Survival outlook for middle-aged populations in South Africa

The following topics are discussed, with special reference to changing patterns in the South African populations: (i) diet; (ii) mortality of the young; (iii) growth, overweight and obesity; (iv) arterial disease; (v) mortality in the middle-aged and elderly. The view is reached that with progressive sophistication .of diet and manner of life, the concomitant change from infections and nutritional deficiencies to degenerative diseases, as main causes of death at middle-age and beyond, reduces rather than increases chances of survival. The possibility that the ultimate longevity of populations may be genetically programmed is briefly discussed.S. Afr. Med. J., 48, 2053 (1974)

Studies Bearing on Coronary Heart Disease in South African Populations

In South Africa, populations may be observed in various stages of transition from primitiveness to sophistication. Among them there are different prevalences of coronary heart disease (CHD); it is very common in Whites, somewhat less common in Indians, but remains rare in Bantu. Information on these populatio.ls is presented in relation to expectation of life and age structure, prevalences of serum cholesterol level, hypertension, overweight, smokIng, physical inactivity and stress. It is considered that risk factors, in respect of CHD proneness, do not have the same connotations of noxiousness in different populations. In seeking to avoid the ill-effects of CHD risk factors, it is considered that the likelihood of persons, particularly the young, significantly altering their habits to reduce or delay CHD, is very remote.S. Afr. Med. J., 47, 85 (1973

EditorialCancer balance sheet and good news

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Erratum

In the editorial entitled 'Are our health goals realistic or idealistic?' by A. R. P. Walker et al., which appeared on pp. 235 - 237 of the April 1995 SAMJ, the infant mortality rates quoted in the second paragraph of the left-hand column on p. 236 should have been expressed as per 1 000 live births and not as percentages. Reference 23 was also incorrect, and should have read as follows:23. lunes RF, Monteiro CA. The improvement in child nutritional status in Brazil: howdid it occur? 15th International Congress of Nutrition, Adelaide. Australia, 26 Sep - 1 Dct 1993 (Abstracts Book 2. p. 747)

Editorial: World Health Organisation 'Healthy Life Expectancy in 191 Countries, 1999' - What of the future?

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Interest in healthy living outweighs presumed cultural norms for obesity for Ghanaian women

BACKGROUND: Cultural norms indicate that obesity reflects increased wealth and prosperity. Yet obesity is linked to serious medical illnesses. The purpose of this study was to determine if Ghanaian women would change their body image if it meant a healthier life. METHODS: A questionnaire was administered to 305 Ghanaian women waiting for clinic appointments at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra Ghana. This survey included questions on current health, selection of figural stimuli, decision making on health and social determinants and 5 questions on self-perception of health from SF-36. Anthropometric measures were taken and body mass index calculated. Women were also provided with health related information at the conclusion of the interview. RESULTS: The majority of all women surveyed would reduce their current body image if it meant that they would have an overall healthier life and reduce the risks of obesity-linked illnesses and complications. Currently obese women were significantly more likely than non-obese women to reduce their body image to reduce the risk of hypertension (OR 2.03 [1.64 – 2.51],<0.001); cardiovascular accident (OR 1.96 [1.61 – 2.38],<0.001); diabetes (OR 2.00 [1.63 – 2.44],<0.001); myocardial infarction (OR 2.27 [1.80 – 2.86],<0.001); if requested by a spouse(OR 2.64 [1.98 – 3.52],<0.001); and to improve overall health (OR 1.95 [1.60 – 2.37], <0.001). There was no association with current body image and responses to SF-36. The decision to select a new body image was not influenced by education, income, marital status or parity. Age 50 years old and less was significantly associated with the body image size reduction to reduce the risk of hypertension, diabetes, and a cardiovascular accident. CONCLUSION: The Ghanaian women interviewed in this study are interested in living a healthy life and are willing to reduce their body size to reduce the risk of obesity-linked illnesses. The target group for any interventional studies and measures to reduce obesity appears to be women age 50 and younger

Be stars and binaries in the field of the SMC open cluster NGC330 with VLT-FLAMES

Observations of hot stars belonging to the young cluster SMC-NGC330 and its surrounding region were obtained with the VLT-GIRAFFE facilities in MEDUSA mode. We investigated the B and Be star properties and proportions in this environment of low metallicity. We also searched for rapid variability in Be stars using photometric databases. With spectroscopic measurements we characterized the emission and properties of Be stars. By cross-correlation with photometric databases such as MACHO and OGLE, we searched for binaries in our sample of hot stars, as well as for short-term variability in Be stars. We report on the global characteristics of the Be star sample (131 objects). We find that the proportion of early Be stars with a large equivalent width of the Halpha emission line is higher in the SMC than in the LMC and MW. We find a slight increase in the proportion of Be stars compared to B-type stars with decreasing metallicity. We also discovered spectroscopic and photometric binaries, and for the latter we give their orbital period. We identify 13 Be stars with short-term variability. We determine their period(s) and find that 9 Be stars are multiperiodic.Comment: english not yet corrected, 23 pages, 4th article about the study in the LMC NGC2004 and SMC NGC33

The near-IR Surface Brightness Method applied to six Cepheids in the young LMC cluster NGC1866

We present new near-IR light curves for six Cepheids in the young blue LMC cluster NGC1866 as well as high precision radial velocity curves for ten Cepheids in NGC1866 and two in NGC2031. For the six Cepheids in NGC1866 with new J and K light curves we determine distances and absolute magnitudes by applying the near-IR surface brightness method. We find that the formal error estimates on the derived distances are underestimated by about a factor of two. We find excellent agreement between the absolute magnitudes for the low metallicity LMC Cepheids with the Period-Luminosity (P-L) relation determined by the near-IR surface brightness (ISB) method for Galactic Cepheids suggesting that the slope of the P-L relations for low metallicity and solar metallicity samples could be very similar in contrast to other recent findings. Still there appears to be significant disagreement between the observed slopes of the OGLE based apparent P-L relations in the LMC and the slopes derived from ISB analysis of Galactic Cepheids, and by inference for Magellanic Cloud Cepheids, indicating a possible intrinsic problem with the ISB method itself. Resolving this problem could reaffirm the P-L relation as the prime distance indicator applicable as well to metallicities significantly different from the LMC value.Comment: 14 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic