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Peter Allebeck

Publications and source records attributed to Peter Allebeck.

49 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed2002

Improved health among 70-year olds: comparison of health indicators in three different birth cohorts.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Whether or not there has been a "compression of morbidity" in older ages has been vividly debated during the last decades. Previous studies have found indications of both improved and deteriorated health among elderly persons. Few studies have analyzed how changes in health indicators are influenced by social background factors. The aim of this study was to analyze the differences in morbidity--measured as self-assessed health, number of symptoms, number of diseases and physical function--in three different cohorts of 70-year olds, with special regard to the impact of social factors. METHODS: We used data from random samples of 70-year-old people born in 1901/02 (cohort 1), 1906/07 (cohort 2), and 1911/12 (cohort 3). In the three cohorts there were 973, 1036 and 619 participants, respectively. They had a medical examination and were interviewed regarding social background, social network, self-assessed health, need of care, and number of diseases. RESULTS: There were fewer 70-year olds not feeling healthy in the two younger cohorts (OR = 0.68; CI = 0.56-0.83, and OR = 0.67; CI = 0.53-0.84 respectively) and fewer with many symptoms. There were also indications of better physical functioning in the younger cohorts. Women seemed to have gained more than men, while the institutionalized persons had a deterioration. CONCLUSIONS: There are indications of good years being added, but not for the institutionalized persons.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

Suicide in first- and second-generation immigrants in Sweden: a comparative study.

BACKGROUND: Studies of suicide in first-generation immigrants have consistently shown higher rates compared to their country of origin. Little is known about the risk of suicide in second-generation immigrants and intercountry adoptees. The aim of this study was to investigate rates of suicide death in second-generation immigrants and intercountry adoptees in comparison with their parental generation and the majority population. METHOD: The study was based on multivariate analyses of register data on suicide death during 1990-98 in a Swedish national cohort of 2.7 million residents (10-68 years). RESULTS: Second-generation immigrants tended to have higher odds than the first-generation immigrants compared to the majority population in all six minority groups studied. The Finnish minority had the highest and the Middle Easterners the lowest odds for suicide death in both generations of immigrants. The intercountry adoptees had very high odds for suicide death (adjusted OR: 5.0; 95 % CI 3.5-7.0). CONCLUSIONS: Second-generation immigrants are at greater risk for suicide death than their parental generation. Intercountry adoptees should be of particular concern in suicide prevention.

Cohort Effect↗
PubMed2002

Implementing assertive community care for patients with schizophrenia. A case study of co-operation and collaboration between mental health care and social services.

The aim of this study was to describe the personal experiences of collaboration and co-operation between staff from the community mental health and social services programmes in their daily work with schizophrenic patients. An additional aim was to generate the first step in a theory of how staff in the field of health care and social services manages to integrate their efforts on an individual and organizational level. The study group consisted of five members of a multidisciplinary team who had been working for 2 years with assertive outreach intensive clinical case management. Verbatim-transcribed thematic interviews were analysed according to the comparative method for grounded theory. The analysis was focused on quality of interpersonal interaction between practitioners, representing different professions in community-based mental health care, as well as the professional relationship to the patients/clients and their relatives. In the light of an individual and organizational perspective, different typologies of interpersonal interactions appeared. Three main variables were identified: collaborative relationship, co-operative partnership and professional-amateurism. Our findings on these qualitative differences in interpersonal relations should be taken into account in the continuing reorganization of the community health care services. This knowledge can also help in overcoming barriers between patients, professionals and organizations in the mental health services.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Self-rated health and mortality among young men: what is the relation and how may it be explained?

AIMS: This study examined the relation between self-rated health (SRH) and mortality among young men, and factors in youth and adolescence that could explain the relation. METHODS: Using logistic regression relative risks of mortality between various levels of self-rated health were compared in a longitudinal study of 49,321 men born in 1949-51, participating in a nationwide military conscription survey in 1969-70. RESULTS: Poor self-rated health at conscription was associated with increased mortality during 27 years of follow up for those stating Rather poor or Very poor compared with those stating Very good SRH. SRH was most strongly related to alcohol- and drug-related mortality. Three psychological factors (low emotional control, psychiatric diagnosis at conscription, and self-reported medication for nervous problems) were found to account for 84% of the increased mortality in the group stating Rather poor or Very poor SRH (remaining RR = 1.1). However, the explanatory power of the psychological factors was widely different for different diagnoses of death. CONCLUSIONS: Poor self-rated health among young men is a predictor of future mortality. Psychological factors seem to be important explanatory variables.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Mental disorder in elderly suicides: a case-control study.

OBJECTIVE: The authors' goal was to study the importance of different psychiatric disorders in relation to suicide in individuals 65 years old or older. METHOD: The psychological autopsy approach was used to study 85 cases of suicide among subjects who were 65 years old or older; 153 living comparison subjects from the same age group who were randomly selected from the tax register were interviewed face-to-face. Retrospective axis I diagnoses were made according to DSM-IV on the basis of interview data and medical records. RESULTS: Ninety-seven percent of the suicide victims fulfilled criteria for at least one DSM-IV axis I diagnosis, compared with 18% of the living comparison subjects. Recurrent major depressive disorder was a very strong risk factor for suicide, as was substance use disorder. An elevated risk was also associated with minor depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, psychotic disorder, single-episode major depressive disorder, and anxiety disorder. Comorbid axis I disorders were observed in 15 (38%) of the 39 elderly subjects with major depressive disorder who had committed suicide. CONCLUSIONS: Although recurrent major depressive disorder was the mental disorder most strongly associated with suicide, the findings of this study suggest that elderly individuals who commit suicide represent a heterogeneous group with regard to mental disorders, implying a need for differentiated prevention strategies.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2002

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. Birth records with data on parental age were retrieved manually. Odds ratios were computed, with controls for maternal age, parity, marital status, socioeconomic status, maternal psychotic illness, and obstetric complications. RESULTS: The odds of schizophrenia in offspring of fathers 45 years old or older were 2.8 times as great as in offspring of fathers aged 20-24 years. CONCLUSIONS: These findings confirm previous reports of a higher risk for schizophrenia associated with advanced paternal age. They may be of interest for further studies on the genetic mechanisms behind schizophrenia.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Alcohol as medication is no good. More risks than benefits according to a survey of current knowledge].

Moderate drinking has small effects on health. Alcohol-related risks are greatest for young people, and decrease with age. Women are more sensitive than men to the effects of alcohol. Protective effects of moderate drinking are reported for cardiovascular disease, diabetes type 2 and cognitive functioning. However, moderate drinking also involves risks, especially of injuries, violence, foetal damage, certain forms of cancer, liver disease and hypertension. Alcohol consumption should not be recommended for health reasons. Binge drinking, regardless of age, is a medical risk. Health professionals should discuss the pattern of drinking with patients, especially binge drinking, to a larger extent than is usually the case today.

Adolescent↗