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G de Backer

Publications and source records attributed to G de Backer.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Gender and regional differences in perceived job stress across Europe.

BACKGROUND: Over the last 20 years stress at work has been found to be predictive of several conditions such as coronary heart disease, high blood pressure and non-specific sick leave. The Karasek demand/control/strain concept has been the most widely used in prospective epidemiological studies. OBJECTIVES: To describe distribution in Karasek's demand/control (DC) dimensions as well as prevalence of strain in samples from different parts of Europe grouped into three regions (South, Middle, Sweden), adjusting for occupation. To describe gender differences in Karasek's DC dimensions along with strain prevalence and assess the regional stability of those differences in different occupational groups. DESIGN: The Job stress, Absenteeism and Coronary heart disease in Europe (JACE) study, a Concerted Action (Biomed I) of the European Union, is a multicentre prospective cohort epidemiological study: 38,019 subjects at work aged 35-59 years were surveyed at baseline. Standardised techniques were used for occupation coding (International Standardised Classification of Occupations) and for the DC model (Karasek scale): five items for the psychological demand and nine items for the control or decision latitude dimensions, respectively. RESULTS: A total of 34,972 subjects had a complete data set. There were important regional differences in the Karasek scales and in prevalence of strain even after adjustment for occupational class. Mean demand and control were higher in the Swedish centres when compared to two centres in Milano and Barcelona (Southern region) and values observed in four centres (Ghent, Brussels, Lille and Hoofddorp) in Middle Europe were closer to those observed in the Southern cities than to those obtained in the Swedish cities. Clerks (ISCO 4) and, more specifically, office clerks (ISCO 41) exhibited the smallest regional variation. In a multivariate model, the factor 'region' explained a small fraction of total variance. In the two Southern centres as well as in the four Middle European centres, men perceived marginally less job-demand as compared to women whereas the reverse was observed in the two Swedish centres. Differences were larger for control: men appeared to perceive more control at work than did women. In a multivariate model, gender explained a small fraction whereas occupational level explained a large fraction of the variance. CONCLUSIONS: In this standardised multicentre European study Karasek's DC model showed large gender and occupational differences whereas geographic region explained a small fraction of the total DC variance, notwithstanding large differences in labour market and working conditions as pointed out by the European Commission as recently as 2000.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

ACC/AHA/ESC Guidelines for the Management of Patients With Atrial Fibrillation: Executive Summary A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines and the European Society of Cardiology Committee for Practice Guidelines and Policy Conferences (Committee to Develop Guidelines for the Management of Patients With Atrial Fibrillation) Developed in Collaboration With the North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology.

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Aged↗
PubMed1998

Epidemiological aspects of high density lipoprotein cholesterol.

Most of the results from epidemiologic studies support the general idea that high density lipoproteins (HDL) cholesterol is inversely related to coronary heart disease (CHD) incidence. Results from the literature and from a large cohort study in Belgium (the BIRNH study) are used to describe the distribution and the major determinants of HDL cholesterol. HDL cholesterol is influenced by a variety of biologic, environmental and behavioral characteristics. Results of a 10-year mortality follow-up of the BIRNH study are presented and compared to those observed in other large cohort studies. The inverse relationship between HDL cholesterol and CHD is confirmed, although the strength of the association varies between studies and is weakened after adjustment for other coronary risk factors. The results from the BIRNH study also suggest that the relation between HDL cholesterol and CVD mortality is curvilinear. At present, only indirect evidence is available to support the idea that raising HDL cholesterol is useful in primary and secondary prevention of CHD.

Cholesterol, HDL↗
PubMed1994

Coronary heart disease rates within a small urban area in Belgium.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To identify geographical differences in coronary heart disease (CHD) attack rates in a small urban area and to relate these to indicators of socioeconomic class. DESIGN: CHD attack rates were calculated from data of the Ghent MONICA myocardial infarct register for the period 1983-87. The city of Ghent is subdivided into 201 sectors based on morphological, and socioeconomic characteristics. During the national census of 1981, the main determinants of residential differentiation were measured. These sector variables were linked with the CHD attack rates. PATIENTS: All residents of the city aged 25-69 years are prospectively followed with regard to heart attacks. Between 1982 and 1987, 1728 suffered an acute heart attack according to MONICA criteria. MAIN RESULTS: Significant (p < 0.05) differences in age and sex standarised attack rates were observed between city sectors. These differences were related to an index of socioeconomic status. CONCLUSION: Within a small urban area, significant geographical differences occur in CHD attack rates and these are related to socioeconomic status.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Decreased exercise capacity in mild essential hypertension: non-invasive indicators of limiting factors.

Available data suggest that exercise capacity is limited in hypertension. The mechanism of this reduced maximal exercise capacity has not been fully elucidated. In this study 22 patients with mild essential hypertension (162 +/- 22 mmHg systolic and 95 +/- 8 mmHg diastolic) and 36 normotensive control subjects (128 +/- 13 mmHg systolic and 80 +/- 7 mmHg diastolic) (P less than 0.01) performed an ergometer test till exhaustion. Body mass index in the two groups did not differ. The maximal oxygen consumption VO2 was lower in the hypertensive group (18 +/- 7 versus 23 +/- 8 ml/kg/min; P less than 0.02) as was the maximal workload (141 +/- 52 vs. 185 +/- 70 Watt; P less than 0.01). Rate pressure product rose only 2.7 fold in hypertensive patients versus 3.5 fold in the control group (P less than 0.001). In hypertensive patients maximal workload decreased with increasing resting systolic blood pressure (P less than 0.05) while in the normotensive subjects maximal workload rose with increasing resting systolic blood pressure (P less than 0.05). In conclusion both high and low blood pressure was associated with a decreased maximal voluntary exercise capacity. Even mild hypertension was accompanied by lower maximal exercise capacity. Hypertensive patients also had a lower maximal VO2 and lower maximal rate pressure product than did normotensive subjects.

Blood Pressure↗
PubMed1991

Methodological considerations on intra- versus interpopulation correlation studies.

Epidemiological studies on the diet-health relationship have frequently resulted in confusing controversies rather than in clear and consistent findings. As an illustration of this phenomenon the relationship between dietary cholesterol and coronary heart disease (CHD) is used in this presentation. The epidemiological evidence favoring a strong and causal relationship between dietary cholesterol, serum lipids and CHD relied until some years ago largely on studies between populations. However these studies are more susceptible to confounding error. Therefore epidemiological studies have been conducted within populations looking into the relationship between dietary cholesterol, CHD risk and CHD frequency on the individual level. Until recently no consistent association had been observed between dietary cholesterol and serum total cholesterol levels or between dietary cholesterol and CHD mortality in homogeneous groups of individuals; this relates probably to methodological problems in measuring the dietary variable with sufficient precision. More recent studies using a more precise dietary methodology and a prospective study design over longer time periods result in observations that are more in line with the interpopulation study observations. Besides epidemiological evidence it is necessary to compare these findings with those from experimental work and from clinical studies. This approach has the best chance to separate ecological fallacy from real existing associations between diet and health.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Physiologic pacing in the elderly. Effects on exercise capacity and exercise-induced arrhythmias.

It is not clear whether hemodynamic and other benefits from dual-chamber pacing also exist in elderly patients. We studied a group of 18 elderly patients (mean age 74 +/- 4 yrs) with exercise testing in DDD and VVI modes in a randomized way to compare the effects of these pacing modes on exercise capacity, atrial rate and exercise-induced arrhythmias. Patients were selected when complete heart block was present without clinical evidence of sinus node dysfunction. Significant differences were observed: atrial rate was lower during exercise in DDD-mode (p less than 0.01); exercise time and cumulative load increased (p less than 0.05); maximal oxygen uptake was improved (p less than 0.05). Some of these differences were less clear in a subgroup with replacement of a VVI-device by DDD-stimulation. No differences could be observed in severity of exercise-induced arrhythmias. No evidence of sinus node dysfunction was found during exercise. Reprogramming of atrial sensitivity was required in 3 patients, with reprogramming to DVI because of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation once. Two patients died within a mean follow-up period of 13 months. Sinus rhythm was present at the most recent evaluation in all patients, including the patient stimulated in the DVI mode. Physiologic stimulation is of value for elderly patients with an active life style and complete heart block. Reprogramming to another pacing mode is only seldom necessary.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

Ischemic heart disease and regional variations of socio-cultural characteristics in Belgium.

Ischemic heart disease (IHD) can be considered as a 'cultural disease'. It is surprising to see how IHD is differentially distributed in Belgium on both sides of the linguistic frontier, with higher prevalence, incidence and mortality rates in the South as compared to the North. Therefore, various socio-cultural characteristics have been under investigation in two samples of middle-aged men, in order to determine the most discriminative ones, according to the subjects' cultural belonging. The largest differences are found in the professional activities area, suggesting that stress related to profession might be responsible for the geographical distribution of the disease.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1985

[Physical activity, physical fitness and coronary disease].

The relationship between physical activity on and off the job, physical fitness and coronary artery disease was investigated in a prospective study involving 2 363 men, 40 to 55 years old. Sudden death and myocardial infarction occurred in 31 subjects during a 5-year follow-up. Preliminary data are reported. There was no significant correlation between quartiles of physical activity on and off the job and incidence of coronary events. Physical fitness was significantly inversely correlated with incidence of coronary events (p less than 0.05) and was significantly lower in the 31 new cases (p less than 0.03). Multivariate analysis showed that HDL-cholesterol, smoking and physical fitness significantly and independently discriminate between coronary prone patients and healthy subjects. We conclude that physical fitness is an independent, inverse risk indicator of new coronary events.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Belgian heart disease prevention project: comparison of self-reported smoking behaviour with serum thiocyanate concentrations.

At the end of a multifactorial cardiovascular preventive trial serum thiocyanate was measured in random samples of 1035 cases and 1087 controls. A cut-off point 0.45 mg/dl (77.6/mumol/l) gave a sensitivity of 82.1% among the cigarette smokers in the control group and a specificity of 91.0% among the non-smokers. When the intervention and control groups are compared in terms of self-reported smoking behaviour non-significant differences in mean thiocyanate concentration are observed for those who never smoked, ex-cigarette smokers, actual cigarette smokers, and in four different cigarette smoking categories. Our results fail to confirm the reported pessimistic views concerning the validity of self-reported smoking behaviour in subjects taking part in intervention trials.

Adult↗