Incidence and prevalence of complaints of the neck and upper extremity in general practice

OBJECTIVE: To study the incidence and prevalence of neck and upper extremity musculoskeletal complaints in Dutch general practice. METHODS: Data were obtained from the second Dutch national survey of general practice. In all, 195 general practitioners (GPs) from 104 practices across the Netherlands recorded all contacts with patients during 12 consecutive months. Incidence densities and consultation rates were calculated. RESULTS: The total number of contacts during the registration period of one year was 1 524 470. The most commonly reported complaint was neck symptoms (incidence 23.1 per 1000 person-years), followed by shoulder symptoms (incidence 19.0 per 1000 person-years). Sixty six GP consultations per 1000 person-years were attributable to a new complaint or new episode of complaint of the neck or upper extremity (incidence density). In all, the GPs were consulted 147 times per 1000 registered persons for complaints of the neck or upper extremity. For most complaints the incidence densities and consultation rates were higher for women than for men. CONCLUSIONS: Neck and upper extremity symptoms are common in Dutch general practice. The GP is consulted approximately seven times each week for a complaint relating to the neck or upper extremity; of these, three are new complaints or new episodes. Attention should be paid to training GPs to deal with neck and upper limb complaints, and to research on the prognosis and treatment of these common complaints in primary care.     

Course and prognosis of elbow complaints: a cohort study in general practice

OBJECTIVE: To describe the course of new episodes of elbow complaints in general practice, and to identify predictors of short term and long term outcome in terms of pain intensity and functional disability. METHODS: 181 patients with elbow complaints filled in questionnaires at baseline and at 3, 6, and 12 months of follow up. Baseline scores of pain and disability, characteristics of the complaint, sociodemographic and psychosocial factors, physical activity, general health, and comorbidity were investigated as possible predictors of outcome. Outcome measures were analysed separately using multiple regression analyses. RESULTS: 13% of the patients reported recovery at the 3 month follow up and 34% at 12 months. Irrespective of outcome and length of follow up, a longer duration of the complaint before consulting the general practitioner, having musculoskeletal comorbidity, and using "retreating" as coping style increased the likelihood of an unfavourable outcome. Less social support was associated with an unfavourable outcome at 3 months, and having a history of elbow complaints and using "worrying" as coping style were associated with an unfavourable outcome at 12 months. The explained variance of the models ranged from 46% to 49%. CONCLUSIONS: Recovery of patients with elbow complaints in general practice was poor. Besides characteristic of the complaint, passive coping and less social support were related to a worse prognosis. The results of this study may help general practitioners to provide patients with more accurate information about their prognosis.     

Shoulder disorders in general practice: incidence, patient characteristics, and management.

OBJECTIVES--To study the incidence and management of intrinsic shoulder disorders in Dutch general practice, and to evaluate which patient characteristics are associated with specific diagnostic categories. METHODS--In 11 general practices (35,150 registered patients) all consultations concerning shoulder complaints were registered during a period of one year. Patients with an intrinsic shoulder disorder who had not consulted their general practitioner for the complaint during the preceding year (incident cases) were asked to participate in an observational study. Participants completed a questionnaire regarding the nature and severity of their complaints. The general practitioners recorded data on diagnosis and therapy. RESULTS--The cumulative incidence of shoulder complaints in general practice was estimated to be 11.2/1000 patients/year (95% confidence limits 10.1 to 12.3). Rotator cuff tendinitis was the most frequently recorded disorder (29%). There were 349 incident cases enrolled in the observational study. Patient characteristics showed small variations between different diagnostic categories. Age, duration of symptoms, precipitating cause and restriction of movement seemed to be discriminating factors. Twenty two percent of all participants received injections during the first consultation; most (85%) were diagnosed as having bursitis. The majority of patients with tendinitis (53%) were referred for physiotherapy. CONCLUSION--With respect to diagnosis and treatment, the practitioners generally appeared to follow the guidelines issued by the Dutch College of General Practitioners. Although the patient characteristics of specific disorders showed some similarities with the clinical pictures described in the literature, further research is required to demonstrate whether the proposed syndromes indeed constitute separate disorders with a different underlying pathology, requiring different treatment strategies.     

Emergency department complaint frequency: variation by patient median household income.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To determine whether emergency department complaint frequency varies with patient median household income, as approximated by patient residence zip code. DESIGN: All patient visits and complaints received in one ED were reviewed. Median household income of patient residence zip codes was obtained from available demographic data. Patients were categorized into seven income categories. EXCLUSIONS: Cases in which zip codes could not be determined or zip code income data could not be obtained; complaints from physicians, not patients; and data from zip codes remote from the hospital. SETTING: Nine hundred twenty-nine-bed teaching hospital. TYPE OF PARTICIPANTS: All ED visits and all ED complaints over a four-year period. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Armitage's chi 2 test for trend of proportions was used to compare complaint frequencies in different income groups. RESULTS: A total of 277,210 patient visits and 675 complaints met study criteria. Complaint frequencies ranged from 1.65 to 3.14 per thousand visits. Higher-income patients were more likely to complain than lower-income patients (P = .0000058). CONCLUSION: In this setting, ED patients residing in higher median income zip codes are more likely to register complaints than those from lower-income zip codes. Complaint frequencies from hospitals with different demographics may not be comparable.     

Clinical course and prognosis of hand and wrist problems in primary care

OBJECTIVE: To describe the course of a new episode of hand and wrist problems in general practice and to identify predictors that are associated with poor outcome at short-term and long-term followup. METHODS: Patients consulting their general practitioner with hand or wrist problems (no prior consultation in the preceding 3 months) were sent a questionnaire at baseline and at 3, 6, and 12 months of followup. Potential predictors included sociodemographic variables, characteristics of the symptoms, physical activity, and psychosocial factors. General practitioners recorded information on symptoms, signs, and medical diagnosis. The main outcome measure was insufficient improvement of symptoms using the Symptom Severity Scale at short-term (3 months) and long-term (12 months) followup. RESULTS: Twenty-three percent of patients reported complete recovery after 3 months, increasing to 42% at 1 year after first presentation. Higher probability of poor outcome at 3 months was associated with being female, low pain intensity at baseline, and lower personal control at baseline; at 12 months it was associated with older age, being female, reporting symptoms for >3 months at baseline, low scores on the coping strategy "reducing demands," and a higher score on somatization. Discriminative ability of the models was moderate, with areas under the curve after bootstrapping of 0.60 and 0.69 at 3 and 12 months, respectively. CONCLUSION: More than half of all patients reported residual symptoms at 1 year. Although poor outcome was difficult to predict, age, sex, duration of symptoms, and psychosocial factors were associated with poor outcome of hand and wrist problems.     

Left shoulder pain in a violinist, related to extensor tendon adhesions in a small scar on the back of the wrist

A female professional orchestra violin player, age 54, with an 8-year history of severe left shoulder problems, presented with reproducible, acute, incapacitating left shoulder pain when playing the lowest violin string. This complaint was found caused by compensatory left arm positions for unnoticed finger extensor excursion limitations in a well-healed scar bed from two dorsal wrist ganglion operations 11 and 13 years before. Immediately after extensor tendon mobilization in the scar bed, the patient could assume a normal playing position, which was pain free, and could return to orchestral duties without further major shoulder complaints (follow-up of 10 years). The case study presents finger extensor excursion limitations at the wrist as an unusual extra-regional risk factor for a shoulder complaint and analyses the biomechanics linking these limitations to the complaint. The case illustrates the importance of long-term post-operative hand surgery rehabilitation in musicians.     

The incidences of and consultation rate for lower extremity complaints in general practice

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the incidence and consultation rate of lower extremity complaints in general practice. METHODS: Data were obtained from the Second Dutch National Survey of General Practice, in which 195 general practitioners (GPs) in 104 practices recorded all contacts with patients during 12 consecutive months in computerised patient records. GPs classified the symptoms and diagnosis for each patient at each consultation according to the International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC). Incidence densities and consultation rates for different complaints were calculated. RESULTS: During the registration period 63.2 GP consultations per 1000 person-years were attributable to a new complaint of the lower extremities. Highest incidence densities were seen for knee complaints: 21.4 per 1000 person-years for women and 22.8 per 1000 person-years for men. The incidence of most lower extremity complaints was higher for women than for men and higher in older age. CONCLUSIONS: Both incidences of and consultation rates for lower extremity complaints are substantial in general practice. This implies a considerable impact on the workload of the GP.     

Risk factors for more severe regional musculoskeletal symptoms: a two-year prospective study of a general working population

OBJECTIVE: To quantify the relative contribution of work-related physical and psychosocial factors, individual factors, and health-related factors to the development of more severe musculoskeletal pain in the neck and upper limbs and the back and lower limbs. METHODS: In this cohort study of 5,604 workers from industrial and service companies, we collected information on work-related physical and psychosocial exposures and on individual and health-related factors. Questionnaires were completed at baseline by 4,006 participants (71.5%) and after 24 months by 3,276 (82%). At followup, participants with no or minor pain were included in Cox regression analyses to determine which factors predicted more severe regional pain. RESULTS: Of the 4,006 baseline respondents, only 7.7% were free of regional pain. A total of 1,513 participants were free of severe pain at baseline and completed the 24-month followup. Highly repetitive work predicted arm pain, heavy lifting and prolonged standing predicted low back pain, and heavy pushing or pulling predicted lower limb pain. Low job satisfaction predicted neck/shoulder pain and lower limb pain, whereas other psychosocial work place factors were only of marginal importance. High levels of fear avoidance were associated with arm pain and lower limb pain. A high body mass index was highly associated with lower limb pain. CONCLUSION: Very few workers are totally free of pain in musculoskeletal regions, and we question the concept of incidence of musculoskeletal pain. The transition from no or minor pain to more severe pain was influenced by physical and psychosocial work place factors together with individual and health-related factors.     

Course and prognosis of shoulder symptoms in general practice

Objectives. To investigate the course and prognosis of shoulderpain in the first 6 months after presentation to the generalpractitioner. We separately studied patients with acute, subacuteand chronic shoulder pain, as duration of symptoms at presentationhas been shown to be the strongest predictor of outcome. Methods. A prospective cohort study with 6 months follow-upwas carried out in The Netherlands, including 587 patients witha new episode of shoulder pain. Patients were categorized ashaving acute (symptoms <6 weeks), subacute (6–12 weeks)or chronic (>3 months) shoulder pain. The course of shoulderpain, functional disability and quality of life was analysedover 6 months. Patient and disease characteristics, includingphysical and psychosocial factors, were investigated as possiblepredictors of outcome using multivariable regression analyses. Results. Acute shoulder symptoms showed the most favourablecourse over 6 months follow-up, with larger pain reduction andimprovement of functional disability. Patients with chronicshoulder symptoms showed the poorest results. The multivariableregression analysis showed that predictors of a better outcomeat 6 months for acute shoulder pain were lower baseline disabilityscores and higher baseline pain intensity (explained variance46%). Predictors of a better outcome for chronic shoulder painwere lower scores on pain catastrophizing and higher baselinepain intensity (explained variance 21%). Conclusions. The results indicate that, besides a differentcourse of symptoms in patients presenting with acute or chronicshoulder pain, predictors of outcome may also differ with psychosocialfactors being more important in chronic shoulder pain. KEY WORDS: Shoulder pain, Disability, Psychosocial factors, General practice, Course, Prognosis, Prospective cohort study Submitted 21 August 2007; revised version accepted 18 January 2008.     

Lateral epicondylitis in general practice: course and prognostic indicators of outcome

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the course of lateral epicondylitis and identify prognostic indicators associated with short- and longterm outcome of pain intensity. METHODS: We prospectively followed patients (n = 349) from 2 randomized controlled trials investigating conservative interventions for lateral epicondylitis in primary care. Uni- and multivariate linear regression analyses were used to investigate the association between potential prognostic indicators and pain intensity (0-100 point scale) measured at 1, 6, and 12 months after randomization. Potential prognostic factors were duration of elbow complaints, concomitant neck pain, concomitant shoulder pain, previous elbow complaints, baseline pain scores, age, gender, involvement of dominant side, social class, and work status. The variables "study" and "treatment" were included as covariates in all models. RESULTS: Pain scores at 1 month followup were higher in patients with severe pain, a long duration of elbow complaints, and concomitant shoulder pain. At 12 month followup, the only different prognostic indicator for poor outcome was concomitant neck pain, in place of shoulder pain. Patients from higher social classes reported lower pain scores at 12 month followup than patients from lower social classes. CONCLUSIONS: Lateral epicondylitis seems to be a self-limiting condition in most patients. Long duration of elbow complaints, concomitant neck pain, and severe pain at presentation are associated with poor outcome at 12 months. Our results will help care providers give patients accurate information regarding their prognosis and assist in medical decision-making.     

Psychiatric disorders and functional impairment in patients with persistent dizziness

Objective: To determine the prevalence and predictors of psychiatric dizziness and to measure functional impairment associated with dizziness. Design: Consecutive outpatients with a chief complaint of dizziness. Setting: Four outpatient clinics at a military teaching hospital. Patients: 100 dizzy patients and 25 control patients. Measurements and main results: Structured psychiatric interviews were conducted using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule, and functional status was assessed with the Sickness Impact Profile and the 20-item MOS (Medical Outcomes Study) Short-Form. Psychiatric disorders were a primary or contributory cause of dizziness for 40% of the dizzy patients. Compared with the control patients, the dizzy patients had a higher lifetime (46% vs 32%) as well as recent (37% vs 20%) prevalence of axis I disorders. The greatest differences were in disorders of depression and somatization. The dizzy patients had a higher lifetime prevalence (2 3% vs 8%) as well as recent history (11 % vs 0%) of major depression or dysthymia. Also, somatization disorders were strikingly more common among the dizzy patients than among the control patients (37% vs 8%, p=0.005), with the dizzy patients reporting more than three times as many psychiatric or unexplained physical symptoms (5.2 vs 1.5). Age <40 years, related complaints of weakness or headaches, and dizziness provoked by hyperventilation or standing were independent predictors of psychiatric dizziness. The dizzy patients reported moderate functional impairment, which was most severe among those with psychiatric disorders. Conclusions: Persistent dizziness is associated with increased functional impairment and psychiatric comorbidity, particularly depression and somatization. Moreover, psychiatric disorders aggravate the impairment that occurs with dizziness alone.     

Clear associations between demographic and psychosocial factors and health-related quality of life in patients with early inflammatory joint complaints

OBJECTIVE: Objective. To identify demographic and psychosocial characteristics associated with health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with early inflammatory joint complaints. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, patients had inflammatory joint complaints for less than 12 months. Data were collected on clinical characteristics, demographics, lifestyle, behavioral coping, perceived health control, and social support. HRQOL was assessed by 8 dimensions of the Medical Outcome Study Short Form-36 Health Survey. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine the associations between clinical, demographic, lifestyle, and psychosocial characteristics with HRQOL. RESULTS: In total, 359 patients were included, of which 24% were classified as RA, 34% as mono- or oligo-poly arthritis, and 42% as inflammatory joint complaints without clinical synovitis. Among all patients, the health dimensions physical function, physical role functioning, and bodily pain were most affected. The diagnostic group, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, disease duration, and comorbidity explained 4%-9% of the variance in HRQOL dimensions, whereas the combined demographic and psychosocial characteristics explained an additional 21%-29% of HRQOL. HRQOL was negatively associated with younger age, lower education, non-Dutch origin, passive behavioral coping with pain, lower perceived health control, and low social support. Passive behavioral coping with pain had the strongest association with HRQOL. CONCLUSION: In patients with early inflammatory joint complaints, HRQOL was associated more strongly with personal characteristics than with clinical characteristics. From the time of onset of complaints onwards, physicians should take psychosocial factors and demographics into account to obtain an optimal disease outcome.     

The relationship between hand paraesthesia and occupational factors: results from a population study

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the association of occupational factors, both physical and psychosocial, with hand paraesthesia, and whether any such associations differ according to the concurrent presence of neck and upper limb pain (NULP). METHODS: A questionnaire was mailed to an age-stratified random sample of 9596 adults. All subjects were asked about hand paraesthesia in the past 4 weeks. Information was obtained on respondents' main job (the job held for the longest time), whether this job involved any of six neck or upper limb activities on most or all days of the working week, and questions on the psychosocial aspects of the work environment. The questionnaire also asked about NULP according to a preshaded manikin. RESULTS: A total of 5133 people replied to the survey (adjusted response 53.5%). Of these, 1592 reported abnormal feelings in the hands (prevalence of 31.9%). Prolonged gripping, prolonged bending of the neck forwards, working with arms at/above shoulder height, low job control, many changes in tasks and low job support were independently associated with hand paraesthesia. Among responders also reporting NULP, working with arms at/above shoulder height and many changes in tasks were independently associated with hand paraesthesia; prolonged gripping was linked to hand paraesthesia in the absence of NULP. CONCLUSIONS: Hand paraesthesia is associated with physical and psychosocial workplace factors, although different work-related factors were associated with hand paraesthesia according to the concurrent presence of NULP, suggesting that these symptoms may not always be mediated in the same way.     

Age and sex differences in presentation of symptoms among patients with acute coronary disease: the REACT Trial. Rapid Early Action for Coronary Treatment

BACKGROUND: There are few data on possible age and sex differences in presentation of symptoms for patients with acute coronary disease. OBJECTIVE: To investigate demographic differences in presentation of symptoms at the time of hospital presentation for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and unstable angina. METHODS: The medical records of patients who presented with chest pain and who also had diagnoses of AMI (n = 889) or unstable angina (n = 893) on discharge from 43 hospitals were reviewed as part of data collection activities of the Rapid Early Action for Coronary Treatment trial based in 10 pair-matched communities throughout the USA. RESULTS: Dyspnea (49%), arm pain (46%), sweating (35%), and nausea (33%) were commonly reported by men and women of all ages in addition to the presenting complaint of chest pain. After we had controlled for various characteristics through regression modeling, older persons with AMI were significantly less likely than were younger persons to complain of arm pain and sweating, and men were significantly less likely to report vomiting than were women. Among persons with unstable angina, arm pain and sweating were reported significantly less often by elderly patients. Nausea and back, neck, and jaw pain were more common complaints of women. CONCLUSIONS: Results of this study suggest that there are differences between symptoms at presentation of men and women, and those in various age groups, hospitalized with acute coronary disease. Clinicians should be aware of these differences when diagnosing and managing patients suspected to have coronary heart disease.     

The association of the involvement of financial compensation with the outcome of cervicobrachial pain that is treated conservatively

OBJECTIVES: To examine the influence of the involvement of financial compensation on the results of physiotherapeutic McKenzie treatment on cervicobrachial pain. METHODS: A prospective study was carried out with a cohort of 60 patients referred to two spine clinics after they had experienced at least 5 weeks of neck pain radiating to the arm. Follow-up was performed 1 yr later using a validated questionnaire to measure the outcomes of neck and arm pain, disability, the use of analgesics and the perceived effect of the treatment as reported by the patient. RESULTS: At follow-up, there was no improvement in the group of patients for whom financial compensation was involved, whereas the group for whom compensation was involved showed highly significant improvement. CONCLUSIONS: Despite uniform selection criteria and similarity of complaints and treatment protocols, the involvement of financial compensation seemed to be associated with an adverse effect on treatment results for patients with cervicobrachial pain who were treated conservatively.     

A comparison of two primary care trials on tennis elbow: issues of external validity

OBJECTIVE: To assess clinical heterogeneity across two studies with respect to study population, interventions, and outcome measures, and to evaluate the influence of these sources of heterogeneity on the results of the studies. METHODS: The individual patient data were used from two randomised controlled trials investigating the effectiveness of conservative treatments in patients with tennis elbow in primary care. Patients were allocated at random to treatment with steroid injection, wait and see policy, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, placebo tablets, or physiotherapy. Outcome measures included severity of the main complaint, inconvenience of the elbow complaints, pain during the day, elbow disability, pain-free grip strength, and global improvement. All outcomes were assessed at 1, 6, and 12 months after randomisation. RESULTS: The two study populations were similar with respect to age, sex, comorbid neck/shoulder complaints, and baseline scores for the severity of pain. However, significant differences were observed for employment status, duration of elbow complaints, dominant side affected, previous history of elbow complaints, and use of analgesics. Local injections differed between the two studies with respect to volume, number, and steroid preparation. However, after 1, 6, and 12 months, the treatment effects of steroid injections were very similar between the study populations. CONCLUSIONS: Despite large differences in study population at baseline, the responses to steroid injections were remarkably similar. Also the responses to other conservative interventions and the placebo treatment were very consistent, suggesting a uniform course of a tennis elbow and a lack of influence of clinical heterogeneity.     

Association of occupational physical demands and psychosocial working environment with disabling shoulder pain

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the individual and combined associations of physical and psychosocial working environment with disabling shoulder pain and to identify groups at "high risk" for shoulder pain. METHODS: A cross sectional survey was conducted at five manual occupational settings in south Manchester, United Kingdom (n=775, 83%). RESULTS: Both the duration of occupational physical demands (working postures, manual handling activities, and repetitive arm movements) and psychosocial working environment (psychological demands and lack of opportunity to learn new skills) were found to be significantly associated with shoulder pain. Three occupational factors identified a high risk group for shoulder pain: duration of lifting with one hand (prevalence rate ratio (PRR) (highest third) 2.0, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.4 to 2.8), duration of working above shoulder level (PRR (highest third) 2.2, 95% CI 1.5 to 3.3), and whether employees found their work stressful (PRR (highest third) 1.4, 95% CI 1.0 to 2.1). In addition, a measure of psychological distress (General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) score) was found to identify a group at high risk for shoulder pain (PRR (highest third) 1.9, 95% CI 1.3 to 2.9). In employees exposed to three or more of these factors, 79% (23/29) reported shoulder pain compared with only 16% (56/353) of those not exposed to any. CONCLUSION: This study has identified a variety of occupational physical demands and psychosocial factors associated with shoulder pain. It has also identified groups of employees at a "high risk" for shoulder pain by their exposure to both physical and psychosocial factors.     

Discriminant analysis of factors distinguishing patients with functional dyspepsia from patients with duodenal ulcer

Patients with duodenal ulcer or functional dyspepsia do not differ on dyspeptic symptoms. The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that functional dyspepsia and duodenal ulcer are two different diagnostic entities by examining the discriminating power of several anamnestic, biological, and psychosocial variables. Ninety-four patients with duodenal ulcer and 86 patients with functional dyspepsia were included. Anamnestic data, global assessment,Helicobacter pylori status, blood group, Lewis^a+ phenotype, and several measures of psychological distress and somatic complaints were registered. Compared to patients with functional dyspepsia, the duodenal ulcer patients were more often infected byHelicobacter pylori and had their stomach discomfort more often relieved by eating. Compared to patients with duodenal ulcer, patients with functional dyspepsia had higher scores of depression, trait anxiety, general psychopathology and different somatic complaints (called somatization). They were also less satisfied with the health care system, their disorder had a greater negative impact on their quality of life, and their global assessment of own health was poorer. Discriminant analysis including age, smoking,Helicobacter pylori status, global assessment, and somatic complaint classified 86.1% of the patients correctly (77.9% of the patients with functional dyspepsia and 93.6% of the patients with duodenal ulcer). It is concluded that duodenal ulcer and functional dyspepsia are two separate diagnostic entities. Patients with duodenal ulcer are older, smoke more often, and almost all are infected withHelicobacter pylori, while patients with functional dyspepsia are characterized by somatization and a negative assessment of their own health.     

The symptom picture in patients with acute viral hepatitis. A systematic study using the Giessen Symptom Questionnaire

As part of a study on the relationship between psychosocial factors and the course of acute viral hepatitis A, B and NANB, bodily complaints of 41 patients were examined and two major complaint factors evolved. One complex of specific liver complaints, consisting of fatigue and an excessive need for sleep, gastrointestinal and skin symptoms, correlated with the degree of liver damage and can most readily be regarded as organdependent. A smaller group of general complaints did not correlate with liver damage. It seems to represent a complex symptomatology, which is probably partly psychologically determined. Patients with hepatitis B suffer the severest liver damage and present the most specific complaints. Patients with hepatitis NANB show the mildest symptomatology and patients with hepatitis A hold a medium position. The hepatitis types do not differ in respect to their general complaints. While sex-related differences in the level of complaints are still visible during the prodromal phase, sex and age-related differences disappear during the acute phase. Further morbidity also does not influence symptomatology at this stage. At discharge, however, sex-related differences and the effects of further morbidity on the remaining complaints reaper.