Prevalence and Correlates of Mental Health Problems in Norwegian Peacekeepers 18–38 Years Postdeployment

Peacekeeping missions involve experiences that may impact the mental health of participating soldiers. However, research on the long-term mental health consequences of peacekeeping is sparse. The present study aimed to find the prevalence of mental health problems (MHPs), possible MHP predictors, and associations between predictors and MHPs in Norwegian peacekeepers 18–38 years after deployment to a United Nations peacekeeping mission. We used data from a cross-sectional, postdeployment survey of Norwegian peacekeepers who served in Lebanon between 1978 and 1998 (N = 10,605). Participants were assessed for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); anxiety; depression; insomnia; alcohol misuse; drug misuse; and exposure to pre-, peri-, and postdeployment stressors. Logistic regressions were executed to explore key variables associated with MHPs. Total MHP prevalence was 15.1%, 95% CI [14.4, 15.8]. The estimates for specific disorders were 0.1% for drug misuse, 3.4% for alcohol misuse, 4.0% for depression, 6.2% for PTSD, 6.4% for anxiety, and 9.3% for insomnia. Postdeployment stressors, OR = 1.91, 95% CI [1.79, 2.04]; employment status, OR = 1.41, 95% CI [1.33, 1.48]; and traumatic exposure during deployment, OR = 1.11, 95% CI [1.09, 1.12], were positively related to PTSD, χ2(17, N = 8,568) = 1,791.299, p < .001. Similar patterns were found for the other MHPs. Considering that most participants (84.9%) reported low symptom levels, our findings challenge the widespread public perception that most peacekeepers have MHPs. Moreover, our results indicate that future peacekeepers should be prepared for challenges they may face not only during deployment but also in the years following their homecoming.     

Clinical safety of enamel matrix derivative (EMDOGAIN®) in the treatment of periodontal defects

Abstract The aim of the present clinical trial was to test tolerability during 2 treatments with EMDOGAIN® in a large number of patients. An open, controlled study design in 10 Swedish specialist clinics was chosen, with a test group of 107 patients treated with EMDOGAIN® in connection with periodontal surgery at 2 surgical test sites per patient. The procedures were performed 2 to 6 weeks apart on one-rooted teeth with at least 4 mm deep intraosseous lesions. A control group of 33 patients underwent flap surgery without EMDOGAIN® at I comparable site. In total 214 test and 33 control surgeries were performed. Serum samples were obtained from test patients for analysis of total and specific antibody levels. 10 of the patients had samples taken before and after the first surgery. 56 other samples were taken after one treatment with EMDOGAIN®, and 63 after 2 treatments. None of the samples, not even from allergy-prone patients after 2 treatments, indicated deviations from established baseline ranges. This indicates that the immunogenic potential of EMDOGAIN® is extremely low when applied in conjunction with periodontal surgery. Comparison between the test and control groups demonstrated the same type and frequency of post-surgical experiences, i.e., reactions caused by the surgical procedure itself. Clinical probing and radiographic evaluation was performed at baseline and 8 months postsurgery. About half of the patients (44 test and 21 control) were also evaluated after 3 years. There was a significant difference between the test and control results at 8 months post surgery. and this difference had increased further at the 3 year follow-up. The 2.5–3 mm increase in attachment and bone level after treatment with EMDOGAIN® was of the same magnitude as seen in the studies with split-mouth design aiming for lest of effectiveness of EMDOGAIN®.     

Plasma proteins in a standardised skin mini-erosion (II): effects of extraction pressure

Background  

A standardised suction technique has been used to sample plasma proteins in dermal interstitial fluid (IF) serially for 5 to 6 days from a suction-induced skin mini-erosion. Increased protein concentrations ascribed to inflammation have been shown from day 1 onward. In this study, we assessed the effect of two different extraction pressures on IF sample composition.     

32nd Annual Meeting of the Scandinavian Society for Psychopharmacology Copenhagen,Denmark April 10–12, 1991 Abstracts

32nd Annual Meeting of the Scandinavian Society for Psychopharmacology Copenhagen, Denmark April 10–12, 1991 Abstracts     

The psychology behind doping in sport

Drugs and methods to improve physical performance among athletes have been used since the beginning of sport history, but the use of performance enhancing drugs has not always been regarded as cheating. In short, the motives for doping are improving and maintaining physical functioning, coping with the social/psychological pressures and striving for social and psychological goals, including economic benefits. Factors such as, “doping dilemma”, “win at all costs”, cost versus benefit, and the specificity of some specific doping agents, also play major roles. It seems that action on the athletes′ attitude about the achievement of physical improvement and creating effective methods to reveal the drug abuse, are two main ways in winning the struggle against doping.     

Shielded and unshielded geometries in the search for orphan sources.

A car-borne NaI(Tl) spectrometric system was used together with a 137Cs source to obtain realistic data in the search for unshielded and semi-shielded orphan sources. The potassium-stripped counts (PSC) method was used to estimate the influence by the shielding on the detection ability. A reduction of about 5% in the critical distance was obtained for the semi-shielded source. A curve fitting method was also developed and evaluated. Results from the curve fitting method showed inferior ability to find the source compared to the PSC method. However, it can be a useful complementary tool, for characterisation of the source shielding, and estimation of the distance from the road.     

The effects of literacy and education on the quantitative and qualitative aspects of semantic verbal fluency.

Semantic verbal fluency tasks are commonly used in neuropsychological assessment. Investigations of the influence of level of literacy have not yielded consistent results in the literature. This prompted us to investigate the ecological relevance of task specifics, in particular, the choice of semantic criteria used. Two groups of literate and illiterate subjects were compared on two verbal fluency tasks using different semantic criteria. The performance on a food criterion (supermarket fluency task), considered more ecologically relevant for the two literacy groups, and an animal criterion (animal fluency task) were compared. The data were analysed using both quantitative and qualitative measures. The quantitative analysis indicated that the two literacy groups performed equally well on the supermarket fluency task. In contrast, results differed significantly during the animal fluency task. The qualitative analyses indicated differences between groups related to the strategies used, especially with respect to the animal fluency task. The overall results suggest that there is not a substantial difference between literate and illiterate subjects related to the fundamental workings of semantic memory. However, there is indication that the content of semantic memory reflects differences in shared cultural background--in other words, formal education--, as indicated by the significant interaction between level of literacy and semantic criterion.     

Nitric oxide-donating properties of mesoionic 3-aryl substituted oxatriazole-5-imine derivatives.

1. The nitric oxide (NO)-releasing properties of two new mesoionic 3-aryl substituted oxatriazole-5-imine derivatives (GEA 3162 and GEA 3175) were characterized and compared with the known NO-donors 3-morpholino-sydnonimine (SIN-1) and S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP). 2. GEA 3162, GEA 3175, SIN-1 and SNAP inhibited adenosine 5'-diphosphate-induced platelet aggregation (IC50 values 0.18, 0.39, 3.73 and 2.12 microM, respectively). All four compounds induced a dose-dependent and more than 4 fold increase in cyclic GMP in platelets. The increase in cyclic GMP concentration was potentiated more than 1.5 fold by a phosphodiesterase inhibitor, zaprinast (10 microM) and inhibited 38-97% by oxyhaemoglobin (10-45 microM). 3. All of the four compounds studied converted oxyhaemoglobin to methaemoglobin and formed a paramagnetic NO-haemoglobin complex. All but GEA 3175 formed nitrite and nitrate in phosphate buffer. During a 40 min incubation, GEA 3162, SIN-1 and SNAP (100 microM) produced 50-70 microM NO2- + NO3- as determined by high performance liquid chromatography. The release of NO and NO2 by GEA 3175 was increased 140 fold in the presence of human plasma (0.14 and 19.7 ppb in the absence and presence of 1% human plasma, respectively) as analyzed by ozone chemiluminescence. 4. The results suggest that the mesoionic 3-aryl substituted oxatriazole-5-imine derivatives GEA 3162 and GEA 3175 as well as SIN-1 and SNAP release nitric oxide.