Mental health practice in a physical health setting.
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Adult↗
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The effect of spousal mental and physical health on husbands' and wives' depressive symptoms, among older adults: longitudinal evidence from the Health and Retirement Survey.
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the effect of spousal depressive symptoms and physical health on respondents' depressive symptoms in a national sample of older married couples. METHOD: We used data on 5,035 respondent husbands and wives from the 1992 and 1994 waves of the Health and Retirement Survey. Multivariate regression models were estimated to examine the impact of spousal depressive symptoms and physical health on respondents' depressive symptoms. RESULTS: Adjusting for respondent mental and physical health and sociodemographic traits, having a spouse with more depressive symptoms was associated with significantly higher follow-up depressive symptoms in the respondent (p < .001). Controlling for spousal depressive symptoms, a decline in the spouses' physical health was associated with a significant reduction in respondent depressive symptoms (p < .05). DISCUSSION: Our findings suggest that health care providers treating older adults should be sensitive to the possibility that spouses may be affected when clients suffer poor mental or physical health.
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[Long-term intensive athletic training; few adverse effects on later physical health].
In general, physical activity benefits health. However, long-term intensive physical training may have detrimental effects on the health of some individuals. In cyclists, changes in the femoral arteries may occur leading to stenoses that are manifested in claudication type symptoms. Some endurance athletes may experience atrial fibrillations that are possibly related to long-term physical training. Older athletes only have an increased risk of osteoarthritis in joints that have suffered injuries. Menstrual disturbances and premature osteoporosis may occur in women as a consequence of intensive physical training. However, the risk for these adverse consequences of long-term physical training is small.
Amenorrhea↗
Physical health and the onset and persistence of depression in older adults: an eight-wave prospective community-based study.
BACKGROUND: Poor physical health has long been recognized to be one of the most important risk factors for depression in older adults. Since many aspects of physical health can be targeted for improvement in primary care, it is important to know whether physical health problems predict the onset and/or the persistence of depression. METHODS: The study is based on a sample which at the outset consisted of 327 depressed and 325 non-depressed older adults (55-85) drawn from a larger random community-based sample in the Netherlands. Depression was measured using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (CES-D) at eight successive waves. RESULTS: From all incident episodes, the majority (57%) was short-lived. These short episodes could generally not be predicted by physical health problems. The remaining incident episodes (43%) were not short-lived and could be predicted by poor physical health. Chronicity (34%) was also predicted by physical health problems. CONCLUSIONS: The study design with its frequent measurements recognized more incident cases than previous studies; these cases however did have a better prognosis than is often assumed. The prognosis of prevalent cases was rather poor. Physical health problems were demonstrated to be a predictor of both the onset and the persistence of depression. This may well have implications for prevention and intervention.
Activities of Daily Living↗
Personality counts for a lot: predictors of mental and physical health of spouse caregivers in two disease groups.
The purpose of this study were to examine the influence of personality on mental and physical health of spouse caregivers and to determine whether there were differences in such influences depending on disease context. The disease contexts compared were Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD; with no coexisting dementia)--both chronic, degenerative diseases of later life. It was predicted that personality would be related to mental and physical health, directly and indirectly, and that AD caregivers would have higher levels of perceived stress and worse mental and physical health outcomes. Participants in the study were 175 caregivers (88 AD; 87 PD) living at home with their ill spouses. The data provided an excellent fit to the hypothesized model of the relationships between personality, disease group, social support, perceived stress, and mental and physical health. Seventy-eight percent of the variance in mental health was accounted for and 35% of the variance in physical health was explained. Personality had significant direct and indirect effects on mental health and significant indirect effects on physical health. As predicted, AD caregivers had significantly worse mental health than PD caregivers; however, AD caregivers had better physical health than PD caregivers, controlling for other variables in the model. These results are discussed in relation to the existing caregiving and behavioral medicine literature. Future research should include different domains of personality--states and longer term self-regulatory processes in addition to traits--to advance models of caregiving processes further.
Adult↗
Physical health, self-reliance, and emotional control as moderators of the relationship between locus of control and mental health among men treated for prostate cancer.
This investigation examined the moderating effects of physical health and scripts for masculinity (i.e., self-reliance and emotional control) on the relationship between powerful other people locus of control and mental health for 230 men treated for prostate cancer. Regression analyses indicated that physical health and masculine gender scripts moderated the association between powerful other people locus of control and mental health. Specifically, men with poor physical health evinced negative mental health when they endorsed masculine gender scripts and believed powerful other people (i.e., family, friends, or peers) were influential in controlling their cancer. By comparison, men reporting poor physical health, strong beliefs that powerful other people controlled their cancer, and less adherence to masculine scripts experienced positive mental health. The authors discuss future research directions and potential mental health implications for men treated for prostate cancer.
Emotions↗
The effects of hospital closure on mental health workers: an overview of employment, mental and physical health, and attitudinal outcomes.
This article examines the physical, psychological, and attitudinal impact of the closure of Central State Hospital (CSH) on its former employees. Eighty-five former CSH employees were interviewed at two points in time, preclosure and postclosure. Data on the psychological and physical health and employment attitudes of workers were collected prior to and eight months after organizational closure. Over time, workers had more positive attitudes about the hospital closure as well as reporting less depression, less work stress, and use of more coping strategies at postclosure. However, at post-closure, they also reported increased work conflict, lower income, and a more pessimistic outlook toward their future. Implications for hospital closure are discussed.
Adult↗
Social support and physical health: the importance of belonging.
Social support is a multifaceted construct recognized as a significant predictor of physical health. In this study, the authors examined several support domains simultaneously in a sample of 247 college students to determine their unique prediction of physical health perceptions and physical symptoms. They also examined gender differences across social support and physical health. Their findings indicated that belonging predicted better health perceptions for women and fewer physical symptoms for men, suggesting that a sense of connection to a group of others is a key support component for the physical health of college students.
Adolescent↗
Guidelines for health physics program content: baccalaureate level.
Guidelines are suggested for baccalaureate health physics program content based on the schema used in a prior publication. The Guidelines assume a program with a primary emphasis on generalized health physics and presuppose an institutional breadth coursework requirement. Methods of strengthening areas of current general weakness are proposed, and one version of a coursework model is presented. Comments to the author and the Manpower and Professional Education Committee of the Health Physics Society are welcomed.
Curriculum↗
The structure of the OARS physical health measures.
This article proposes and evaluates two models for integrating self-reported health status measures for the elderly with dominant conceptualizations of physical health. Each model includes three dimensions of physical health: chronic illness, functional limitation, and self-rated health. In Model 1, the dimensions are linked in a causal framework, whereas in Model 2, a second-order factor, labeled physical health status, is hypothesized to account for the relationships among the three dimensions. Each model was tested with data gathered in Cleveland (N = 1,834) and Virginia (N = 2,146) using the Older Americans Resources and Services Multidimensional Functional Assessment Questionnaire (OARS MFAQ). Analyses were further replicated by randomly dividing each sample. Both models fit the data well; their utilities will depend on the way in which physical health is conceptualized and on the nature of the research question at hand.
Activities of Daily Living↗
Effects of chronic cocaine use on physical health: a prospective study in a general population sample.
Few studies have examined long-term effects of chronic cocaine use on physical health in the general population. The current study assesses the effects of chronic cocaine use by the late twenties on physical health by the mid thirties in a longitudinal cohort from the general population. Measures of physical health included self-reported health status, cardiovascular, neurological, and somatic symptoms, and number of hospital or sick days within the last year. The casual analyses were restricted to males because few females used cocaine heavily and the relationships between females' cocaine use and physical health were rarely significant. Among males, chronic cocaine use increased physical health problems, controlling for prior health status, current cocaine use, use of other drugs and sociodemographic characteristics. In turn, poor health contributed to continued cocaine use. Variance partitioning based on cocaine use patterns (frequency and chronicity) indicated that chronic users experienced the most adverse consequences on subsequent physical health. Implications for understanding how chronic cocaine use affects a broad spectrum of physical functioning are discussed.
Absenteeism↗
Assessing the physical health of homeless adults.
Information on the physical health of homeless adults is potentially biased either by sampling strategy or by measurement of physical health. Studies that used comprehensive health measures (self-reported and objective measures) relied on samples from shelters or hotels. However, more representative community-based studies relied on self-reports or ratings. We conducted the first study to use both a community-based sample (N = 529) and comprehensive measures of health (an interview, a limited physical examination, and blood testing). Shelter dwellers compared with homeless persons sampled elsewhere were less likely to have used illegal drugs, to have been victimized, to have injured skin, and to have elevated aspartate aminotransferase levels and mean corpuscular volumes. Sixty-two percent of persons observed to have high blood pressure were unaware of their condition. Sampling only shelter dwellers, or relying only on reports of illness by homeless adults, may mask or underestimate existent health problems that are revealed by community-based sampling techniques and more objective measures.
Adult↗
Physical health problems of the psychiatric client.
The psychiatric nurse can make significant contributions to the client's overall state of health by attending to the physical health care needs of clients in psychiatric settings. Psychiatric clients die at a younger age than the general population and their incidence of physical health problems tends to be higher. As major providers of psychiatric care, especially to the chronically mentally ill, nursing skills are crucial to the physical and mental health of vulnerable clients. The case reports provide examples of how the interaction between physical and psychological states influence care.
Adult↗
Depression and self-reported physical health in patients with coronary disease: mediating and moderating factors.
OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to define how the relation between depression and self-reported physical health in patients with coronary disease is modified by other patient-centered factors. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study of 111 patients (members of a health maintenance organization) with angiographically documented coronary disease, examining factors (physical symptoms, psychological states and traits, and spousal support) modifying the relation between depression and patient-reported physical health 5 years later using multiple hierarchical regression models. RESULTS: Five regression models (all including demographic and disease severity covariates) were constructed to predict physical health from depression only (R2 = 0.22); depression plus angina and fatigue (R2 = 0.53); depression plus positive affect and novelty seeking and their interaction (R2 = 0.48); depression plus spousal support (R2 = 0.27); and depression, angina, fatigue, positive affect, and novelty seeking (overall model) (R2 = 0.65). Depression remained significant in each model, but the proportion of variance it predicted was diminished in the presence of the other variables (bivariate r = 0.39, partial r = 0.37-0.13). CONCLUSIONS: The effect of depression on self-reported physical health is significantly mediated by physical symptoms (angina and fatigue), personality states and traits (positive affect and novelty seeking), and spousal support. Positive affect and novelty seeking had more marked effects on physical health in the presence of more depression. Thus, a broad range of factors beyond the severity of coronary disease itself affect the perceived physical health of patients with coronary heart disease.
Affect↗
Light water reactor health physics.
In this article an overview of the historical development of light water reactor health physics programs is presented. Operational health physics programs have developed and matured as experience in operating and maintaining light water reactors has been gained. Initial programs grew quickly in both size and complexity with the number and size of nuclear units under construction and in operation. Operational health physics programs evolved to face various challenges confronted by the nuclear industry, increasing the effectiveness of radiological safety measures. Industry improvements in radiological safety performance have resulted in significant decreases in annual collective exposures from a high value of 790 person-rem in 1980 to 117 person-rem per reactor in 2002. Though significant gains have been made, the continued viability of the nuclear power industry is confronted with an aging workforce, as well as the challenges posed by deregulation and the need to maintain operational excellence.
Health Physics↗
Light water reactor health physics.
In this article an overview of the historical development of light water reactor health physics programs is presented. Operational health physics programs have developed and matured as experience in operating and maintaining light water reactors has been gained. Initial programs grew quickly in both size and complexity with the number and size of nuclear units under construction and in operation. Operational health physics programs evolved to face various challenges confronted by the nuclear industry, increasing the effectiveness of radiological safety measures. Industry improvements in radiological safety performance have resulted in significant decreases in annual collective exposures from a high value of 790 person-rem in 1980 to 117 person-rem per reactor in 2002. Though significant gains have been made, the continued viability of the nuclear power industry is confronted with an aging workforce, as well as the challenges posed by deregulation and the need to maintain operational excellence.
Health Physics↗
American Board of Health Physics: the first 35 years.
1994 marked the 35th Anniversary of the founding of the American Board of Health Physics (ABHP) by the Health Physics Society. This paper attempts to identify the major elements in the evolution of the ABHP and, where possible, the individual(s) responsible through 1993. Areas discussed include the implementation of the ABHP by the first few Boards, the duties of the examination panels, the evolution of the various examinations, the development of the recertification program, the economic factors in ABHP operations, and the birth of the American Academy of Health Physics.
Certification↗
The effect of retirement on physical health.
This prospective study compared pre- to post-retirement changes in physical health among male retirees with changes among age peers who continued to work. The 229 retirees and 409 workers aged 55-73 at follow-up were all participants in the Veterans Administration Normative Aging Study. Physical health at baseline and follow-up (three to four years apart) was rated on a four-point scale according to the findings of medical examinations. Although physical health declined generally over time, regression analyses showed no significant difference between eventual retirees and continuing workers on health change, after controlling for age and excluding men who retired due to illness or disability. Among retirees alone, pre- to post-retirement health change was also not significantly associated with several circumstances which purportedly make the retirement transition more stressful, such as mandatory retirement or retirement to a reduced standard of living. The results of this study of physical health, which corroborate those of other studies based on self-reported health measures and mortality data, support the conclusion that the event of retirement does not influence the risk of health deterioration.
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