Short‐term Effects of Social Exclusion at Work and Worries on Sleep

The present study investigated short‐term effects of daily social exclusion at work on various indicators of sleep quality and tested the mediating role of work‐related worries using a time‐based diary study with ambulatory assessments of sleep quality. Ninety full‐time employees participated in a 2‐week data collection. Multilevel analyses revealed that daily workplace social exclusion and work‐related worries were positively related to sleep fragmentation in the following night. Daily social exclusion, however, was unrelated to sleep onset latency, sleep efficiency and self‐reported sleep quality. Moreover, worries did not mediate the effect of social exclusion at work on sleep fragmentation. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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European Spine Journal - Depression, anxiety, catastrophising, and fear-avoidance beliefs are key "yellow flags" (YFs) that predict a poor outcome in back patients. Most surgeons...     

Lack of association of severe preeclampsia with maternal and fetal mutant alleles for tumor necrosis factor alpha and lymphotoxin alpha genes and plasma tumor necrosis factor alpha levels

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether the increased frequency of mutant alleles of the gene for tumor necrosis factor alpha and elevated maternal and fetal plasma levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha were associated with severe preeclampsia. STUDY DESIGN: We performed a prospective cross-sectional study involving 112 patients with severe preeclampsia matched for gestational age with 106 normotensive pregnant women. Deoxyribonucleic acid for restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis was extracted from maternal and fetal blood. Two mutations associated with the gene for tumor necrosis factor alpha were assayed by polymerase chain reaction. Polymerase chain reaction products were digested with the restriction enzyme Ncol and then fractionated by gel electrophoresis. Genotypic frequencies were calculated. Maternal and fetal plasma tumor necrosis factor alpha levels were assayed by the dual monoclonal antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique. The chi2 test, the Fisher exact test, the Student t test, and the Mann-Whitney test were performed to calculate statistical significance. RESULTS: The differences in the genotypic frequencies of the two loci were not significant in either maternal or fetal samples between control women and women with pregnancies complicated by severe preeclampsia. There was no statistical difference in median maternal plasma levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha between control subjects (0.0 pg/mL) and patients with severe preeclampsia (2.5 pg/mL; P =.36). Unexpectedly, fetal plasma tumor necrosis factor alpha levels were found to be significantly elevated in control women (18.4 pg/mL) relative to women with severe preeclampsia (9.1 pg/mL; P <.0001). CONCLUSION: Neither the genotypic frequencies for tumor necrosis factor alpha mutant alleles nor maternal tumor necrosis factor alpha plasma levels were increased in patients with severe preeclampsia.     

Development of a Decision Aid for Genital Gender-Affirming Surgery in Transmen

Background

As genital gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a demanding and life-changing intervention, transmen should be able to make choices about the surgical treatment based on outcomes that are most important to them, while taking into consideration the concomitant risks involved.

Does injury claim status and benefit status predict low back pain outcomes?

Background

In New Zealand the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) is a state-funded insurance agency that accepts claims for accidental injuries, including lumbar spine injuries. It is unknown whether ACC claim status (accepted, not accepted) affects low back pain (LBP) outcomes, or whether benefit status (e.g., sickness, disability) further affects outcomes in patients without ACC cover

Aims

This study aimed to determine whether ACC claim and benefit status are likely to influence a range of outcomes for people with LBP in New Zealand.

Methods

A prospective survey of low back pain patients was performed (April 2008–October 2010). ACC claim status was recorded, and individuals without accepted claims indicated benefit status. Surveys were sent at multiple time points; pain, functional limitation, psychological factors, and general health were assessed. Statistical analysis was undertaken using ANCOVA and ANOVA (p<0.05).

Results

In total, 168 patients completed the study. Six-month measures showed individuals with no ACC claim for LBP to overall have poorer outcomes (mental health, p=0.039; pain, p=0.045; functional limitation, p=0.049); sub-group analysis (no ACC claim) between those with or without a benefit showed those on benefits to have significantly higher functional limitation (p<0.001), poorer physical health (p=0.002), greater pain (p=0.027), and stronger fear avoidance behaviours for both work (p=0.047) and physical activity (p=0.35).

Conclusion

Findings indicate individuals with accepted ACC claims for LBP have significantly better outcomes than those without, and patients on benefits with no accepted ACC claim for LBP have even poorer outcomes.     

The double meaning of control: three-way interactions between internal resources, job control, and stressors at work

The Job Demand-Control model postulates that job control attenuates the effects of job demands on health and well-being. Support for this interactive effect is rather weak. Conceivably, it holds only when there is a match between job control and individual characteristics that relate to exercising control options, such as locus of control, or self-efficacy. This three-way interaction was tested in a sample of 96 service employees, with affective strain and musculoskeletal pain as dependent variables. As hypothesized, job control attenuated the effects of stressors only for people with an internal locus of control. For people with an external locus of control, job control actually predicted poorer well-being and health as stressors increased. For self-efficacy, the corresponding three-way interaction was significant with regard to affective strain.