Sleep on the Night Shift: 24-Hour EEG Monitoring of Spontaneous Sleep/Wake Behavior

The present study sought to objectively describe the spontaneous sleep/wakefulness pattern of shift workers during a 24-hour period. Portable Medilog tape-recorders were used for ambulatory EEG monitoring of 25 male papermill workers (25-55 years) during days with night and afternoon work. The results showed that sleep after night work was two hours shorter than after afternoon work. The sleep reduction affected mainly Stage 2 and REM sleep while slow wave sleep was unchanged. In connection with night work 28% of the workers took a nap in the afternoon. These naps contained a large proportion of slow wave sleep and were, apparently, caused by the sleep deficit after the short main sleep period. The EEG recordings also revealed that 20% of the participants had sleep episodes during night work. These naps were as long as the afternoon naps, were experienced as "dozing offs" rather than naps, occurred at the time of the trough of the circadian wakefulness rhythm, and were concomitant with extreme subjective sleepiness and low rated work load. It was concluded that not only the sleep of shift workers was disturbed, but also the wakefulness--to the extent that sleepiness during night work sometimes reached a level where reasonable wakefulness could not be maintained. The latter observation is probably of special importance in work situations demanding a great responsibility for human lives or for great economic values.     

Can school-related factors predict future health behaviour among young adolescents?

Although the prevention of unfavourable health behaviour among young people has high priority in public health, the possibility of finding risk factors at school has not been sufficiently studied. The objective of this study was to find predictors among young pupils for later unfavourable health behaviour, with special focus on school-related factors.A three-year prospective study was started in 1994 including 279 pupils (141 girls and 138 boys) from different socio-economic areas. The pupils answered a comprehensive questionnaire in grade six and grade nine. The non-response rate was negligible.The best predictors for health behaviour among boys and girls in grade nine were factors related to earlier health/health behaviour. The results also indicated that school-related factors could predict future health behaviour, especially in relation to low physical activity among girls.The school has an important role to play in identification of future unfavourable health behaviour among pupils at the school, both directly through recognising school-related risk factors and also indirectly through paying special attention to pupils with unfavourable health/health behaviour. Our findings indicate the need for more research in younger ages, as negative health behaviour already seems to be established at 12 y of age.     

Understanding adolescent mental health: the influence of social processes, doing gender and gendered power relations

Despite a well-documented gender pattern in adolescent mental health, research investigating possible explanatory factors from a gender-theoretical approach is scarce. This paper reports a grounded theory study based on 29 focus groups. The aim was to explore 16- to 19-year-old students' perceptions of what is significant for mental health, and to apply a gender analysis to the findings in order to advance understanding of the gender pattern in adolescent mental health. Significant factors were identified in three social processes categories, including both positive and negative aspects: (1) social interactions, (2) performance and (3) responsibility. Girls more often experienced negative aspects of these processes, placing them at greater risk for mental health problems. Boys' more positive mental health appeared to be associated with their low degree of responsibility-taking and beneficial positions relative to girls. Negotiating cultural norms of femininity and masculinity seemed to be more strenuous for girls, which could place them at a disadvantage with regard to mental health. Social factors and processes (particularly responsibility), gendered power relations and constructions of masculinities and femininities should be acknowledged as important for adolescent mental health.     

Physical and psychological symptoms and learning difficulties in children of women exposed and non-exposed to violence: a population-based study

Objectives  

To analyse the association between violence against mothers and the health of their children as reported by the mothers.     

'We won't let them keep us quiet ...' Gendered strategies in the negotiation of power--implications for pupils' health and school health promotion

The aim of this qualitative study was to analyse gendered strategiesamong pupils in the negotiation of power at school, and to discusspossible implications for health. Twenty-seven single-sex focusgroup interviews were conducted with pupils from equal opportunityprojects. The interviews were analysed using grounded theory.The girls used ‘alliance building’ and ‘resistance’,in order to increase their power, while ‘responsibilitytaking’ and ‘withdrawal’ could mean maintainedsubordination. The boys used mastering techniques (various typesof abuse, claiming to be the norm, acting-out behaviour, blamingthe girls, choosing boys only) in self-interest to maintaintheir dominance. The girls' active and democratic actions forincreased power could be of significant importance for theirhealth. The boys' health would benefit if they gave up strivingfor power over others. School health promotion needs to addressthe asymmetric and gendered distribution of power between pupils,as well as to challenge the existing gender regime at an institutionallevel.     

Ischemic stroke and shift work

OBJECTIVES: This study analyzed the potential association between shift work and ischemic stroke. METHODS: The analysis was carried out using a nested case-control study consisting of 138 shift workers and 469 day workers from the register of the Northern Sweden Monitoring of Trends and Determinants in Cardiovascular Diseases (MONICA) study and the V?sterbotten Intervention Programme. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the risk estimate for day workers in a comparison with shift workers and the risk of ischemic stroke. RESULTS: The crude odds ratio for shift workers' risk of experiencing an ischemic stroke was 1.0 (95% confidence interval 0.6-1.8) for both the men and the women. The risk estimates were consistent despite the introduction of several recognized risk factors for ischemic stroke in the logistic regression models. CONCLUSIONS: In the present study, none of the findings indicated a higher risk of shift workers undergoing an ischemic stroke than day workers.     

Experiences of violence among adolescents: gender patterns in types,perpetrators and associated psychological distress

Purpose  

To explore the psychological distress associations of experiences of several types of violence and the victim–perpetrator relationship of physical violence, a gender analysis was applied.