Sleep Quantity and Quality of Ontario Wildland Firefighters Across a Low-Hazard Fire Season.

Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the sleep quality, quantity, and fatigue levels of Canadian wildland firefighters while on deployment.

Methods: Objective and subjective sleep and fatigue measures were collected using actigraphy and questionnaires during non-fire (Base) and fire (Initial Attack and Project) deployments.

Results: Suboptimal sleep quality and quantity were more frequently observed during high-intensity, Initial Attack fire deployments.

Baseline depressive symptoms are not associated with clinically important levels of incident hypertension during two years of follow-up: the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis.

Previous longitudinal cohort studies have suggested an association between baseline depressive symptoms and incident hypertension. We assessed this possible association using data from the Multi-ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, a population-based prospective cohort study of 6814 US adults from 4 different racial/ethnic groups. Baseline users of antihypertensive medications and participants lost to follow-up were excluded leaving 3914 participants.

Estimating ethnic differences in self-reported new use of antidepressant medications: results from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Introduction: There is evidence that the utilization of antidepressant medications (ADM) may vary between different ethnic groups in the United States population.

Methods: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) is a population-based prospective cohort study of 6814 US adults from 4 different ethnic groups. After excluding baseline users of ADM, we examined the relation between baseline depression and new use of ADM for 4 different ethnicities: African-Americans (n = 1822), Asians (n = 784) Caucasians (n = 2300), and Hispanics (n = 1405).

The role of pain in reduced quality of life and depressive symptomology in children with spina bifida.

Objectives: Children with spina bifida report both chronic and acute pain caused by both their condition and the treatments they undergo regularly. This research provides a description of the impact of this pain on their quality of life.

Methods: A sample of 68 children (56% female) between the ages of 8 and 19 completed the Varni/Thompson Pediatric Pain Questionnaire, a supplementary questionnaire on pain, the Children's Depression Inventory, the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale for Children, and a pediatric measure of health related quality of life.

Pain in children and adolescents with spina bifida.

The Pediatric Pain Questionnaire and relevant medical records were used to investigate the frequency, intensity, location, and duration of pain experienced by children with spina bifida and to examine the concordance between child self-report and parent proxy report of pain. There were 68 children with spina bifida (30 males, 38 females) between the ages of 8 and 19 years (mean age 12y 8m). Fifty-nine children (87%) were diagnosed with myelomeningocele, six (9%) with lipomyelomeningocele, and three (4%) with lipomeningocele (4%).