The uvulopalatopharyngoplasty operation: the Edinburgh experience.

The experience of the uvulopalatopharyngoplasty operation, performed on 24 patients for the relief of loud or heroic snoring, is presented. The operation successfully reduced the severity of snoring in 96% of patients. Postoperative complications were uncommon but included nasal regurgitation and intrapharyngeal adhesions in one patient. The role of the uvulopalatopharyngoplasty operation in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea is undecided but the authors do not perform this operation on such patients.     

Idiopathic priapism in childhood]

The authors described the operation technique of the spongiocavernosum shunt in connection with a successfully operated patient. In their case the Quackels procedure was applied with minor modifications, since the conservative one wasn't successful. Their patient is perfectly healthy functionally too. The etiologic factors could not be clarified.     

Mortality in Norwegian Seventh-Day Adventists 1962-1986.

The standardized mortality ratio (SMR) was studied in Norwegian Seventh-Day Adventists, a religious group practising a life-style regarded as protective against cancer and cardiovascular disease. Persons converting before the age of 19 had a SMR of 69 (men) and 59 (women). This was both significantly lower than the general population and those converting at age 35 or above. The site mainly responsible for the low SMR in young converts was cardiovascular disease (men, 44; women, 52). Overall SMR in Seventh-Day Adventists compared to the general population was 82 (95% CI: 77-88, p less than 0.001) in men and 95 (95% CI: 91-100, NS) in women. SMR for cancer was significantly lower only in men before the age of 75 (SMR: 78, 95% CI: 61-99, p less than 0.05). Adopting a healthful lifestyle early in life seems to be of decisive importance with regard to mortality, later lifestyle changes have a smaller effect on death risk.     

Meningococcal infections in Scotland 1972-82.

Strains of Neisseria meningitidis isolated from patients with meningitis or septicaemia without meningitis in Scotland during the years 1972-82 have been reviewed together with details of the age, sex, disease and outcome of the patients from whom they were isolated. A total of 1185 strains were isolated, of which 927 were examined at the Meningococcal Reference Laboratory (Scotland): 19.3% were of serogroup A, 63% of group B, 9.6% of group C, 6% of W135 and 1.6% of other groups. Non-groupable strains were rare. Disease was most common in the first years of life but there was a difference in the age distribution of disease due to the different serogroups, the proportion of disease due to group B being smaller in adults than that due to other serogroups. The overall mortality in meningitis was 7.5% and in septicaemia was 20.6%, although there were differences between the rates for the various serogroups. The serogroup distribution differed in disease as opposed to meningococci isolated from carriers although group B strains were predominant in both series. Overall, approximately 15% of strains were resistant to sulphadiazine, the proportion of resistant group A strains being higher than that of other serogroups.     

Leptospirosis in Germany, 1962-2003

Epidemiologic trends of human leptospirosis in Germany were investigated by analyzing national surveillance data from 1962 to 2003 and by conducting a questionnaire-based survey from 1997 to 2000. After a steady decrease of leptospirosis incidence from 1962 to 1997, surveillance data indicate an increase in disease incidence to 0.06 per 100,000 (1998-2003). Of 102 laboratory-confirmed cases in humans from 1997 to 2000, 30% were related to occupational exposures. Recreational exposures were reported in 30% (including traveling abroad in 16%), whereas residential exposure accounted for 37% of the cases. Direct contact with animals, mostly rats and dogs, was observed in 31% of the cases. We conclude that recent changes in transmission patterns of leptospirosis, partially caused by an expanding rat population and the resurgence of canine leptospirosis, may facilitate the spread of the disease in temperate countries like Germany. Preventive measures should be adapted to the changing epidemiology of leptospirosis.     

Childhood malaria in Edinburgh 1961-1982

Forty one cases of malaria in children less than 15 years of age were identified from the records of Edinburgh hospitals between 1961 and 1982. Annually children constitute 10 to 20 per cent of all cases of malaria in Scotland and since 1971 at least one case has been admitted to an Edinburgh paediatric unit every year. Non-immune children visiting relatives in the Indian sub-continent are the largest group at risk. Prophylaxis was not usually taken by the patients visiting Asia and the cases from Africa had not taken prophylaxis for the recommended month after departure. Nine families were identified in whom more than one member had malaria and screening of the parents and siblings of all cases is recommended.     

Time trends in physical activity among college alumni, 1962-1988.

Little direct evidence exists in the epidemiologic literature to support the widely held belief that an individual's physical activity behavior varies over the years. To provide data, the authors prospectively studied patterns of physical activity among 6,092 Harvard College alumni (average age at the start of follow-up, 43 years) who responded to questionnaires in 1962 or 1966, 1977, and 1988, and who declared themselves free of cardiovascular disease and cancer throughout that period. The median energy expenditure increased between 1962 or 1966 and 1977, but stabilized between 1977 and 1988. However, rank correlation coefficients between estimates of energy expenditure in 1977 and 1988 ranged from 0.36 to 0.41 for the various age groups (compared with 0.81-0.84 for the Quetelet index, and 0.60-0.65 for the current number of cigarettes smoked per day), implying that physical activity at the individual level was not constant. For 4,238 alumni for whom data on collegiate sports participation were available, the rank correlation coefficients between collegiate activity and alumni activity 1-7 decades later were even lower, ranging from 0.05 to 0.17 (compared with 0.31-0.58 for the Quetelet index). Thus, physical activity assessed over a short time period in an individual may not be a valid proxy for activity over the long term. The characteristics that distinguished alumni who consistently expended less than 1,000 kcal/week (in climbing stairs, walking, and playing sports) in 1962 or 1966, 1977, and 1988 from those who consistently expended greater than 2,500 kcal/week were as follows: at baseline, older age, overweight, and cigarette smoking; and during college, not having been a varsity athlete and fewer hours playing sports.     

Mortality and socioeconomic indicators in Spain 1962-1991

Background: The study objectives were to describe the evolutionof mortality and some socioeconomic indicators in the Spanishprovinces (n=50) in order to quantify their association andassess the capability of these socioeconomic factors in explainingmortality levels in the Spanish provinces over the period 1962–1991.Methods: An ecological cross-sectional study was performed inorder to assess the relationships between some socioeconomicindicators and mortality in Spain. Data on both-sexes, all-causes,age-adjusted mortality and infant mortality, gross nationalproduct per head, economically active population and unemploymentrates, population density, state hospital functioning beds andstate primary school units were obtained at a provincial aggregationlevel. A convergence coefficient was calculated for all theseindicators and simple and multiple linear regression modelsfor mortality were fitted. Results and conclusions: The resultssuggested that, over the study period, mortality rates felland socioeconomic indicators converged between provinces, butdifferences in mortality between provinces did not decrease.Socioeconomic factors such as unemployment or economic level- as measured through gross national product - were consistentlyassociated with mortality over all the study period.     

Cholera in East Pakistan families, 1962-63

The families of 85 cholera patients hospitalized during 1962-63 in Dacca District, East Pakistan, were studied in order to determine the relationship between familial and individual characteristics and the spread of the disease. Details of the circumstances, personal characteristics and medical history of the family members were recorded, and daily visits were made over a two-week period by a team of physicians and sociologists. Secondary cases were observed in 33 of the 85 families. Secondary attack rates were higher among children than adults. Spread of cholera within these families was suggested by the distribution of intervals between primary and subsequent cases, by the relationship between lengthy home stay of index cases and increased numbers of secondary cases, and by the effect of family structure on secondary attack rates.     

Occupational radiation exposures in Taiwan, 1962-1983

This paper presents an updated compilation of occupational radiation exposures in Taiwan, Republic of China, for the years 1962-1983. The highest collective dose equivalent occurred in 1981 and was estimated to be 535.318 man-rem, and the average measurable dose equivalent per worker is about 0.25 rem in the same year. All data analyzed were plotted on log-probability paper. A brief prospectus on the health implications of the annual occupational dose equivalents is also provided, using the year 1981 as an example.