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PubMedDate not supplied

Are vacations good for your health? The 9-year mortality experience after the multiple risk factor intervention trial.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the risk for various causes of posttrial death associated with vacation frequency during the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MRFIT). METHODS: Middle-aged men at high risk for coronary heart disease (CHD) were recruited for the MRFIT. As part of the questionnaires administered during the first five annual visits, men were asked whether they had had a vacation during the past year. For trial survivors (N = 12,338), the frequency of these annual vacations during the trial were used in a prospective analysis of posttrial all-cause and cause-specific mortality during the 9-year follow-up period. RESULTS: The relative risk (RR) associated with more annual vacations during the trial was 0.83 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.71-0.97) for all-cause mortality during the 9-year follow-up period. For cause of death, the RRs were 0.71 (95% CI, 0.58-0.89) and 0.98 (95% CI, 0.78-1.23) for cardiovascular and noncardiovascular causes, respectively. The RR was 0.68 (95% CI, 0.53-0.88) for CHD (including acute myocardial infarction). These associations remained when statistical adjustments were made for possible confounding variables, including baseline characteristics (eg, income), MRFIT group assignment, and occurrence of a nonfatal cardiovascular event during the trial. CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of annual vacations by middle-aged men at high risk for CHD is associated with a reduced risk of all-cause mortality and, more specifically, mortality attributed to CHD. Vacationing may be good for your health.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

An inquiry into the causal relationship among leisure vacation, depression, and absence from work.

Depression is one of the most prevalent psychological health problems in occupational settings. Through literature review and the experience of previous investigations, it is now presumed that depression could mediate the association between workload and absence from work. In order to examine the above relationship, a follow-up investigation was conducted using male white-collar employees. The authors have been examining the association between work-related factors and employee health for some years, and vacation has become recognized as one of the important candidates for alleviating psychological problems in the workplace. In July 1996, the chance of leisure vacations within the past year and the presence of depression were examined by a self-administrated questionnaire. The subjects were followed-up for the rest of the year and absence from work was monitored. By analyzing 357 eligible subjects aged 20-59 years, the causal association between leisure vacation, depression, and absence from work was examined. Through correlation and log-linear analysis, the following findings were explored: The decrease of leisure vacation chances was correlated with the presence of depression, and depression contributed to an increase in the absence from work after adjustment was made for possible confounding factors. Leisure vacation could be independent of other work-related factors such as working hours, and it seemed to be significant to investigate positive effects of leisure vacation on psychological well-being in the workplace.

Absenteeism↗
PubMed1999

[Annual school and menarche rhythms (vacation-study)].

BACKGROUND: It has been hypothesized that the yearly menarche rhythm could be caused by the seasonal variation of photoperiod and temperature or by the annual distribution of the scholar vacation and study periods. AIM: To test the hypothesis that the distribution of study vacation periods is a condition that modifies the annual menarche rhythm. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Two thousand ninety four school girls from Chile, 2,356 girls from Madras, India, 3,454 girls from Medellin, Colombia and 2,627 girls from Debrecen, Hungary, were studied. They were asked about the month of their menarche. Vacation months were considered those with more than 6 days of leave from school. RESULTS: The seasonal hypothesis was refuted because there were contradictions with the expected antithetical behavior in both hemispheres, there was a significant heterogeneity of the yearly menarche among girls from the same region, the expected cline of the menarche frequency variance from equator to poles was not observed, finding an antithetical cline instead and there was a significant heterogeneity among months of the same season. On the other hand, months with vacation periods coincided significantly with peaks of menarche, while study months had lower proportion of menarche (total binomial probability < 10(-6)). Girls whose month of menarche was the same as their month of birth, did not agree completely with the vacation-study hypothesis as the rest of the sample. CONCLUSIONS: Vacation periods influenced menarche rhythm. However, these periods coincide with most cultural events and this strong association needs further study to be considered causal. It is not possible to assume school stress as the main explanatory variable. Ontogenetic factors such as birth imprinting also can influence the menarche rhythm, as shown in girls whose month of menarche coincided with their month of birth.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Severe headache and vacation.

Of a randomized nationwide adult population sample of 2,073 people, 1,590 (76.7%) were interviewed on their vacation expectations and their determinants using a prestructured questionnaire of 200 questions. Migraine or other severe headache occurred in 14.0% of people 15 to 74 years of age (in 19.7% of women and 8.0% of men). Compared with people without headache, headache sufferers were characterized by less interest in paid or unpaid vacation, more passive ways of spending vacation, more fear and anxiety for their health and human relations, uncertainty of the world situation, fear of global catastrophes and disturbances of work routine and increased family discord during vacation. Headache sufferers were apparently hard-working and conscientious people with a stressed, depressive and resigned character and unable to feel care-free and to relax on vacation.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2005

Vacations improve mental health among rural women: the Wisconsin Rural Women's Health Study.

OBJECTIVE: To compare psychological stress, quality of marital life, and disruptive homelife due to work among rural women of central Wisconsin who take vacations frequently and those who do not. METHODS: Women were recruited from 1996 to 2001 for a prospective cohort study from the Marshfield Epidemiologic Study area, a geographic area in central Wisconsin. Stratified sampling was used to select a random sample of 1500 farm and non-farm resident women. RESULTS: The odds of depression and tension were higher among women who took vacations only once in 2 years (Depression: OR=1.92, 95% CI=1.2,3.0; Tension: OR=1.7, 95%CI=1.2, 2.3) or once in 6 years (Depression: OR=1.97, 95% CI=1.2, 3.2; Tension: OR=1.9, 95% CI=1.3,2.8) compared to women who took vacations twice or more per year. The odds of marital satisfaction decreased as the frequency of vacations decreased. CONCLUSION: Women who take vacations frequently are less likely to become tense, depressed, or tired, and are more satisfied with their marriage. These personal psychological benefits that lead to increased quality of life may also lead to improved work performance.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

[Expectancy of vacation as a determining factor of the annual rhythm of menarche].

BACKGROUND: Our previous studies have shown that the monthly rhythm of menarche is associated to the expectancy of holidays or vacations. If this hypothesis is true, menarche episodes in Chile should cluster in December, the month prior to summer vacations. AIM: To study whether the expectancy of holidays or vacations is the main determinant of the annual rhythm of menarche. MATERIAL AND METHODS: During 1990 and 1991, a questionnaire about the date of birth and date of menarche, was applied to girls living in Santiago (Chile) and Medellin (Colombia), aged 8 to 18.5 years. They were requested to register the year, month or day of menarche, only if they recalled it precisely. RESULTS: Discarding clerical errors, data was obtained from 3,225 Chilean and 3,435 Colombian girls. Of these 73 and 63% of Chilean and Colombian girls recalled the day of menarche. Among Chilean girls an excess of menarche episodes was observed in December, January and February. The mean age per month of menarche reached its highest value of 155.6+/-15 months in December and fell to 148+/-17 months in January (p <0.001). Among Colombian girls, mean age per month of menarche was also higher in December and lower in January (152+/-15 and 147+/-14 months respectively, p <0.001). However a peak of 152+/-15 months was also observed in June. CONCLUSIONS: A similar distribution of menarche episodes was observed among Chilean and Colombian girls, with a peak in the months preceding holidays. The influence of the photoperiod is unlikely since Medellin is located in parallel 6 and there are little variations in daylight exposure in the different seasons. Therefore, our data supports the hypothesis that the prospect of holidays is a determinant of menarche.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

"Aloha": an in-house nursing home vacation.

This article describes a weeklong in-house "vacation" that was held at a Department of Veterans Affairs nursing home. The author provides the guidelines used to plan, implement, and evaluate the project. The in-house nursing home vacation was successful, as measured by the number of residents in attendance, their positive evaluations, and their desire to repeat the experience. The primary reason for the success of this program was the number and strength of the interactive partnerships.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Objective measurement of sleepiness in summer vacation long-distance drivers.

The study investigated whether sleepiness at the wheel is a problem in non-commercial drivers going on summer vacation. All drivers, who stopped at a rest area on a large European freeway while one of the interviewers was available, were systematically approached and asked to respond to a questionnaire. All subjects who had driven at least 400 km (240 miles), whose age was between 20 and 46 years of age, and who agreed to participate were asked to undergo a longer investigation that included a short sleep/wake diary describing overall sleep habits during the year, a sleep/wake log covering the days just prior to departure, an analog visual scale indicating sleepiness at time of interview, and a polygraphically monitored two nap sleep test (TNST). A control group was recruited that consisted of subjects of the same age range, normal sleep habits, and normal nocturnal sleep time before administration of the TNST. One hundred and four drivers (2 women) participated between 08:00 and 20:00 h. The total group was subdivided into 6 subgroups based upon the time of day of their investigation (08:00-10:00 h, 10:01-12:00 h, etc.). The control group included 50 men with 50-55% of control subjects, relative to the total number of index-cases, in each subgroup. Eighty-eight percent (n = 92) of studied drivers had experienced acute sleep deprivation within one day prior to departure due to the planned long driving. The TNST demonstrated that, overall, drivers had a significantly shorter sleep latency in nap 1 and nap 2 than controls, had a significantly longer sleep duration in nap 1 and nap 2, and there was a significant correlation between the sleep debt prior to departure and the sleep stage reached during the TNST. It is concluded that the TNST is a test which allows the objective study of sleepiness in drivers without the burden of the multiple sleep latency test. Many drivers are excessively sleepy when making long summer vacation journeys.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Arsenic and Raynaud's phenomenon. Vasospastic tendency and excretion of arsenic in smelter workers before and after the summer vacation.

Occupational and environmental exposure to inorganic arsenic is associated with the occurrence of Raynaud's phenomenon and objectively registered abnormal finger systolic blood pressure at local cooling (FSP). A subnormal FSP during cooling indicates a vasospastic tendency. It is not known whether these phenomena are related to recent or historical long-term exposure to arsenic. Twenty-one workers from a Swedish smelter were selected on the basis of exposure to arsenic dust for more than 14 years and a previously (three years earlier) recorded subnormal FSP during local cooling. The workers were examined before and after a 4 to 8 week summer vacation. After this intermission in arsenic exposure the urinary excretion of arsenic decreased to normal values, whereas the vasospastic reaction in the fingers remained. Thus the vasospastic tendency seems to be unrelated to the most recent urinary arsenic levels. FSP levels on cooling were significantly increased as compared with the measurements made three years earlier. This suggests a gradual improvement in finger blood circulation caused by decreased exposure to arsenic as evaluated over a time period of several years. The data thus indicate that peripheral vascular disturbances caused by arsenic are dependent on long-term arsenic exposures and are independent of short-term fluctuations in arsenic exposure.

Arsenic↗
PubMed2006

[27-year-old man with high fever and septic shock after returning from vacation].

A 27-year-old man was admitted with high fever and shivers eleven days after returning from vacation in Indonesia. Physical examination, laboratory values, abdominal ultrasound, and chest x-ray were not conclusive. All blood cultures yielded growth of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi, and typhoid fever was diagnosed. Subsequently, the patient developed septic shock and pulmonary edema. In this case report epidemiological, clinical, and therapeutic aspects of typhoid fever are discussed with special emphasis on criteria for severe typhoid fever, which is treated with additional glucocorticoids.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Female rats prefer an area vacated by a high testosterone male.

In each of 4 experiments, female rats were observed as they moved freely about an apparatus that had recently housed 2 males. The androgen levels of the males were manipulated with castrations and exogenous injections of testosterone propionate (TP). For the most part, female exploration times in the areas vacated by the 2 males did not differ. The urinary markings over the urine from the males, however, did differ. The female exhibited a decided marking preference for the area that had housed the male with higher titers of androgens. The preferences were for intact vis-a-vis castrated males, though injections of TP restored the castrates' attractiveness to the females. When both males possessed reproductive levels of TP, the females preferred to mark over the urine of the male with the higher levels of the androgen. The reproductive advantage for the female may be the choice of a mate with more viable sperm, because androgens are intimately involved in spermatogenesis.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Relationship between summer vacation weight gain and lack of success in a pediatric weight control program.

The purpose was to measure the effect of holidays or season on changes in body weight to determine if this was the reason for the low success rate of weight control program participants. Changes in percent ideal body weight were gathered on 73 overweight youth (average age: 10.5+/-2.8 years; percent ideal body weight: 150+/-28%) over 2-month intervals in a 1-year time span. There was a statistically significant gain in percentage of body weight during July-August compared to January-February at p<0.004, March-April at p<0.04, May-June at p<0.001 and September-October at p<0.04. Sixty-six percent of subjects gained weight during the summer months. When the subjects who lost weight in the summer period were removed from the analysis, the average weight gain was 2.8% of ideal body weight. For a weight control program for children and adolescents to be effective, strategies need to be developed to deal with the summer vacation period as this can affect the overall success in the program.

Achievement↗
PubMed1982

Cutaneous larva migrans in northern climates. A souvenir of your dream vacation.

Three young women recently returned to the metropolitan Detroit area with cutaneous larva migrans. All three had vacationed at a popular club resort on the Caribbean island of Martinique. Cutaneous larva migrans is frequently seen in the southern United States, Central and South America, and other subtropical areas but rarely in northern climates. Several organisms can cause cutaneous larva migrans, or creeping eruption. The larvae of the nematode Ancylostoma braziliense are most often the causative organisms. Travel habits of Americans make it necessary for practitioners in northern climates to be familiar with diseases contracted primarily in warmer locations. The life cycle of causative organisms and current therapy are reviewed.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Kidneys on vacation: the notion of renal work and the introduction of nonpharmacological therapies.

"Wisdoms of today become the follies of tomorrow," remarked none other than Franz Volhard, who first classified renal disease. In earlier times, nephrologists relied less on controlled randomized prospective trials and more on common sense. One such notion was the idea that kidneys could be "rested" by requiring them to make less urine. Particularly in Germany early in this century, patients with chronic renal disease were advised to go to Assuan in Egypt, where the warm sunny weather and low humidity decreased their urinary output. Thus, a "vacation" was prescribed for sick kidneys, and indeed, early in his career Volhard also supported this notion. In a small but excellent study, Loewy, Wohlgemuth, Bickel, and Schweitzer concluded that a decreased urinary output, rather than decreasing renal work, would require a considerable increase in concentration of excreted solutes, a task that patients with renal insufficiency would not be likely able to meet. These findings, as well as the observation that renal patients often failed to return from Egypt, caused Volhard to change his mind.

Egypt↗
PubMed1993

How we spent our vacation: collaborative storytelling by young and old adults.

Young and old dyads collaborated in describing a mutually experienced event. Three general aspects of the vacation descriptions of 10 younger (M = 28.5 years) and 10 older (M = 70.7 years) married couples were examined. First, regarding the structure of the stories, the older adults' speech contained longer clauses, and they were less likely to situate an event in absolute time than were the younger adults. Second, regarding the content of the stories, older couples' discourse was more subjective, with more descriptions of places and people and fewer descriptions of itineraries than younger couples'. Third, regarding the interactions of the collaborators, the older couples produced fewer words of support for their spouse and more monologues than did the younger couples. This pattern of findings may result from a strategy by the elderly storytellers to decrease the memory demands of the task and the cognitive demands of the collaboration.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

[Sandfly fever Naples virus (serotype Toscana) infection with meningeal involvement after a vacation in Italy].

HISTORY AND CLINICAL FINDINGS: A 69-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with severe headache, recurrent episodes of fever and deterioration of general health. He returned from a vacation in Tuscany (Italy) a few days before admission. Physical examination revealed slight nuchal rigidity and an elevated body temperature of 37.8 C but was otherwise unremarkable. INVESTIGATIONS: Differential blood count showed a lymphocytopenia. Other abnormal laboratory findings included an elevated blood sedimentation rate and a slightly increased C-reactive protein value. Abdominal sonography demonstrated a marginally enlarged spleen. DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT AND CLINICAL COURSE: A lumbar puncture was performed. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis revealed a lymphocytic meningitis. Serological examination of a blood sample showed specific IgM-antibodies against sandfly fever Naples virus (SFNV), subtype Toscana virus (TOSV). After this diagnosis had been made initially instituted intravenous administration of antibiotics and antiviral medication were discontinued. The patient's symptoms improved rapidly under symptomatic treatment. Slight headaches without episodes of fever persisted for a few weeks without residual neurological symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: A history of travel should always be sought in patients with clinical signs for meningitis. Considering the increasing spread and incidence of SFNV and its subtype Toscana in mediterranean countries, such virus should be kept in mind when treating patients who present such symptoms after returning from those countries during the summer season.

Acyclovir↗
PubMed2004

A dose-response study of acetazolamide for acute mountain sickness prophylaxis in vacationing tourists at 12,000 feet (3630 m).

The study objective was to determine whether acetazolamide is effective in prophylaxis of acute mountain sickness (AMS) at moderate altitude in ambulatory travelers not undergoing vigorous exercise. Volunteers vacationing in La Paz, Bolivia (3630 m), immediately after arrival from sea level were studied. The design was a double-blind, randomized trial of two doses of acetazolamide (125 mg twice daily, 250 mg twice daily) versus placebo twice daily over a 24-h period. The main outcome measure was AMS score and score trend, using the Lake Louise consensus questionnaire. Nine of 32 subjects (28%) had symptom scoring diagnostic of AMS at 0 h. At 0 and 24 h (respectively), the mean Lake Louise scores were 1.73 and 1.09 for the 11 subjects receiving placebo, 1.45 and 1.36 for the 11 subjects receiving the 125-mg dose, and 2.7 and 0.6 for the 11 subjects receiving the 250-mg dose. The absolute change in these mean scores was not significant for placebo (p = 0.21) or the 125-mg dose (p = 0.88), but was significant for the 250-mg dose (p = 0.008). A comparison of a difference in decline in average AMS score over time showed a statistically significant decline for the 250-mg dosing group versus placebo (p = 0.002). The 250-mg dose of acetazolamide twice daily (but not 125 mg twice daily) was effective in inducing a significant decline in AMS symptoms over the 24-h period after arrival to 3630 m. These results suggest that the dosing of acetazolamide for AMS prevention in nonmountaineering tourists at altitudes below 3700 m should not be lowered below 250 mg twice daily.

Acetazolamide↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Campus wellness vacation: a creative clinical experience with the elderly.

A campus wellness vacation for healthy elderly persons was established to provide RN students with an innovative way to observe healthy aging. The author discusses this creative experience: what it was; how it was planned and implemented; how it related to course requirements; how it changed over the years. Suggestions are given for faculty who want to try a similar program.

Aged↗