Smoking among 11-15 year-old adolescents, 1984-1994]

The objectives are to describe smoking habits among 11-15-year olds in Denmark in the period 1984-1994 and to describe the association between smoking and social background factors. The article reports data about children at the age of 11, 13 and 15 years from four cross-sectional studies in 1984-1985, 1988, 1991 and 1994 (n = 678, 1667, 1860 and 4046) based on stratified random samples of schools. Data were collected by standardized questionnaires. Median age for first smoking experience changed from approx 12 years in 1984-1985 to approx. 14 years in 1994. The proportion of smokers among 15 year-olds is almost unchanged from 1984 to 1994. In 1994, the proportion of smokers is respectively 2% and 4% among 11 year-old girls and boys, 16% and 11% among 13 year-old girls and boys, and 33% and 25% among 15 year-old girls and boys. The proportion of girls and boys in the three age groups respectively who smoke every day is 0%, 1%, 3%, 4%, 17%, and 11%. In conclusion, smoking habits among children changed considerably from the 1950's to 1980's. The smoking habits have not changed much since the 1980's apart from a slight delay in first smoking-experience.     

Epidemiological study of primary intracranial tumors in childhood. A population-based survey in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan

Between 1989 and 1995, we diagnosed primary intracranial neoplasms in 79 children younger than 15 years. All of them belonged to a well-defined population residing in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. Of the tumors, 64 (81.0%) were confirmed microscopically. The age-adjusted annual incidence rate was 34.3 cases per million child population. There was a marked difference in the incidence rate between boys (47.1) and girls (22.05). The age-specific annual incidence per million was 24.3 cases for the 0- to 4-year age group, 46.7 for the 4- to 9-year age group and 30.8 for the 10- to 14-year age group. The highest incidence rate was seen in 5- to 14-year-old boys (53.5), the lowest in 10- to 14-year-old girls (7.1). The most common tumors were astrocytomas (41.8%), with an incidence of 14.52 per million, followed by germ cell tumors (15.1%), with an incidence of 6.24 per million, craniopharyngiomas (15.1%), incidence 5.25 per million, ependymomas (6.3%), incidence 2.19 per million, and medulloblastomas (6.2%), incidence 2.19 per million. The distribution of tumor types varied with patient age at the time of diagnosis. Although no germ cell tumors were encountered in the 0- to 4-year age group, in the 10- to 14-year age group, they comprised about one third of all tumors. In contrast, white craniopharyngiomas were rare in the 10- to 14-year age group, they made up more than 22% in the 0- to 4-year age group. In this survey of Japanese children, we found a higher incidence of primary intracranial tumors, especially germ cell tumors and craniopharyngiomas, and a lower incidence of medulloblastomas compared to the incidence reported for Western countries.     

Epidemiology of school injuries in the northern part of Sweden

The aim of this one-year investigation of school accidents is to obtain more knowledge for preventive work. In the age-group 7-19 years, 547 injuries were registered, mainly at three hospitals. The incidence rate was 25 per 1000 boys and 20 per 1000 girls per year. Most injuries occurred in intermediate and upper secondary school among boys and in upper school among girls. The relative risk of school injury compared with spare-time injury was 1.8 for boys and 2.6 for girls of compulsory school age. Most injuries occurred in sports area (boys: 34%, girls: 46%). The incidence of sports injuries showed no gender differences. The highest incidence rate was found in senior school girls. Twenty-five percent of all injuries were caused by other pupils, intentional violence being one important mechanism. Head injuries were more common among school injuries compared with spare-time injuries.     

Incidence of primary central nervous system cancers in South and East Netherlands in 1989-1994

About 2,000 patients with primary CNS cancers, as defined by the ICD-O, were registered in four adjacent cancer registries in South and East Netherlands in 1989-1994, covering a population of more than 5 million people. About 85% of the patients were registered through pathological laboratories, concentrated in four centers for neurosurgery. Patients with a clinical-radiological diagnosis only (about 50% in the age-group of 75 years and older) were mainly identified through medical records of hospitalized patients. World-standardized incidence rates of 6.5 and 4.4 per 100,000 person-years for males and females, respectively, were similar to those reported in other European cancer registries. Eighty-five percent of histologically verified primary CNS cancers were of glial origin, 6% were lymphomas and 4% embryonal tumors. Gliomas were mainly of astrocytic (about 85%) and oligodendroglial or mixed type (about 10%). Without additional review most astrocytic tumors could be classified into high-grade (70-75%) and low-grade astrocytomas (20-25%). Different grading systems were used for gliomas, but the dichotomy of astrocytomas according to differentiation grade seemed to correspond well with the definition of the WHO. Age-specific incidence rates for low-grade astrocytomas were remarkably constant. The incidence of high-grade astrocytomas increased sharply with age and declined after the age of 70, whereas the incidence of clinically diagnosed tumors continued to increase. Male/females-ratios were relatively high for these tumor types (1. 6-1.7). We conclude that the registration of primary CNS cancers in the Netherlands may be almost complete and valid for gliomas, embryonal tumors and lymphomas.     

Traumatic dental injuries in a cohort of 16-year-olds in northern Sweden

The prevalence and yearly incidence of traumatic tooth injury between 1 and 16 years of age were studied in a cohort of 16-year-olds, born in 1975, and residing in the County of V?sterbotten, northern Sweden. The study comprised 3007 dental records from the public dental health service. The general distribution was 50.3% girls and 49.7% boys. The records showed that 35% of the children on one or more occasions had sustained injury to their primary or permanent dentition. The frequency was nearly twice as high for boys (64%) as for girls (36%). Twenty-five percent of the 16-year-olds had met with tooth injury more than once and this group consisted predominantly of boys. The incidence of injury episodes to primary and permanent teeth was 28 per 1000 per year. The boys had sustained trauma to their teeth most frequently when they were 4 years of age and between the ages of 8 and 11. This was also true for girls at 4 and at 9 years of age, although less evidently so. In the primary dentition, the majority of dental injuries had affected the supporting tissue of the maxillary incisors. In the permanent dentition, 75% of the traumatised teeth were upper incisors. Fractures of varying severity constituted 60% of all registered diagnoses in this dentition, followed by subluxation (19%) and concussion (11%).     

Twelve cases of systemic lupus erythematosus in boys]

We compared clinical findings in 12 cases of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in boys with those in 49 cases in girls. The age at which SLE developed in boys was consistent with that of infantile SLE and there was no age specificity. Momy cases in boys were diagnosed earlier as compared with cases in girls. Symptoms of infantile SLE, such as fever, arthalgia, butterfly rash, and urinary abnormalities, did not differ between boys and girls. However, a higher percentage of boys (58.3%) had central nervous system complications at onset than did girls (30.6%). Platelet counts tended to be higher in boys than in girls, a finding that suggests SLE tends to be more severe in boys than in girls. The incidence in the appiarance of LE cells, anti-Sm antibodies and immune complexes was higher in boys than in girls. Type IV or V renal pathologic changes (World Health Organization Histologic Classification) were present in 70% of boys. Our findings suggest that SLE in boys is more severe than that in girls and is more likely to be associated with central nervous system complications and severe renal complications.     

Changes in longevity by state

The latest state data just released from the National Center for Health Statistics reveal that men and women living in Hawaii can expect, on the average, to live longer than those residing in any other state. During 1989-91 expectation of life at birth for all residents of the United States was 71.8 for boys and 78.8 for girls. In Hawaii, however, average future lifetime for newborn boys was 75.4 years and 81.3 for girls. For infant boys, the states that followed in rank order were Utah, Minnesota and North Dakota. Among baby girls, the leading states were North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota and Iowa. On the other hand, the District of Columbia, on average, experienced the least favorable longevity. For each sex, geographic longevity disparities diminish with advance in age. Yet, for almost the entire age range, Hawaii still remained the state with the best longevity outlook. Among the next most desirable areas, the rankings shifted positions, somewhat. Even so, North Dakota, Minnesota and Utah usually recorded the highest state life expectancies. These same states also ranked best during 1979-81. Between 1979-81 and 1989-91, on a state-by-state basis, life expectancy gains generally were larger among men than among women.     

Gender differences in solution of algebraic word problems containing irrelevant information.

In the 1st experiment, 219 boys and 217 girls in 10th grade classified algebraic word problems in terms of whether the problems contained missing, sufficient, or irrelevant information for solution. Among students with similar levels of general mathematical ability, girls were less likely than boys to identify missing or irrelevant information within problems. More girls than boys perceived irrelevant information within the text of a problem as being necessary for solution. In the 2nd experiment, 11th-grade girls (n?=?234), who were as able as boys (n?=?287) to solve algebraic word problems containing sufficient information, had lower solution rates than did boys on problems containing irrelevant information. On the latter problems, the girls more often incorporated the irrelevant information into their attempted solution than did the boys. The results point to differences between boys and girls in knowledge of problem structure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Incidence of IDDM in children living in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rican IDDM Coalition

OBJECTIVE: To determine incidence, geographic distribution, and seasonal variation of IDDM in children 0-14 years of age living in Puerto Rico. Because these data have been collected through the infrastructure of the World Health Organization's DiaMond project, these results are directly comparable with incidence data from other population worldwide involved in this study. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Beginning in 1990, new cases of IDDM were registered retrospectively from 1985 and prospectively to 1994 by review of medical records from island hospitals. Included in the hospital registry are 1,527 cases of IDDM. Validation of the primary source was by three secondary lists of cases obtained through diabetic camps, surveys of schools, and a government registry. Long linear modeling (capture-recapture) was used to correct incidence. RESULTS: Mean incidence of IDDM from 1985-1994 was 18.0 cases/100,000 children per year (95% CI 17.6-18.3). There was a slight female rather than male predominance: 51% of the cases were girls, and 49% were boys. Although Puerto Rico has marked variation in rainfall, altitude, and genetic markers, no significant differences are found in the incidence rates of different areas or seasons of the island. CONCLUSIONS: This registry of Puerto Rican children is the largest IDDM registry of minority children in the U.S. The results of this study indicate that the annual incidence of IDDM of children living in Puerto Rico is higher than the incidence of other multiracial ethnic groups living in the U.S.     

Treatment of aggression and irritability after head injury

Epidemiological characteristics of colorectal cancer may differ by particular anatomical subsite, suggesting that the subsite-specific colorectal cancers may represent different disease entities. This study explored the time trends over a 23-year period in colorectal cancer incidence at various subsites by sex and age group. Data on the incidence of colorectal cancer were obtained from a population-based cancer registry in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. Between 1972 and 1994, 30,693 patients with colorectal cancer were registered at the Shanghai Cancer Registry. The overall age-adjusted colorectal cancer incidence rates increased > 50%, or 2% per year from 1972-1977 to 1990-1994, from 14 to 22 per 100,000 among men and from 12 to 19 per 100,000 among women. The increases in rates were considerably more rapid for colon cancer, with rates approximately doubling, than they were for rectal cancer. Proximal colon cancer was more common than distal colon cancer over the whole study period, whereas rates for both cancers rose with similar annual percentage changes (> 5% per year) and across virtually all age groups. The estimated annual increases rose from 2% at ages 35-44 years to 7% at ages 75-84 years for proximal colon cancer, but they were more uniform for distal colon cancer (5-6% per year). Age-adjusted and age-specific rectal cancer rates changed little. The male:female age-adjusted rate ratio for colorectal cancer was 1.19 in 1990-1994. The ratios increased over time and varied by subsites, with ratios increasing from the proximal colon to the distal colon and to the rectum. Furthermore, men had higher rates than women for distal colon and rectal cancers at ages 55 and older, whereas women had higher rates than men at younger ages for these two cancers. Male:female rate ratios for proximal colon cancer did not vary substantially with age. The findings from this study indicate that subsite-specific incidence rates of colorectal cancer differ by sex and age and in their time trends. Cancers arising in the proximal colon, distal colon, and rectum may have somewhat different disease etiologies.     

Gender Similarities and Differences in Children's Social Behavior: Finding Personality in Contextualized Patterns of Adaptation.

This research examined how a contextualist approach to personality can reveal social interactional patterns that are obscured by gender comparisons of overall behavior rates. For some behaviors (verbal aggression), girls and boys differed both in their responses to social events and in how often they encountered them, yet they did not differ in overall behavior rates. For other behaviors (prosocial), gender differences in overall rates were observed, yet girls and boys differed more in their social environments than in their responses to events. The results question the assumption that meaningful personality differences must be manifested in overall act trends and illustrate how gender differences in personality can be conceptualized as patterns of social adaptation that are complex and context specific. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cancer mortality in Italy, 1994, and an overview of trends from 1955 to 1994

BACKGROUND: Data and statistics are presented on cancer death certification in Italy, updating previous publications covering the period 1955-1993. METHODS: Data for 1994 and the quinquennium 1990-94 subdivided into 30 cancer sites are presented in 8 tables, including age- and sex-specific absolute and percentage frequencies of cancer deaths, and crude, age-specific and age-standardized rates, at all ages and truncated for the 35-64 year age group. Trends in age-standardized rates for major cancer sites are plotted from 1955 to 1994. RESULTS: The age-standardized (world standard) death certification rates from all neoplasms steadily declined from the peak of 199.2/100,000 males in 1988 to 186.3 in 1994, and in females from 102.5 in 1989 to 98.6 in 1994. Ever larger was the decline in truncated rates, for males from the peak of 275.1/100,000 in 1983 to 223.2 (-19%) in 1994, and for females from 151.6/100,000 in 1987 to 136.4 (-10%). A major component of the favourable cancer mortality trends in males was lung cancer (accounting for 31,000 deaths in both sexes combined in 1994), whose overall age-standardized rates declined from 60.3 in 1987-89 to 54.6/100,000 males in 1994 (-9%), and from the peak of 96.7 in 1983 at ages 35 to 64 to 72.7 in 1994 (-25%). In contrast, female lung cancer rates have remained stable from 1992 onwards, but have increased from 7.2 to 7.7 at all ages and from 10.6 to 11.0 at age 35-64 between 1985-89 and 1990-94. These different trends in the two sexes reflect the patterns and trends in smoking among Italian males and females. CONCLUSIONS: Cancer mortality trends in Italy over the period 1990-94 were relatively favourable, mainly reflecting the decline in lung cancer rates in males, together with the persistent declines in gastric cancer in both sexes and in cervix uteri for women. Continuous advancements were registered for neoplasms amenable to treatment, essentially testicular cancer, Hodgkin's disease and childhood leukaemias. The major unfavourable trends were observed for non Hodgkin's lymphomas, and require therefore further monitoring, besides a clearer understanding of their determinants. Italy maintains an intermediate level of cancer mortality on a European scale, suggesting that further progress is possible, mostly for tobacco-related neoplasms in males.     

Gambling among Minnesota public school students from 1992 to 2007: Declines in youth gambling.

The specific aims of this study are twofold. First, measure 2007 rates of gambling and underage gambling among public school students. Second, compare rates of gambling, frequent gambling, and underage gambling from 1992 to 2007. The 2007 sample includes 40,605 male and 42,655 female Minnesota public school students enrolled in the 9th and 12th grades and similar sample sizes from 1992, 1995, 1998, 2001, and 2004. Students were administered the Minnesota Student Survey, a 126-item, anonymous, self-administered, paper-and-pencil questionnaire that inquires about multiple health-related content domains, including gambling behavior. In 2007, most students gambled at least once during the past year, however, most did not gamble frequently. Gambling participation has shown a gradual and consistent decline from 1992 to 2007 for both boys and girls. Underage gambling has also shown declines over time. Conversely, rates of frequent gambling (weekly or more often) have remained fairly stable over time. There have been two fluctuations of note, a peak in lottery play in 1998 and a peak in card playing in 2004 with subsequent declines in both. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Violence and risk of PTSD, major depression, substance abuse/dependence, and comorbidity: Results from the National Survey of Adolescents.

With a national household probability sample of 4,023 telephone-interviewed adolescents ages 12-17, this study provides prevalence, comorbidity, and risk-factor data for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive episode (MDE), and substance abuse/dependence (SA/D). Roughly 16% of boys and 19% of girls met criteria for at least 1 diagnosis. Six-month PTSD prevalence was 3.7% for boys and 6.3% for girls, 6-month MDE prevalence was 7.4% for boys and 13.9% for girls. and 12-month SAM prevalence was 8.2% for boys and 6.2% for girls. PTSD was more likely to be comorbid than were MDE and SA/D. Results generally support the hypothesis that exposure to interpersonal violence (i.e., physical assault, sexual assault, or witnessed violence) increases the risk of these disorders and of diagnostic comorbidity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hormonal events during female puberty in relation to breast cancer risk

Cigarette smoking among adolescents continues to be a major public health problem in the United States. Smoking trends from 1976-1977 to 1992-1994 were examined in the Bogalusa Heart Study, an investigation of cardiovascular disease risk factors among black and white, male and female adolescents in a semirural town in the southern United States. Age-race-sex specific chi 2 tests for trends over five survey periods were conducted. In almost every age group, black boys and girls were less likely to be current smokers or to have ever smoked or tried cigarettes, as compared with white boys and girls, respectively (P < 0.01). Within age groups, few significant trends in smoking status from 1976-1977 through 1992-1994 were observed among white boys and girls. Among black males and females, however, sharp decreases were observed among all age groups in the prevalence of having ever smoked or tried cigarettes (P = 0.0001) and among the older age groups in the prevalence of being a current smoker (P = 0.0001). Thus, substantial declines in the prevalence of smoking were observed among black children but not among white children. Further research is required to understand why these ethnic differences in smoking occurred so that public health programs may target further the smoking behaviors in children.     

Risk of cancer in Finnish children living close to power lines

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the risk of cancer in children living close to overhead power lines with magnetic fields of > or = 0.01 microteslas (microT). DESIGN: Cohort study. SETTING: The whole of Finland. SUBJECTS: 68,300 boys and 66,500 girls aged 0-19 years living during 1970-89 within 500 m of overhead power lines of 110-400 kV in magnetic fields calculated to be > or = 0.01 microT. Subjects were identified by record linkages of nationwide registers. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Numbers of observed cases in follow up for cancer and standardised incidence ratios for all cancers and particularly for nervous system tumours, leukaemia, and lymphoma. RESULTS: In the whole cohort 140 cases of cancer were observed (145 expected; standardised incidence ratio 0.97, 95% confidence interval 0.81 to 1.1). No statistically significant increases in all cancers and in leukaemia and lymphoma were found in children at any exposure level. A statistically significant excess of nervous system tumours was found in boys (but not in girls) who were exposed to magnetic fields of > or = 0.20 microT or cumulative exposure of > or = 0.40 microT years. CONCLUSIONS: Residentia magnetic fields of transmission power lines do not constitute a major public health problem regarding childhood cancer. The small numbers do not allow further conclusions about the risk of cancer in stronger magnetic fields.     

Prostate cancer in American Indians, New Mexico, 1969 to 1994

PURPOSE: Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer as well as the leading cause of cancer death among American Indian men. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To describe further the occurrence of prostate cancer among American Indian men, we examined population based incidence, treatment, survival and mortality data for American Indians in New Mexico during the 25-year period 1969 to 1994. RESULTS: Although American Indian men have a lower risk of prostate cancer than nonHispanic white men, the incidence and mortality rates are rising for American Indians, and mortality rates are now equal to those for nonHispanic white men. During the 25-year period age adjusted incidence rates for American Indians increased from 42.2/100,000 (95% confidence interval 27.1 to 57.3) to 64.6/100,000 (95% confidence interval 46.2 to 83.0). The burden of prostate cancer among American Indian men compared with nonHispanic white men was reflected in disproportionately high mortality rates in relation to incidence rates. The mortality rates were high because American Indian cases were more advanced at diagnosis, 23.3% of prostate cancers were diagnosed after distant spread had occurred compared with 11.6% for nonHispanic white men and the 5-year relative survival rate was poorer (57.1% compared with 77.6% for nonHispanic white men). CONCLUSIONS: Effective and culturally sensitive cancer control efforts for prostate cancer in American Indian communities are urgently needed.     

Sex differences in the correlates of cooperative and competitive school attitudes.

Reports of sex differences in cooperative and competitive attitudes have assumed that these constructs are the same for boys and girls. Previous findings that the attitudinal correlates of these attitudes are different at different grade levels suggest that there might be sex differences in the attitudinal patterns in which cooperation and competition are embedded. In this study, subscales of the Minnesota School Affect Assessment were administered to a systematic sample of 2,432 2nd–12th graders. Attitudes toward cooperation and competition in school were correlated with other school attitudes separately for males and females. Significant sex differences were found in correlation patterns at all grade levels. Males progressively lost completely the negativistic correlates that competition had in lower grades, whereas females retained some. In senior high school, females finally showed positive correlations of competition with self-worth and internal motivation, whereas males almost lost the correlation between cooperation and self-worth. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Regional and chronological differences of urogenital cancer deaths in Japan

PURPOSE: We investigated the changing patterns of urogenital cancer deaths during the past 22 years in Japan. METHODS: We analyzed patients that died from cancer of the prostate, bladder and kidney between 1973-1994. Age-adjusted death rates (adjusted to the world population), standardized mortality ratios (SMR) according to each prefectures and age-specific death rates for each types of cancer were calculated and changes in these patterns were analyzed. RESULTS: Age-adjusted death rates for cancer of the prostate increased from 2.29 in 1973 to 4.36 in 1994, a 1.9-fold increase. Death rates for cancer of the bladder were stable in males and declined in females. Death rates for cancer of the kidney (15 years or older) increased from 1.45 in 1973 to 2.72 in 1994, a 1.9-fold increase in males, and tended to increase in females as well. In the SMR analysis by prefecture, distribution in 1973-84 (former period) and that in 1985-94 (later period) were similar, and characteristic features were observed for each type of cancer. Age-specific death rates for cancer of the prostate and bladder rose by an index power of age, but that for cancer of the kidney reached a plateau or decreased after an index power increase to a certain age. The rate of increase in age-specific death rates (later period/former period) rose according to age, especially 70 years or older, in cancer of the prostate and kidney in both males and females. However, age-specific death rates in the later period from cancer of the bladder was higher only in patients 85 years or older, but was lower in other age groups. CONCLUSIONS: Death rates for cancer of the prostate and kidney (15 years or older) tended to increase, while that of the bladder remained stable or decreased. It is expected that detection and treatment of these disease can be improved by utilizing these epidemiologic information.