Annotated bibliography on vital and health statistics.

  • United States. Office of Health Statistics Analysis.
Date:
1970
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annotated bibliography on vital and health statistics. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    98/164 (page 82)
    ods, it is clear that most available CHD prevalence esti- NEWCOMBE, H. B. Familial tendencies in diseases of children. In British Columbia, registrations of live births, still- births, and deaths in infancy and childhood, together with records from a register of handicapped children and adults, were “linked” by computer into family group- ings. 12,827 “affected” children are represented together with their unaffected brothers and sisters from among 215,795 children born 1952-58. Almost all the condi- tions studied showed some tendency to repeat in the tions, widely different degrees of familial association were observed. ‘‘Monstrosity,” blindness, and death from diarrhea were among the most likely to recur in the later-born siblings of index cases, while congenital mal- formations of the circulatory system showed the smallest measurable familial tendency. A wider range of diseases may be more strongly correlated with social circum- stances than heretofore thought. 11 tables. 10 refer- NEWCOME, H. B., TAVENDALE, O. G. Effects of father’s age on the risk of child handicap or death. Special risks to children associated with age of the father have been studied from 8,928 registrations of child hand- icaps and deaths among individuals born in British Co- lumbia, 1953-58. Handicap and death records were “linked” by computer to the birth registrations. The combined data for all causes show a significantly in- creased risk among children of fathers aged 45 and over. This effect persists after possible contributions from a maternal age effect and the close correlation of fathers’ with mothers’ ages have been removed. A similar and statistically significant paternal age effect is observed for respiratory diseases and congenital malformations. Possi- ble origins of the paternal age effects are discussed. Elevated frequencies of mutant genes or chromosomes in the reproductive cells of aging fathers might perhaps contribute to the effect as seen in the data for congenital malformations. Such a contribution would be difficult to establish, however, without more information. 14 PENROSE, L. S. The effects of change in maternal age distribution upon the incidence of mongolism. Only two figures are available on the absolute incidence of mongolism in England and Wales: 1/629 for 1938 and 1/666 for 1951. Both figures are based on recorded births, not including miscarriages. However, relative inci- dence rates in different maternal age groups are available. These can be applied to the distribution of ali births (converted into proportions so as to be independent of changes in the number of births) by maternal age for any year. Examples are given for 1939 and 1964. Changes in the maternal age distribution between these two periods results in a 24% decrease in the relative incidence of mongolism from 1939 to 1964. 3 tables. 1 figure. 3 PITT; D} Screening tests for biochemical defects in infancy. Universal testing techniques for biochemical defects among infants are needed, so that indicated treatment may be initiated early. The incidence seems to be as high as 1 in 4,000. The most important is phenylketonuria, which up until now has been diagnosed by urine tests. Experience in Victoria has confirmed the incompleteness of this method. Of 13 patients with phenylketonuria, born since 1961, only 5 were found by present methods. In view of the inconstant excretion of metabolities in the urine, a universal blood testing method is needed, such as the Guthrie test. American experience indicates its effi- ciency in detecting cases more frequently (as high as 1 in 8,000), and earlier (before the end of the first week). 3 RENWICK, D.H. Estimating prevalence of certain chronic childhood con- ditions by use of a central registry. Pub Health Rep 82:261-9, Mar 67. Estimates of minimal age-specific “prevalence” rates for 1964 of certain chronic diseases of children are made from data in the Central Registry in British Columbia begun over a decade ago. Problems in the actual rates obtained are discussed in terms of the completeness of registration of cases. 4 tables. 1 figure. 14 refer- RENWICK, D. H. MILLER, J. R., COLLINS, J. F. Why search for congenital defects. Canad Med Ass J 96:1423-5, 27 May 67. Registries have many uses in the study of congenital defects: (1) as a central clearing house of information and as a referral liaison center, (2) for studies on preva- lence and incidence, (3) for studies involving specific combinations of congenital defects, (4) for studies of mortality associated with specific defects or combina- tions thereof, (5) for genetic and familial studies, and (6) for studies of different types of rare cardiovascular mal- formations that would be difficult to find in small survey. samples. Limitations of this method for research pur- poses are discussed. 14 references. (Ed) ROBINSON, N. M., ROBINSON, H. B. A followup study of children of low birth weight and control children at school age. Pediatrics 35:425-33, Mar 65. Comprehensive followup of survivors of matched groups of low and mature birth weight infants, born in Wake County, North Carolina, when the children were 8 to 10 years old. A higher proportion of the tiniest infants had sustained major physical defects (24% vs 2% in other groups). This group was significantly smaller in weight and head size, and tended to come from more disadvan- taged socioeconomic backgrounds. Comparisons of data from physical and psychological examinations, social his- tories, and school reports tended to find only a few significant differences among the groups, all of which were probably related more closely to social background than to birth weight per se. The data indicate that, aside from physical size and major physical defects, social class assumes much more importance than does birth weight in determining a child’s developmental prognosis. 5 ta-