An association between bone mineral density and anabolic hormones in middle-aged and elderly men with prediabetes

Introduction: Prediabetes (PD) leads to reduced testosterone (T) in males, but the association between the anabolic hormones and bone mineral density (BMD) remains unknown.

Objectives: We investigated an association between the anabolic hormones and BMD in middle-aged and elderly men with PD.

Methods: We investigated 84 prediabetic and 56 control men. Total T (TT), calculated free T (cFT), and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) were measured, and BMD was assessed using DXA methods.

Results: Patients with PD had lower TT (p?p?<?.005), and DHEAS (p?<?.02) than control group. BMD values of the lower lumbar spine (p?<?.02) and total body (p?<?.05) in prediabetic men were lower than in control group. Lumbar spine BMD correlated with TT (r?=?0.376), cFT (r?=?0.235), and HbA1c (r?=??0.368); femoral neck BMD correlated with TT (r?=?0.412) and cFT (r?=?0.421). The high lumbar spine and femur neck BMD was associated with high TT, cFT, and low HbA1c, while the high total body BMD with high TT, cFT, and low HbA1c.

Conclusion: The anabolic hormones significantly affect BMD in male with PD, and screening for low BMD is necessary in these patients.     

Androgen status in non-diabetic elderly men with heart failure

Purpose: We aimed at evaluating androgen status (serum testosterone [TT] and estimated free testosterone [eFT]) and its determinants in non-diabetic elderly men with heart failure (HF). Additionally, we investigated its associations with body composition and long-term survival.

Methods: Seventy three non-diabetic men with HF and 20 healthy men aged over 55?years were studied. Echocardiography, 6-min walk test, grip strength, body composition measurement by DEXA method were performed. TT, sex hormone binding globulin, NT-proBNP, and adipokines (adiponectin and leptin) were measured. All-cause mortality was evaluated at six years of follow-up.

Results: Androgen status (TT, eFT) was similar in elderly men with HF compared to healthy controls (4.79?±?1.65 vs. 4.45?±?1.68?ng/ml and 0.409?±?0.277 vs. 0.350?±?0.204?nmol/l, respectively). In HF patients, TT was positively associated with NT-proBNP (r=?0.371, p?=?0.001) and adiponectin levels (r?=?0.349, p?=?0.002), while inverse association was noted with fat mass (r?=??0.413, p?<?0.001). TT and eFT were independently determined by age, total fat mass and adiponectin levels in elderly men with HF (p?<?0.05 for all). Androgen status was not predictor for all-cause mortality at six years of follow-up.

Conclusions: In non-diabetic men with HF, androgen status is not altered and is not predictive of long-term outcome.     

Book Reviews

Abstract

Poverty and Health – Working with Families Clare Blackburn (1991) Open University Press, Buckingham, 176pp. $34.95 (paper)

Improving Health and Welfare Work with Families in Poverty Clare Blackburn (1992), Open University Press, Buckingham, 128pp. $45.00 (paper)

The Presence of the Past – Male Violence in the Family Jan Horsfall (1991) Allen and Unwin, Sydney, 167pp. $18.95 (paper)

Working for Change – the Movement Against Domestic Violence Heather McGregor and Andrew Hopkins (1991) Allen and Unwin. Sydney, 150pp. $19.95 (paper)

Family Violence – Everybody's Business, Somebody's Life Family Violence Professional Education Taskforce (1991) Federation Press, Sydney, 268pp. $25.00 (paper)

Tell Me I'm Here Anne Deveson (1991) Penguin Books Australia Ltd, Ringwood, Victoria, 268pp. $14.95 (paper).     

The Influence of Tobacco Countermarketing Ads on College Students’ Knowledge,Attitudes, and Beliefs

Abstract

Objective: To determine which antitobacco messages were perceived effective in changing college students’ knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about tobacco use. Participants: College students (n = 1,020) were surveyed before and after viewing 4 30-second antitobacco advertisements in 1 of 3 theme categories—social norms, health consequences, or tobacco industry manipulation. Methods: An independent samples t test was used to test for differences in the mean responses to the knowledge, attitude, and belief questions at posttest by smoking status and gender. Results: Health consequences ads significantly increased overall knowledge and negative attitudes and beliefs. Conclusion: Findings from this study may help health educators who work in college settings and other young adult settings to include media messages as part of a comprehensive tobacco control program.     

Book Reviews

Abstract

Human Services at Risk: Administrative Strategies for Survival , edited by Felice Davidson Permutter. Boston, MA: Lexington Books, D.C. Heath and Company, 1984. Reviewed by Mona Struhsaker Schatz

Supervising Student Internships in Human Services , edited by Carlton E. Munson. New York: The Haworth Press, 1984. Reviewed by Harvey Bertcher

Transactional Analysis for Social Workers and Counsellors: An Introduction , by Elizabeth Pitman. London and Boston: Library of Social Work, Routhledge and Kegan Paul, 1984. Reviewed by Edward G. Kuhlmann

Ages in Conflict: A Cross-Cultural Perspective on Inequality Between Old and Young , by Nancy Foner. New York: Columbia University Press, 1984. Reviewed by Bruce A. Thyer

Clinical Social Work in Health Settings , by Thomas Owen Carlton. New York: Springer Publishing Co., 1984. Reviewed by John R. Ball     

Book reviews

Abstract

TO HA VE AND TO HOLD: Marriage, the First Baby and Preparing for Parenthood

CHRISTOPHER F. CLULOW. Aberdeen University Press, 1982. (Reviewed by Jeanne A. Bertrand)

THE STEP FAMILY: A Growing Challenge for Social Work by DIANA BROWN, Social Work Monograph no.4, 1982

RESPONSIBILITY FOR INCEST: A Feminist View by ANNA FAIRTLOUGH, Social Work Monograph no. 16, 1983

THE PERMANENCY PRINCIPLE IN CHILD CARE SOCIAL WORK by CATRIONA MORRIS, Social Work Monograph no. 21, 1984.

SOCIAL WORK AND MENTAL ILLNESS ALAN BUTLER AND COLIN PRITCHARD

SOCIAL WORK WITH THE FAMILIES OF CHILDREN AWAY FROM HOME SYLVIA MASSEY AND MARY PEALEY

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS (6) Working with Children Editor: JOYCE LISHMAN

H. KARNAC (BOOKS) LTD.

56/58 GLOUCESTER ROAD, LONDON. SW7 4QY

Specialists in the literature of psychoanalysis, psychotherapy and related fields.

BOOKS POSTED TO ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD     

Sexual Function in Postmenopausal Women and Serum Androgens: A Review Article

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to narratively summarize the effects of serum androgens on sexual function of postmenopausal women and the impact of administration of various types of androgens in improving the sexual function of these women. Methods: After searching for articles indexed in various databases, a total of 59 studies were selected. Results: There appears to be a great deal of controversy regarding the relationship between androgens and sexual function and the beneficiary effect of androgens therapy. Conclusions: Androgens may affect sexual function; however, androgen therapy, as an option for improving sexual function in menopause, needs further research.     

Africa seminar Programme First semester 1994

Popular Resistance and the Roots of Nationalism in Namibia, 1915–1966 by Tony Emmett. Basel: P. Schlettwein Publishing. 1999. Includes an Introduction by Patricia Hayes.

ANC: A View from Moscow by Vladimir Shubin. Bellville: Mayibuye Books. 1999.

Special Flights to Southern Africa. The GDR and Liberation Movements in Southern Africa by Hans‐Georg Schleicher &; Ilona Schleicher. Harare: SAPES Books. 1998.

Raymond Williams. Literature, Marxism and Cultural Materialism by John Higgins. London: Routledge. 1999.

Under the Canopy: Ritual Process and Spiritual Resilience in South Africa by Linda Thomas. Columbia: University of South Carolina.     

Button‐pressers versus picture‐makers: The social reconstruction of amateur photography in the late 19th century U.S.

Visual Anthropology: Photography as a Research Method, New Mexico University Press, 1986, By John, Collier, Jr. and Malcom Collier

Snapshot Versions of Life, Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1987, By Richard Chalfen

Six‐Guns and Society: A Structural Study of the Western, University of California Press, 1975, By Will Wright, St. Lawrence University

Bitter Melon: Stories from the Last Rural Chinese Town in America, University of Washington Press, 1987, By Jeff Gillenkirk and James Motlow

Committing Photography ‐ Yes and No, But Mostly Yes. A Review Essay of Committing Photography, by Su Braden, Pluto Press, 1983

Sociology in a Changing World, by William Kornblum, Holt, Reinehart, and Winston, 1987     

Parent Conflict as a Mediator Between Marianismo Beliefs and Depressive Symptoms for Mexican American College Women

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine how marianismo is related to the depressive symptoms of Mexican American women with family conflict as a mediator. Participants: During January of 2010, 170 Mexican American women college students in a southern, Hispanic-serving institution were sampled. Methods: A mediation analysis was conducted to determine if parent conflict mediates the relationship between marianismo values and depressive symptoms. Results: Results from Barron and Kenny's¹ mediation analysis method, in conjunction with a Sobel² test indicated that parent conflict significantly mediated the relation between marianismo and depressive symptoms. Conclusion: Findings and implications of the mediation will be discussed for the mental health and treatment of Mexican American women college students.     

Reviews

Visual Anthropology: Photography as a Research Method, New Mexico University Press, 1986, By John, Collier, Jr. and Malcom Collier

Snapshot Versions of Life, Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1987, By Richard Chalfen

Six‐Guns and Society: A Structural Study of the Western, University of California Press, 1975, By Will Wright, St. Lawrence University

Bitter Melon: Stories from the Last Rural Chinese Town in America, University of Washington Press, 1987, By Jeff Gillenkirk and James Motlow

Committing Photography ‐ Yes and No, But Mostly Yes. A Review Essay of Committing Photography, by Su Braden, Pluto Press, 1983

Sociology in a Changing World, by William Kornblum, Holt, Reinehart, and Winston, 1987     

Knowledge of Suicide Risk Factors,But Not Suicide Ideation Severity,Is Greater Among College Students Who Viewed 13 Reasons Why

Abstract

Objective: To test associations between viewing 13 Reasons Why, Season 1 and past week suicide ideation severity, behavior risk, stigma, and knowledge in college students. To explore whether personal exposure to suicide and depressive symptom severity moderated these associations. Participants: Eight-hundred and eighteen college students, 64% (n?=?522) of whom watched 13 Reasons Why. Methods: Students completed surveys online. Multivariate negative binomial regressions were used to test associations between watching 13 Reasons Why and suicide-related variables, and interaction terms. Results: Suicide ideation severity and suicide behavior risk were not significantly associated with viewing 13 Reasons Why; however, there was limited statistical power to detect associations. The association between watching 13 Reasons Why and greater suicide knowledge was stronger among those who did not have personal exposure to suicide. Conclusions: 13 Reasons Why may be a platform for psychoeducation on suicide, particularly among those who do not have personal exposure.     

In search of a lost people: Jews in present‐day Ukrainian historiography

A Relationship on Two Levels. Galia Golan, The Soviet Union and the Palestine Liberation Organization. An Uneasy Alliance. New York: Praeger, 1980. vii + 289pp. £15.25.

The Soviet ‘Black Book’ on the Holocaust. Vasily Grossman and Ilya Ehrenburg (comp. and eds.), Chernaya kniga (The Black Book), annotated and indexed by Mark Kipnis and Hayah Lifshits. Jerusalem: Tarbut Publishers, 1980. xx‐vii + 547pp. Illus. Name Index. Place Index.

A Valuable Account of Jewish Heroism. Reuben Ainsztein, The Warsaw Ghetto Revolt. New York: Holocaust Library, 1979. 238pp. Bibl. $4.95.

The Reality of National Bolshevism. Mikhail Agursky, Ideologiya natsional‐bolshevizma (The Ideology of National Bolshevism). Introduction by Leonard Schapiro. Paris: YMCA Press, 1980. 321pp. Notes. Bibliography.

Communist Zionism in the USSR. Baruch Gurevitz, National Communism in the Soviet Union, 1918–28. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh, 1980. xiii+ 121pp.     

Using the integrative model of behavioral prediction to understand college students’ STI testing beliefs,intentions, and behaviors

ABSTRACT

Objectives: To identify salient behavioral determinants related to STI testing among college students by testing a model based on the integrative model of behavioral (IMBP) prediction. Participants: 265 undergraduate students from a large university in the Southeastern US. Methods:Formative and survey research to test an IMBP-based model that explores the relationships between determinants and STI testing intention and behavior. Results: of path analyses supported a model in which attitudinal beliefs predicted intention and intention predicted behavior. Normative beliefs and behavioral control beliefs were not significant in the model; however, select individual normative and control beliefs were significantly correlated with intention and behavior. Conclusions: Attitudinal beliefs are the strongest predictor of STI testing intention and behavior. Future efforts to increase STI testing rates should identify and target salient attitudinal beliefs.     

Factors associated with emotional distress and suicide ideation among international college students

Abstract

Objective: To identify risk and protective factors associated with greater emotional distress and suicide ideation among international college students. Participants: International students (n?=?435) from two Midwestern and two Southeastern universities in the US. Methods: Online surveys were administered that measured emotional distress, past-year suicide ideation, entrapment, cultural stress, family conflict, perfectionism, ethnic discrimination, interpersonal needs, ethnic identity, and cultural sanctions against suicide. Results: In final linear regression analyses, higher levels of entrapment, unmet interpersonal needs, and ethnic discrimination were significantly associated with increased emotional distress. Only unmet interpersonal needs remained significantly associated with greater past-year suicide ideation in a multivariate regression analysis. Conclusions: Clinicians working with international students and prevention programmers targeting this population should address students’ perceptions of entrapment, ethnic discrimination, and especially unmet interpersonal needs in efforts to decrease or prevent students’ feelings of emotional distress and suicide ideation.     

Validity of the AUDIT-C screen for at-risk drinking among students utilizing university primary care

ABSTRACT

Objective: Research is needed to establish the psychometric properties of brief screens in university primary care settings. This study aimed to assess the construct validity of one such screen, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption (AUDIT-C), for detecting at-risk drinking among students who have utilized on-campus primary care.

Participants: 389 students recently seen in university primary care completed a confidential online survey in December 2014.

Methods: Bivariate correlations between the AUDIT-C and measures of alcohol consumption and negative drinking consequences provided concurrent evidence for construct validity. Receiver Operating Characteristic curve analyses determined optimal cut-off scores for at-risk drinking.

Results: The AUDIT-C significantly correlated with measures of alcohol consumption and negative drinking consequences (p < .001). Analyses support optimal AUDIT-C cut-off scores of 5 for females and 7 for males.

Conclusions: The AUDIT-C is a valid screen for at-risk drinking among students who utilize university primary care.     

Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorder Symptoms in College Students

Abstract

Objective: This study investigated the occurrence of obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders (OCSDs) and associated symptomology in college students. Participants: Participants included 358 undergraduate students. Results: Results suggest that clinically significant levels of OCSD symptoms are relatively common. Additionally, OCSD symptoms co-occurred with each other and anxiety symptoms in general, yet not significantly with impulsivity symptoms. Conclusions: Given their prevalence in college students and potentially debilitating nature, it is important to increase awareness of OCSDs so that health professionals can better identify and treat symptoms of these disorders.     

The Receptlveness of Health Risk Appraisals in Health Instruction

Abstract

Objectives: Data on effective strategies to enforce policies banning outdoor smoking are sparse. This study tested the effects of an enforcement package implemented on a college campus. Participants: Thirty-nine observers recorded compliance of 709 outside smokers. Methods: Smoking within 25 feet of buildings was noncompliant. The intervention included moving receptacles, marking the ground, improving signage, and distributing reinforcements and reminder cards. Results: The proportion of smokers complying with the ban was 33% during the baseline observation period, increased to 74% during the intervention week, and was at 54% during the follow-up. Differences across conditions was statistically significant (χ² (2, N = 709) = 6.299, p <.001). Compliance proportions varied by location in all conditions. Conclusions: Enforcing an outdoor smoking ban using a multiple component package increased compliance with the nonsmoking policy on a college campus.