Biomedical subjects

Tay McNamara

Publications and source records attributed to Tay McNamara.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Stages of change and prenatal alcohol use.

This study evaluated stage of change as a predictor of alcohol use in a sample of 301 pregnant women who were either in the precontemplation (62%) or in the action (38%) stage of change in their first trimester. Stage of change distinguished between different patterns of alcohol consumption before and after pregnancy. Those in the precontemplation stage drank more per episode and more often before pregnancy than those in the action stage. The precontemplation group also had a significantly greater quantity of alcohol after pregnancy. However, stage of change did not directly predict subsequent prenatal alcohol use. Previous alcohol use, age, and education were the most significant predictors of prenatal drinks per drinking day. Temptation to drink alcohol was the best predictor of prenatal drinking frequency after study enrollment. Women in both stages of change reduced the quantity and the frequency of their alcohol consumption while pregnant and achieved comparable rates of abstinence.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Identifying risk drinking in expectant fathers.

BACKGROUND: Identification of risk drinking in expectant fathers may be helpful as an important part of efforts to minimize maternal alcohol use, and as an opportunity to inform them about a problematic practice during a critical developmental stage for the couple. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the T-ACE screening questionnaire, which asks about tolerance to alcohol, being annoyed by other's comments about drinking, attempts to cut down, and having a drink first thing in the morning ("eye-opener"), in the male partners of pregnant women who themselves were T-ACE positive. METHODS: Two hundred fifty-four male partners were asked to complete the T-ACE embedded in a health survey, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and other questions about their alcohol use in the past 30 days when their pregnant partners had a median gestation of 11.5 weeks (T1). After delivery, male partners again completed the T-ACE and quantity-frequency questions (T2). The predictive ability of the T-ACE and AUDIT was compared, using risk drinking (>4 drinks/day or >14 drinks/week) as the criterion standard. RESULTS: A substantial minority of male partners had risk drinking, 31 percent at T1 and 25 percent at T2. Although the AUDIT was better than the T-ACE as an independent predictor of risk drinking, the latter was most accurate when the tolerance threshold exceeded 2 drinks, the same established for pregnant women. The sensitivity (T1= 84.6%, T2= 82.8%) and specificity (T1= 43.8%, T2= 51.1%) of the T-ACE at this threshold compared favorably with those of the AUDIT at the standard cut point of 8. CONCLUSIONS: The T-ACE may be a practical way for clinicians to identify risk drinking in both pregnant women and expectant fathers.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Depression, cigarette smoking, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation outcome.

BACKGROUND: The relationships between psychological and behavioral variables and patient outcomes after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) are not known definitively but have great potential importance, since this lifesaving procedure is used increasingly to treat a variety of malignancies. The objective of this study was to evaluate psychosocial predictors of long-term survival and disease recurrence after patients underwent allogeneic HSCT for chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). METHODS: In this prospective cohort study, 114 adults were admitted for allogeneic HSCT to the Brigham and Women's Hospital between July, 1997 and January, 2002. The median follow-up was 882 days, and serial measures were taken for mood and substance use 6 months and 12 months posttransplantation. RESULTS: With a 93% participation rate by all potentially eligible patients and with < 3% of patients loss to follow-up, univariate predictors of long-term survival and recurrence were identified. Cox proportional hazards regression models for survival and recurrence were developed. Depressive symptoms, as measured by the most recent Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), increased the risk of death by 7% for each point increase in the BDI score (P = 0.006). Fourteen of 17 patients who developed recurrent disease were cigarette smokers with an average of 22.3 pack-years. For each pack-year of cigarette smoking, the risk of recurrence increased by 1.7% (P = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: This study assessed the role of psychosocial variables prospectively among a clinically homogeneous but representative cohort of patients who underwent allogeneic HSCT. Although additional confirmatory studies are pending, it appears that depressive symptoms posttransplantation and cigarette smoking prior to transplantation affect outcomes adversely and may represent opportunities to improve the morbidity and mortality associated with HSCT for patients with CML.

Adult↗