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At least 487 records · Page 27Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

C-MOPP/ABV yields good results in a public hospital population with Hodgkin disease in Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Over the last 15 years, a number of combination chemotherapy regimens have been reported to induce more than 80% complete remissions (CR) in patients with advanced Hodgkin disease (HD). Almost all such studies have been conducted in large institutions from North America and Europe. It remains to be proven, however, that those regimens are equally effective for the larger population of patients with HD who live in very different social conditions in third-world countries. METHODS: Fifty-nine patients with advanced-stage or early bulky HD were treated in two public hospitals with the C-MOPP/ABV hybrid program, in which cyclophosphamide was substituted for mechlorethamine. RESULTS: The median number of cycles administered was six, and the median follow-up was 32 months. Fifty patients (85%) reached a CR. The actuarial failure-free survival (FFS) rate was 69%, and the actuarial overall survival rate was 78% at 68 months. The only significant prognostic factor that predicted for improved FFS rate was the absence of B symptoms (P = 0.02). Overall survival was better for patients who reached a CR (P = 0.0003) and those with no systemic symptoms (P = 0.007). Toxic effects were moderate, with one treatment-related death and six episodes of serious infection. CONCLUSIONS: The target population consisted of lower-class Brazilians, many living in poor social conditions. Nevertheless, these results compare equitably with other results reported in the literature. C-MOPP/ABV is an adequate treatment for HD in third-world populations.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

[The productive sector].

In the last 25 years, the production sector in Spain has undergone important changes. Among these changes, the important growth of the services sector at the expense of the primary sector, the increasing flexibility of the labour market, and the rise in the female workforce could be considered as the most relevant ones. Spanish women have higher rates of unemployment, temporary jobs and part time contracts than Spanish men. Moreover, job access and work conditions are highly related to gender and social class. Because women are forced to compensate for the scarcity of social services for caring for young children and for dependent elderly, they become informal and socially unrecognised caregivers, preventing them from getting or holding a job, and significantly limiting their opportunities for professional development. These social conditions are closely related with the fact that work conditions for women involve higher temporality rates and shorter contracts than those of men, given the sectors and jobs in which they tend to work (due to segregation). Similarly, workers of the less privileged social classes have poorer work conditions. Thus, women of the lower income class are mainly suffering the worst job contracts and the poorest work conditions. More social services are needed to make it possible to attend to family needs and still be able to access and maintain a job contract. Policies tending to conciliate labour and family life are indispensable and should incorporate measures to equally distribute the house keeping activities between women and men.

Family↗
PubMed1996

Morphology of environmentally induced synaptic plasticity in vomeronasal system.

Adult male hamsters and rats were reared for 2 months in either an isolated condition (IC) or a social condition (SC). The lengths of synaptic active zones (SAZ) of synapses in the granule cell layer of the accessory olfactory bulb were measured as an indicator of synaptic size in perforated and non-perforated synapses. In the hamster, the SAZ of both perforated and non-perforated synapses were larger in animals reared in the SC, compared to those of animals reared in the IC. In the rat, only the SAZ of non-perforated synapses was larger in the SC animals, compared with those reared in IC. These results indicate that rearing conditions affect synaptic structure, with the morphological change being more pronounced in hamsters than in rats.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

[Self assessment of health and psychical fitness among medical students of the CMUJ in Cracow].

The examination embraced 213 students (129 women--60.6% and 84% men--39.4%) of the fourth year of Collegium Medicum, Jagiellonian University, Cracow. The standardized questionnaire estimating social conditions, lifestyle and health status of examined students was used in our examination. The differences between male and female students were evaluated with the use chi 2 test. 54% of examined persons descended from big cities, 31% from small towns and 15.4% from the countryside. 95.6% of students were single and 4.4% married. During the studies they lived mainly in family houses (35%), in student houses (32%) or they rented a flat (23%). 36.1% of students estimated their health status as very good, 50% as good, 13.1% as not very good and 0.8% as bad. During the medical review it was stated that among chronic diseases allergies (20.2% of male students and 25.6% of female students) were on the first position as far as the frequency was concerned. Chronic bronchitis (11.9% and 8.5% respectively) and eye diseases (9.5% and 14.7%) were on the second and third position. There were not statistically important differences between male and female students in above mentioned problems. On the other hand female students more frequently complained of headaches, feeling nervous or irritable. They were also less self confident. The presented results are a part of Polish examination that estimates health status, social conditions and lifestyle of students of medicine in our country.

Female↗
PubMed2006

Asbestos-related disease in South Africa: the social production of an invisible epidemic.

South Africa was the third largest exporter of asbestos in the world for more than a century. As a consequence of particularly exploitative social conditions, former workers and residents of mining regions suffered--and continue to suffer--from a serious yet still largely undocumented burden of asbestos-related disease. This epidemic has been invisible both internationally and inside South Africa. We examined the work environment, labor policies, and occupational-health framework of the asbestos industry in South Africa during the 20th century. In a changing local context where the majority of workers were increasingly disenfranchised, unorganized, excluded from skilled work, and predominantly rural, mining operations of the asbestos industry not only exposed workers to high levels of asbestos but also contaminated the environment extensively.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

[Study on short-term therapeutic effect and its impact factors of stereotactic surgery for treating opiate users with opiate dependence in Sichuan].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the common characteristics of the patients, relapse reasons of patients before and after surgery, evaluate the relapse rate and its impact factors, and therapeutic effect of patients accepted stereotactic surgery to treat opiate dependence in Sichuan. METHODS: An investigation, using uniform questionnaires by face-to-face and telephone interview, and gaining data from medical records of patients, was conducted in Mar to Jun 2005, in Sichuan Province. 208 patients (total 212 patients participated in surgery) were invited to gather information about their common characteristics, drug-taking history and the surgery. Statistical methods including t-test, chi2 test and logistic regression were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: (1) 181 male patients and 27 female patients participated in this study, and their mean age was (29.5 +/- 5.5) years. Most of the respondents were in Sichuan and some peripheral province, graduated from senior high school and over, and with various occupations. (2) All patients abused opiate before the surgery, and the average duration of drug-taking was (7.6 +/- 3.4) years. All patients were detoxified by unconstraint or compulsory abstinence before surgery, with mean drug abstinence of 13.9, but relapse occurred after each detoxification. (3) Suffering with no drugs and abstinence syndrome were the two main reasons of relapse before surgery. Compared with relapse before surgery, validating the effect of the surgery treating drug dependence and temptation by drug surroundings were the two main reasons of relapse after surgery. (4) The complication rate was 38.0% (79/208), no severe complications occurred in patients, and most of the complications disappeared or were healed before they were discharged from hospital. Relapse rate within 7 months after surgery was 22.1% (46/208). A significant decrease of relapse time, relapse dose, subjective feel on drugs and relapse euphoria appeared in patients who relapsed after surgery when compared with those before surgery. The univariate and multivariate analysis shows potential significant predictors of relapse rate after surgery to include education (OR = 3.259), operative time (OR = 2.451), social support (OR = 23.256) and doing simple work (OR = 3.328). CONCLUSION: This investigation showed that the stereotactic surgery can eliminate psychological desire for drugs and abstinence syndrome among most of the patients. Satisfactorily short-term therapeutic effect and substantial decline in relapse rate as well as no severe complications were appeared in these patients. Relapse was greatly associated with education, operative time, neuropsychological factors, and social conditions of patients. Therefore, patients' family and the society should strengthen their care, comprehension as well as support, and create better living and working surroundings to facilitate the complete drug abstinence to occur in patients. average duration of drug-taking was (7.6 +/- 3.4) years. All patients were detoxified by unconstraint or compulsory abstinence before surgery, with mean drug abstinence of 13.9, but relapse occurred after each detoxification. (3) Suffering with no drugs and abstinence syndrome were the two main reasons of relapse before surgery. Compared with relapse before surgery, validating the effect of the surgery treating drug dependence and temptation by drug surroundings were the two main reasons of relapse after surgery. (4) The complication rate was 38.0% (79/208), no severe complications occurred in patients, and most of the complications disappeared or were healed before they were discharged from hospital. Relapse rate within 7 months after surgery was 22.1% (46/208). A significant decrease of relapse time, relapse dose, subjective feel on drugs and relapse euphoria appeared in patients who relapsed after surgery when compared with those before surgery. The univariate and multivariate analysis shows potential significant predictors of relapse rate after surgery to include education (OR = 3.259), operative time (OR = 2.451), social support (OR = 23.256) and doing simple work (OR = 3.328). CONCLUSION: This investigation showed that the stereotactic surgery can eliminate psychological desire for drugs and abstinence syndrome among most of the patients. Satisfactorily short-term therapeutic effect and substantial decline in relapse rate as well as no severe complications were appeared in these patients. Relapse was greatly associated with education, operative time, neuropsycological factors, and social conditions of patients. Therefore, patients' family and the society should strengthen their care, comprehension as well as support, and create better living and working surroundings to facilitate the complete drug abstinence to occur in patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

International research needs for improving sleep and health of workers.

Research needs in identifying preventive measures dealing with working time arrangements and associated sleep problems are reviewed. These needs are based on the recognition of a range of risk factors for health involving disturbed circadian rhythms leading to various levels of sleep deficits. The review takes account of recent joint change approaches that address both working time arrangements and various relevant intervening factors. As examples of such approaches, voluntary industry-based guidelines for improving shift work are examined. Also reviewed is evidence indicating the effects of improved working time arrangements and sleep hygiene on the tolerance of workers working irregular shifts. Trends in action-oriented risk assessment are further discussed as the effects on health and sleep of these workers may be modified by complex aspects related to working situations, family and social conditions, personal characteristics and social support. Generally relevant are not only the relationships between sleep-affecting factors and health, but also advances in taking the various support measures. The effective use of participatory steps is found important in dealing with working time arrangements and associated health and sleep problems together. It is thus considered important to study (a) the efficacy of joint change approaches addressing complex sleep and health factors, (b) effective procedures for action-oriented health risk assessment in various work life situations, and (c) the relevance of innovative participatory steps to improving health and tolerance of workers. Future research topics mentioned by the participants of the international symposium on night and shift work held in Santos in 2003 are presented, and international efforts to promote research into these aspects in field conditions are discussed. Interactive research involving local people appears crucial.

Biomedical Research↗
PubMed1993

Latina and African American women: continuing disparities in health.

Women of all races have faced incredible challenges as they sought to realize the promises of America. For women of color, these challenges were compounded by the second-class citizenship of U.S. racial and ethnic minority population groups. In an effort to assess the quality of life experienced by Latina and African American women, this article provides descriptive information on racial/ethnic differences in women's social conditions, health status, exposure to occupational and environmental risks, and use of health services. When possible, indices are stratified by family income to limit the effects of social class on the comparison of racial differences. The authors provide evidence that Latina and African American women are more likely than nonminority women to encounter social environments (e.g., poverty, densely populated neighborhoods, hazardous work conditions) that place them at risk for ill-health and injury. Although persistent racial disparities in health are often attributed to the lifestyle behaviors of racial minority populations, they are undoubtedly a consequence of poorer social conditions as well as barriers in access to quality health services. To achieve further gains, public policies must reduce social inequalities (i.e., by gender, race, and social class) and assure greater equity in access to resources that facilitate healthier environments and lifestyles. Public health initiatives should be community-based, reflecting a shared partnership that actively engages minority women in decision-making about their lives.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Problems in the assessment of psychosomatic conditions in Social Security benefits and related commercial schemes.

The medical community must recognize that support of claims for Incapacity Benefit and related commercial schemes places the patient in a small and special sub-population of clinical practice which may require specialist investigation, treatment, and documentation. Determination of functional capacity and of disability requires knowledge either not available or unfamiliar to most physicians with caring and therapeutic roles, especially of legal or contractual provisions and occupational data. However, it is not necessary for them to determine disability and they should not be asked to do so. The new, medical assessment procedures for Incapacity Benefit in the UK do not require this, and the largest provider of related commercial schemes (Long Term Disability; Permanent Health Insurance) has already eliminated this requirement from its application process. When such application is anticipated or requested, the medical record should be prepared and appropriate consultation obtained. Subjective issues should be identified and addressed. Comprehensive psychiatric evaluation, especially in subjective impairment, is critical in chronic incapacity. The estimation of functional capacities in the absence of objective data is particularly troublesome, but, clinicians can provide the Disability Medical Analyst with appropriate medical documentation.

Diagnosis, Differential↗
PubMed1995

Rearing conditions alter social reactivity and D1 dopamine receptors in high- and low-aggressive mice.

As a result of selective breeding, NC900 mice exhibit isolation-induced attacks in a social interaction test, whereas NC100 mice do not attack but freeze instead. Administration of the D1 receptor agonist dihydrexidine was previously shown to reduce aggression in NC900 mice and nonagonistic approaches in NC100 mice. This resulted from induction of a marked social reactivity in both selected lines. Because isolation rearing also induces social reactivity, the present experiment was designed to test the hypothesis that D1 dopamine receptors mediate isolation-induced social reactivity. Isolation was expected to potentiate the effects of a D1 agonist and to increase D1 dopamine receptor density. Thus, isolated and group-reared mice were administered dihydrexidine, and their social behavior was compared to vehicle-injected controls. Dihydrexidine induced higher levels of reactivity among isolated than among group-reared animals, especially in NC900 mice. In independent experiments, increased densities of D1 dopamine receptors in the striatum of isolated animals were found, with no change in affinity. These studies suggest an important role for the D1 dopamine receptor as a mediator of isolation-induced social reactivity.

Aggression↗
PubMed1986

Environmental effects on the intake of overweight and normal-weight men.

The effects of changes in portion size and social condition on food intake were compared for overweight and normal-weight men. Subjects believed they were participating in a luncheon test of the acceptability of lasagna. In Study 1, under conditions designed to mimic social dining in a cafeteria, subjects were given either 255 or 426 g of lasagna. All subjects at a particular session received the same size portion and could ask for as many helpings as they wished. While overweight subjects ate more than normal-weight subjects, changes in portion size had no significant effects on intake. In Study 2, the effects of social vs. isolated dining were compared. Overweight subjects ate more than normal-weight subjects, and both overweight and normal-weight subjects eating socially ate more than subjects eating alone. In both studies there was a significant relationship between preference rating and intake for overweight subjects but not for normal-weight subjects. The results support the existence of differences in intake between overweight and normal-weight individuals and also indicate the potential importance of environmental factors in the intake of both groups.

Adult↗