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Biomedical subjects

B Claussen

Publications and source records attributed to B Claussen.

30 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) in a routine health examination of long-term unemployed.

A representative sample of 310 long-term unemployed in Norway was followed for 2 years with clinical examinations and the AUDIT questionnaire. 30% of the men and 8% of the women scored over the cut-off point for an alcohol use disorder. This gives a probable prevalence of 16%. The test predicted return to employment in this sample. The AUDIT answers were also used as a basis for dividing into three groups: 'normal', 'hazardous' and 'harmful'. At 2 year follow-up, 27% had changed group, 32 respondents to the worse and 24 to the better. This 'unstable' group was characterized by weaker social network and more frequent drinking. The AUDIT was judged as a useful instrument both in a routine health examination and as an epidemiological tool.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Health and re-employment in a two year follow up of long term unemployed.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The aim was to examine re-employment and changes in health during a two year follow up of a representative sample of long term unemployed. DESIGN: This was a cross sectional study and a two year follow up. Health was measured by psychometric testing, Hopkins symptom checklist, General health questionnaire, and medical examination. Health related selection to continuous unemployment and recovery by re-employment was estimated by logistic regression with covariances deduced from the labour market theories of human capital and segmented labour market. SETTING: Four municipalities in Greenland, southern Norway. SUBJECTS: Participants were a random sample of 17 to 63 year old people registered as unemployed for more than 12 weeks. MAIN RESULTS: In the cross sectional study, the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and somatic illness was from four to 10 times higher than in a control group of employed people. In the follow up study, there was considerable health related selection to re-employment. A psychiatric diagnosis was associated with a 70% reduction in chances of obtaining a job. Normal performance on psychometric testing showed a two to three times increased chance of re-employment. Recovery of health following re-employment was less than expected from previous studies. CONCLUSIONS: Health related selection to long term unemployment seems to explain a substantial part of the excess mental morbidity among unemployed people. An increased proportion of the long term unemployed will be vocationally handicapped as years pass, putting a heavy burden on social services.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

A clinical follow up of unemployed. I: Lifestyle, diagnoses, treatment and re-employment.

OBJECTIVE: To describe morbidity, lifestyle and re-employment in a representative sample of unemployed people. DESIGN: A two-year follow up of a routine health examination consisting of a structured interview, a clinical examination and the doctor's conclusions and advice. SETTING: Four municipalities in Greenland, southern Norway. PARTICIPANTS: A representative sample aged 16 to 63 who had been registered with the labour market authorities for more than 12 weeks. RESULTS: Self-reported diseases were more common in the study group than were found in employed people, especially musculoskeletal and mental disorders. The prevalence of medical diagnoses was high. Smoking was reported by nearly twice as many unemployed as the reference population. Heavy alcohol consumption was more prevalent in the unemployed men. Blood pressure was lower than in the reference population. Cholesterol was higher in the unemployed women. Many needed counselling or referrals. Having a medical diagnosis reduced the chances of re-employment two years later. Thus, health-related selection for re-employment seems to explain some of the excess morbidity among unemployed people. CONCLUSION: The long-term unemployed is a group with high morbidity and unhealthy lifestyle. General practitioners should be aware of this pattern in clinical and preventive work.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

A clinical follow up of unemployed. II: Sociomedical evaluations as predictors of re-employment.

OBJECTIVE: To frame and study sociomedical evaluations in clinical work with unemployed people. DESIGN: In a two-year follow up of routine health examinations, three sociomedical evaluations were set up. The first was the direct conclusion of the check-up, based on sickness and possibilities of treatment. The second dealt with work identity, and the last was a diagnostic set of main unemployment problem. SETTING: The four municipalities of Grenland, Norway. PARTICIPANTS: A representative sample aged 16 to 63 who had been registered with the labour market authorities for more than 12 weeks. RESULTS: 21% of the unemployed needed further treatment. 7% were classified as "discouraged", being on their way out of the labour market, while the majority of the study group was healthy job seekers. Work identity seemed to be wage earning for 83%, homemaking for 9%, cultural work for 3%, and being a pensioner for 5%. The main unemployment problem was lack of work for 46% of the examined. Other problems were poor health, being less attractive workers, or having little courage for job search. The evaluations predicted re-employment after two years. They divided the unemployed in groups with from five to seven times difference in re-employment rate. CONCLUSION: These standardized sociomedical evaluations seen to be useful in clinical work with unemployed people.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

[The physician's role in dealing with patients unemployed for a long time].

When medical practitioners examine unemployed persons, important considerations are medical and social diagnoses, risk factors and a possible need for counselling. Certification of illness and applications for rehabilitation or a disability pension are ambiguous and difficult tasks in the Norwegian health insurance system. Important measures are better unemployment benefits, more activation of unemployed persons, better educational opportunities, more information on health and unemployment, and a special health maintenance programme for long-term unemployed.

Humans↗
PubMed1991

[A health survey of persons unemployed for a long time in Greenland].

In 1988 a random sample of 310 unemployed aged 16 to 63 years who had been registered for more than 12 weeks and lived in the four municipalities of Greenland was examined by a doctor and a nurse. Self-reported health and psychometric tests produced higher prevalences of disease than in a reference population of employed persons. On the basis of both clinical examination and the testing, 22% of the unemployed, were judged to be depressed, as against 2% in the reference group. 17% of the unemployed were scored as "morbidly anxious" and 17% as psychosomatically sick, as against 2% and 4% of the references. The health and social services which the group had received were regarded as unsatisfactory, both by the doctor and by the unemployed themselves. A special health maintenance programme is proposed for long-term unemployed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Evaluation of memory dysfunction following experimental brain injury using the Morris water maze.

Memory dysfunction, a common clinical feature of traumatic brain injury (TBI), is thought to be related to secondary damage of key anatomic structures in the brain, including the hippocampus. In the present study, we have characterized and evaluated a novel experimental paradigm using the Morris water maze (MWM) technique, to measure post-TBI memory retention after lateral (parasagittal) fluid percussion (FP) brain injury in rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 37) received a total of 20 training trials over 2 days in the MWM. Two and a half hours after the last training trial, the animals received FP brain injury of moderate severity (2.3 atmospheres, n = 12), high severity (2.6 atm, n = 13), or no injury (n = 12). Forty-two hours after FP brain injury, we observed a highly sufficient memory dysfunction in animals from both injury groups compared to the uninjured group (p less than 0.001). The degree of memory dysfunction was found to be directly related to the severity of injury, with the high severity group scoring significantly worse than the moderately injured group (p = 0.15). In addition, hippocampal cell loss was observed after brain injury, but only unilaterally. These data suggest that lateral FP brain injury causes memory dysfunction possibly related to concurrent hippocampal cell loss and that posttraumatic memory deficits may be sensitively quantitated using the memory testing paradigm described.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

[Studies with azlocillin, mezlocillin, penicillin-g-potassium and sisomicin on tolerance in the cornea and the kinetics of inhibiting concentrations in the cornea and aqueous humor in rabbits].

We studied the effect of azlocillin, mezlocillin and sisomicin in concentrations of 1, 2.5 and 5% on the regeneration of stromal corneal wounds in rabbits following subconjunctival injections and treatment with eye drops. Concentrations of the antibiotics were also determined in corneal tissue and in aqueous humor and compared with that of penicillin G-potassium. Together with azlocillin, sisomicin proved to be the most effective and the safest. Mezlocillin only inhibited wound regeneration slightly and thus mezlocillin appears to be inferior to the other two antibiotics investigated in the local treatment of the eye.

Animals↗