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ABSTRACT: To examine racial/ethnic disparity in and predictors of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) among men.
We used the National Health Interview Surveys (NHIS) 1999-2000 data, a multistage probability sampling design producing a U.S. representative sample of 23,459 adult males. Data were analyzed using multinomial logistic regression.
The likelihood of engaging in irregular or regular LTPA was associated with younger age, being unmarried, lower household sizes, higher levels of education and income, home ownership, U.S. citizenship, perceived better health status, contact with a health professional within a year, being a non-smoker, living in the West, and residing in a midsize metropolitan statistical area. Hispanics were significantly less likely to engage in regular LTPA than Whites and higher percentages of Hispanics were physically inactive in almost all age and education groups when compared to other races. Disparity between Whites and Blacks was less pronounced. Non-citizen Hispanics were twice as likely to be inactive than citizens and White non-citizens were 40% more likely to be inactive than citizens. Conversely, Black citizens were 20% more likely to be inactive than non-citizens.
Racial/ethnic disparities exist after accounting for socio-demographic characteristics. Not being a citizen exacerbates the disparity between Hispanic and White men. While disparity did exist between Black and White men, this gap was not as large as between Hispanic and White men. Health-seeking behaviors, such as contact with a health professional and non-smoking status are modifiable and influence men of all racial and ethnic backgrounds to engage in LTPA.
Ethnicity & disease 02/2005; 15(1):40-52. · 0.90 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Nearly 50,000 new cases of primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) are diagnosed annually in the United States. Most information about the disease focuses on the white population. We evaluated African American (AA) and white patients at our tertiary care university medical center to determine whether there was a racial difference in presentation of PHPT. A retrospective chart review of patients treated surgically for PHPT between 1997 and 2002 was performed. Demographic data, laboratory values, objective symptoms, surgical procedure, and histologic findings were recorded. The AA participants were matched to whites by age and gender. The effect of race was adjusted for the matching variables by including them in regression models. ANOVA chi2 tests were performed on the race effects. Thirty-six (14.4%) of the 286 patients treated for PHPT at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center during this 5-year period were AA. There was no difference in serum calcium or presence of objective symptoms, but PTH levels were significantly higher for blacks (207.5 vs 143.5 pg/mL; P = 0.02). In our study, AA patients had significantly higher parathyroid hormone levels at time of surgical intervention but did not present with a difference in symptoms or more advanced disease. Further research is recommended to characterize ethnic differences in patients with PHPT.
The American surgeon 07/2004; 70(6):504-6. · 1.28 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: To determine the relation of hemostatic markers to cardiovascular fitness and adiposity and the effect of physical training (PT) on these markers. Study design: Seventy-four obese teenagers were randomly assigned to 8 months of lifestyle education (LSE), LSE plus moderate-intensity PT, or LSE plus high-intensity PT. Measures included fibrinogen, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), D-dimer, C-reactive protein (CRP), fitness, percent body fat (%BF), and visceral adiposity (VAT).
At baseline, fibrinogen and CRP were significantly correlated with %BF and VAT (0.27 </= r </= 0.51), and fitness (r = -0.39, r = -0.43, respectively); PAI-1 with %BF (r = 0.30) and VAT (r = 0.48); D-dimer with fitness (r = -0.24). Although PT produced significant changes in fitness and adiposity, there were no significant group differences in the hemostatic markers. Change in PAI-1 was significantly correlated with its baseline value (r = -0.47) and change in %BF (r = 0.38). Changes in D-dimer and CRP were significantly correlated with their respective baseline values (r = -0.68,r = -0.48, respectively).
Unfavorable levels of fitness and adiposity were associated with higher levels of hemostatic markers, putting individuals with this profile at greater risk for future cardiovascular disease. No evidence was provided that 8 months of PT had a direct influence on these markers in obese youths.
Journal of Pediatrics 10/2002; 141(3):415-20. · 4.11 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Multiple factors contribute to exercise intolerance in patients with sickle cell anemia, but little information exists regarding the safety of maximal cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) or the mechanisms of exercise limitation in these patients. The purpose of the present study was to examine these issues. Seventeen adult women with sickle cell anemia underwent symptom-limited maximal CPET using cycle ergometry and ramp protocols; blood gases and lactate concentrations were measured every 2 minutes. All patients completed CPET without complications. No patient demonstrated a mechanical ventilatory limitation to exercise or had evidence of myocardial ischemia. However, we observed three pathophysiologic patterns of response to exercise in these patients. Eleven patients had low peak VO2, low anaerobic threshold (AT), gas exchange abnormalities, and high ventilatory reserve; this pattern is consistent with exercise limitation due to pulmonary vascular disease in this patient subgroup. Three patients had low peak VO2, low AT, no gas exchange abnormalities, and a high heart rate reserve, a pattern consistent with peripheral vascular disease and/or a myopathy. The remaining three patients had low peak VO2, low AT, no gas exchange abnormalities, and a low heart rate reserve; this pattern of exercise limitation is best explained by anemia.
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine 06/2002; 165(9):1309-16. · 11.08 Impact Factor
