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W F Page

Publications and source records attributed to W F Page.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

Epidemiology of multiple sclerosis in US veterans. 4. Age at onset.

Age at onset of multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms was ascertained for subsets of some 4,400 veterans of World War II who had been adjudged 'service-connected' for this condition. Average age at onset was 27.0 years for white men, 27.7 for white women, and 27.5 for black men. The unexpectedly older age for women is attributed to their older age at entry into service. When the coterminous United States was divided into three horizontal tiers of states, we found a strong effect of geography on age at onset. By state of residence at entry into active duty (EAD), white men had an average age at onset of 26.4 years in the northern tier, 27.3 years in the middle, and 28.8 years in the south. Trends were similar for white women and black men. Migrants, defined as those whose birth and EAD tiers differed, showed increasing ages at onset with southward moves. A statistical model used to discriminate between the influence of birth and EAD tiers on age at onset confirmed the significant effect of EAD alone. These data are compatible with the theses that the cause of MS is less common (or less efficient) in locations where the clinical disease is less common, and that its acquisition therefore occurs at an older age in those locales.

Adult

Waist/hip ratio, body mass index and premature cardiovascular disease mortality in US Army veterans during a twenty-three year follow-up study.

A retrospective longitudinal analysis of fat distribution and cause-specific mortality was performed on data from 105,062 men discharged from the United States Army in 1946-47. Baseline height, weight, waist and hip girth, and 23-year follow-up mortality data were available for 84,910 white men. Proportional hazard survival analysis was performed by 5-year age group for waist/hip ratio (WHR) and for body mass index (BMI) in prediction of time to death from ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and stroke. Relative risk of IHD fatality per standard deviation (s.d.) of WHR ranged from 1.11 to 1.17, the higher values appearing in younger age groups. Relative risk due to BMI was not significant in the group aged 16-20 years at time of discharge from service, but ranged from 1.22 to 1.25 per s.d. among the 21-30 year olds. WHR was predictive of cerebrovascular disease mortality among 16-25 year olds, carrying a relative risk of 1.24 to 1.35 per s.d. BMI was not predictive of cerebrovascular disease mortality in any age group. Multivariate models indicated that WHR and BMI were related to subsequent IHD independently of each other in most age groups. WHR and BMI both contribute to risk of premature IHD mortality and WHR to risk of cerebrovascular disease mortality in an initially relatively healthy population of young men, although the effects are not equivalent in all age groups.

Adipose Tissue

Using longitudinal data to estimate nonresponse bias.

In a recent survey of depressive symptoms among former prisoners of war, longitudinal data were used to estimate nonresponse bias. A predictive model was fitted to the data of current respondents and then was used to predict the scores of nonrespondents who had earlier provided similar convariate data. This analysis showed that, despite differences between respondents and nonrespondents in age, education, and severity of treatment during captivity, differences between the observed scores of respondents and the predicted scores of nonrespondents were small. For an estimation of the overall impact of nonresponse bias, revised estimates for the entire sample were calculated by combining observed data from respondents and predicted data for nonrespondents; the revised estimates differed little from those for respondents alone.

Adult

Age, education, maltreatment, and social support as predictors of chronic depression in former prisoners of war.

This study examined the relationships of prisoner of war captivity trauma variables and individual protective variables to current depressive symptoms as indexed by the CES-D and its components. The sample consisted of 989 U.S. former POWs of World War II and the Korean War, who have been followed since the mid 1950s. Depressive symptoms persisted over 40 years later. Age, education, medical symptoms during captivity, and level of social support were related to later levels of adjustment. Theoretical and methodological implications of the findings were discussed.

Chronic Disease

Prevalence and correlates of depressive symptoms among former prisoners of war.

Studies of former prisoners of war (POWs) provide valuable insights into posttraumatic adaptation because they gather information from a large population who survived the traumatic experiences of military captivity. Previous studies of POWs have shown elevated rates of psychiatric symptoms and disorders. This report presents evidence from a longitudinal study of three large, representative, national samples of former POWs. The study finds that depressive symptomatology, as measured by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, is elevated in World War II POWs from the Pacific and European theaters and in Korean conflict POWs. Decades later, depressive symptomatology is found to be strongly associated with prior treatment in captivity. Differences in depressive symptomatology among the three POW groups can be attributed to captivity-related factors and to buffering factors, such as age at capture and education.

Age Factors

Mortality and morbidity selection effects among US veterans.

Previous studies have documented a substantially lower mortality rate among US male veterans, a form of the "healthy worker" effect, but there have been no studies of morbidity selection effects among veterans. In this paper the evidence for mortality selection effects among US male veterans is reviewed, and data from two general health surveys are examined for evidence of a morbidity selection effect. Overall, there are no substantial differences in health characteristics between veterans and nonveterans, thus providing no evidence for a morbidity selection effect; the inclusion of military service-connected disabled veterans in this comparison, however, makes it somewhat problematic. Reconciliation of a clear mortality selection effect for veterans with the lack of evidence for a corresponding morbidity selection effect is attempted.

Adult

Prostate cancer.

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Black People

Self-esteem and internal versus external control among black youth in a summer aviation program.

Changes in self-esteem and belief in internal versus external control of reinforcement (skill versus chance) were investigated among 24 black male and female youngsters, aged 12 through 19, and from diverse backgrounds and geographical locations. Age, socioeconomic status, geographical location, and achievement in flight training were varied. Results showed significant gains in self-esteem by Ss under 16 years of age (p smaller than .05) and Ss from middle income families (p smaller than .005). There was no significant change in belief in internal versus external control among any of the subgroups.

Adolescent

Antecedent tonsillectomy and appendectomy in rheumatoid arthritis.

The prevalence of tonsillectomy and appendectomy was higher in 196 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), prior to the onset of articular disease, than in their spouses and siblings. The estimated increased risk of developing RA with tonsillectomy was 1.5 and 3.5 times, with appendectomy 1.7 and 6.6 times, and with both surgical procedures 2.3 and 6.7 times, using patient-spouse and patient-sibling matched-pair data, respectively. However, only with patient-sibling data did the lower limits of the 95% confidence interval for the risk ratio exceed 1.0. Several hypotheses are offered to explain the possible association between these surgical procedures and RA.

Adult