Epidemiological study of Taenia solium infections in a rural village in Honduras.

An epidemiological study was conducted in a Honduran rural community in 1991, to determine the local prevalence and associated risk factors of Taenia infection. The seroprevalence of anti-cysticercus antibodies, investigated by ELISA (N = 526), was found to be 30%. The prevalence of intestinal infections with Taenia and other parasites was investigated, by formol-ether concentration of three stool samples from each subject (N = 536).

Sick-leave due to psychiatric disorder: higher incidence among women and longer duration for men.

Background: Women take sick-leave more often than men, both in general and because of psychiatric disorders. The aim of the present study was to introduce the new dimension of sick-leave duration in the analysis of gender differences in minor psychiatric disorders.

Method: A population-based register was used, which included all sick-leave spells exceeding seven consecutive days, 1985-1987, in a Swedish county.

Abstinence in late adolescence--antecedents to and covariates of a sober lifestyle and its consequences.

The purpose of this study was first to compare 18-19-year-old male abstainers with alcohol consumers, and especially light consumers, regarding degree of sociability as indicated by their (in)security in the company of others, their number of close friends, intimate conversations with friends and their popularity in school. Secondly, we analysed the importance of antecedents to and covariates of abstinence. In addition, the significant antecedents and covariates gave us information as to abstinence patterns.

Are there neurological and sensory risk factors for schizophrenia?

The association between left-handedness, epilepsy, and hearing impairment with schizophrenia was investigated using data from a cohort of 50,000 male Swedish conscripts linked to the Swedish National Register of Psychiatric Care. Though epilepsy was rare in this cohort, no association with schizophrenia was found. Left-handedness was associated with neither schizophrenia nor other psychoses.

Gender differences for the risk of alcohol-related problems in multiple national contexts.

The primary research question asked is: After holding alcohol consumption constant, will men and women be at equal risk for a variety of alcohol-related problems? Since women are actually at a higher blood alcohol content at the same consumption levels, a physiological argument would suggest that women are at equal or greater risk for alcohol problems than men. However, variation in societal norms surrounding gender roles and/or societal-level stress may mediate the experience of men and women, regardless of the differences in physiology. Ten cross-sectional general population studies are used.

[Public health services and research in Scandinavia].

Public health problems in the Nordic countries are essentially the same as those in other West European countries: increased inequality in health status, despite the favourable improvement in public health as a whole; the health hazards that accompany increasing unemployment; and the difficulty of maintaining reasonable quality and access to care, owing to diminishing resources. In the Nordic countries, however, there is a broad and diversified collaboration in public health facilities and research based, for instance, on epidemiological studies and assisted by access to health-related data bases. The Nordic countries are characterised by many noteworthy examples of organisational models of public health services at the regional and municipal level.

Psychosocial consequences of traffic accidents: a two year follow-up.

The aim of the study was to assess long term outcome of injuries from traffic accidents with focus on psychosocial aspects. Eighty-four persons injured in traffic accidents and with moderate to severe injuries (ISS > or = 9) were interviewed approximately two years after the accident. We examined psychosocial consequences within eight different domains; sequelae of the injury, psychological consequences, sickness compensation received, living conditions, need of assistance, working capacity, economic situation and leisure time activity.

Contrasting roles of rivers and wells as sources of drinking water on attack and fatality rates in a hepatitis E epidemic in Somalia.

In early 1988, an increased incidence of acute hepatitis was observed in villages along the Shebeli River in the Lower Shebeli region of Somalia. This was followed by a large epidemic that lasted until late 1989. In a survey of 142 villages with a population of 245,312 individuals, 11,413 icteric cases were recorded, of which 346 died, corresponding to an attack rate and a case fatality rate of 4.

Do left-handers have increased mortality?

To study the association between handedness and mortality, we evaluated the experience of a Swedish population-based cohort comprising 48,964 conscripts age 18-21 years in 1969-1970. We linked this cohort to the Cause-of-Death Register through 1989. Hand preference was measured by a simple question regarding handedness; to confirm the answer, the conscript held a dummy rifle while an observer recorded whether he was a left- or right-hand shooter.

Antecedents of neurosis in a cohort of 30,344 twins in Sweden.

We analyzed questionnaire survey responses in a cohort of 30,344 twins in Sweden, 280 of whom became inpatients due to neurosis within the subsequent 10 years. As a group, they differed substantially in their reported health profile from the survey responders who were not admitted for psychiatric treatment. When subclassified into anxiety, depressive, and other neuroses, these were indistinguishable from each other regarding self-perceived health and personality traits.

Endemic versus non-endemic gonorrhoea in Stockholm: results of contact tracing.

The aim of the present study was to characterize endemic versus non-endemic gonorrhoea to identify risk groups for transmission and to evaluate the effects of intensified contact tracing performed by specially trained social workers at venereal clinics. A total of 671 gonorrhoea patients (283 women and 388 men) comprised the study group. Seventy percent of the women and 48% of the men had an endemic infection (P < 0.

Cannabis and schizophrenia: a longitudinal study of cases treated in Stockholm County.

By means of the Stockholm County inpatient care register we identified all cases treated with a diagnosis of cannabis dependence and psychosis, not necessarily at the same occasion, during 1971-1983. By scrutinizing medical records, we evaluated the diagnosis according to DSM-III-R and we assessed the history of substance abuse as well as the psychiatric history and clinical course. We identified 229 cases during the follow-up; 112 of these cases (49%) fulfilled the DSM-III-R criteria for schizophrenia.

Predictors of alcoholism in young Swedish men.

Objectives: The purpose of the study was to assess risk indicators for admission for alcoholism in young men.

Methods: Level of alcohol consumption and background variables were analyzed in a survey of 49,464 Swedish conscripts. Admissions to psychiatric care were registered during a 15-year follow-up.

Initiation into drug abuse: the pathway from being offered drugs to trying cannabis and progression to intravenous drug abuse.

The aim of the study was to analyse the initiation process into illicit drug use focusing on three endpoints which can be seen as stages in the drug career: being offered drugs, using cannabis and using intravenous drugs. Questionnaire data were available on 23,482 men, aged 18-20 years, conscripted for military service in 1969-70. The association between family background, social conditions, other illicit drug use, emotional control and the three endpoints were analysed.

Obstetric medication versus residential area as perinatal risk factors for subsequent adult drug addiction in offspring.

In an attempt to explain pronounced uneven distributions of births of subsequent amphetamine and opiate addicts at seven hospitals in Stockholm, two possible mechanisms for adult drug addiction were weighed against each other: (1) risk factors associated with the obstetric care at the hospitals of birth of the addicts and (2) risk factors associated with the phenomenon of 'contagious' transmission of drug addiction in certain residential areas during adolescence. The subjects comprised 200 amphetamine addicts and 200 opiate addicts born between 1945 and 1966. By loglinear analysis the relative risk for future addiction was determined for eight residential areas as well as for the seven hospitals and four periods of birth.

Socio-economic versus obstetric risk factors for drug addiction in offspring.

Two possible risk factors for drug addiction were weighed against each other: (1) perinatal factors associated with obstetric medication at time of birth; and (2) factors associated with familial socio-economic conditions at time of birth. The subjects comprised 200 amphetamine addicts and 200 opiate addicts born in Stockholm 1945-1966. In a matched case control study, addicts were compared to their siblings with regard to possible obstetric risk factors by means of conditional logistic regression controlling for socio-economic level and civil status.

Height, body mass index and mortality: do social factors explain the association?

The aim of the study was to analyse the effects on mortality of body height and body mass index (BMI) in young men, taking into account social and behavioural characteristics in early youth. The study is a 20-year follow-up of all Swedish men (n = 50,465) conscripted for military service in 1969-70. Baseline data on body height and weight as well as interview and questionnaire data on social and behavioural characteristics were linked to mortality data up to the end of 1988.