behaviors, believing in the importance of physical fitness, expecting to reach/maintain ideal weight, being athletic as a youth, and education; fitness was negatively associated with tobacco use, "preventive/avoidance" behaviors, age, and ever being overweight. Identifying and dealing constructively with such factors may help to structure better fitness programs tailored to the individual.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Evaluation of smoking interventions in recruit training.

Smoking prevention and cessation programs were implemented and evaluated in recruit training. Four groups of incoming recruits were compared: an education group, a no-smoking group, a health risk appraisal feedback group, and a no-treatment control group. Smoking behavior, perceptions related to smoking, and knowledge about smoking were assessed. Recruits in the education and no-smoking groups were less likely to start smoking for the first time during recruit training than recruits in the control group. The education group had fewer smokers stop smoking than the control group. The 2-year follow-up evaluation needs to be conducted before the long-term effects of these programs on prevention and cessation of smoking can be determined.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Circumference-estimated percent body fat vs. weight-height indices: relationships to physical fitness.

This study examined whether percent body fat estimated from a simple circumference technique was more strongly associated with physical fitness than commonly used weight-height indices. Participants included 5,710 Navy men and 477 Navy women. Physical fitness measures included a 1.5-mile run, sit-ups test, sit-reach flexibility test, and an average fitness score. Circumference-estimated percent body fat was more strongly correlated with physical fitness than were any of the weight-height indices. Although the overall pattern of associations was similar for men and women, correlations were stronger for men. Circumference-estimated percent body fat may be more strongly associated with physical fitness because it assesses actual body fat more reliably than weight-height indices.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1989

Nutrition knowledge among Navy recruits.

The Navy wants to incorporate nutrition education programs into basic training to teach Navy personnel fundamental principles of good nutrition. This study was undertaken to: determine deficits in recruits' nutrition knowledge, identify recruits with above-average need for nutrition education, and compare recruits' nutrition knowledge with that of typical U.S. school students. Demographic information and responses to a shortened version (36 items) of the National Dairy Council's Nutrition Achievement Test 4, developed for junior and senior high school students, were obtained from 205 male recruits. Although nutrition knowledge among Navy recruits was relatively comparable with that of U.S. school students, findings indicated that nutrition education is indeed needed. Only 2% of recruits answered 90% of the questions correctly. Forty percent answered half or more of the nutrition questions incorrectly. Questions answered incorrectly by more than 50% of recruits involved: (a) how one assesses nutrient needs and whether those needs are being met, (b) the four major food groups and recommended servings, and (c) effects of alcohol and drugs on nutritional status. Recruits who received higher grades in high school, got into less trouble in high school, were older, and were Caucasian had higher nutrition knowledge. Detailed information regarding nutrition misconceptions should help the Navy develop focused nutrition education materials.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Social effects of diazepam use: a longitudinal field study.

A longitudinal panel study examined the effects of actual use of diazepam (Valium) on subjective reports of life quality, affect, performance, stress, social support, control, coping and other variables related to mental health. Standardized interviews were conducted with 675 persons from the Detroit Metropolitan Area. Based on prescription records, diazepam users and nonusers were selected to represent a variety of sociodemographic characteristics rather than to be a completely random sample. Significant others in work and in personal life were also interviewed. Four interviews took place, one approximately every 6 weeks. Testing for social effects was conducted by within- and across-person analyses of 367 respondents who reported taking the medication at some time during the study and by comparisons with 308 respondents who did not report taking Valium. Users of Valium tended to take less Valium than prescribed. They also reported consuming less alcohol when using Valium than at other times and less than non-Valium users. Although there was a modest, positive cross-sectional relation between Valium use and distress, numerous multivariate analyses controlling for levels of stress and health indicated no notable effects of Valium use on any of the social or psychological indicators, including anxiety. Several interpretations of the results are examined including the possibility that the effects of Valium use were short-lived rather than long-term and that Valium may have been taken in anticipation of anxiety rather than after its occurrence.

Adolescent↗