The mental and physical health of miners following the 1992 national pit closure programme: a cross sectional survey using General Health Questionnaire GHQ-12 and Short Form SF-36

Background: In the twelve months following the announcement of the UK pit closure programme in October 1992, 22 500 miners were made redundant. In 1994 we undertook a cross-sectional survey to determine whether the mental and physical health of men who had been employed in the Nottinghamshire mining industry differed from that of the general population.Methods: A postal questionnaire was designed incorporating the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), and six domains from SF-36. Questionnaires were sent to 1064 miners and ex-miners and 2097 other men in Nottinghamshire. Non-responders were sent two reminders.Results: The final response rate was 51%. The percentage of responders with GHQ-12 scores of three or more (suggesting psychological disorder) was 46% for those still employed in the mining industry, 52% for unemployed former miners and 22% for working non-miners (odds ratios: 3.0 [95% C.I. 2.2–4.1] for current miners and 3.9 [95% C.I. 2.6–5.7] for unemployed miners compared with working non-miners). The miners and ex-miners also had lower scores (suggesting greater morbidity) for each of the SF-36 domains tested. When stratifying for age in respondents of social classes IIIM-V the scores of current miners were significantly lower than those of working non-miners (P < 0.01).Conclusions: This study suggests that when surveyed in 1994, men who had been employed in three Nottinghamshire collieries in 1992 were psychologically and physically disadvantaged compared with working non-miners. Whether these findings are a result of pit closures is uncertain. However, significant potential health needs have been demonstrated.     

注射用避孕药对纤溶酶原活化物抑制因子活性影响的研究

观察９４名妇女使用Ｍｅｓｉｇｙｎａａｋｇ Ｃｙｃｌｏｆｅｍ ９ｍｏ后其血浆溶酶原活的抑制因子（ＰＡＩ）的活性变化，并与口服低剂量避孕药的妇女作比较。结果显示注射用药的妇女ＰＡＩ在用药期间略有升高，但变化处在正常范围内，且停药３个月后恢复至用药前水平，这些改变与口服用药的妇女相比较没有统计学意义。说明Ｍｅｓｉｇｙｎａ和Ｃｙｃｌｏｆｅｍｗ作为生育控制是安全的。     

Predictors of immediate response in the treatment of mania: the importance of comorbidity

Four hundred thirty-eight bipolar manics were admitted to an acute care psychiatric inpatient ward over a 12-year period. Eighty percent had good and 20% poor immediate outcome. Good outcome patients were characterized by short episode duration, older age of onset, a longer hospitalization, fewer suicide thoughts, and less psychiatric and medical comorbidity than the poor outcome group. Patients were divided into four treatment groups based on primary mode of therapy during index hospitalization: electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), adequate lithium, inadequate lithium, and neither treatment. Patients experiencing good outcome were more likely to be in the adequate lithium group and less likely to receive neither treatment. Regression analysis identified the absence of comorbidity, duration of lithium treatment more than 2 weeks, and duration of episode of less than 1 month as predictors of good outcome at hospital discharge.