Association of Cancer Prevention-Related Nutrition Knowledge, Beliefs, and Attitudes to Cancer Prevention Dietary Behavior

Objective To examine the relationship of cancer prevention-related nutrition knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes to cancer prevention dietary behavior.Subjects/setting Noninstitutionalized US adults aged 18 years and older.Methods Data collected in the 1992 National Health Interview Survey Cancer Epidemiology Supplement were analyzed. The supplement included questions to ascertain knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes and a food frequency questionnaire to ascertain nutrient intake.Statistics Multivariate linear regression modeling was conducted to assess the hypothesized relationships.Results After adjustment for relevant covariates (age, sex, education, total energy, perceived barriers to eating a more healthful diet), knowledge and belief constructs were predictive of dietary behavior. Specifically, fat, fiber, and fruit and vegetable intakes more closely approximated dietary recommendations for persons with more cancer-prevention knowledge. The strength of the associations between these constructs and dietary behavior varied in some cases according to level of education and perceived barriers to eating a healthful diet. Of the perceived barriers to eating a healthful diet, perceived ease of eating a healthful diet was most strongly and consistently predictive of intake.Conclusions Research findings challenge dietetics practitioners to design diet- and health-promotion programs and activities that not only educate the public about the importance of diet to health, but also address barriers to dietary change.     

The Bain, ADE, and Enclosed Magill breathing systems A comparative study during controlled ventilation

The Enclosed Magill, Humphrey ADE and the Bain breathing systems are all used for controlled ventilation of the lungs. This study compares the three systems in vitro with a lung model and in clinical practice. No difference was observed, with ventilatory variables commonly used in clinical practice, between the Bain and the ADE, while significantly lower end-tidal carbon dioxide values were observed with the Enclosed Magill (about 7%). Lower fresh gas flows can be used under these circumstances to maintain normocapnia with the Enclosed Magill than either the Bain or the Humphrey ADE.     

Treatment Outcomes in Spontaneous Intracranial Hypotension: Do Epidural Blood Patches Stop the Leaks?

Abstract:   Spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH) is a postural headache syndrome unrelated to dural puncture. Because of the increasing failure of epidural blood patch (EBP) to relieve headache in SIH, we retrospectively investigated the epidemiological features and treatment outcomes in 55 cases of SIH. The study population was stratified by age and sex; continuous variables were compared for differences by t -tests; categorical variables were compared by Chi-squared analysis or Fisher exact tests. Significant differences were identified by P values of 0.05 or less. The mean age of the study population was 44 ± 12 years with a female to male ratio of 1.3:1.0. Men presented with subdural hematomas ( P  = 0.001) more often than women. Meningeal enhancement on contrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was the most consistent radiographic finding. Radionuclide cisternography (RC) demonstrated thoracolumbar dural leaks in 16 of 22 patients. EBP failures were more common in patients aged 40 and younger than in older patients ( P  = 0.003). Postural headache from SIH was not uniformly responsive to EBP, and had significant comorbidities, especially in men. The management of postural headache in SIH by other techniques to restore brain position and cerebrospinal fluid dynamics should be investigated.     

Reaching mothers of preschool-aged children with a targeted quit smoking intervention

Younger women smoke at disproportionately higher rates than other women and their smoking has a major impact on the health of their young children. To address this problem, a smoking cessation intervention combining minimal advice and assistance from a community health nurse and a tailored self-help guide was developed for low-income women with young children. The program evaluation results reported here were gathered from women using publicly funded pediatric services in four agencies with 32 clinic sites in central and eastern Pennsylvania. Unlike volunteers in formal cessation programs, the women varied widely in their readiness to quit smoking. Follow-up data were obtained from 1,230 female smokers, aged 18 to 39, after receiving brief, individualized smoking cessation advice and encouragement to read the self-help guide. One year later, 12.5 percent reported quitting smoking, and 20.2 percent reported having made a serious quit attempt that lasted at least 7 days. These results suggest that, even among smokers with low socioeconomic status and wide variation in their readiness to quit, minimal intervention programs requiring modest resources can promote cessation.This work was funded under contracts from the Cancer Control Program, Pennsylvania Department of Health (SPC-883141 and SPC-979425). The Quitting Times STOP IT quit smoking protocol was adapted from the Smoking Cessation Project, Maternal and Child Health, Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The authors also wish to express appreciation to the staff of the Division of Population Science, Fox Chase Cancer Center for their contributions to this project and especially those of Chris Jepson, Eunice King, C. Tracy Orleans, and Marjorie Utt.