The relationship between cardiac function and neuropsychological status among heart transplant candidates

Psychological dependence was induced in rats by a 1-year intermittent exposure to intoxicating doses of ethanol, and recorded by the rat's ability to later take the same dose of ethanol independent of the offered concentration. Citalopram (10 or 40 mg/kg/day) was given for 3 weeks with ethanol available only the first and the last day; 10 mg/kg had no effect. On the first treatment day 40 mg/kg decreased ethanol intake. On the last treatment day 40 mg/kg had no effect. The following week the ethanol intake was higher than before the treatment in the 40 mg/kg group. During the four posttreatment weeks the ethanol intake of the 40 mg/kg group dropped significantly. Citalopram was retested 18 weeks after the first treatment during 1 week, with continuous access to ethanol; 10 mg/kg had no effect and 40 mg/kg decreased ethanol intake at day 1, reaching a minimum in day 3. A tolerance to this effect was seen at the end of the week. Thus, in this model an acute dose of citalopram can decrease ethanol intake, but tolerance to this effect develops when citalopram is given both with and without access to ethanol.     

The relationship between scientific and theoretical orientation among clinical psychology doctoral students.

Examined the relationship between theoretical orientation and research attitudes and interests among 233 doctoral students in clinical psychology. Responses to a survey sent to 10 doctoral training programs indicated that behaviorally oriented students are more interested in conducting research and are more likely to endorse the basic tenets of science than those students expressing a preference for psychodynamic or humanistic orientations. Behavioral students were also younger and more likely to have majored in psychology as undergraduates, suggesting an earlier commitment to a career in psychology. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for the role of training programs in encouraging clinical psychology graduate students to become better consumers of scientific literature. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between bronchial histamine reactivity and atopic status

It has been proposed that increased production of IgE, a feature of atopy, is a cause of the non-specific bronchial hyper-reactivity that is characterisitc of asthma. This hypothesis was examined by selecting groups of subjects with asthma or rhinitis and a group of healthy control subjects and studying the relationship between their bronchial histamine reactivity and their atopic status. In none of the groups tested was there a significant association between the degree of bronchial histamine reactivity and either the serum level of total IgE or the number of extracts of aeroallergens giving positive prick test reactions.     

Exploring the nature of the relationship between child sexual abuse and substance use among women

AIMS: This study investigated whether child abuse (CSA) was associated with earlier substance use and greater severity of substance dependence and what aspects of CSA might predict substance abuse. DESIGN: The study compared (a) drug and alcohol treatment clients with and without a history of CSA and (b) CSA survivors outside drug and alcohol treatment who did or did not have current substance abuse. SETTINGS: Semi-structured interviews took place at participants' homes, treatment agencies or the research centre. PARTICIPANTS: Volunteer participants included 100 women recruited from drug and alcohol treatment programmes and 80 CSA survivors recruited through CSA counseling services and medial advertising. MEASUREMENTS: The results focus on data from the Opiate Treatment Index, Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire, Substance Dependence Scale, Self-Esteem Inventory and self-reported histories of CSA. FINDINGS: There were no differences between CSA survivors and other drug and alcohol treatment clients in their severity of dependence. Women with a history of CSA more frequently identified stimulants as their main problem drug and reported an earlier age of first intoxication and earlier use of inhalants. Among abused CSA survivors outside drug and alcohol treatment, women with current substance abuse had typically been abused during adolescence by someone outside the family, whereas those without current substance abuse were typically abused by family members before adolescence. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that adolescence is a crucial time for the influence of CSA experiences on substance abuse.     

Evolution in time of the relationship between occlusion and tooth absence

The evolution in time of the relationship between occlusion tooth absence was studied in 204 people in Salamanca, in 1996. The data collected in an oral test (biting in maximal intercuspidation on articulating paper) were analysed using the method called expansion-contraction systems. The results show that the loss of occlusion through time is directly related to the absence of premolars and molars. Incisors and canines occlude more in elderly people. This supports the view of a polarization in the evolution of the occlusion towards canines and premolars whereas tooth absence is polarized towards molars.     

The relationship between work status congruence and work-related attitudes and behaviors.

Research investigating differences in attitudes among full-time and part-time employees has a long history. Unfortunately, the empirical results have been mixed and conflicting. To resolve inconsistencies in prior research, the authors conducted 2 studies. In the 1st study, the authors developed a measure of work status congruence, which measures the degree to which employers match employee preferences for full-time or part-time status, schedule, shift, and number of hours. The authors hypothesized that a match or congruence between worker preferences and organizational staffing practices would be associated with positive employee attitudes and behaviors. In the 2nd study, the authors tested these hypotheses. The results indicate that work status congruence is positively associated with job satisfaction, organizational commitment, employee retention, as well as in-role and extra-role performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between health status and blood pressure in urban African Americans

African Americans have higher rates of hypertension and poorer health status than their white counterparts. This study assessed the relationship between health status, cardiovascular risk factors, and measured blood pressure. Free blood pressure screenings were performed at businesses and organizations located in west Baltimore. All individuals with cardiovascular risk factors were offered health education. Also, participants with a measured blood pressure of > or = 140/90 mm Hg were referred for free medical treatment. Participants completed a questionnaire that included demographics, cardiovascular risk factors, the Medical Outcomes Study SF 36, and two tests on cholesterol and heart disease knowledge. A total of 1389 African-American men and women were screened; 20% were found to have high normal blood pressure and 31% had stage 1 hypertension or higher. Those with hypertension reported lower physical functioning and poorer general health than those without high blood pressure. When compared with US normative data, participants reported higher levels in vitality and physical and emotional role functioning, more bodily pain, and poorer general health, but they were similar in physical functioning, social functioning, and mental health. Preliminary data suggest that hypertension does have an effect on health function.     

The status of child health and child survival and development programs in Turkey

The effects of nutrition on the testis were investigated in groups of five mature Merino rams that were fed either a sub-maintenance (low) diet or a supra-maintenance (high) diet for 69 days. Testosterone, oestradiol and inhibin were measured in blood plasma sampled simultaneously from jugular and testicular veins after an i.v. injection of 200 ng ovine LH kg-1. Plasma concentrations of testosterone, inhibin and oestradiol were higher in testicular than in jugular vein plasma for both diets (P < 0.01). After the LH injection, jugular plasma testosterone increased more rapidly (P < 0.01) in rams fed the high diet than in rams fed the low diet. This was not seen in the testicular vein. Oestradiol concentrations were higher in rams on the high diet than in those on the low diet, in both the testicular (P < 0.0001) and the jugular vein (P < 0.02). Diet did not affect inhibin concentrations. Testes were surgically removed and processed for light microscopy. Testicular mass and seminiferous tubule length and diameter were higher with the high diet than the low diet (P < 0.01). The number of Sertoli cell nuclei per testis was also affected (high diet: 120 +/- 6 x 10(8); low diet: 77 +/- 7 x 10(8); P < 0.001), whereas the proportion of testis occupied by Sertoli cell nuclei was not affected. The number of Leydig cells per testis was not affected by diet, but Leydig cells occupied a greater volume of testis in rams on the high diet than in those on the low diet (P < 0.001). The effects of nutrition on Leydig and Sertoli cells are consistent with changes in the endocrine and exocrine functions of the testis. The finding that Sertoli cell population was altered in adult rams may be explained by the GnRH-independent effects of nutrition.     

Mood and symptom reporting among middle-aged women: The relationship between menopausal status, hormone replacement therapy, and exercise participation.

Vasomotor, somatic, and psychological symptoms associated with menopause are often treated with hormone replacement therapy (HRT), but the role of nonpharmacological interventions has received little attention. Two studies used the Profile of Mood States (POMS) and Women's Health Questionnaire (WHQ) to examine the effects of exercise among 4 groups of Australian women: premenopausal, perimenopausal, postmenopausal without HRT, and postmenopausal with HRT. Study 1, a comparison of exercisers and nonexercisers, showed that exercisers' moods were significantly more positive than sedentary women's moods, regardless of menopausal state. Exercising women also scored lower on somatic symptoms and memory-concentration difficulties. Study 2 examined the acute effects of aerobic exercise (premenopausal, postmenopausal without HRT, and postmenopausal with HRT) and found significant enhancements in mood and reductions in reported somatic and vasomotor symptoms immediately following an aerobic class. Exercise may assist in the alleviation of some menopausal symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Investigating the relationship between economic status and HIV risk

Although anecdotal information suggests that there is a relationship between socioeconomic status and HIV risk, there have been few investigations of that possible relationship. Understanding that relationship can have important implications for designing and implementing prevention programs. This study investigated the relationship between indicators of socioeconomic status and HIV prevalence in Massachusetts using seroprevalence data from publicly funded test sites. HIV seroprevalence was found to differ depending on demographic groups and the health care insurance/provider. Those who had no insurance or were Medicaid recipients had higher rates of HIV infection. Homeless individuals were also at higher risk. Further, low-income ZIP codes in Massachusetts were four times more likely to have high seroprevalence rates among residents voluntarily testing for HIV. Thus, HIV seroprevalence appears to be associated with socioeconomic status in this group of voluntarily tested individuals.     

The relationship between status variables and criminal thinking in an offender population.

The authors examined the relationship between criminal thinking factors of control, cognitive immaturity, and egocentrism, and offender characteristics (i.e., age, education, sentence length, time served, reception of mental health services) in 435 adult male offenders. Results of a canonical correlation analysis identified 1 significant and meaningful relationship between a criminal thinking set containing all 3 factors and an offender characteristic set containing all characteristics except for age. Higher levels of criminal thinking on all 3 factors were associated with more education, longer sentence length, more time served, and lack of reception of mental health services. Implications for providing treatment with offenders that targets reducing criminal recidivism and future directions for investigation into the relationship between dynamic recidivism risk factors and offender characteristics are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Is there a relationship between child abuse and learning disability?

Reviews 7 studies on the possible relationship between child abuse and learning disability. It is concluded that despite case reports linking child abuse with learning disability in some cases, there is no evidence either that abused children are more likely than nonabused children to have a learning disability or that learning disabled children are more likely than children without learning disabilities to be abused. The studies that have been done included diverse definitions, a variety of small and unrepresented samples, an absence group, and a lack of information about the children's pre-abuse characteristics. It is suggested that case studies may be the most useful method. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between physical restraint removal and falls and injuries among nursing home residents

BACKGROUND: A major reason cited for continued restraint use in American nursing homes is the widely held belief that restraint reduction will lead to fall-related incidents and injuries. METHODS: This study represents an analysis of data collected in a clinical trial of interventions aimed at reducing the use of restraints in nursing homes. Two different designs were employed to test the relationship between restraint reduction and falls/injuries. First, multiple logistic regression was used to compare fall/injury rates in subjects who had restraints removed (n = 38) to those who continued to be restrained (n = 88); second, survival analysis was employed to test the relationship between physical restraint removal and falls/injuries at the institutional level by comparing fall/injury rates among three nursing homes (n = 633) with varying rates of restraint reduction. RESULTS: Based on the multiple logistic regression analysis, there was no indication of increased risk of falls or injuries with restraint removal. Moreover, restraint removal significantly decreased the chance of minor injuries due to falls (adjusted odds ratio: 0.3, 95% CI: 0.1, 0.9; p < .05). The survival analysis demonstrated that the nursing home that had the least restraint reduction (11%) had a 50% higher rate of falls (p < .01) and more than twice the rate of fall-related minor injuries (p < .001) when compared to the homes with 23% and 56% restraint reduction, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Physical restraint removal does not lead to increases in falls or subsequent fall-related injury in older nursing home residents.     

Quality of care problems among Medicare and Medicaid patients

The purpose of this study was to characterize quality of care problems among Medicare and Medicaid inpatients in New York State. The patients selected for this study comprised 1991 and 1992 Medicare and all 1992 Medicaid inpatients in whom quality of care problems with actual or potential adverse effects were found. The patients in this study were drawn from public, proprietary, voluntary and teaching hospitals. A total of 1000 quality of care problems with either actual or potential adverse effects were found in 706 Medicare patients. Two hundred and seventy-five (275) quality of care problems with actual or potential adverse effects were found in 154 Medicaid patients. Premature death occurred in 53 (7.4%) of the 706 Medicare and in 42 (27.2%) of the 154 Medicaid patients. Treatment problems and monitoring failures accounted for the majority of quality of care problems with actual or potential adverse effects for both Medicare (63.0%) and Medicaid (75.7%) patients. Among Medicare patients, the treatment of infections and antibiotic use, fluid and electrolyte management, and inappropriate drug use were among the leading causes of quality of care problems. Attending physicians were associated with the majority of Medicare quality of care problems while house staff and attending physicians were associated with the majority of those among Medicaid patients. The results of this study indicate that there are several leading causes of quality of care problems among Medicare and Medicaid patients. Treatment problems and monitoring failures together comprise the majority of such problems. Among Medicare patients, it was found that most quality of care problems were associated with the treatment of infections and antibiotic use, fluid and electrolyte management, and inappropriate drug use. Most quality of care problems among Medicaid patients were associated with these categories as well as with labor and delivery problems, and poor discharge planning. The results of this study reflect the peer-review process in which providers are given an opportunity to respond to physician-reviewer decisions about the presence of actual or potential adverse effects. Such a process, which permits the presentation of additional data and information by providers, produces fewer final adverse outcome determinations than a process uniquely based on chart review. The quality of care problems observed in this study are amenable to focused educational interventions. Such remedial interventions could yield significant improvements in the quality of care for all patients.     

The relative contribution of ethnicity versus socioeconomic status in explaining differences in disability and receipt of informal care

Data from a comparative study of 1975 African American, Puerto Rican, and non-Hispanic White persons age 60 and older in a large Northeastern city were used to investigate the relative contribution of ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES) to explaining differences in the need for and receipt of informal care. It was hypothesized that differences in disability would be related largely to SES, whereas ethnicity would account for most of the differences in the amount of informal care. The results of a path analysis argue in favor of a cultural rather than a socioeconomic explanation for between-group differences. SES had no direct effect on disability when controlling for ethnicity. Ethnicity did explain between-group differences in the amount of care. Even when controlling for disability, elders in the two minority groups received more informal care than did older White persons. The findings illuminate the important role played by ethnicity in explaining an older person's need for and receipt of long-term care assistance.     

The connection between clinical health promotion and health status: A critical overview.

Argues that the clinical practice of health promotion is based on at least 4 assumptions: (a) behaviors increase the risk of certain chronic diseases; (b) changes in behaviors can reduce the probability of risk of certain diseases; (c) behavior can be easily changed; and (d) behavioral interventions are cost-effective. Although data support most of these assumptions, the strength of the support is shown to be much weaker than is assumed by many psychologists. Thus, the expected health benefits from behavioral programs may not match the enthusiasm espoused by some health psychologists. A major problem in this field is that outcomes are frequently not conceptualized in relation to health. Health status is therefore suggested as the focal point for conceptualizations of health psychology. (83 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Improving the relationship between the randomized clinical trial and real-world clinical practice.

I comment on the article by Krause (see record 2011-19228-002), which discusses a number of ways for clinical psychotherapy outcome researchers to make the results of randomized controlled trials (RCT) more useful to practicing psychotherapists primarily by making the distributions of raw data from those studies available to the public. In this way, it would be possible for psychotherapists to determine which treatment of an RCT (experimental or control) would be best for a specific patient. Problems with this proposal are discussed and an alternative model that integrates psychotherapy outcome data from group means and clinical case studies is offered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)