Secular trends in cardiovascular risk factors with a 36-year perspective: observations from 38- and 50-year-olds in the Population Study of Women in Gothenburg

Objectives

To study secular trends in cardiovascular risk factors in four different cohorts of women examined in 1968–1969, 1980–1981, 1992–1993 and 2004–2005.

Design

Comparison of four representative cohorts of 38- and 50-year-old women over a period of 36 years.

Setting

Gothenburg, Sweden with ∼450 000 inhabitants.

Subjects

Four representative samples of 38- and 50-year-old women were invited to free health examinations (participation rate 59–90%, n =1901).

Main outcome measures

Body mass index (BMI), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP), leisure time exercise, use of antihypertensive medication, smoking, levels of haemoglobin, b-glucose, s-cholesterol, s-triglycerides and HDL-cholesterol.

Results

There was no significant difference in mean BMI from 1968–1969 versus 2004–2005. Mean leisure time exercise was significantly higher in later born cohorts; in 1968, around 15% were physically active compared with 40% in 2004. SBP and DBP, mean s-cholesterol and s-triglyceride levels were significantly lower in both 38- and 50-year-old cohorts in 2004–2005 versus 1968–1969. HDL-cholesterol (not measured until 1992–1993), showed a significantly higher mean level in 2004–2005. Reduction of risk factors was apparent in women with a high as well as low level of physical activity. Smoking declined most in women with high levels of physical activity.

Conclusions

Several cardiovascular risk factors related to lifestyle have improved in middle-aged women from the 1960s until today. Most of the positive trends are observed in women with both low and high physical activity.     

Nociceptive sensations evoked from 'spots' in the skin by mild cooling and heating

It was recently found that nociceptive sensations (stinging, pricking, or burning) can be evoked by cooling or heating the skin to innocuous temperatures (e.g., 29 and 37 degrees C). Here, we show that this low-threshold thermal nociception (LTN) can be traced to sensitive 'spots' in the skin equivalent to classically defined warm spots and cold spots. Because earlier work had shown that LTN is inhibited by simply touching a thermode to the skin, a spatial search procedure was devised that minimized tactile stimulation by sliding small thermodes (16 and 1mm(2)) set to 28 or 36 degrees C slowly across the lubricated skin of the forearm. The procedure uncovered three types of temperature-sensitive sites (thermal, bimodal, and nociceptive) that contained one or more thermal, nociceptive, or (rarely) bimodal spots. Repeated testing indicated that bimodal and nociceptive sites were less stable over time than thermal sites, and that mechanical contact differentially inhibited nociceptive sensations. Intensity ratings collected over a range of temperatures showed that LTN increased monotonically on heat-sensitive sites but not on cold-sensitive sites. These results provide psychophysical evidence that stimulation from primary afferent fibers with thresholds in the range of warm fibers and cold fibers is relayed to the pain pathway. However, the labile nature of LTN implies that these low-threshold nociceptive inputs are subject to inhibitory controls. The implications of these findings for the roles of putative temperature receptors and nociceptors in innocuous thermoreception and thermal pain are discussed.     

Pediatric brain tumor patients: their parents' perceptions of the hospital experience.

Studies have shown that admission to the hospital of a child can induce feelings of fear and helplessness in parents, challenging usual patterns of coping and parenting competence. Stress has been associated with parents' need to establish effective communication with staff and their need for information, ready access to their children, and participation in decision making relating to their child's care. This study of coping and adjustment was undertaken with the parents, including mothers and fathers, of children under 18 years of age diagnosed with a brain tumor, presenting at Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, between 2001 and 2002 (N=53). It was a prospective study using repeated measures over time. Participants in the study were involved in a questionnaire interview at 4 different points: at the time of diagnosis, 6 months postdiagnosis, 1 year postdiagnosis, and 2 years postdiagnosis, in which they were asked, among other things, about their experience of the hospital. The point of diagnosis was marked by a high level of dependence, with parents coping with rapid decision making and shock, and the surrender of care of their child. Parents identified high levels of information need but noted that they were often too stressed to take in information early on, and that this information need persisted up to the 2-year postdiagnosis point. More parents expressed dissatisfaction with the hospital and particularly with their interactions with the health care team at the 6-month post-diagnosis period, reflecting a possible reduction in attention given to families once they had settled into the treatment routine and the crisis of diagnosis had passed.     

Psychosocial interventions for patients with head and neck cancer: past, present, and future

A diagnosis of head and neck cancer, like any cancer diagnosis, is often accompanied by much fear and uncertainty. In addition, patients with head and neck cancer face difficulties in eating, chewing, drinking, breathing, speaking, as well as changes in appearance. Simultaneously, the burden of head and neck cancer is often manifested in psychosocial dysfunction, which can have a negative impact on quality of life. Although a phenomenon well recognized, little is known about many factors that influence or impact psychosocial dysfunction in individuals with head and neck cancer. Even less is known about the effective management of psychosocial dysfunction. To date, there is evidence to suggest that psychosocial interventions generally provide an overall positive effect. Moreover, some intervention studies, such as education alone, have failed to achieve the desired results. In addition, some studies suggest an advantage of cognitive- behavioral therapy over other forms of psychological treatment. With the growing impetus to investigate factors associated with psychosocial dysfunction, and considerable advancement in the development and validation of many global and disease-specific measures, there is an opportunity for further research to develop an appropriate clinical intervention program for such patients.     

Specificity in the Relations among Childhood Adversity, Early Maladaptive Schemas, and Symptom Profiles in Adolescent Depression

The present cross-sectional study examined the relations of particular forms of childhood adversity (e.g., emotional maltreatment vs. physical abuse vs. sexual abuse) to specific early maladaptive schema themes (e.g., worthlessness/loss vs. danger) and symptom profiles (i.e., anhedonic vs. anxious). Seventy-six depressed adolescents retrospectively reported on their childhood experiences of emotional maltreatment, physical abuse, and sexual abuse in a contextual semi-structured interview. They were also administered the Young Schema Questionnaire to measure early maladaptive schemas, and the Mood and Anxiety Symptom Questionnaire to measure anhedonic and anxious symptomatology. Consistent with specificity hypotheses, schemas with themes of loss/worthlessness preferentially mediated the relation between childhood adversity and anhedonic symptoms, while schemas with themes of danger preferentially mediated the relation between childhood adversity and anxious symptoms. Sexual abuse was not significantly associated with either depression or anxiety symptoms and, thus, mediation models involving sexual abuse were not tested. Implications for fine-grained models of etiology in depression are discussed.

Saturday-morning television: do sponsors promote high-risk behavior for burn injury?

Television has become an important tool for learning and socialization in children. Although television violence has been associated with adverse effects, data on depiction of fire and burn injury are lacking. We sought to determine whether Saturday-morning television programming, viewed primarily by children, depicts fire and burn injury as safe or without consequence, thus potentially increasing the incidence of burn injury in children. This was a prospective observational study. Saturday-morning children's television programs were videotaped from 7 AM to 11 AM for eight different television networks during a 6-month period. Tapes were scored for scenes depicting fire or smoke by independent observers. Recorded items included show category, scene type, gender target, context of fire, and outcome after exposure to flame. Fire events were documented during programs and their associated commercials. A total of 108 hours of children's programs, 16 hours per network, were recorded. Scenes depicting fire or smoke were identified 1960 times, with 39% of events occurring during the program itself and 61% in commercials. Fire was depicted as either safe or without consequence in 64% of incidents. Action adventure stories accounted for 56% of flame depictions. Overall, one incident involving flame and fire was portrayed for each 3 minutes of television programming. Saturday-morning television programming frequently depicts fire as safe, empowering, or exciting. The incidence of flame use in programming varies between stations but is most prevalent in action/adventure stories. Television commercials, although brief, provide the majority of the misinformation regarding fire. Medical professional societies should alert the public to this potential hazard and recommend responsible portrayal of fire in children's television programming.     

Characterization of Pre-Antibiotic Era Klebsiella pneumoniae Isolates with Respect to Antibiotic/Disinfectant Susceptibility and Virulence in Galleria mellonella

The EGD Murray collection consists of approximately 500 clinical bacterial isolates, mainly Enterobacteriaceae, isolated from around the world between 1917 and 1949. A number of these “Murray” isolates have subsequently been identified as Klebsiella pneumoniae. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of these isolates showed that over 30% were resistant to penicillins due to the presence of diverse bla_SHV β-lactamase genes. Analysis of susceptibility to skin antiseptics and triclosan showed that while the Murray isolates displayed a range of MIC/minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) values, the mean MIC value was lower than that for more modern K. pneumoniae isolates tested. All Murray isolates contained the cation efflux gene cepA, which is involved in disinfectant resistance, but those that were more susceptible to chlorhexidine were found to have a 9- or 18-bp insertion in this gene. Susceptibility to other disinfectants, e.g., H₂O₂, in the Murray isolates was comparable to that in modern K. pneumoniae isolates. The Murray isolates were also less virulent in Galleria and had a different complement of putative virulence factors than the modern isolates, with the exception of an isolate related to the modern lineage CC23. More of the modern isolates (41% compared to 8%) are classified as good/very good biofilm formers, but there was overlap in the two populations. This study demonstrated that a significant proportion of the Murray Klebsiella isolates were resistant to penicillins before their routine use. This collection of pre-antibiotic era isolates may provide significant insights into adaptation in K. pneumoniae in relation to biocide susceptibility.