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[The incidence of risk behaviours in high school students].

Health-risk behaviour in children, its kind and frequency, result from genetic and environmental factors. This survey examined health-risk behaviours (smoking, alcohol drinking and drug abuse, sexual experience) in high school students, the relation of their health-risk behaviours with certain health-risk behaviours in their parents (smoking, alcohol abuse), and interrelations among the examined types of risky behaviours. The study included 1009 of 1144 inquired students (426 girls, 583 boys) of high school (of 5 grammar schools and 4 trade schools) aged 15-19 years (17.50+/-0.70 years). In the period of time preceding the inquiry (3 months) 55.80% of the students smoked, 74.13% of them drank alcohol, 18.43% took drugs, whereas 45.09% of them previously had sexual intercourse. Children of smokers (n=563) smoke more often (chi-square=17.06, p<0.01), drink alcohol more often (chi-square=16.58, p<0.01), and have sexual experience more often (chi-square=9.84, p<0.01) in comparison with children of non-smokers (n=446). Children of parents who drink alcohol (n=240) drink it themselves more often (chi-square=20.14, p<0.01), take drugs more often (chi-square=27.02, p<0.01), smoke more often (chi-square=5.99, p<0.01), and have sexual experience more often (chi-square=8.33, p<0.01) in comparison with children of non-drinking parents (n=769). Certain kinds of health-risk behaviours show a tendency to form clusters, i. e. among the examinees, there are 287 students (28.44%) smoking, drinking alcohol and with sex experience at the same time. Almost every tenth examinee has all four health-risk behaviours (100 students, 9.91%). Only every seventh student has none of the health-risk behaviours (136 students, 13.48%), making 6 of 7 examinees positive in at least one of the risky behavioural types (873 students, 86.52%). In conclusion, the paper confirms a strong influence of parental health-risk behaviours on their children's health-risk behaviours. Therefore, preventive measures should be at least bidirectional, addressed not only to students, but to their parents as well.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Differentiation of sexual behaviour in pigs.

Behaviour in pigs is sexually dimorphic as early as 1 month of age; mounting of penmates is observed more frequently for males than for females. This mounting reaches its highest frequency during the 2nd month of life and then declines to a low frequency in prepubertal pigs. During the prepubertal period (3-5 months of age), bipotentiality of sexual behaviour is apparent in boars because they will not only mount oestrous females but they are also receptive to mounts by older, mature boars. If males are castrated during neonatal development (first 2 months of life) and treated acutely with oestrogen during adulthood, they display sexual behaviour that is characteristic of females; i.e. show a selective preference to remain near mature boars in a choice test, are receptive to mounts by mature boars, and have a short latency to receptivity after contact with a mature boar. Males that are castrated at 6 months of age or later, or males that are castrated neonatally and treated chronically with oestrogen or testosterone during the prepubertal period, display significantly less female behaviour after acute oestrogen treatment than do males castrated neonatally. Additionally, exposure of females to elevated testosterone during early fetal development results in no detectable changes in oestrous behaviour as adults. These observations support the hypothesis that defeminization of sexual behaviour in boars occurs as a result of elevated testicular steroids during pubertal development. The limited data available on masculine sexual behaviour in pigs indicate an activational role for gonadal steroids with little evidence for true masculinization per se. After prolonged testosterone treatment of mature females or males that are castrated before puberty, considerable courtship and mounting behaviours are exhibited by these individuals when placed with oestrous females. Studies have not evaluated differential sensitivity of such animals to dosage or duration of testosterone treatment. Differentiation of sexual behaviour in boars therefore involves primarily a loss of sensitivity to display female-typical behaviours. Presently, pigs differ from other mammals that have been investigated because sexual differentiation of reproductive behaviour occurs during pubertal development and not during gestation.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Wandering behaviour in community-residing persons with dementia.

OBJECTIVES: To examine wandering behaviour in elderly demented persons in the community setting with respect to dementia characteristics and other factors that might influence wandering behaviour; to generate a statistical model to assess the relative importance of these various factors in predicting wandering behaviour. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, case-control investigation. SETTING: University-affiliated outpatient neuropsychiatric assessment center. PARTICIPANTS: Six hundred and thirty-eight consecutive community-residing new patients with dementia referred for evaluation. MEASUREMENTS: Comprehensive neuropsychiatric evaluation, including rating with Mini-Mental State Examination; General Medical Health Rating; Comell Scale of Depression in Dementia and caregiver interview. RESULTS: Wandering behaviour occurred in 17.4% of participants. It was significantly more prevalent in patients with Alzheimer Dementia (AD), patients with dementia of longer duration, and patients with more severe dementia. Wandering behaviour was associated with moderate to severe depression, delusions, hallucinations, and sleep disorder. Other significant associations of wandering behaviour included use of neuroleptic medication and male gender. After statistical adjustment for other variables, duration of dementia, severity of dementia and presence of sleep disorder retained significant statistical association with wandering behaviour. CONCLUSIONS: Wandering behaviour among community-residing elderly dementia patients is associated with a number of factors, some of which may be subject to modification. It is possible that management of coexistent psychopathology, particularly of sleep disorder, and of the underlying disease process of AD would help to ameliorate this problematic behavioural disorder. Further investigation is warranted into the relationship between neuroleptic medication and wandering behaviour and into possible alternative measures to control agitation in elderly dementia patients.

Age Distribution↗
PubMed2005

Policy interventions implemented through sporting organisations for promoting healthy behaviour change.

BACKGROUND: Sporting organisations provide an important setting for health promotion strategies that involve policies, communication of healthy messages and creation of health promoting environments. The introduction of policy interventions within sporting organisations is one strategy to target high risk behaviours such as smoking, alcohol consumption, excess sun exposure, unhealthy eating and discrimination. OBJECTIVES: To review all controlled evaluation studies of policy interventions organised through sporting settings to increase healthy behaviour (related to smoking, alcohol, healthy eating, sun protection, discrimination, safety and access). SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsyclNFO, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, Sociological Abstracts, Dissertation Abstracts, freely available online health promotion and sports-related databases hosted by leading agencies, and the internet using sport and policy-related key words. We identified further studies in the bibliographies of articles and by contacting authors of key articles in the area. SELECTION CRITERIA: We aimed to identify research that had used study designs that incorporated an evaluated intervention and comparison. Uncontrolled studies, meeting other inclusion criteria, were to be reported in an annex to the review. Types of studies: Studies in which sporting organisations were allocated to a policy intervention or control/comparison group. No minimum follow-up required. TYPES OF PARTICIPANTS: People of all ages. Types of interventions: Any policy intervention implemented through sporting organisations to instigate and/or sustain healthy behaviour change, intention to change behaviour, or changes in attitudes, knowledge or awareness of healthy behaviour. Policies must address any of the following: smoking, alcohol, healthy eating, sun protection, access for disadvantaged groups, physical safety (not including injuries), and social and emotional health (e.g.. anti-vilification, anti-discrimination). Types of outcome measures: Behaviour change, intention to change behaviour, change in attitudes, knowledge or awareness of healthy behaviour, and policy presence. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: We assessed whether identified citations were controlled evaluation studies and investigated the use of policy implemented in sporting settings. Abstracts were independently inspected by two reviewers and full papers were obtained where necessary. As no controlled evaluation studies were located, no data collection or analysis was undertaken. No uncontrolled studies meeting other inclusion criteria were identified and therefore no annex is presented. MAIN RESULTS: No rigorous studies were located to test the effectiveness of policy interventions organised through sporting organisations to increase healthy behaviours, attitudes, knowledge or inclusion of health oriented policies within the organisations. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: We were unable to find any controlled studies to guide the use of policy interventions used in sporting settings. The search process revealed a number of case studies with anecdotal reporting of outcomes. We strongly recommend that rigorous evaluation techniques are employed more commonly in this field to illuminate the impact of health promoting policy on outcomes, and the contexts and processes which are likely to be effective in reducing harmful behaviours.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed2004

Effect of combined support for people with dementia and carers versus regular day care on behaviour and mood of persons with dementia: results from a multi-centre implementation study.

BACKGROUND: A previous study in Amsterdam showed that combined family support in the Meeting Centres Support Programme, in which dementia patients and their carers are both supported by one professional staff member, is more effective in influencing behaviour problems and mood of dementia patients living in the community than non-integrated support, such as day care only. OBJECTIVE: A multi-centre implementation study tests if similar effects are achieved in other regions of The Netherlands. METHODS: A pretest-posttest control group design was applied. 112 dementia patients who visited psychogeriatric day care in eight community centres across the country and in three nursing homes, and their carers participated in the study. The patients in the experimental group (n = 89) received support from the Meeting Centres Support Programme together with their carers, while the control group (n = 23) received day care only. Behaviour problems (agressive behaviour, inactivity, non-social behaviour) and mood (dissatisfaction, depressive behaviour) were assessed using standardized observation scales. Quality of life was assessed by interviewing the patients. RESULTS: After 7 months the Meeting Centres Support Programme, compared to regular day care, showed a moderately positive effect on the degree of total behaviour problems (effect size = 0.52), especially on inactivity (effect size = 0.37) and non-social behaviour (effect size = 0.60), a large effect on depressive behaviour (effect size = 0.92) and a moderate effect on self-esteem (effect size = 0.43). CONCLUSIONS: The Meeting Centres Support Programme proves to be more effective than regular day care in influencing behaviour problems, especially inactivity and non-social behaviour, and depressed mood. Participation in the programme also seems to have a positive effect on self-esteem, an important aspect of quality of life. These findings surpass the results of the Amsterdam study and confirm the surplus value of the combined family support in the Meeting Centres Support Programme as compared to regular day care for people with mild to severe dementia.

Affect↗
PubMed1998

Relationships among parental inbreeding, parental behaviour and offspring viability in oldfield mice

Studies of inbreeding depression have traditionally suffered from two weaknesses. First, they usually confound offspring deficiencies with parental ones; second, they neglect the possible role of behaviour in inbreeding depression. In the present study, I examined the relationship among parental inbreeding, offspring viability and parental behaviour in two subspecies of the monogamous oldfield mouse, Peromyscus polionotus. Parental inbreeding was separated from any offspring inbreeding effects through both experimental design and analysis. Dams performed more parental behaviour than did sires, and maternal behaviour had a stronger effect on offspring survival than did paternal behaviour. Maternal behaviour was more buffered to the effects of inbreeding than was paternal behaviour; that is, parental behaviour of inbred females was not compromised. In contrast, inbred males showed substantial deficits in parental behaviour, but this did not put their offspring at risk. Although inbred females had lower reproductive success than outbred females, this effect was not manifest in terms of lower offspring viability. Therefore, inbreeding depression manifests itself through deficits on traits of adult females other than maternal care. A possible physiological basis for these findings is hypothesized.Copyright 1998 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1998

Geographical variation in agonistic behaviour in a ring species of salamander, Ensatina eschscholtzii.

Ensatina eschscholtzii is a plethodontid salamander with several geographical races distributed in a ring-like series throughout the coastal mountains and inland Sierra Nevada mountains of California. Populations of these salamanders show genetic and morphological divergence, and in this study, we examined divergence in overt aggressive, passive aggressive/exploratory, avoidance and sensory behaviours in four populations. Two of the populations represent a zone of secondary contact between coastal and inland lineages of Ensatina. We recorded behaviour of resident salamanders paired with same-sex intruders during the non-courtship season. The residents' behaviour was affected independently by the population of the resident and the population of the intruder but not by the interaction between the resident population and the intruder population. Levels of agonistic and sensory behaviour showed a high degree of constraint among the populations. These behaviours also showed divergence among coastal and inland populations, and the geographical variation in behaviour is consistent with the phylogenetic history of Ensatina. Convergent evolution of behaviour appears to have occurred at the zone of secondary contact between the coastal and inland lineages. Variation in agonistic and sensory behaviour among the populations observed and between the sexes suggests that there may be geographical and sexual variation in territoriality or competition. Copyright 1998 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Copyright 1999 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1977

The effects of psychotropic drugs on exploratory and stereotyped behaviour of rats studied on a hole-board.

Exploratory and stereotyped behaviour of Male Wistar rats was studied on a hole-board. The two forms of behaviour were differentiated according to the pattern of hole-dipping activity. Increasing doses of dl-amphetamine stimulated both forms of behaviour with stereotyped behaviour becoming predominant particularly at the higher dose levels. At the highest dose of amphetamine used (16 mg/kg) a gradual transition from exploratory to stereotyped behaviour was observed with time. As the drug wore off this transition was reversed. Haloperitol at a dosage of 0.1 and 0.05 mg/kg blocked the response to a high dose of amphetamine whereas a lower dose (0.02 mg/kg) blocked the stereotyped response to amphetamine while some exploratory behaviour still took place. Apomorphine inhibited hole-dipping but at lower doses another form of exploratory behaviour was induced, this behaviour becoming stereotyped as the dose was increased. It is concluded that there is a close relationship between exploratory and stereotyped behaviours. Monoamine systems appear to play a significant role in the regulation of both forms of behaviour.

Amphetamine↗
PubMed2001

Bias influencing maternal reports of child behaviour and emotional state.

BACKGROUND: Previous research has indicated that there may be only a modest degree of agreement between different reporters of a child's behaviour (mental health). This raises the possibility that some descriptions of the child's behaviour may reflect the personal characteristics of the respondent. We examine two potential sources of bias that may influence reports of a child's behaviour/mental health. The first is the mental or emotional impairment of the respondent; the second concerns gender-related expectations of children. METHODS: Mothers (and their children after the birth) were assessed at first clinic visit, 3-5 days after the birth, then 6 months, 5 years and 14 years after the birth. Some 70% of respondents giving birth remained in the study at the 14-year follow-up, leaving some 5277 cases for this analysis. At the 14-year follow-up, child behaviour (mental health) was assessed using the Child Behaviour Check List and the Youth Self Report. Maternal mental health was determined using the anxiety and depression subscales of the Delusions-Symptoms-States Inventory. RESULTS: Mothers who were not emotionally impaired reported fewer child behaviour problems than did the children themselves. As the mother's current emotional impairment increased, so her reports of the child's behaviour problems increased, when compared with the child's own reports. Further, mothers attributed more internalising symptoms to female respondents, and more externalising symptoms to male respondents, than did the child respondents themselves. CONCLUSIONS: Mothers differ systematically from their children when they are reporting their child's behaviour (mental health). The more emotionally impaired the mother, the greater the degree to which she imputes the child to have behaviour problems. Further, female children are attributed to have more internalising behaviours and male children externalising behaviours.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Differential involvement of dopamine-containing tracts in 5-hydroxytryptamine-dependent behaviours caused by amphetamine in large doses.

Dopamine (DA) concentrations in the rat striatum and/or nucleus accumbens were decreased by lesions in the nigra, ventral tegmentum, striatum and accumbens induced by 6-hydroxydopamine. These affected a range of DA- and 5-hydroxytryptamine-(5HT) dependent behaviours induced by 25 mg/kg of D-amphetamine as follows. Changes in DA-dependent behaviour (forward locomotion, head bobbing) occurred which were consistent with DA terminals in the accumbens and striatum being required for locomotor and stereotypical behaviour, respectively. A repetitive 5HT-dependent behaviour (head weaving) was decreased by lesions which depleted striatal DA. A 5HT-dependent behaviour with repetitive and locomotor elements (reciprocal forepaw treading) was only decreased by the nigral and tegmental lesions which depleted DA in both the striatum and the accumbens (and presumably also in other regions). These results suggest that 5HT-dependent behaviours of stereotypical character also require DA. Conversely, two 5HT-dependent behaviours, without obvious stereotypical or locomotor elements (body shakes, hind limb abduction), were not decreased by any of the lesions (and increased by some). Backward walking was markedly inhibited by lesions which decreased striatal DA. The above evidence for different relationships between each of the 5HT-dependent behaviours studied and DA-containing systems implies that these behaviours are separately mediated. It may clarify previous disagreement on the role of DA in these behaviours.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Effects of pindobind 5-hydroxytryptamine1A (5-HT1A), a novel and potent 5-HT1A antagonist, on social and agonistic behaviour in male albino mice.

In view of inconsistent results reported for 5-hydroxytryptamine1A (5-HT1A) receptor involvement in murine social conflict, this study examined the effects of N1-(bromoacetyl)-N8-[3-(4-indolyloxy)-2- hydroxypropyl]-(Z)-1,8-diamino-p-menthane (pindobind) 5-HT1A, a novel 5-HT1A antagonist, on agonistic and social behaviour in mice. Employing a resident-intruder paradigm, administration of pindobind 5-HT1A (0.5-10 mg/kg) to resident animals produced a reduction in offensive sideways and chasing behaviour. Defensive postures were unchanged except for evasion, which was reduced. Within social behaviour, nonspecific social behaviour and following behaviour were reduced while stretch/attend behaviour was enhanced. Nonsocial behavioural changes included an increase in resident cage exploration and rearing. Intruder data indicated no significant change in offensive behaviours, an attenuation of defensive sideways posturing and evasion, decreases in attend behaviour, and increases in cage exploration, rearing, and digging. Results are discussed in relation to the effects of 5-HT1A receptor (ant)agonism on murine offensive behaviour.

Agonistic Behavior↗
PubMed1987

Parallel clinical and behavioural studies of adjuvant-induced arthritis in the rat: possible relationship with 'chronic pain'.

The course of adjuvant-induced arthritis was followed, over an 11-week postinoculation period, in Sprague-Dawley rats, using both clinical and behavioural methods of study. Clinical observations included body weight, diameters of radiocarpal and tibiotarsal joints and radiological analysis of forepaws, hindpaws and vertebrae. Behavioural observations included those of spontaneous behaviour-mobility, exploring, rearing, penis licking and scratching-and of pain-related tests-the foot-bend procedure and Randall-Selitto test. In general, the time course of the disease could be divided into 4 stages, viz. a preclinical, an acute, a postacute and a recovery stage. The preclinical stage (first week) was characterized by discrete radiological lesions of the forepaws and a slight increase in the threshold for struggle triggered by foot pressure, but, above all, by no change in the other parameters. The acute stage (weeks 2-4) was clearly defined by a pause in body weight gain and by dramatic behavioural changes: a lack of mobility and exploring behaviour, a profound increase in scratching behaviour and signs of hyperalgesia. During this period, hindpaw and forepaw joint diameters increased dramatically. The behavioural modifications peaked at the same time (week 4) as there was an acceleration in the radiological abnormalities (soft tissue swelling, demineralization and erosion of bone extremities and joint space narrowing) which had begun during week 3. During the postacute stage (weeks 5-8), body weight and behavioural reactions began to return towards control values, but joint diameters and radiological scores either continued to increase or remained constant. During the recovery stage (weeks 9-11), behavioural scores and body weight returned to control values while the mean joint diameters remained constant and there was a slight decrease in the radiological scores. In spite of the complexity of the model used in these studies, it appeared quite clear that the acute phase of the disease was characterized by the onset of clinical symptoms and dramatic changes in behaviour, all of which could be related to the occurrence of pain; signs of pain were still present, albeit weaker, in the postacute phase. Such observations, taken together, help to validate adjuvant arthritis as an experimental model of chronic pain in Sprague-Dawley rats.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

The effects of separate or combined infusions of corticotrophin-releasing factor and vasopressin either intraventricularly or into the amygdala on aggressive and investigative behaviour in the rat.

These experiments show that combined infusions of corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) into either the lateral ventricle or the amygdalae have synergistic effects on aggressive, investigative and other behaviours occurring during social interaction between male rats. They suggest, therefore, that the two peptides interact at intracerebral sites to control behaviour much as they do on the anterior pituitary to regulate ACTH release. CRF or AVP, alone or in combination, were infused into either the lateral ventricle (dose range: 10-250 pmol) or bilaterally into the amygdalae (dose range: 1-150 pmol) of male rats in two experiments. The rat was then paired with another, strange, male for 10 min. There was a U-shaped effect on aggressive behaviour after intra-amygdala infusions of CRF, lower doses increasing agonistic behaviour, higher ones decreasing it. This was not seen after icv infusions. AVP had no effect by either route; however, given together with CRF it potentiated the latter's effect on aggressive behaviour. Investigative behaviour was decreased by icv CRF but the effects of amygdala infusions were small. AVP had no consistent effect by either route. Combined infusions of both peptides given either icv or into the amygdala decreased investigative behaviour. Self-grooming increased, though in an irregular fashion, after incremental doses of either CRF or AVP given by either route. Both peptides given together showed additive effects on self-grooming. Climbing behaviour was lowered by CRF more prominently than by AVP and, again, the two peptides together profoundly reduced this behaviour. These experiments show that the behavioural effects of CRF and AVP on social interaction have different profiles, and that the effects of each peptide differ when it is given into the ventricles or directly into the amygdala. There is also clear evidence for synergistic effects of the two peptides on behavior after infusion by either route.

Aggression↗
PubMed1990

Characteristics of heart rate fluctuations and respiratory movements during orienting, passive avoidance and flight-fight behaviour in rabbits.

In the present study different heart rate patterns were demonstrated to accompany flight-fight behaviour, orienting behaviour and passive avoidance in rabbits. Flight-fight behaviour was characterized by markedly increased heart rate and diminished overall heart rate variability. The effect was mediated by vagal inhibition and beta-adrenergic activation in a type-specific relation. Orienting behaviour was accompanied by a smaller heart rate increase and the exaggeration of slow heart rate fluctuations. The latter effect was absent during beta-adrenergic blockade suggesting a behaviourally provoked beta-adrenergic activation. Single beta-adrenergic blockade did not change the characteristics of the heart rate fluctuations at rest. During passive avoidance a vagally mediated heart rate deceleration was followed by a slow heart rate return toward the initial heart rate level. This level was not reached during beta-adrenergic blockade. The enhanced overall heart rate variability during passive avoidance was mainly caused by strengthened respiratory-induced heart rate fluctuations and, furthermore, by exaggerated slow rhythmical heart rate fluctuations. The latter effect was not observed during beta-adrenergic blockade and is referred to as an orienting component within passive avoidance. Three individual behavioural types may be differentiated in rabbits 'Weisses Gross-Silber' by stable behavioural characteristics i.e. spontaneous motor activities, preferred postures at rest and coping behaviour. The results of the present study suggest that different neurovegetative reaction types, i.e. dominating beta-adrenergic or vagal activation are correlated with stable behavioural characteristics, especially in terms of preferring active or passive coping behaviour, respectively.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

The European Health and Behaviour Survey: rationale, methods and initial results from the United Kingdom.

The aim of this study was to assess a wide range of health-related behaviours, beliefs concerning the importance of behaviours for health, and health knowledge, using a standardized protocol suitable for translation and administration in different countries of Europe. An inventory was developed from previous literature for the assessment of substance use, positive health practices, diet and eating habits, driving behaviour and preventive health care, beliefs concerning the importance of 25 activities for health, and knowledge about the influence of seven factors (including smoking, alcohol and diet) on major diseases. The first phase of the study involved administration of the inventory to approximately 200 male and 200 female university students aged 18-30 in 20 European countries. This report concerns data collected from 419 students in the U.K., together with analyses of short-term response stability. The inventory showed adequate short-term stability. Sex differences were observed in a number of behaviours, including consumption of fats and cholesterol, salt and fibre, dieting, exercise, sun-protection, driving speed, regular dental check-ups, frequency of brushing teeth, access to doctor and blood pressure measurement. Beliefs about the importance of behaviours for health were closely associated with the occurrence or frequency of the behaviours both within and between health behaviour categories. Little relationship was observed between health behaviour and awareness of the role of these same factors in disease. Important gaps in health knowledge were identified. Data concerning the frequency of health-related behaviours is crucial to the planning of health education and primary prevention programmes. The close association between beliefs and behaviour emphasises the importance of cognitive factors, while health knowledge appears to play a less direct role.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Consistency and variation in unhealthy behaviour among Finnish men, 1982-1990.

The aim of the study was to describe four health related lifestyle characteristics--smoking, exercise, alcohol and food consumption--among Finnish men in 1982-1990. How do unhealthy patterns of behaviour vary according to socio-demographic factors, and do they aggregate or accumulate? The data was compiled in connection with a larger programme entitled 'Monitoring Health Behaviour among the Finnish Adult Population' and conducted by the National Public Health Institute. In the programme a postal questionnaire has been sent annually to a random sample of Finns (N = 5000, resp. rate 70-85%). In this paper, food consumption patterns are described by the use of butter, high-fat milk, coffee sugar and vegetables. The other patterns of behaviour are each measured by one variable. The degree of accumulation is analyzed by comparing the observed and expected (assuming independent occurrence) proportions for simultaneous occurrence of 3-4 unhealthy behaviour patterns. The proportion of men displaying 3-4 unhealthy behaviour patterns has decreased, mostly because of dietary changes. The majority of the men belonged to the intermediate group of 1-2 unhealthy behaviour patterns, and their proportion remained practically unchanged throughout the study period. Unhealthy behaviour was more common in lower educational groups, especially among middle-aged (30-49) and divorced men with a low educational level. Despite the decreasing prevalence of unhealthy behaviour, the degree of accumulation did not change. Accumulation of unhealthy behaviour was much less pronounced among non-smokers than among smokers. This implies that smokers are consistent in their unhealthy behaviour. Smoking might be the gateway to an unhealthy lifestyle in general.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Structure of the rat behaviour in the forced swimming test.

Forced swimming test (FST) or 'behavioural despair' test is a useful screening for antidepressant drugs. The FST predictability has been improved by a number of procedural modifications. Description of the behavioural microstructure in FST may help to delineate innovative protocols. Thus, counts of all behaviours emitted during FST in rats (four-month-old Wistar male, n = 63) were recorded and examined by Markovian sequential analysis (MSA) and principal components analysis (PCA). In a second experiment, rats (n = 28) were tested in an open field test (OFT) followed a week later by FST; behaviours in both tests were recorded and analysed by two correlation methods (Pearson's test and sliding window correlation). The descriptive ethological analysis displayed counts of swimming and immobility increased over the course of the test, whereas climbing behaviour decreased. The MSA revealed the occurrence of immobility was predicted by swimming, climbing, and diving behaviours whereas the immobility predicted the occurrence of swimming behaviour and headshakes. The PCA showed duration of immobility and climbing loaded into one component and duration of immobility and swimming loaded into another one. Low as well high levels of climbing behaviour were positively correlated with motor activity in the OFT. In brief, the present data suggest there are at least two different factors that grouped variables related to the behavioural despair in the FST. In addition, altered motor activity could be predicted by the frequency of climbing behaviour recorded in the FST.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Antidepressant treatment-associated behavioural expression of hypomania: a case series.

OBJECTIVE: Emerging literature suggests that hypomanic behaviour may be clinically more important than elated mood in spontaneous hypomania. This report describes dysfunctional behavioural activation as a milder expression of antidepressant-associated hypomania. METHOD: Five outpatients with mood disorders developed problem behaviours following antidepressant treatment. These behaviours include gambling, excessive spending, increased sexual activity, excessive shopping and socially inappropriate verbal aggression. These behaviours were not accompanied with noticeable euphoria or persistent dysphoria and were not characteristics of the individual's personality functioning. They were reported by significant others and patients had no history of primary impulsive, substance abuse or personality disorders. RESULTS: The observed antidepressant-associated behavioural activation was suggestive of hypomanic behaviours not of impulse control disorders because of; (a) absence of other accountable mental or medical disorders characterized by impulsivity, (b) the evidence of close association between impulsivity and hypomanic/manic states, (c) increasing awareness of the diagnostic importance of behavioural disturbances in hypomania, (d) the substantial evidence relating antidepressant treatment to the emergence of hypomania, but not to impulse control disorders, (e) the well documented therapeutic effect of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in impulse control disorders. CONCLUSIONS: In accordance with the recent proposed revision in the diagnostic criteria of hypomania, the observed dysfunctional behavioural activation during antidepressant treatment may represent milder expression of antidepressant-associated hypomania. More research is warranted to study the behavioural expression of hypomania secondary to antidepressants.

Adult↗