Scope - Volume 06, Number 02

              Loma Linda University
Loma Linda, Calif. 92354
sity
Vol. 6, No. 2 Wednesday, February 5, 1969
Alumni- Student Convention
scheduled for March 6 and 7
Loma Linda University's
ninth annual School of Den
tistry Alumni- Student Conven
tion has been scheduled for
March 6 and 7, announces
Charles T. Smith, DDS, dean
of the School of Dentistry.
Attendance of more than
1,200 dentists, dental hygienists,
and students of the two pro
fessions is expected at the
convention on the Loma Linda
campus.
Keynote speech will be given
Thursday morning, March 6, by
Carlton H. Williams, DDS,
speaker, House of Delegates of
the American Dental Associa
tion. Dr. Williams, in private
general practice, has served as
president of the Southern Cali
fornia Dental Association, the
San Diego - County Dental So
ciety, and California's Service
Corporation, California Dental
Service.
Dr. Williams is a member of
the board of directors of the
American Institute of Oral
Biology, a member of the
American Academy of Perio-dontology,
and a member of the
American Academy of Restora
tive Dentistry. He has been
hoiiortu by electro *~ fellow
ship in the American College^ of
Dentists and the International
College of Dentists.
During his tenure as a mem
ber of the House of Delegates
of the American Dental Associ
ation since 1954, he served as
chairman of the Committee on
Rules and Order in 1964 and
was elected to the office of
Speaker of the House in 1966,
1967, and 1968.
Highlighting the convention
will be the student table clinic
competition, to be judged by a
Joint research study
panel of seven leading dental
authorities. The scientific ex
hibits, originated and prepared
by dental and dental hygiene
students, display advances in
basic science and research and
Continued on page 8
2000 physicians expected
to attend annual conclave
The 37th annual Alumni Postgraduate Convention sponsored by the Alumni Associ
ation and the faculty of Loma Linda University School of Medicine will be held in the
Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles, and on the Loma Linda campus of the University
An estimated 2,000 physicians from across the nation are expected to attend activi-
, = ties of the February 14- 20 con
vention which will include re
fresher courses in various medi
cal specialty areas taught on
the Loma Linda campus by
School of Medicine faculty
members, and a scientific pro
gram featuring current research
reports by authorities from
leading United States schools of
medicine.
Refresher courses
Alumni as well as interested
physicians are invited to regis
ter for the refresher courses
beginning Sunday, February 16,
at 8 a. m. at the School of Medi
cine Alumni Association office
in the University Arts Building,
24887 Taylor Street, Loma
Linda.
A certificate of the Ameri
can Academy of General Prac
tice credit for the number of
hours attended will be provided
of the Academy at
Photo by Eugene Hood
LOMA LrlNDA UNIVERSITY TRUSTEES pose for a formal picture in front of Nichol Hall. Pictured
left to right ( first row) are David J. Bieber, Walter R. Beach, W. John Blacker, Reinhold R. Bietz,
Robert H. Pierson, Lowell R. Rasmussen, Ralph F. Waddell, David B. Hinshaw, and Howard B. Weeks,
( second row) Neal C. Wilson, Ivor C. Woodward, Cree Sandefur, Francis W. Wernick, Max C. Tor-kelson,
Harry Schrillo, W. Paul Bradley, Mary C. Monteith, and Alvin G. Munson, ( third row) J.
William Bothe Francis R. Millard, Jere D. Smith, E. E. Cossentine, Helmuth C. Retzer, George B.
Nelson, and Elton L. Morel, ( fourth row) John W. Stevens, Mervyn G. Hardinge, Harley E. Rice,
Jesse L. Dittberner, and Frank N. Spangler.
ic assemoiy at tne
Ambassador Hotel will combine
research reports by national
medical authorities with discus
sions, clinical films, and closed-circuit
color television demon
strations of medical and surgi
cal problems and techniques.
Included among the speakers
are Thomas T. Noguchi, MD,
Los Angeles county chief medi
cal examiner- coroner and clini
cal professor of pathology at
Continued on page 7
Survey reveals SDA's are more healthy
Why do Seventh- day Adven-tists
seem to live longer than
their non- Seventh- day Adven-tist
counterparts?
A research project jointly
sponsored by the School of Med
icine and the School of Public
Health may reveal the answer
to this question, according to
Richard T. Walden, MD, as
sistant dean of the School of
Public Health and director of
the project.
The current research project
examining the causes of deaths
among California Seventh- day
Adventists had its beginnings in
1957 when Frank R. Lemon,
MD, then associate professor of
preventive medicine and public
health, and director of the pro
ject, began a study of lung can
cer in the non- smoking popu
lation.
Study enlarged
Later the study was enlarged
to include all causes of deaths
among California Adventists
above the age of 40.
Through the cooperation of
the Pacific Union Conference of
Seventh- day Adventists, local
Adventist churches, county gov
ernments of the state of Cali
fornia, and the United States
Public Health Service, Dr. Wal
den, who joined the project in
1959, and Dr. Lemon were able
to obtain 98.8 percent of all
death certificates of Adventists
who died during the years 1955
through 1959.
Seventh- day Adventists, by
the definition set up by Drs.
Lemon and Walden, included
any person who was listed on
the church roster.
" Even though a Seventh- day
Adventist had been out of the
church for a number of years,
but was listed as a member, we
still counted him," Dr. Walden
says. " This probably hurt our
statistics in the sense that it
diluted them, but we had to
have a working definition of
what constituted a Seventh- day
Adventist."
In 1958 the study was again
enlarged. Questionaires reques
ting data concerning their oc
cupation, age, sex, race, geo
graphical location, and other
pertinent information were sent
to selected California Adven
tists. These formed the basis for
a long- term prospective study.
" We are now following this
population," Dr. Walden says.
" Of those who died since we
began this study, we have the
death certificates on hand and
know the cause of death."
The population participating
in the study is divided into ana
logous groups by age, race, geo
graphical location, and occupa
tion.
" You can't compare a Seven
th- day Adventist lady who is
22 years old with a non- Adven-tist
gentleman who is 75 years
of age," according to Dr. Wal
den. " You must compare them
sex by sex, age by age, race by
race, and occupation by occu
pation.
" Occupation has a lot to do
with cause of death. Whoever
heard of a secretary taking
physical risks while sitting at a
^ esk? Comparing her with a
Valentine's banquet
set for February 13
A semiformal Valentine's
banquet for Loma Linda cam
pus students and faculty is
scheduled for Thursday, Feb
ruary 13, at the top of the Palm
Springs Aerial Tramway, Palm
Springs.
Cost of the banquet is $ 4 per
person which
includes the
fare up the
tramway, meal,
and entertain
ment. The meal
will be served
at 7 p. m. Guests
may arrive at
the tramway
earlier for
Mr. Pearson sightseeing if
they wish.
Master of ceremonies for the
evening's events will be former
California Angels baseball star
Continued on page 5
structural steel worker working
30 floors up wouldn't be fair."
( Currently P. William Dy-singer,
MD, associate professor
of tropical health, and Jan W.
Kuzma, PhD, assistant profes
sor of biostatistics, are working
on an accident research study.
Preliminary studies show that
Adventists have only 35 per
cent as many accidents as non-
Adventists.)
The School of Public Health
has data taken from the ques-tionaries
turned in by 57,000
Seventh- day Adventists living
in the state of California; this
is recorded on data processing
cards.
The Loma Linda University
researchers felt that subtract
ing the 57,000 Seventh- day Ad
ventists from the California
population, at that time 16 mil
lion, wouldn't upset their find
ings or cause any significant
change in statistics on the
death rate of Californians in
general.
" If Seventh- day Adventists
die from the same diseases as
non- Adventists, then they
should die at the same rate,"
Dr. Walden says. " Our statis
tics show that Adventists' ' ob
served' deaths from all causes
are only 50 percent of those of
the general California popula
tion; that is, the ' observed' rate
of dying is only 50 percent of
the ' expected' rate. Adventists
have a five to six year greater
life expectancy than their non-
Adventist counterparts."
Statistics from the study in
dicate that compared, death for
death, with the general popula
tion of California, 70 percent
fewer die from all types of can
cer; 68 percent fewer of respi
ratory diseases; 88 percent
fewer from tuberculosis; and 85
percent fewer from pulmonary
emphysema.
Lung cancer
Only nine cases of cancer of
the lung were found among Ad
ventists. Further investigation
revealed that in each of these
cases, the victim had at one
time been a smoker.
" Since Seventh- day Advent
ists have a significantly lower
incidence of cancer of all forms
than non- Adventists," Dr. Wal
den says, " and practically no
lung cancer, there must be
some heretofore unsuspected
factor involved in the causes of
cancer."
Dr, Walden and Raymond O.
West, MD, associate professor
of preventive medicine and pub
lic health, are about to launch a
new project comparing Adven
tist vegetarians with those who
are non- vegetarian.
Continued on page 11