Stress in New Zealand farmers

This was a cross‐sectional study of stress in a stratified, random sample of New Zealand farmers (n = 1015). Data were obtained on farming‐specific environmental stressors, demographics and farm information. The stressor questionnaire grouped questions into seven sections; policy and procedures, finance, time pressures, hazards in farming, unpredictable factors in farming, geographical isolation, and community issues. The response rate was 60 per cent of farms. The most stressful events were ‘increased work load at peak times’, ‘dealing with workers’ compensation', ‘bad weather’, and ‘complying with health and safety legislation’. There were differences between men and women regarding stress experienced. Factor analysis found that the proposed model of farm‐specific stressors fitted the data moderately well. Age, being separated or divorced, being a deer farmer, the farm not making a profit in the last year, and supervising staff were independently associated with higher stress. The study highlights certain stressful factors that may be alleviated by action by farmer and government organizations as well as rural communities, including matters to do with staffing and health and safety, and financial and community support. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Relation between respiratory symptoms, type of farming, and lung function disorders in farmers.

Respiratory symptoms and function were examined in a random sample of 181 farmers (124 pig farmers and 57 dairy farmers) with a mean age of 43 years. Wheezing and shortness of breath during work in the animal house were significantly associated with pig farming (odds ratio 11.4), current smoking (odds ratio 2.2), bronchial hyperreactivity (odds ratio 3.8), and low FEV1 (odds ratio 3.4). Pig farmers had a slightly lower FEV1 than dairy farmers (101% versus 104% predicted, NS). Symptomatic farmers had significantly lower FEV1 than symptomless farmers (93% versus 106% predicted). A multiple linear regression analysis of the cross sectional values of FEV1 showed that there was a decline in FEV1 associated with pig farming (-12 ml/year of pig farming) and smoking (-23 ml/pack year) in addition to the age related decline of 32 ml/year. A multiple linear regression analysis of PC20 histamine showed that bronchial reactivity increased with age, number of pack years, and number of years in pig farming. Work in closed pig rearing units is a pulmonary health hazard and causes decline in lung function.     

Lung function of farmers in England and Wales

A study was performed to compare respiratory symptoms and lung function measurements in a sample of male farmers and farmworkers in different regions of England and Wales with the results obtained in a similar number of control men working in industries in the same areas. A total of 428 farmers and farmworkers drawn from 146 farms were studied. The prevalence of symptoms of chronic bronchitis assessed by the Medical Research Council questionnaire did not differ between farmers and controls. Farmers were older, taller, and heavier than controls; were less likely to smoke; and had significantly higher forced vital capacity (FVC). When each of these factors was taken into account, together with social class and geographical region, in a multiple linear regression analysis farmers were found to have significantly lower forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and forced mid expiratory flow rate (FEF25-75). Among the farmers, those doing dairy farming and silage work were the only groups on their own to have significantly reduced lung function. The results of this survey suggest the need for further exploration of the mechanism of an effect of farming occupations on lung function.     

Respiratory symptoms in Danish farmers: an epidemiological study of risk factors.

An epidemiological study was performed with a self administered questionnaire in a representative sample of 1685 Danish farmers. The purpose of the study was to assess the prevalence of self reported asthma, wheezing during work, and symptoms of chronic bronchitis and to evaluate possible risk factors for the development of these symptoms. A response rate of 73.3% was obtained. The prevalence of asthma was 7.7% and of chronic bronchitis 23.6% in responders. The prevalence of asthma and chronic bronchitis increased from 3.6% and 17.9% in 31-50 year old farmers to 11.8% and 33.0% in 51-70 year old farmers, and from 5.5% and 17.5% in dairy farmers to 10.9% and 32.0% in pig farmers. A logistic regression analysis with correction for age and smoking habits confirmed that pig farming was a risk factor for asthma (odds ratio 2.03), chronic bronchitis (odds ratio 1.53), and wheezing during work (odds ratio 3.33).     

The association between stress,sense of coherence and subjective health complaints in adolescents: sense of coherence as a potential moderator

The present study investigated the association between domain‐specific stress, sense of coherence (SOC) and subjective health complaints (SHC), as well as the possible moderation effect of SOC on the relationship between stress and SHC. The study is based on responses from 1183 adolescents 13–18 years old. The initial results showed that girls scored higher than boys on all stress domains and on SHC. Conversely, boys reported stronger SOC. Results from the hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed a significant association between increasing stress related to each of the stress domains of peer pressure, home life, school attendance, as well as to a higher level of SHC. SOC was inversely related to SHC. However, no moderation effect of SOC was found. The findings in the present study thus show that stress and SOC are separately associated with SHC. The results support the importance of improving coping efficacy with stress during adolescence. The results also give some preliminary support for the view that promoting salutogenic factors has positive implications in relation to subjective health in adolescents. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A sample validation of the Adolescent Stress Questionnaire (ASQ) in New Zealand

The Adolescent Stress Questionnaire (ASQ) is a 56‐item scale measuring stress in 10 domains. The scale has been tested in a number of countries worldwide with mixed support. The current study tested the factor structure, construct validity, and reliability in a sample (n = 1,601) comprising a general population of adolescents in New Zealand. Support was found for the 10‐factor structure with adequate internal consistency as well as strong factorial invariance between male and female participants. Significant inverse correlations were found between all ASQ domains and both life satisfaction and perceived academic achievement. Most ASQ domains revealed gender differences, with female participants reporting greater stress than males. Toward a nonbinary perspective of gender, gender‐neutral participants reported greater stress than males and females in certain stress domains. Results based on regression analyses indicate that nonacademic ASQ domains were generally related to life satisfaction whereas academic ASQ domains were related to perceived academic achievement. Positive and negative interaction effects were observed between gender and ASQ domains on life satisfaction and academic achievement. Overall, the current results indicate that the ASQ appears to be a reliable, valid instrument for adolescent stress in New Zealand with relevance to perceived life satisfaction and achievement.     

Socio-environmental risk factors for medically-attended agricultural injuries in Wisconsin dairy farmers

BackgroundAccidents are common in the agricultural industry, particularly among dairy farmers. How said farmers get hurt is well established, but far less is known about how distal, socio-environmental factors influence injuries. This study examined associations between medically-attended agricultural injuries and: (1) personal sociodemographic characteristics, and (2) farm environment features and general safety practices.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was implemented with linked data from electronic health records on prior agricultural injuries that occurred between 01/01/2002–12/31/2015. The sample included adult dairy producers who resided in north-central Wisconsin (USA) and were medically-homed to the Marshfield Clinic Health System. Multiple logistic regression was used to analyze associations between socio-environmental characteristics and agricultural injuries.ResultsThere were 620 dairy farmers in the analytical sample, with 50 medically-attended agricultural injuries observed during the 14-year study time period (5.7 injuries per 1000 dairy farmers per year). In the multivariable model, the odds of agricultural injury were significantly greater among farmers who have private individually-purchased health insurance (OR = 4.25; 95% CI: 1.31, 13.84), do not live at their dairy operation (OR = 2.91; CI: 1.27, 6.67), and do not provide safety training to their workers (OR = 4.27; CI: 1.00, 18.21).ConclusionsDairy farmers in this analysis who did not live at their dairy operation, did not provide safety training to all their workers, or had individually-purchased health insurance were more apt to get injured, but more research is needed to confirm these findings in prospectively designed studies. How these factors can be directly addressed or otherwise used to better focus farm injury prevention initiatives should also be explored.     

MMPI‐2 assessed post‐traumatic stress disorder related to job stress,coping, and personality in police agencies

The PK and PS scales of the MMPI‐2 were developed to index the degree of post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These scales were applied to a sample of 254 mostly male sworn and civilian law enforcement employees from four police agencies. Participants also completed surveys measuring their perceived levels of job stress, their use of a set of coping strategies, and their performance on measures of five global personality domains. The two PTSD scales appeared to have good internal structures and relatively high reliabilities. Employees at greater risk for PTSD reported higher levels of work‐related stress, seemed to use more maladaptive coping strategies, were more neurotic, and tended to be less extraverted, agreeable, and conscientious. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Longitudinal leak point pressure measurements in rats using a modified port à cath system

Stress urinary incontinence, defined as involuntary loss of urine secondary to an increase in abdominal pressure, represents one of the most significant urological problems. Several animal models to simulate stress urinary incontinence have been presented, including methods to quantify leak point pressure. We have modified an existing leak point pressure procedure to longitudinally quantify stress urinary incontinence in rats by introducing the port à cath system. Reproducible leak point pressure measurements were carried out over a period of more than 40 days at different bladder volumes. Leak point pressure neither showed a significant relationship with the number of times anesthesia was applied nor a significant change over time. The port à cath system provided a reliable, sensitive device for longitudinal urinary bladder pressure measurements in animals with an implanted bladder catheter. This set‐up therefore enables the evaluation of bladder pressure in different models for stress urinary incontinence, such as vaginal distention or pudendal transection over long periods of time within the same animal.     

The excessive use of antioxidant therapy: A possible cause of male infertility?

Reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress are closely associated with various pathologies such as neurodegenerative diseases, ageing and male infertility. Hence, antioxidants such as vitamin C, vitamin E, N‐acetyl cysteine, L‐carnitine and folic acid are regularly used in various treatment regimens to protect cells from the damage induced by free radicals. However, given their over‐the‐counter availability at unnaturally high concentrations and also the fact that they are commonly added to various food products, patients may run a risk of consuming excessive dosages of these compounds, which may then be toxic. The few studies that have assessed antioxidant overuse and the associated adverse effects found that large doses of dietary antioxidant supplements have varying—if any—therapeutic effects even though free radicals clearly damage cells—a phenomenon that has been termed the “antioxidant paradox.” Furthermore, overuse of antioxidants such as vitamin C, vitamin E, N‐acetyl cysteine may lead to reductive stress, which is reported to be as dangerous to cells as oxidative stress and can be the cause of diseases such as cancer or cardiomyopathy. Therefore, we feel that there is a need for more elaborate research to establish the clear benefits and risks involved in antioxidant therapy for male infertility.     

The fluctuant nature of precipitating antibodies in dairy farmers.

Four hundred and forty five of 888 dairy farmers studied in an epidemiological survey four years previously were restudied to determine change in precipitins and in clinical features. Subjects answered the same questionnaire, which was filled in by the same nurse in the same winter months, and had blood withdrawn for precipitin analysis (double diffusion technique). Of the 445 subjects retested, 48 (10.8%) had been precipitin positive at the first study; of these, 34 remained positive four years later and 14 had reverted to negative. Twenty eight subjects previously negative for precipitins had become positive, so that 62 subjects in all were precipitin positive when restudied (13.9%). Of the 445 farmers, 369 were precipitin negative at both studies. The prevalence of symptoms, including cough, sputum production, wheezing, dyspnoea, and fever and chills, was similar for subjects who were consistently negative for precipitins and consistently positive and for those who changed from one to the other. Only one subject developed farmer's lung; he had precipitins in both studies. This study shows a fluctuation in the precipitin state of dairy farmers, suggesting that more farmers have precipitins at least once in their lifetime than are identified by screening at a single point in time. Relatively few develop farmer's lung or other respiratory symptoms. The presence of precipitins in a symptomless farmer appears to have no clinical importance.     

Children and work‐related stress among physicians

The aim of this study was to analyse the influence of gender and children on physicians' stress and burnout and to obtain information on the compromises physicians make between family and work. The study was based on a nationwide survey of 3313 Finnish physicians. The results showed that work was the commonest reason for stress for both male and female physicians. If physicians had children, combining work and family was the commonest reason for stress among the women, but work still remained the commonest reason for stress among the men. The female physicians had made compromises between family and work more often than the male physicians (limited the number of children, delayed having children, given up postgraduate or continuing medical education, worked part‐time because of family, and given up a job because of a spouse's need to move). The female physicians—with or without children—were more likely than the male physicians to experience severe or moderate exhaustion and less likely than the male physicians to experience cynicism as components of burnout. Among both genders of physicians, having children was associated with less cynicism and reduced personal accomplishment, but the children did not affect exhaustion. In conclusion, having children is associated with a lower level of some burnout symptoms. Additional studies are needed to explain the health effects of work–family balance for physicians. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Neurophysiology and therapeutic receptor targets for stress urinary incontinence

Stress urinary incontinence is the most common type of urinary incontinence in women. Stress urinary incontinence involves involuntary leakage of urine in response to abdominal pressure caused by activities, such as sneezing and coughing. The condition affects millions of women worldwide, causing physical discomfort as well as social distress and even social isolation. This type of incontinence is often seen in women after middle age and it can be caused by impaired closure mechanisms of the urethra as a result of a weak pelvic floor or poorly supported urethral sphincter (urethral hypermobility) and/or a damaged urethral sphincter system (intrinsic sphincter deficiency). Until recently, stress urinary incontinence has been approached by clinicians as a purely anatomic problem as a result of urethral hypermobility requiring behavioral or surgical therapy. However, intrinsic sphincter deficiency has been reported to be more significantly associated with stress urinary incontinence than urethral hypermobility. Extensive basic and clinical research has enhanced our understanding of the complex neural circuitry regulating normal function of the lower urinary tract, as well as the pathophysiological mechanisms that might underlie the development of stress urinary incontinence and lead to the development of potential novel strategies for pharmacotherapy of stress urinary incontinence. Therapeutic targets include adrenergic and serotonergic receptors in the spinal cord, and adrenergic receptors at the urethral sphincter, which can enhance urethral reflex activity during stress conditions and increase baseline urethral pressure, respectively. This article therefore reviews the recent advances in stress urinary incontinence research and discusses the neurophysiology of urethral continence reflexes, the etiology of stress urinary incontinence and potential targets for pharmacotherapy of stress urinary incontinence.     

Urodynamic findings in the lower urinary tract: I. Stress-incontinent vs. -continent women

Urodynamic findings in 250 patients with objective stress incontinence were compared with those of 108 controls without abnormalities. Patients with any component of motor-urge incontinence were discarded from the study. The results were as follows: abdominal straining to void was significantly higher in the stress-incontinent group; urethral resistance. maximal urethral closure pressure, and the relative urethral leakage pressure was significantly lower in the stress-incontinent group. In light of the higher incidence of inefficient voiding pallerns seen in the stress-incontinent population, preoperative urodynamic evaluation including cystometry with pressure flow studies, is important to exclude or at least be aware of the possibility of postoperative bladder-emptying problems—apart from the need to exclude underlying motor instability. Relative urethral leakage pressure measurements were significantly lower than maximal urethral closure pressure measurements in stress-incontinent patients. Urethral closure pressure profilometry is recommended in patients who are considered for retropubic urethropexy.     

Integrated assessment of emotional distress after work‐related accidents

Work accidents can be traumatic events that might give rise to a variety of dysfunctional stress responses. An integrated assessment of stress responses after work‐related trauma is considered as a valuable approach in clinical practice. The purpose of the present study was to assess affective adjustment after work‐related accidents using a multidimensional assessment. Fourteen males who had experienced work‐related accidents and 13 male controls were assessed using self‐report instruments and the recording of skin conductance response and the startle reflex during the viewing of standardized trauma‐related and trauma‐unrelated pictures. Participants who underwent a work accident reported more severe maladjustment symptoms than controls, as indicated by higher Post‐traumatic stress disorder Symptom Scale (PSS) scores. Moreover, participants with higher PSS scores showed more severe depressive symptomatology and general psychopathology, and lower psychophysiological reactivity than participants with lower PSS scores. Long‐lasting maladjustment problems after work‐related accidents influence various affective domains even many years after the traumatic event. In those individuals who showed higher post‐stress symptoms, an integrated assessment highlights a lack of concordance between self‐reported symptoms and physiological activation. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cognitive behavioural treatment for essential hypertension: A controlled study

Sixteen patients with essential hypertension from the northwest of Spain were exposed to a three—four week baseline period and later divided into two groups of eight patients each. One of these groups was treated with a six-week cognitive behavioural programme based mainly on stress inoculation training and the other group was assigned to an attention—placebo condition based on individual regular contacts between the therapist and the patient, including discussions about the lifestyle of the latter but without any training on cognitive or behavioural strategies. After the six-week intervention period, and at a six months' follow-up, subjects treated with the cognitive behavioural programme showed a significantly higher reduction of diastolic blood pressure than patients exposed to the attention—placebo condition, considering measurements taken both at hospital and at patients' homes. Similarly, the group treated with cognitive behavioural therapy showed a significant within-group reduction over the measurement taken at hospital.     

Perceived Demands of Schooling,Stress and Mental Health: Changes from Grade 6 to Grade 9 as a Function of Gender and Cognitive Ability

The link between perceived demands of school, stress and mental health in relation to gender is complex. The study examined, with two waves of longitudinal data at age 13 and age 16, how changes in perceived academic demands relate to changes in perceived stress, taking into account gender and cognitive ability, and to investigate how these factors affect the level of psychosomatic and depressive symptoms at the age of 16. A nationally representative sample including about 9000 individuals from the Swedish longitudinal Evaluation Through Follow up database born in 1998 was included. A growth modelling approach was applied to examine relations over time. The results show girls to have a considerably higher self‐reported level of mental health problems at the end of compulsory school than boys. This gender difference is entirely accounted for by perceived school demands and stress in grades 6 and 9. Students who were stronger in inductive than vocabulary ability reported lower levels of perceived academic demands and less stress in grade 6. There is a need to develop interventions for minimizing the consequences of stress among adolescents and modify those particular aspects of academic demands which cause stress and poor mental health, especially among girls. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Suicidal Behavior After Severe Trauma. Part 1: PTSD Diagnoses, Psychiatric Comorbidity, and Assessments of Suicidal Behavior

The study comprises 149 refugees from various countries, reporting exposure to severe traumata, who were referred for psychiatric diagnosis and assessment of suicide risk. The stressors reported comprised both personal experience of and/or forced witnessing of combat atrocities (including explosions or missile impacts in urban areas), imprisonment (including isolation), torture and inflicted pain, sexual violence, witnessing others' suicide, and of summary and/or mock executions. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was diagnosed in 79% of all cases, other psychiatric illness in 16% and no mental pathology in 5%. The prevalence of suicidal behavior was significantly greater among refugees with principal PTSD diagnoses than among the remainder. PTSD patients with depression comorbidity reported higher frequency of suicidal thoughts; PTSD nondepressive patients manifested increased frequency of suicide attempts.