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Biomedical subjects

A Køster

Publications and source records attributed to A Køster.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

Anticipations and experiences of menopause in a Danish female general population cohort born in 1936.

INTRODUCTION: Few studies on menopause consider the impact of sociopsychological factors on women's experiences of menopause. OBJECTIVE: To focus on women's experiences of menopause: complaints, health, attitudes and stereotypes of menopause and ageing. DESIGN: Prospective population study, initiated in 1976 with follow-ups in 1981, 1987 and 1996 with a high participation rate, a representative sample of all women born in 1936 and living in the County of Copenhagen. STUDY METHODS: Questionnaires and personal interviews: sociodemographic data, menopause, general health, sexuality, ageing. RESULTS: The strongest predictors of the way in which women experienced menopause, including sexuality, were their general health earlier in life, their social circumstances and their expectations of menopausal changes. The biological changes had significant correlation to hot flushes. Menopause was seen as a symbol of ageing. Only a minority suffered from serious problems, typically originating earlier in life.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Description of women's personality traits and psychological vulnerability prior to choosing hormone replacement therapy.

INTRODUCTION: Data suggest that women using hormone replacement therapy (HRT) represent a special subgroup of the general population regarding, for instance, cardiovascular risk factors and education. OBJECTIVE: To analyse if women who choose HRT are characterised a priori by high neuroticism score or by psychological vulnerability. DESIGN: A prospective population-based study was initiated in 1976 with follow-ups in 1981, 1987 and 1996. The population comprises a random sample of 621 women born in 1936 and living in the county of Copenhagen. STUDY METHODS: The analyses are based on data on two sub-cohorts of 268 and 235 women from the large population-based study. These subgroups consist of the women participating in both baselines at 40 and 45 years respectively and at follow-up in 1996. At the age of 40 the women participated in a comprehensive examination, which apart from baseline characteristics included Eysencks personality questionnaire concerning intro/extroversion and neuroticism. At the age of 45, the re-examination of the women included a test for psychological vulnerability. The participants reported whether or not they used HRT at the age of 40, 45, 51 and 60 years. The analyses comprised "never users" of HRT and "future users", defined as women who started HRT subsequent to baseline registration during the observation period. The groups were compared by multivariate statistical methods to adjust for confounding factors. RESULTS: Women with high neuroticism score at the age of 40 were more likely to become users of HRT in the future compared to women with low neuroticism score. At the age of 45, psychologically vulnerable women were more likely to become users of HRT in the future compared to non-vulnerable women. The associations became insignificant when correcting for potential confounders. The study suggests that selection bias among women choosing HRT may also include personality traits.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Trends in the use of climacteric and postclimacteric hormones in Nordic countries.

The extent of menopausal and postmenopausal hormone use in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden during 1981-1992 was studied by means of drug sales figures and associations between hormone use, education, employment and occupational status, by questionnaire surveys in each of the respective countries in the 1980s-90s. According to sales figures, hormone use has been different in each of the countries studied. In 1981 use was three times more common in Denmark than in Norway. In 1992 use had increased in all the other countries except Denmark, and was highest in Finland and Sweden. Based on 1981 data for Norway, on 1987 data for Denmark and on 1989 data for Finland, use of hormone therapy was related to education, employment or occupational status in Finland but not in Denmark or Norway. Differences in the phases of innovation diffusion between these countries may offer a partial explanation for these results.

Climacteric↗
PubMed1994

[Sexual desire of middle aged women. A prospective study of women born in 1936].

This study examines the nature of sexual desire experienced during hte climacteric and attempts to identify predictors for frequency and change of sexual desire using a prospective design. Four hundred and seventy-four women constituting 76% of the original cohort of a general population of Danish women born 1936 were examined by interview and questionnaire at the ages of 40, 45 and 51. Main items were sexual behaviour, expectations towards/experience of menopause, general health status and social background. Most women (70%) experienced no change in sexual desire during the study period. The 51-year-old women's experience of frequency or change in sexual desire was not related to menopausal status. Frequency of sexual desire was highly correlated to previous and present subjective health status, former sexual activity, partner availability and social status. Finally, anticipations of declining sexual desire as a consequence of menopause actually predicted a decrease.

Cohort Studies↗
PubMed1993

[Alcohol consumption in a Danish cohort study over a period of 11 years].

A cohort living in Copenhagen County, originally consisting of 1198 persons, 577 men and 621 women, who were 40 years old in 1976, was reexamined in 1981 and again in 1987, 1052 (88%) participated in 1976, 922 (84%) in 1981, and 965 (85%) in 1987. The purpose of this study was to describe alcohol consumption changes in the cohort, with a view to identifying subgroups who significantly change their alcohol consumption behaviour. The same questionnaire was employed all three times to measure the alcohol consumption level and frequency. Alcohol consumption peaked in 1981 (45-years old) with 10.4 drinks on average a week. Men increased 8% and women 37%. There is an overall downward tendency in the consumption frequency among men whereas the opposite is the case among women. The two groups are converging toward a weekly consumption level. It seems now that the women are leading the change in the content of consumption with relatively more wine consumption. Therefore it is concluded that female consumption should be considered a target in future preventive programs.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Climacteric complaints and their relation to menopausal development--a retrospective analysis.

The present study had two objectives: (1) to register the prevalence of a number of climacteric complaints in a Danish general population cohort and (2) retrospectively to test the validity of an association between climacteric complaints, menopausal development, occurrence of life events and social background. A postal questionnaire sent to the 51-year-old female population living in four Copenhagen suburbs, (N = 597, response rate = 88%) included information on menstrual pattern and change, hormonal treatment, socioeconomic data and a 4-year retrospective annual registration of prevalence of a number of climacteric complaints and life events. Logistic regression analyses performed on a restricted sample (women who experienced a natural menopausal development) revealed prevalence of hot flushes, moodiness and fatigue to be significantly associated with transitions in menopausal status. Fatigue, moodiness and depression were strongly associated with socio-economic variables. Life events were only occasionally associated with prevalence of the studied complaints.

Affect↗
PubMed1993

Sexual desire and menopausal development. A prospective study of Danish women born in 1936.

This study examines the nature of sexual desire experienced during the climacteric and attempts to identify predictors for frequency and change of sexual desire using a prospective design. Four-hundred seventy-four women constituting 76% of the original cohort of a general population of Danish women born in 1936 were examined by interview and questionnaire at the ages of 40, 45 and 51. The main items were sexual behaviour, expectations towards or experience of menopause, general health status and social background. Most women (70%) experienced no change in sexual desire during the study period. The 51-year-old women's experience of frequency or change in sexual desire was not related to menopausal status. Frequency of sexual desire was highly correlated to previous and present subjective health status, former sexual activity, partner availability and social status. Anticipations of declining sexual desire as a consequence of menopause actually predicted a decrease. Finally, decrease in sexual desire correlated significantly with the women's subjective assessment of being climacteric.

Cohort Studies↗
PubMed1992

[Menochaos].

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Alcohol consumption in a Danish cohort during 11 years.

A cohort living in Copenhagen County, originally consisting of 1198 persons, 577 men and 621 women, 40-years of age in 1976, was reexamined in 1981, and again in 1987. Of the original cohort 1052 (88%) participated in 1976, 992 (84%) in 1981, and 965 (85%) in 1987. The purpose of this study was to describe changes in alcohol consumption in the cohort, with the view of identifying subgroups, who have changed their alcohol consumption behaviour to a certain extent. Alcohol consumption was measured by the same questionnaire all three times as to the level of consumption and frequency. Alcohol consumption peaked in 1981 (45-year olds) with 10.4 drinks on average a week. Men increased their consumption by 8% and women by 37%. There was an overall downward tendency in the consumption frequency among men, whereas the opposite was the case among women. The two groups are converging toward a weekly consumption frequency. It seems now that women are leading the change toward a greater wine consumption in relative and absolute terms. It is therefore concluded that female consumption should be considered as a target in future preventive programmes.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1990

Hormone replacement therapy: use patterns in 51-year-old Danish women.

A survey based on a postal questionnaire sent to all women born in 1936 living in four Copenhagen suburbs (n = 597, response rate = 88%) revealed an overall prevalence of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) use of 22% and a cumulative incidence of 37%. This paper describes the use of HRT in this population and the patterns of exposure to treatment. Our results indicate that the use of HRT, particularly combined oestrogen-progestogen therapy, is increasing and is being initiated during the pre-menopause. Climacteric complaints were the main reason for starting treatment; only a minority of the respondents were motivated by prophylactic considerations. Forty percent discontinued treatment, the majority stating that they had done so because of unpleasant adverse reactions or lack of effect.

Attitude↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Change-of-life anticipations, attitudes, and experiences among middle-aged Danish women.

The meaning of the lay concept "the change of life" and the possible impact of the change of life on women's perceptions of health, aging, and sexuality in relation to this event was studied in a Danish general population. Longitudinal analyses were based on data from three cross-sectional studies carried out in 1976, 1981, and 1987 on a cohort of Danish women born in 1936. Of the original population of 621 women, 474 (76%) participated in all three studies. In a subsample (n = 336) consisting of women who assessed themselves as having experienced the change of life, the majority did not report loss of health, youth, or sexuality in relation to the climacterium. Social, cultural, and psychological factors unrelated to hormonal changes were of significant importance for the quality of health and sexuality during this period.

Attitude↗