Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Younger Participants (younger + participant)
Selected AbstractsDrinking goal selection and treatment outcome in out-patients with mild-moderate alcohol dependenceDRUG AND ALCOHOL REVIEW, Issue 4 2001SIMON J. ADAMSON Abstract Selection of drinking goal is examined at baseline, post-treatment and at 6 months follow-up for a sample of mild-moderate alcohol-dependent out-patients. Drinking goal is identified as abstinent or controlled drinking, with the latter group being asked to further specify per session and per week drinking limits. Group comparisons for drinking goal post-treatment show those who were not assigned motivational enhancement therapy, had more drinking days and lower scores on the Alcohol Problems Questionnaire and Internal Motivation were more likely to choose controlled drinking. The only variable to predict independently whether or not the controlled drinking goal was within the promoted drinking guidelines was age, with younger participants more likely to choose a goal above this limit. Goal selection was significantly related to drinking outcome, with those aiming to drink within guidelines having better outcome than those aiming for higher limits. There was no significant difference in drinking outcome category when those aiming for within limits were compared to those aiming for abstinence. Clinical implications of these findings are discussed. [source] Retail Store Lighting for Elderly Consumers: An Experimental ApproachFAMILY & CONSUMER SCIENCES RESEARCH JOURNAL, Issue 4 2007Nam-Kyu Park The study presents an investigation of the influence of the color of light on readability by figure to background value contrast, color perception, and overall room-light estimation for elderly consumers in an experimental setting representing a retail store. A factorial design with repeated measures was used to identify the impact of three independent variables: (a) lamp color temperatures, (b) lamp color-rendering properties, and (c) age of the participants. The results show that older adults perceived the higher color temperature light source as less cool than did younger adults. Older adults rated their level of comfort and preference higher than the younger participants under all lighting conditions. Regarding readability, higher color-rendering light sources provide better readability, and older adults have more difficulty with warmer lighting when value contrasts were reduced. Implications from this study can be applied to retail lighting techniques to attract elderly consumers. [source] An intron 4 VNTR polymorphism of the endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene is associated with early-onset colorectal cancerINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CANCER, Issue 7 2009Chih-Ching Yeh Abstract Endothelial-derived nitric oxide, which is produced by endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), may play an important role in colorectal carcinogenesis. However, the putative contribution of common eNOS genetic polymorphisms to colorectal cancer risk remains unknown. We genotyped 3 polymorphisms of eNOS (T-786C, G894T, and intron4b/a) in 727 colorectal adenocarcinoma cases and 736 age- and sex-matched healthy controls in Taiwan. Genotypes of the T-786C and G894T polymorphisms were determined by fluorescence polarization assays and the 27-bp variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR) polymorphism in intron 4 (intron4b/a) was analyzed by PCR. Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Among younger participants (,60 yrs), the intron4a variant genotype was associated with a significantly increased risk of colorectal cancer, compared with the intron4bb genotype (OR = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.04,2.46). In addition, those young individuals bearing a greater number of high-risk genotypes (OR > 1, i.e., CT+TT for T-786C, ba+aa for intron4b/a, and GG for G894T) of eNOS had a higher colorectal cancer risk (ptrend = 0.039). Compared with younger individuals without any putative high-risk genotypes, those with 3 high-risk genotypes had a significantly greater cancer risk (OR = 1.89, 95% CI = 1.04,3.43). Our results suggest that the eNOS intron4b/a polymorphism may contribute to early-onset colorectal cancer risk in the Taiwanese population. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Differential age-related change of prose memory in older Hong Kong Chinese of higher and lower educationINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY, Issue 3 2004T. M. C. Lee Abstract Background Memory difficulty is one of the most common complaints of older people, with or without psychiatric conditions. It is therefore of utmost important to understand how normal ageing process impacts upon prose memory so as to gain insight into ways to differentiate pathological vs normal age-related changes of the recall of prose observed among older people. Objectives To understand the differential age-related change of prose memory in older Hong Kong Chinese of higher and lower education. Method Forty-eight normal, healthy Cantonese-speaking Chinese were recruited. Seventeen of them were younger, highly educated participants. Among the 31 older people recruited, 19 of them received education comparable with the younger participants and 12 were older people of low education. A prose passage was constructed to measure the different processes of prose memory, including learning efficiency, rate of forgetting, recall accuracy, accuracy of temporal sequence of information recalled, distortions, and recognition memory. Results As expected, ageing affected all the processes of prose memory measured, except the rate of forgetting. Apart from learning efficiency and rate of forgetting, education was observed to modify the effect of ageing on all the processes studied. Conclusions Changes of prose memory associated with ageing and the differential effect of education on prose recall among older people were discussed. The findings seem to suggest that prose memory is a multifaceted construct. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Blood Pressure and Brain Injury in Older Adults: Findings from a Community-Based Autopsy StudyJOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 11 2009Lucy Y. Wang MD OBJECTIVES: To examine correlations between blood pressure (BP) and dementia-related pathological brain changes in a community-based autopsy sample. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: A large health maintenance organization in Seattle, Washington. PARTICIPANTS: A cohort of 250 participants aged 65 and older and cognitively normal at time of enrollment in the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) Study and who underwent autopsy. MEASUREMENTS: BP and history of antihypertensive treatment were taken at enrollment. A linear regression model was used to examine the relationship between BP (systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP)) at enrollment and pathological changes in the cerebrum (cystic macroscopic infarcts, microinfarcts, neuritic plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, and cortical Lewy bodies). RESULTS: The presence of more than 2 microinfarcts, but not any other pathological change, was independently associated with SBP in younger participants (65,80, n=137) but not in older participants (>80, n=91). The relative risk (RR) for more than two microinfarcts with each 10-mmHg increase in SBP was 1.15 (95% confidence interval (CI)=1.00,1.33) in the younger participants, adjusted for age at entry, sex, and time to death. This RR was particularly strong in younger participants not taking antihypertensive medications (RR=1.48, 95% CI=1.21, 1.81); significant associations were not observed in participants treated for hypertension. Findings for DBP were negative. CONCLUSION: The association between high SBP and cerebrovascular damage in untreated older adults (65,80) suggests that adequate hypertension treatment may reduce dementia risk by minimizing microvascular injury to cerebrum. [source] Illness Representations According to Age and Effects on Health Behaviors Following Coronary Artery Bypass Graft SurgeryJOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 3 2001Brooks B. Gump PhD OBJECTIVES: To determine if illness representations differ as a function of age and how these representations, in conjunction with age, predict postoperative health behaviors. DESIGN: Prospective study of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. SETTING: A large metropolitan hospital providing regional cardiac care for patients in a tri-state area, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. PARTICIPANTS: All consenting patients (N = 309) from a consecutive series of patients scheduled for CABG surgery between January 1992 and January 1994. To be eligible for participation, patients could not be scheduled for any other coincidental surgery (e.g., valve replacement), and could not be in cardiac intensive care or experiencing angina at the time of the referral. Participants were predominantly male (70%) and married (80%), and averaged 62.8 years of age. MEASUREMENTS: Postoperative self-reported health behaviors. RESULTS: Older participants awaiting CABG surgery were significantly more likely to believe old age to be the cause of their coronary heart disease (CHD) and significantly less likely to believe genetics, health-damaging behaviors, health protective behaviors, and emotions to be the cause of their CHD than were younger participants awaiting surgery. Furthermore, the older participants were significantly more likely to believe they had no control over the disease and that the disease would be gone after surgery, and reported fewer postoperative health behavior changes than did younger participants. CONCLUSION: These findings demonstrate significant differences in illness representations as a function of age. Furthermore, differences in postoperative health behaviors were consistent with differing illness representations. [source] Pain in Long-Term Breast Cancer Survivors: Frequency, Severity, and ImpactPAIN MEDICINE, Issue 7 2010Mark P. Jensen PhD Abstract Objective., To better understand the severity and impact of pain in women who are breast cancer survivors. Design., Cross-sectional survey. Setting., Cancer wellness clinic. Patients., Two hundred fifty-three women with a history of early-stage breast cancer who had completed therapy and were without evidence of disease. Interventions., None. Outcome Measures., A survey that included questions about cancer history, pain, sleep problems, and physical and psychological functioning. Results., About half of the participants (117 or 46%) reported some pain, although most rated its intensity as mild. Both average and worst pain ratings showed significant associations with physical functioning (rs, ,0.48 and ,0.43, respectively), severity of sleep problems (rs, 0.31 and 0.30), and psychological functioning (rs, ,0.27 and ,0.24). Age (with younger participants slightly more likely to report pain) and history of antiestrogen therapy showed nonsignificant trends to predict the presence of pain. Conclusions., The study findings provide new and important knowledge regarding the severity and impact of pain in female breast cancer survivors. The results indicate that clinicians should assess pain regularly in breast cancer survivors and treat this pain when indicated. The findings also support the need for research to determine whether improved pain management would result in improved quality of life for women with a history of breast cancer. [source] Phonological memory as a predictor of language comprehension in Down syndrome: a five-year follow-up studyTHE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 2 2004Glynis Laws Background:, This study reports the language and memory progress over five years of 30 adolescents and young adults with Down syndrome, and investigates the relationship of earlier phonological memory abilities to later language development. Methods:, Tests of nonverbal ability, receptive vocabulary, grammar comprehension, digit span and nonword repetition were administered at two points in time. Results:, For the sample as a whole, there were significant gains in nonverbal ability, receptive vocabulary and grammar comprehension, but no increases in phonological memory measured by nonword repetition or digit span. However, there were considerable individual differences in progress which, in part, were related to chronological age. Phonological memory improved in many younger participants but there were signs of decline in some older ones. Partial correlations between earlier nonword repetition scores and later language scores, controlling for nonverbal ability and earlier language scores, indicated a significant role for phonological memory in the acquisition of vocabulary knowledge. There was similar evidence of a role for phonological memory in grammar comprehension, but only for younger participants. Earlier receptive vocabulary also predicted later nonword repetition scores, particularly for participants with higher levels of vocabulary knowledge. Conclusion:, Relationships among the processes involved in language and memory development in Down syndrome may be similar to those established for typical development. [source] Patterns of exercise across the cancer trajectory in brain tumor patientsCANCER, Issue 10 2006Lee W. Jones Ph.D. Abstract BACKGROUND Exercise may represent a supportive intervention that may complement existing neurooncologic therapies and address a multitude of therapy-induced debilitating side effects in patients with brain tumors. Given the limited evidence, the authors conducted a survey to examine the exercise patterns of brain tumor patients across the cancer trajectory. METHODS Using a cross-sectional design, 386 brain tumor patients who received treatment at the Brain Tumor Center at Duke University were sent a questionnaire that assessed self-reported exercise behavior prior to diagnosis, during adjuvant therapy, and after the completion of therapy. RESULTS The response rate was 28% (106 of 383 patients). Descriptive analyses indicated that 42%, 38%, and 41% of participants, respectively, met national exercise prescription guidelines prior to diagnosis, during treatment, and after the completion of adjuvant therapy. Repeated measures analyses indicated no significant changes in the majority of exercise behavior outcomes over the cancer trajectory. However, exploratory analyses indicated that males and younger participants may be at the greatest risk of reducing exercise levels after a brain tumor diagnosis. These analyses remained unchanged after controlling for relevant demographic and medical covariates. CONCLUSIONS A relatively high percentage of brain tumor patients are exercising at recommended levels across the cancer trajectory. Moreover, these patients have unique exercise patterns that may be modified by select demographic variables. This preliminary study provides important informative data for future studies examining the potential role of exercise in patients diagnosed with neurologic malignancies. Cancer 2006. © 2006 American Cancer Society. [source] From American City to Japanese Village: A Cross-Cultural Investigation of Implicit Race AttitudesCHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 5 2006Yarrow Dunham This study examined the development of implicit race attitudes in American and Japanese children and adults. Implicit ingroup bias was present early in both populations, and remained stable at each age tested (age 6, 10, and adult). Similarity in magnitude and developmental course across these 2 populations suggests that implicit intergroup bias is an early-emerging and fundamental aspect of human social cognition. However, implicit race attitudes toward favored outgroups are more positive in older than in younger participants, indicating that "cultural prestige" enjoyed by a group moderates implicit bias as greater knowledge of group status is acquired. These results demonstrate (a) the ready presence, (b) early cultural invariance, and (c) subsequent cultural moderation of implicit attitudes toward own and other groups. [source] | |||||||||||||