Articles: disease.
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A survey of 1826 women in the Wellington region was carried out. Participants were asked about their general and gynaecological health and their menstrual, contraceptive and obstetric history. Detailed questions were asked about the menstruating women's last menstrual cycle. ⋯ There was maximum prevalence at 20 to 24 years and positive associations with smoking, short cycles, and moderate to severe premenstrual symptoms. There was association with method of contraception but no association with sedentary occupation or body mass index. The apparent negative relationship with parity was not significant when age, smoking and premenstrual symptomatology were taken into account.
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Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol · Feb 1988
Maternal mortality in Bahrain with special reference to sickle cell disease.
The maternal mortality in Bahrain during the 10-year period, 1977-1986, was 33.9 per 100,000 livebirths; the second 5-year period showed a significant reduction (26.9) compared to the first 5-year period (42.3). Haemorrhage, pulmonary embolism, hypertensive diseases of pregnancy and infection were the main causes of maternal mortality. ⋯ Avoidable factors were present in 38% of the cases, the majority being due to the failure of the patients to seek medical care or follow medical advice. Health education, premarital counselling and family planning were identified as significant factors in reducing the maternal mortality rate.
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The primary aim of the haemostatic mechanism is to protect the vascular system and to keep it intact after injury in order to secure the function of tissues and organs. A second aim is to provide a matrix in wound healing and tissue repair. The regulation of this physiological mechanism is effected by a dynamic haemostatic balance comprising interactions between endothelial cells, thrombocytes, coagulation, and fibrinolysis. ⋯ Effects of disturbances in the balance are illustrated by description of cases of haemorrhagic disorders or thrombosis, and the pathophysiological aspects are surveyed. The regulation of coagulation and fibrinolysis follows in both systems the same pattern. The active enzymes (thrombin and plasmin, respectively) are formed by activation of circulating proenzymes, and inhibitors (circulating or localized) exert their modifying influences at various stages of the total process.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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World Health Stat Q · Jan 1988
The global impact of noncommunicable diseases: estimates and projections.
With the aging of populations in developing countries there is both a demographic and an epidemiological transition which affects the impact of chronic degenerative diseases on the health status of the populations. Demographic transition takes place in countries where there are effective programmes of disease control which allow for survival during the early years of childhood and adolescence. This results in an increase in life expectancy which places larger proportions of the population in the age range (60 years and older) in which chronic degenerative diseases become the major determinants of health status. ⋯ The major differences are seen to be in the proportions of deaths expected from such diseases as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cirrhosis; but not in the distribution of age at death which is the better measure of disease impact. Demographic analyses, computing indirect estimates of mortality, also demonstrate that there are currently more chronic disease deaths in developing than developed countries and that as expectation of life increases in developing countries the global chronic disease burden will be greatly concentrated in the developing countries. Analyses of risk-factor reduction by feasible intervention strategies, e.g. smoking cessation campaigns, treatment of high blood pressure, using relationships between risk factors and diseases established in longitudinal studies carried out in developed countries, point out that the effect of risk-factor control in long-living populations can be hidden by the dependency of risk factors and various related causes of death, e.g. smoking has an impact on lung cancer, ischaemic heart disease and emphysema, but at different ages.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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Anthropometry (the use of body measurements to assess nutritional status) is a practical and immediately applicable technique for assessing children's development patterns during the first years of life. An evaluation of their growth also provides useful insights into the nutrition and health situation of entire population groups. Anthropometric indicators are less accurate than clinical and biochemical techniques when it comes to assessing individual nutritional status. ⋯ Intercountry trend comparisons are difficult for two main reasons. Firstly, the time between surveys is occasionally different and, secondly, despite efforts to standardize data analysis and presentation, different cut-off points have been used to calculate prevalence figures and estimate the extent of undernutrition. However, the use of identical cut-off points is not essential for making intercountry trend analyses since it is the general trends in growth deficit and nutritional status over time which are being evaluated.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)