Behavioral determinants of mothers' safety measures to prevent injuries of pre-school children.

Home-related injuries are a major threat to pre-school children in the western world. In this study the behavioral determinants of 18 parental safety measures were assessed. To select behavioral determinants, the Attitude-Social influence-Self-efficacy/barriers model was used with the inclusion of variables from the Health Belief Model and the Protection Motivation Theory.

Back pain in the working population: prevalence rates in Dutch trades and professions.

An analysis of three health surveys in the Dutch working population is described, aimed at the identification of Dutch trades and professions with relative high and low prevalence rates of back pain. The sample was representative of the working population in the Netherlands and consisted of 5840 men and 2908 women. The analysis included 33 trades and 34 professions, with at least 50 respondents for each.

Correlates of toothbrushing in preschool children by their parents in four ethnic groups in The Netherlands.

A previous study among Amsterdam 5-year-old children showed that on average, the older the child at the onset of toothbrushing and the less frequent the toothbrushing, the more life time caries experience it had. The aim of the present study was to assess correlates of these two caries risk factors, in four ethnic groups. A further aim was to evaluate the putative role of correlates as intervening variables between ethnicity and caries risk factors.

School performance at nine years of age in very premature and very low birth weight infants: perinatal risk factors and predictors at five years of age. Collaborative Project on Preterm and Small for Gestational Age (POPS) Infants in The Netherlands.

To assess the impact of both perinatal disorders and developmental problems identified at preschool age on school performance, we followed a virtually complete birth cohort of very premature (< 32 completed weeks of gestation) and very low birth weight infants until they were 9 years of age. In 84% of the survivors (n = 813), data on school performance were available for analysis. At the age of 9 years, 19% of the children were in special education.

Growth in length and weight from birth to 2 years of a representative sample of Netherlands children (born in 1988-89) related to socioeconomic status and other background characteristics.

Of nearly 1900 live-born singletons, born from April 1988 to October 1989 inclusive, nine measurements of length and weight have been taken between the ages of 1 and 24 months. In the first part of the study, differences in attained length and weight at 1 and 2 years of age are analysed according to socioeconomic status (SES). Multiple regression analyses are used to investigate the association of SES and other background characteristics with length and weight.

Impaired prenatal and postnatal growth in Dutch patients with phenylketonuria. The National PKU Steering Committee.

Objective: To assess whether physical growth is affected in early treated Dutch patients with phenylketonuria (PKU).

Methods: The birth weights of all 137 early detected patients with PKU born in the period from 1974 to 1988 in the Netherlands were compared with reference values. Height, head circumference, and weight were measured at the age at which treatment started (commonly about 2-3 weeks), at 6 months of age, and yearly from the child's first birthday up to the age of 10 years.

Evaluation of a sitting aid: the back-up.

The effects of a portable back support, the Back-Up, were tested in 28 variables. Both subjective and objective physical load measures were recorded during sitting with and without Back-Up, most of them during VDU work. The main result was that the posture of the upper back and neck/head was improved by the Back-Up.

Ergonomic guidelines for the prevention of discomfort of static postures based on endurance data.

This communication aims to show why guidelines to prevent discomfort of static postures can be based on endurance data, and to give insight in the aim and scope of a recent 'work-rest model for static postures' (WR model). The paper is a response to a recent paper of Mathiassen and Winkel (1992) who questioned the usefulness of discomfort and endurance data, and of the WR model for developing guidelines for static postures. It is concluded that discomfort can be considered as an independent evaluation variable for working postures, anchored in European legislation.

Sex difference in disability and handicap at five years of age in children born at very short gestation.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between sex and disabilities or handicaps at 5 years of age in infants born at less than 32 weeks gestation.

Design: From the nationwide collaborative survey starting in 1983, including perinatal data obtained during routine perinatal care and follow-up assessments by the attending pediatricians, data from 1008 infants fulfilling the criteria were used. At age 5 years, a detailed assessment was performed by three specially trained pediatricians in 96% surviving infants (n = 648), of which 345 were boys.

Psychosocial stressors at work and musculoskeletal problems.

Objectives: This paper examines the relationship between work stressors and the following health indicators: psychosomatic complaints, health behavior, and musculoskeletal problems.

Methods: Secondary analyses were performed on data from the National Work and Living Condition Survey, which provides a representative sample of the working population in The Netherlands. The survey was made in 1977, 1983, and 1986 by The Netherlands Central Bureau of Statistics.

Sexually transmitted diseases reported by STD services in The Netherlands, 1984-1990.

Objective: To present general trends in sexually transmitted disease (STD) in the Netherlands during the period 1984-1990 and to describe characteristics of the patients in order to get insight into possible factors underlying these trends.

Methods: Since 1984 patients diagnosed with STD visiting STD clinics and local public health services in the Netherlands are reported by the nursing staffs. In addition to diagnosis and gender of the patient epidemiological background information is registered.

Psychosocial factors at work and musculoskeletal disease.

The objective of this review is to establish whether the epidemiologic literature presents evidence of an association between psychosocial work factors and musculoskeletal disease. In a hypothetical model it is suggested that individual characteristics and stress symptoms can modify this relationship. The reviewed studies do not present conclusive evidence due to high correlations between psychosocial factors and physical load and to difficulties in measuring dependent and independent variables.

Ethnicity and maternal education as risk indicators for dental caries, and the role of dental behavior.

The aim of this study was to assess differences in dental health between socioeconomic and ethnic groups in a cohort of 5-yr-old children born in 1982 and in a cohort of 11-yr-old children born in 1976. A further aim was to evaluate the putative role of dental behaviors as intervening factors between ethnicity and maternal education on the one hand and caries experience on the other. A secondary analysis was performed on data collected in a study monitoring the oral health of youths covered by public health insurance (Ziekenfonds) in the Netherlands.

Prevention of home related injuries of pre-school children: safety measures taken by mothers.

Home related injuries are a major threat to the health of pre-school children in the Netherlands. Many risk situations can only be avoided through parental safety behaviour, especially with measures taken to structure the child's environment. This study was meant to contribute to the information needed to develop a safety education programme directed at parents.

Oral health and dental behaviour in 11-year-old children of different ethnic groups.

This investigation was first, to assess the oral health of 11-year-old children in four ethnic groups in Amsterdam; second, to assess their dental behaviour and third, to identify potential determinants of frequency of toothbrushing. Representative samples of 97 Surinamese, 209 Moroccan, 128 Turkish and 102 Dutch children were examined orally and asked to complete a questionnaire. Results showed that Turkish and Moroccan children had higher mean DMFT and DMFS scores than the Surinamese and the Dutch children.

The effect of moderate maternal alcohol consumption on birth weight and gestational age in a low risk population.

We analyzed the relationship between moderate maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy and both birth weight corrected for gestational age and preterm delivery in 3447 women. Information on alcohol consumption in the first and second trimester was obtained during mid pregnancy and information about third trimester drinking was obtained a few days after delivery. After adjustment for possible confounders we found that for most women alcohol consumption was unrelated to birth weight corrected for gestational age and preterm delivery.

Fat and female fecundity: prospective study of effect of body fat distribution on conception rates.

Objectives: To study the effect of body fat distribution in women of reproductive age on fecundity.

Design: Prospective cohort study of all women who had entered a donor insemination programme.

Setting: One fertility clinic serving a large part of the midwest of the Netherlands.

Quality and effectiveness of occupational health service evaluated by the providers.

In a debate on the desired occupational health service in The Netherlands all parties involved seemed to be rather unsatisfied with current practice. Therefore a study was set out on the quality of the service to 51 client organizations as seen by the parties involved. In the first phase the viewpoint of the occupational health teams was studied; the second phase among clients was planned later.

Comparison of data on occupational health service systems in Austria, Finland, Germany, The Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.

Comparative data on the occupational health systems in different countries are lacking to a very great extent. This is illustrated here with the data from six European countries of participants of the workshop. On the basis of available data and various developments in the countries and the EC, it is concluded that in some countries the coverage of the working population will diminish, while in others it will increase.

Risk indicators and potential risk factors for caries in 5-year-olds of different ethnic groups in Amsterdam.

The aim of this study was threefold: first, to assess the oral health of Turkish, Moroccan, Surinamese, Dutch and "other" 5-yr-old children living in Amsterdam; second, to identify risk indicators for caries, in addition to ethnicity; and third, to identify potential risk factors related to differences in caries experience in these children. Results showed the mean dmfs scores of Turkish and Moroccan children to be much higher than that of the Dutch and Surinamese children; 8.1 and 8.

Value of biomechanical macromodels as suitable tools for the prevention of work-related low back problems.

Biomechanical macromodels are evaluated with respect to their possible usefulness for health professionals and ergonomists, as well as for applied research on the prevention of low back problems. It is concluded that in the context stated geometrically simple models, in particular the model by Schultz and co-workers, are to be favoured over more complex models. However, load predictions in extreme trunk postures should be dealt with carefully.

Transient hypothyroxinaemia associated with developmental delay in very preterm infants.

In 563 surviving very preterm (less than 32 weeks gestational age) and/or very low birthweight (less than 1500 g) infants the relationship between neonatal thyroxine concentration and psychomotor development at 2 years of age (corrected for preterm birth) was studied. A significant association was found between low neonatal thyroxine concentration and a negative score on the three milestones of development. These findings do not support the view that transient hypothyroxinaemia in preterm infants is harmless.

Is the worst of the epidemic over? Back calculation of HIV seroprevalence in The Netherlands.

This article calculates back the HIV seroprevalence in the Netherlands from AIDS cases notified 1982-1990 and rates of progression from HIV to AIDS adopted from American studies. It discusses a number of problems, such as changing AIDS definitions and the possible impact of AZT treatment. We estimate that the Netherlands had approximately 6762 HIV seropositives by the end of 1988, which is considerably lower than earlier expectations.

Application problems of a biomechanical model in improving roofwork.

The compression force during traditional roofwork and improved roofwork was calculated by means of a two-dimensional static biochemical model. The improvement resulted in a 30% reduction in compression force, but also influenced factors which cannot be incorporated into the model but may cause back injuries. The frequency and velocity of movements were reduced and the trunk torsion increased.