American journal of epidemiology
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Chlamydia trachomatis was isolated from genital specimens from 21 (4.9%) of 431 female college students. Antibody to C. trachomatis was found in the genital secretions of 52 (11.9%) of 437 women. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed race, number of sexual partners, and use of barrier methods of contraception to be predictive of infection with C. trachomatis. ⋯ Women who used barrier methods of contraception also were less likely to have local chlamydial antibody. Women with cervical erythema were more likely to have local chlamydial antibody (4 of 11 (36.4%)) than women without cervical erythema (48 of 426 (11.3%)). Vaginal colonization with other sexually transmitted microorganisms (Mycoplasma hominis, Ureaplasma urealyticum, Trichomonas vaginalis) was noted more often among women with chlamydial infection than among uninfected women.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Prophylactic doxycycline for travelers' diarrhea in Thailand. Further supportive evidence of Aeromonas hydrophila as an enteric pathogen.
A randomized double-blind study to determine the efficacy of a three-week course of doxycycline (100 mg daily) in preventing travelers' diarrhea was performed in 1980 among 63 United States Peace Corps volunteers during their first five weeks in Thailand, an area where doxycycline-resistant enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli are known to be common. Eight (24%) of 33 volunteers taking placebo and 3 (10%) of 30 taking doxycycline developed travelers' diarrhea for a calculated protection of 59%, but this was not statistically significant (p = 0.12). ⋯ Enterotoxigenic E. coli was isolated from only one volunteer with travelers' diarrhea in the placebo group and from none in the doxycycline group. Doxycycline prophylaxis of travelers' diarrhea in this geographic area, though not shown to be significantly protective, further supports the role of A. hydrophila as an enteric pathogen.
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The influences of potential risk factors for benign breast disease were assessed using women twins in a matched pair design. Two groups of cases from the Kaiser-Permanente Twin Registry were considered: 1) 90 pairs of female twins in which one twin reported a history of benign breast disease confirmed by biopsy and her twin reported no history of benign breast disease, and 2) 48 pairs of female twins in which the case had clinically diagnosed fibrocystic benign breast disease and her twin was free of disease at examination and reported no history of the disease. Results were similar in these two samples. ⋯ Oral contraceptive use and greater body mass were inversely associated with benign breast disease after controlling for possible confounding variables by matched-pairs multiple logistic analysis. All associations were stronger for monozygotic than for dizygotic pairs. Twin pairs discordant for disease provide an excellent sample in which to assess the importance of potential risk factors while controlling for early environmental and genetic backgrounds.
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Women resident in six counties of Washington and Utah for whom diagnoses of epithelial ovarian cancer were made during 1975-1979 were interviewed concerning their menstrual, reproductive and medical histories. For comparison, interviews were also obtained from a random sample of women living in the same countries. ⋯ On the other hand, the lack of association found between the occurrence of ovarian cancer and either total dose or total time of exposure to noncontraceptive estrogens, or with a history of usage of thyroid medications, suggests that periods of reduced pituitary gonadotrophin secretion fail to reduce risk of ovarian cancer. Thus, although pregnancy, lactation and oral contraception appear to offer some protection against the development of epithelial ovarian cancer, the reasons remain obscure.
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To define better which types of hepatitis are prevalent among American soldiers, the authors studied 413 separate episodes of acute viral hepatitis among 412 soldiers admitted to US Army hospitals during 1978-1979. Most soldiers (68.8%) had acute hepatitis B (estimated annual hospitalization rate: 5.41/1000 soldiers in West Germany, 2.51/1000 in South Korea, less than 1/1000 in the United States). Subtype ayw was predominant in Germany, whereas adr was predominant in South Korea. ⋯ Non-A, non-B hepatitis accounted for 27% of cases in West Germany (2.16/1000), but only 3% in South Korea (0.11/1000); hepatitis A only 15% in South Korea (0.48/1000) and 1% in West Germany (0.08/1000). These findings indicate that hepatitis B is the most prevalent form of viral hepatitis among US soldiers worldwide but also suggest substantial differences in the epidemiology of this infection in South Korea and West Germany. Such data will be useful in developing hepatitis B immunization policy within the military.