A longitudinal study of the relationship between empowerment and burnout among registered and assistant nurses.

The relation between empowerment and burnout was investigated using a two-wave and two-variable panel model. A questionnaire was completed on two occasions, one year apart, by 1,356 nurses. The paths in the model were estimated using regression analyses and the following results were obtained: (a) empowerment is a stable state; (b) higher levels of empowerment are related to lower levels of burnout, when empowerment and burnout are studied at the same point in time; (c) higher prior levels of empowerment can be associated with higher later levels of burnout, when empowerment and burnout are studied at different points in time; (d) for assistant nurses, but not for registered nurses, prior higher levels of burnout resulted in lower later levels of empowerment, indicating a reciprocal relation between the two concepts.

Influence of family history of diabetes on incidence and prevalence of latent autoimmune diabetes of the adult: results from the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between family history of diabetes (FHD) and prevalence and incidence of latent autoimmune diabetes of the adult (LADA), type 1 diabetes, and type 2 diabetes.

Research Design And Methods: The results were based on cross-sectional data from 64,498 men and women (aged >or=20 years) who were in the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study, which included 128 cases of LADA, 1,134 cases of type 2 diabetes, and 123 cases of type 1 diabetes. In addition, prospective data on 46,210 subjects, which included 80 incident cases of LADA, observed between 1984 and 1986 and 1995 and 1997 were available.

The psychosocial work environment and burnout among Swedish registered and assistant nurses: the main, mediating, and moderating role of empowerment.

The aim of the present study was to explore: the main effect of empowerment on burnout; empowerment as a mediator between the work environment and burnout; and empowerment as a moderator of the association between the work environment and burnout. In order to explore these effects, multiple regression analyses were performed on questionnaire data from 838 registered nurses and 518 assistant nurses in Sweden. The analyses showed that: empowerment has a negative association to burnout; empowerment has a mediating effect between the work environment (especially for control and social support) and burnout; and the moderating effect of empowerment on the association between the work environment and burnout was weak.

Physical activity and mortality: is the association explained by genetic selection?

Public health recommendations promote physical activity to improve health and longevity. Recent data suggest that the association between physical activity and mortality may be due to genetic selection. Using data on twins, the authors investigated whether genetic selection explains the association between physical activity and mortality.

Quality of life among lifetime victimized men.

Quality of life was compared for lifetime victimized (n = 353) and nonvictimized men (n = 167) for demographic and quality of life variables by a cross-sectional design. The univariate analyses showed that victims compared to nonvictims had a lower quality of life, were younger, more often had upper secondary school education, and were more often blue-collar/low white-collar workers, on student allowances, on unemployment, financially strained, and smokers. The regressions revealed that unemployment, financial strain, smoking, depression, and home/public abuse were associated with reduced quality of life among victimized men.

A psychometric assessment of a Swedish translation of Shafer's personality scale.

The psychometric properties of a Swedish translation of Shafer's (1999a) Big Five Marker (BFM) scale were assessed. The assessment was based on self-ratings on the BFM scale obtained from 694 subjects (82% women and 18% men) residing in Sweden. The following main results were obtained: (a) The factor structure was clear and simple.

Age, overweight and physical inactivity increase the risk of latent autoimmune diabetes in adults: results from the Nord-Trøndelag health study.

Aims/hypothesis: Latent autoimmune diabetes (LADA) is a common form of diabetes, yet the risk factors are poorly characterised. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of age, overweight and physical activity on the risk of LADA.

Methods: We analysed age, overweight and physical inactivity and the incidence of LADA in 38,800 men and women, observed between 1984 and 1986 and 1995 and 1997 as part of the Nord-Trøndelag Health Survey.

Factors associated with attitudes toward intimate partner violence: a study of women in Zambia.

Demographic, social, and empowerment factors associated with attitudes toward intimate partner violence (IPV) were investigated in a random sample of women (n = 5,029) aged 15-49 years in Zambia. Data was retrieved from the Zambia Demographic and Health Survey 2001-2002 (2003). The findings indicated demographic, social, and structural differences in attitudes toward IPV.

Genetic effects on physical activity: results from the Swedish Twin Registry.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic effects on leisure-time physical activity using data from the Swedish Twin Registry.

Methods: We investigated 13,362 twin pairs (5334 monozygotic and 8028 dizygotic pairs) aged 14-46 yr. Information on leisure-time physical activity was obtained by questionnaire.

The influence of prognostic factors on neck pain intensity, disability, anxiety and depression over a 2-year period in subjects with acute whiplash injury.

The influence of potential prognostic factors (occupant- and crash-related factors, initial neck pain intensity and headache, whiplash injury severity, helplessness, locus of control, socioeconomic status) on neck pain intensity (VAS), disability (DRI), anxiety and depression (HADS) was estimated in a cohort of 3704 subjects with whiplash injury following a motor vehicle crash. Questionnaires were administered (baseline, 1-, 6-, 12-, 24-month follow-ups). VAS was trichotomized; "low" (0-30), "moderate" (31-54), "severe" (55-100).

Feeding disorders related to nutrition.

Aim: To study the relationship between early feeding disorders and nutritional intake during the second and third year of life.

Methods: 15 children, nine girls and six boys, with a feeding problem identified at the Specialist Child Health Care Unit at a mean age of 14.5 mo were matched with respect to age and sex with healthy control children.

The influence of the patients' ethnicity, socio-demographic conditions and strain on psychiatric diagnoses given at an outpatient clinic.

Although psychiatric diagnoses are influenced by cultural and social conditions, with large global variations, the ICD and DSM systems are applied worldwide. The aims of this study were to describe the distribution of different ethnic patient groups in psychiatric outpatient services and the influence of ethnicity, demographic conditions and social strain on psychiatric diagnoses. An entire year's cohort of psychiatric outpatients (n = 839) in an outpatient register was divided into nine groups, according to country of birth.

Factors related to participation in a cervical cancer screening programme in urban Sweden.

Fifty-six per cent of invited women aged 25-60 attended the Population-based Cervical Cancer Screening Programme (PCCSP) in Stockholm, Sweden in 1994-1996. The objective of this study was to explore factors related to participation in this PCCSP. Registry data on all women aged 25-60 invited to the PCCSP from 1994 to 1996 (n=307,552) was matched with a national longitudinal population database.

Pain among women: associations with socio-economic and work conditions.

We examined pain prevalence (general/body sites) and its characteristics/consequences among a randomised sample of women from the general population between 18 and 64 years (n=3,616). We also scrutinised associations between pain and various factors (e.g.

Genetic and environmental influences on eating behavior: the Swedish Young Male Twins Study.

Background: Eating behavior may be implicated in the increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity, presumably in relation to easy access to energy-dense and highly palatable foods.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to disentangle genetic and environmental influences on eating behavior in a population-based cohort of male twins.

Design: The study included 326 dizygotic and 456 monozygotic male twin pairs aged 23-29 y from Sweden.

Quitline in smoking cessation: a cost-effectiveness analysis.

Objectives: The cost-effectiveness of the Swedish quitline, a nation-wide, free of charge service, is assessed.

Methods: The study was based on data of a sample of 1131 callers enrolled from February 1, 2000 to November 30, 2001. Outcome was measured as cost per quitter and cost per year of life saved.

Smoking is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes but a decreased risk of autoimmune diabetes in adults: an 11-year follow-up of incidence of diabetes in the Nord-Trøndelag study.

Aims/hypothesis: We compared the association between smoking habits and later occurrence of type 2 diabetes on the one hand and between smoking and diabetes with autoimmunity on the other hand.

Methods: We used data from a prospective study of 11-year cumulative incidence of diabetes in the Nord-Trøndelag Health Survey.

Results: Confirming previous reports, heavy smoking (>/=20 cigarettes per day) carried an increased relative risk (RR) of type 2 diabetes (n=738, RR=1.

Factors related to abstinence in a telephone helpline for smoking cessation.

Background: Studies indicate that shortage of cessation counsellors may be a major barrier for tobacco prevention among physicians. Telephone helplines (quitlines) may be an option. The effectiveness of the Swedish quitline and factors related to abstinence from smoking 12 months after the first contact were assessed.

Nonanoic acid--an experimental irritant.

Irritant contact dermatitis is defined as a non-immunological skin reaction following exposure to various chemical, mechanical and physical factors. It is known that the skin response to irritants depends on the irritant applied and differs between chemically different irritants. Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) is an anionic detergent and the most frequently used substance in experimental irritant contact dermatitis.

Alcohol consumption and the incidence of type 2 diabetes: a 20-year follow-up of the Finnish twin cohort study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate alcohol consumption in relation to the incidence of type 2 diabetes.

Research Design And Methods: The study population consisted of 22778 twins of the Finnish Twin Cohort. This cohort was compiled in 1975 and includes all same-sexed twins born in Finland before 1958.

Assessment of alcohol consumption by mailed questionnaire in epidemiological studies: evaluation of misclassification using a dietary history interview and biochemical markers.

Background: Self-reported information on alcohol from questionnaires is generally assumed to introduce misclassification of consumption, mainly in the direction of underestimation. The aim of this study was to evaluate self-reported information on alcohol consumption from a mailed questionnaire by comparing to a dietary history interview and biochemical markers of alcohol intake.

Subjects And Methods: For 76 male twin pairs of the Finnish Twin Cohort Study aged 40-70 years information on self-reported alcohol consumption was collected through mailed questionnaire and dietary history interview.

Cigarette smoking, snuff use and alcohol drinking: coexisting risk behaviours for oral health in young males.

Objectives: The use of oral moist snuff (snus) is widespread among Swedish men, but little is known about the use in adolescents. The aim of this study was to describe patterns of snuff dipping, smoking and alcohol drinking in a sample (n = 6287) of 9th grade male students participating in a census survey in the Stockholm region.

Results: About 20% of the sample reported use of snus, and more than two-thirds of snus users were also cigarette smokers.

Young cases of schizophrenia identified in a national inpatient register--are the diagnoses valid?

Background: Psychiatric inpatient registers are often used in research in the Nordic countries. We aimed to investigate the validity of recorded diagnoses of schizophrenia in the Swedish National Inpatient Register, in cases of early age at onset. We also wanted to describe the accuracy of the diagnoses in cities/university clinics and country hospitals as well as in child and adolescent psychiatric clinics and clinics for adults.

Paternal age and schizophrenia: further support for an association.

Objective: Advanced paternal age has been proposed as a risk factor for later development of schizophrenia in offspring, although studies are not conclusive. De novo mutations arising in paternal germ cells have been suggested as the underlying mechanism.

Method: The hypothesized association was investigated in a population-based case-control study comprising 524 subjects with schizophrenia and 1,043 matched comparison subjects selected from registers.

How physicians experience patient consultations at an orthopaedic out-patient clinic: a qualitative study.

The aim of this study is to describe physicians' experiences in their encounters with patients by allowing the physicians to observe and comment on their own video-recorded medical consultations. Eighteen orthopaedic surgeons took part in the study; they were informed that we were interested in studying what actually takes place during a consultation, the quality of communication between doctor and patient, and how the physicians themselves experience the consultation. Each time the physician wished to make a comment, the video film was stopped and the comments were taped on audiocassette.