Magda Reuter’s scientific contributions

The illness experience of 84 nursing students who smoked was observed to be significantly less favorable than that of 185 nonsmoking peers. The excess morbidity incurred by the smoking group was noted in respect to nonrespiratory as well as respiratory conditions. Smokers tended to be of greater stature and of relatively lighter weight than nonsmokers. They also included a greater proportion of students whose mental health status was identified as "questionable." Infants subsequently born to the smokers weighed less at birth than those born to the nonsmokers. This difference was especially conspicuous among female infants and was evidenced even after adjustments for the generally lighter birth weights also recorded for the mothers who smoked. Longitudinal studies are required to delineate the precise role of constitutional factors as well as the early and residual effects of smoking on health status.

The morbidity experience of 269 student nurses during a 28-month period of closely supervised training has been observed to be generally comparable with patterns reported for other population groups. The average frequency of illness involving absence from duty was 1.2 per year, representing a mean loss of 5.4 days per year. Respiratory conditions accounted for 47.8 percent of total absence from duty and digestive disorders for 9.4 percent. Injuries were responsible for 3.8 percent of days lost, and 5.1 percent was attributed to infections, predominantly of the skin. Infectious mononucleosis accounted for 6.2 percent of all absenteeism. A comparatively small proportion of the students accounted for a relatively large percentage of total group illness, in terms of absenteeism and visits to the student health service. The morbidity experience was significantly lower among students born in the first quarter of the year, as well as among two successive classes of the five represented in this study. Suggestive though not significant associations were noted between morbidity patterns and such variables as birth rank, maternal age, age at menarche, psychological status, social class, and ethnic origin.