ABSTRACT
Seventy-five persons (57 male and 18 female) with a high risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) were randomly assigned in equal numbers to three 8-week behavioral treatment programs. All three treatments were designed to alter simultaneously a number of risk-elevating behavior patterns, in the expectation that change in any one behavior pattern would reinforce change in others. Weight, blood pressure, and aerobic fitness were regularly assessed in all subjects. Serum lipids were also measured, but less frequently. All three interventions produced significant beneficial changes in the major objective measures, and the changes were well maintained after 12 months. The most improved group exhibited the following mean changes: weight loss of 9.2 kg, reductions in blood pressure of 12.9/8.8 mm Hg, improvement in aerobic capacity of 33%, reduction in serum cholesterol of 0.45 mmol/liter, and reduction in current overall CHD risk of 41%. The effectiveness of the interventions was positively related to the degree to which the programs emphasized training in, and detailed application of, behavioral change principles.
Subject(s)
Behavior Therapy/methods , Coronary Disease/prevention & control , Adult , Blood Pressure , Body Weight , Cholesterol/blood , Diet, Reducing , Dietary Fats/administration & dosage , Exercise Therapy , Feedback , Female , Goals , Health Education , Humans , Life Style , Male , Middle Aged , Physical Fitness , Random Allocation , Relaxation Therapy , Risk , Smoking Prevention , Triglycerides/bloodABSTRACT
Plastic surgery patients undergoing either local (LA) or general (GA) anaesthesia of at least forty-five minutes' duration and a non-patient control group were used to examine the extent and duration of deterioration in mental functioning following GA and the factors influencing such deterioration. Mental functioning was assessed by a battery of six tests administered one week before anaesthesia, four days after anaesthesia and six weeks after anaesthesia. Mental performance of GA patients but not of LA patients was significantly impaired on the fourth postoperative day. Six weeks after anaesthesia GA patients were still performing significantly below controls. There was marked variation in the pattern of recovery, some GA patients failing to regain their pre-operative level of performance after six weeks. Severity of deterioration following general anaesthesia was significantly correlated with habitual caffeine consumption.
