ObjectiveThis report documents that the gastric bypass operation provides long-term control for obesity and diabetes. Summary Background DataObesity and diabetes, both notoriously resistant to medical therapy, continue to be two of our most common and serious diseases. MethodsOver the last 14 years, 608 morbidly obese patients underwent gastric bypass, an operation that restricts caloric intake by (1) reducing the functional stomach to approximately 30 mL, (2) delaying gastric emptying with a c. 0.8 to 1.0 cm gastric outlet, and (3) excluding foregut with a 40 to 60 cm Roux-en-Y gastrojejunostomy. Even though many of the patients were seriously ill, the operation was performed with a perioperative mortality and complication rate of 1.5% and 8.5%, respectively. Seventeen of the 608 patients (<3%) were lost to follow-up. ResultsGastric bypass provides durable weight control. Weights fell from a preoperative mean of 304.4 lb (range, 198 The operation provides long-term control of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). In those patients with adequate follow-up, 121 of 146 patients (82.9%) with NIDDM and 150 of 152 patients (98.7%) with glucose impairment maintained normal levels of plasma glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, and insulin. These antidiabetic effects appear to be due primarily to a reduction in caloric intake, suggesting that insulin resistance is a secondary protective effect rather than the initial lesion. In addition to the control of weight and NIDDM, gastric bypass also corrected or alleviated a number of other comorbidities of obesity, including hypertension, sleep apnea, cardiopulmonary failure, arthritis, and infertility. 339

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Our data suggest that elective cesarean is only partially effective in preventing pelvic organ prolapse. Cesarean delivery during active labor and vaginal delivery had a similar effect on the maternal pelvic support. This indicates that prolapse developed during the first and not the second stage of labor. Black women are as susceptible to developing prolapse during childbirth as their white counterparts.

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The prevalence of incontinence symptoms is significantly different among black, Hispanic, and white women.

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This study explores the association between sunlight exposure and senile cataract, taking into account such individual differences as skin sensitivity to sunlight and the use of sun-shielding devices, i.e., sunglasses and hats. A case-control study was conducted among 160 matched pairs of subjects between October 1, 1984 and June 1, 1985 at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, Iowa. Cases were selected from among all patients admitted for inpatient or outpatient cataract surgery who were at least 40 years old. Controls were selected from among those waiting for a friend or relative who was attending one of the ophthalmology clinics. Controls were matched to the cases on a 1:1 basis on sex and age (+/- one year). No association was observed between history of sunlight exposure and senile cataract. However, independent of sunlight exposure, the cases with nuclear cataracts reported a more severe acute skin response upon exposure to sunlight for the first time in the summer (a severe burn with blistering) than did their age- and sex-matched controls (McNemar odds ratio (OR) = 1.73, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03-2.91). In addition, independent of sunlight exposure, the male controls reported a greater average lifetime use of head coverings in summer which shaded their eyes from the sun than did their age- and sex-matched cases (McNemar OR = 0.48, 95% CI: 0.25-0.94).

Most trauma affecting Hispanic farm workers in Eastern North Carolina is not directly occupational and happens in conjunction with recreational activity, where alcohol is an important risk factor. The human and financial cost resulting from such injuries is of such magnitude that it deserves consideration by everybody who is involved in shaping policies in agriculture, immigration and rural public health.