Here's another, tying in environmental exposures, with personality and other
possible predetermining factors:
I don't think ya'll can tell from the messages about these abstracts which
I'm sending here, but I'm also sending copies to congress/senate personnel,
and also to ABCNews, as they've had some recent episodes on Prime Time Live
and/or 20/20 on the subjects of PD & pallidotomies, as well as separate ones
on the health effects of Dioxin and of your average everyday, 'household'
pesticides. Perhaps I can generate enough interest in further attention to
combo of these issues.
By the way:;
Ruth - I personally don't know why fertilizers too were studied other than to
get an idea about the effects from all chemicals routinely used by farmers.
Dr. Norm Archer - That's all the info I've got at the moment as to the
details of these studies. I may eventually try to get full copies of the
articles, which would hopefully have more info. As to alternatives to these
chemicals, there are many, and I think as Ruth noted, info on them is readily
available, but in order to really have the alternatives incorpoarated into
routine pest management, we need both a change in attitude and the also
difficult change in the entrenched chemical/pesticide industry. I guess the
only way that'll happen, especially in a political cliimate where the
environment is once again going to get a very short-sighted shaft with much
of the pending legislation, is when People, vs mere animals, are proven to
also be victims. We have voices, and they don't, so once enough of us get
ill & fed up, maybe they'll listen. In the meantime, I trying to stir the
pot, and I'm also looking in to volunteering for a local wildlife preserve
which also promotes sustainable use of resources and organic agriculture. I
can't just complain about these issues, I want to be part of their soluton,
regardless of the final verdict with respect to pd.
(That was my little spiel for our hidden audience!). Anyway, here goes:
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2
AU - BELL IR
AU - SCHWARTZ GE
AU - AMEND D
AU - PETERSON JM
AU - KASZNIAK AW
AU - MILLER CS
TI - Psychological characteristics and subjective intolerance for
xenobiotic agents of normal young adults with trait shyness and
defensiveness: A Parkinsonian-like personality type?
SI - BIOSIS/94/26225
SO - JOURNAL OF NERVOUS AND MENTAL DISEASE; 182 (7). 1994. 367-374.
AB - BIOSIS COPYRIGHT: BIOL ABS. The present study examines the
psychological characteristics and self-reported responses to
xenobiotic agents such as tobacco smoke and pesticide of normal
young adults with personality traits similar to those claimed for
Parkinsonian patients. Previous research, though controversial,
has suggested that persons with idiopathic Parkinson's disease
(PD) have premorbid personality traits that may include shyness
and repressive defensiveness. Other epidemiological evidence
indicates that PD patients may have premorbidly increased
prevalence of anxiety, affective, and/or somatoform disorders;
decreased rates of smoking and alcohol consumption; and elevated
exposure to herbicides or pesticides. A total of 783 college
students enrolled in an introductory psychology course completed
the Cheek-Buss Scale (shyness), the Marlowe-Crowne Social
Desirability Scale (defensiveness), Symptom Checklist 90
(revised), the Mastery Scale, a health history checklist, and
rating scales for frequency of illness front alcohol and 10
common environmental chemicals. Subjects were divided into four
groups on the basis of above versus below-median scores on the
Cheek-Buss and Marlowe-Crowne scales (persons high in shyness and
defensiveness, those high only in shyness, those high only in
defensiveness, and those low in both shyness and defensiveness).
The group high in shyness but low in defensiveness had the
highest, whereas the group low in shyness but high in
defensiveness had the lowest, total scores on the SCL-90-R; the
two shyest groups were lowest in sense of mastery. Similar to PD,
the group high in both shyness and defensiveness overall reported
the least number of smokers (10% vs. 19% in those high only in
shyness, 17% in those high only in defensiveness, and 28% in
those low in both traits, p < .001); differences within women
largely accounted for this finding. Subjects higher in shyness
and/or defensiveness rated themselves higher in frequency of
illness from a small amount of alcohol than did those who were
low in both shyness and defensiveness. The group who was high in
both shyness and defensiveness tended to report the highest
frequency of illness from pesticide as well as other xenobiotic
odors (e.g., newsprint). Taken together with previous research,
the findings suggest that certain young adults high in shyness,
and especially those also high in defensiveness, may be among the
subset of the population at increased risk for PD later in life.
MH - HUMAN
MH - SOCIAL BEHAVIOR
MH - ECOLOGY
MH - BEHAVIOR
MH - HUMAN
MH - BIOCHEMISTRY
MH - NERVOUS SYSTEM DISEASES/PATHOLOGY
MH - MENTAL DISORDERS/THERAPY/PATHOLOGY
MH - PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
MH - MENTAL DISORDERS/PHYSIOPATHOLOGY
MH - PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY
MH - *POISONING
MH - ANIMALS, LABORATORY
MH - ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS/POISONING
MH - OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES
MH - HERBICIDES
MH - PEST CONTROL/METHODS
MH - PESTICIDES
MH - HOMINIDAE
RN - 28289-54-5; 110-54-3; 64-17-5
