Clinical Epidemiology Commons^™

Beliefs About Essences And The Reality Of Mental Disorders, Woo-Kyoung Ahn, Elizabeth H. Flanagan, Jessecae K. Marsh, Charles A. Sanislow

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

Do people believe mental disorders are real and possess underlying essences? The current study found that both novices and practicing clinicians held weaker essentialist beliefs about mental disorders than about medical disorders. They were also unwilling to endorse the idea that mental disorders are real and natural. Furthermore, compared with novices, mental health clinicians were less likely to endorse the view that there is a shared cause underlying a mental disorder and that one needs to remove the cause to get rid of the mental disorder. Clinicians were polarized on their views about whether mental disorders are categorical or dimensional. …

Descriptive And Longitudinal Observations On The Relationship Of Borderline Personality Disorder And Bipolar Disorder, John G. Gunderson, Igor Weinberg, Maria T. Daversa, Karsten D. Kueppenbender, Mary C. Zanarini, M. Tracie Shea, Andrew E. Skodol, Charles A. Sanislow, Shirley Yen, Leslie C. Morey, Carlos M. Grilo, Thomas H. Mcglashan, Robert L. Stout, Ingrid R. Dyck

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to test whether borderline personality disorder is a variant of bipolar disorder by examining the rates of co-occurrence in both disorders, the effects of co-occurrence on a longitudinal course, and whether the presence of either disorder confers the risk for new onsets of the other.

METHOD: A prospective repeated-measures design with reliable independent diagnostic measures and 4 years of follow-up was used to assess 196 patients with borderline personality disorder and 433 patients with other personality disorders.

RESULTS: Patients with borderline personality disorder had a significantly higher co-occurrence of bipolar disorder (19.4%) than …

Prospective Assessment Of Treatment Use By Patients With Personality Disorders, Donna S. Bender, Andrew E. Skodol, Maria E. Pagano, Ingrid R. Dyck, Carlos M. Grilo, M. Tracie Shea, Charles A. Sanislow, Mary C. Zanarini, Shirley Yen, Thomas H. Mcglashan, John G. Gunderson

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the utilization of mental health treatments over a three-year period among patients with schizotypal, borderline, avoidant, or obsessive-compulsive personality disorders compared with patients with major depressive disorder and no personality disorder.

METHODS: A prospective, longitudinal study design was used to measure treatment use for 633 individuals aged 18 to 45 years during a three-year period.

RESULTS: Patients with borderline personality disorder were significantly more likely than those with major depressive disorder to use most types of treatment. Furthermore, all patients continued using high-intensity, low-duration treatments throughout the study period, whereas individual psychotherapy attendance declined significantly after …

Air Pollutants And Respiratory Symptoms Among Adults, Paulo A. Lotufo

Paulo A Lotufo

Air pollutants are associated with adverse respiratory effects mainly in susceptible groups such as children, elderly people and people with pre-existent respiratory disease. This study was designed to assess the impact of the inorganic composition of particulate matter on 33 adult asthmatics respiratory functions in São Paulo city, Brazil. From May to July 2002, fine and coarse particulate matter fractions were collected and trace metals (Fe2+, Mn2+, Zn2+, Pb2+, Cu2+) and major ions (Na+, Mg2+, K+, Ca2+, NH4 +, Cl-, NO3-, SO42-) composition was determined in each aqueous-extract fraction by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry with Graphite Furnace (AAS-GF) and Ion Chromatography, …

The Acute-Phase Proteins Serum Amyloid A And C Reactive Protein In Transudates And Exudates, Paulo A. Lotufo

Paulo A Lotufo

The distinction between exudates and transudates is very important in the patient management. Here we evaluate whether the acute-phase protein serum amyloid A (SAA), in comparison with C reactive protein (CRP) and total protein (TP), can be useful in this discrimination. CRP, SAA, and TP were determined in 36 exudate samples (27 pleural and 9 ascitic) and in 12 transudates (9 pleural and 3 ascitic). CRP, SAA, and TP were measured. SAA present in the exudate corresponded to 10% of the amount found in serum, that is, the exudate/serum ratio (E/S) was 0.10±0.13. For comparison, the exudate/serum ratio for CRP …

Epidemiological Studies In The Information And Genomics Era: Experience Of The Clinical Genome Of Cancer Project In São Paulo, Brazil, V Wunsch, Jose Eluf-Neto, Paulo A. Lotufo, Marco A. Zago

Paulo A Lotufo

No abstract provided.

Additional Cardiovascular Risk Factors Associated With Excess Weigth In Children And Adolescents. The Belo Horizonte Heart Study, Paulo A. Lotufo

Paulo A Lotufo

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association of overweight and obesity with physical activity, blood pressure (BP) and serum lipid profiles. METHODS Epidemiologic investigation of 1,450 students, between the ages of 6 and 18, in the city of Belo Horizonte, MG. Data: weight, height, BP, skinfold thickness, waist circumference, physical activity, total cholesterol (TC), LDL-c, HDL-c, and dietary habits. RESULTS The prevalence rates for overweight and obesity were 8.4% and 3.1%, respectively. In relation to the students in the lower quartile (Q1) of the distribution of subscapular skinfold, the students in the upper quartile (Q4) presented a 3.7 times higher risk (odds …