Editorial: Eros in Rehabilitation

Sexuality and Disability -     

Prevalence of obesity in Vienna,Austria: 1986

A representative cross section of 1,435 persons aged 75 years and over were interviewed. Forty-four percent were men and 56% were women. The sample comprised 0.094% of the civilian population of Vienna. According to Carrow and Webster (International Journal of Obesity, 9, 747–153) the following grades for obesity, defined by ranges of the Body Mass Index (BMI = kg/m²) were used: grade I 25–29.9 kg/m², grade II 30–40 kg/m², grade III >40 kg/m². Six hundred two (42%) were obese to some degree (BMl ⩾25 kg/m²). There were fewer women than men in the grade I obesity group (29.2% vs. 38.5%), but there were more women than men in the more serious grade II obesity group (9.2% vs. 7.8%). The prevalence of obesity continuously increased with age up to 70 years in women and up to 65 years in men. Obesity was more common in persons with lower levels of education and of lower social class. Being single predicted a low prevalence of obesity. Persons with high blood pressure were more likely to be obese than persons with normal blood pressure, especially when they were younger than 40 years. The rate of psychiatric illness was lower in obese subjects than in normal-weight and underweight subjects. Finally, the association between alcohol intake and obesity was positive in men and negative in women. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Language barriers in Vienna hospitals

As part of a wider investigation of cross-cultural communication practices in health care and social service institutions of Vienna, a survey among hospital staff was conducted to establish the need for mediated communication between service providers and non-German-speaking patients. The responses of 508 doctors, nurses and therapists demonstrate a substantial need for interpreting services, which is currently met by family members (most often children) and bilingual hospital employees (most often cleaners). Most of the respondents were well aware of the shortcomings of ad hoc interpreting arrangements and voiced a clear preference and demand for a hospital interpreting service to improve communication with and health care provision to non-German-speaking patients.     

Dengue virus: molecular basis of cell entry and pathogenesis, 25-27 June 2003, Vienna, Austria

Multivalent dengue vaccines now in late stage development pose unique vaccine safety challenges in that primary or secondary vaccine failures might place vaccines at risk to antibody-dependent enhanced (ADE) wild-type dengue infections. This conference was organized to address this unique vaccine safety issue. New data were presented on the structure of dengue and other flaviviruses, the cellular receptors of dengue virus for biologically relevant cells, dengue viral cell entry mechanisms and mechanisms underlying in vivo protection, neutralization and enhancement of dengue virus infection. It was concluded that a targeted research program should aim to develop an in vitro test to characterize persons immunized with dengue vaccines as completely or partially protected. Achievement of this aim will require a better understanding of the basic mechanisms by which dengue viruses recognize, attach, enter and infect relevant human cells and how antibodies protect against dengue infections.     

Heroin and opiate emergencies in Vienna: analysis at the municipal ambulance service

Vienna suffered an epidemic of heroin abuse in recent years, with drug-deaths due to opioids increasing from 62 in 1991 to 143 in 1993. The aim of this study was to make observations about illicit opioid-use with the ambulance service as a data source. From June 1994 to August 1995, the structured run records of the ambulance service were reviewed. Those with a presumptive diagnosis of "heroin or opiate" overdose were collected, characteristics of emergencies and patients were analyzed. The run records demonstrated a large number of non-fatal emergencies due to opioids, involving 528 men and 179 women in 1087 emergencies. These emergencies were on the average 6.8 times as prevalent as drug-fatalities. A group of 189 persons could be identified, who caused 52.2% of all emergencies and showed a threefold mortality rate during the observation period. In Vienna, the records of the municipal ambulance service provided valuable insights on opioid-abuse. We suggest local analysis of non-fatal emergencies due to opioids, as this might lead to a new source of information on illicit abuse of these drugs.