Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Educational Status”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,261 records · Page 70Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

[Mortality by social and economic characteristics: The Mortality Study of the Autonomous Community of Madrid].

BACKGROUND: To estimate the effect of marital status, household size, employment status, educational level and occupation on mortality. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: About 3,100,000 persons 24 years and older resident on first of May, 1996 in Autonomous Community of Madrid. For the next 19 months information on individuals who died were obtained by linking Mortality Register and 1996 Population Census. RESULTS: Except for household size, the effect on mortality of characteristics analysed was higher in individuals aged 25 to 44 years than in other group of age. In general, married persons had the lowest mortality, except for men older than 64 years where the lowest mortality was found in the never married category. Men aged 45 to 64 years who lived alone had higher mortality than those who lived with other people, while mortality in people aged older than 64 years increased with household size. Inactive persons had higher mortality than active people. Higher education level and higher skilled occupation were associated with lower mortality, except for women aged 45 to 64 years. CONCLUSIONS: This study has identified population groups associated with increased risk of mortality. Monitoring the trend of mortality in those groups will make possible to found the rational basis to implement social and health programmes.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Work loss associated with increased menstrual loss in the United States.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the effect of increased menstrual flow on the loss of work. METHODS: Heavy or otherwise abnormal menstrual bleeding is a common problem among women in the reproductive age range. Until now, there has been no evidence of its effect on absences from work. We used data from the National Health Interview Survey 1999, a personal interview household survey using a nationwide representative sample of the civilian noninstitutionalized population of the United States. Participants were 3133 women aged between 18 and 64 years who reported having a natural menstrual period in the last 12 months and in the last 3 months, never having taken medication containing estrogen (except past use of oral contraceptives), and never having been told that they had reproductive cancer. Analysis was performed using data from 2805 women, 373 having self-described heavy flow and 2432 having normal flow. The main outcome measure was work loss associated with the degree of menstrual flow. RESULTS: Using binary logistic regression, age, marital status, education, family size, perception of health, and flow of menstrual periods are associated with work losses (P <.05). The odds ratio of 0.72 (95% confidence interval 0.56, 0.92) indicates that women who have a heavier flow are 72% as likely to be working as are women who have a lighter or normal flow. CONCLUSION: Menstrual bleeding has significant economic implications for women in the workplace: work loss from increased blood flow is estimated to be $1692 annually per woman.

Absenteeism↗
PubMed2003

Maternal characteristics and lifestyle factors and the risk of delivering high birth weight infants.

OBJECTIVE: To identify factors associated with an increased risk of giving birth to infants weighing more than 4000 g and to study whether changes in these factors over time can explain the increasing proportion of high birth weight infants over the last decade. METHODS: Our analyses included 24,093 pregnancies of nondiabetic women with information on potential risk factors for high birth weight: maternal prepregnancy weight, height, age, parity, smoking habits, alcohol and caffeine intake, marital status, educational level, gestational age, and infant gender. Information was obtained from questionnaires completed during pregnancy and birth registration forms at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark, from 1990 to 1999. RESULTS: We found a statistically significantly increased risk of giving birth to infants weighing more than 4000 g for women with high prepregnancy weight and height, parity greater than 2, gestational age greater than 42 weeks, and male infant gender and for nonsmokers. Women with a low caffeine intake or 10 or more years of education were also at statistically significantly higher risk. The variation found in birth weight over the past 10-year period was explained by changes in maternal prepregnancy weight, height, smoking habits, educational level, and caffeine intake over the same period. CONCLUSION: Risk factors associated with a higher proportion of high birth weight infants may be clinically significant and have an impact on public health. High birth weight increases the risk of adverse outcomes of delivery as well as the risk of childhood morbidity.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1991

Primary health care and immunisation in Iran.

The Primary Health Care (PHC) network of Iran consists of a rural and an urban branch. While the rural branch presently covers a sizeable portion of the rural population, the urban PHC project is in its early stages of implementation. The Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) in Iran, which started as an independent and vertical project in early 1983, is being gradually integrated into the PHC network as the latter expands. Results of the second PHC programme review of Iran shows that immunisation coverage of children has improved appreciably since the first PHC review, especially for BCG which stands at 56.3%. Complete immunisation at first birthday in the rural areas with the PHC services is 44.1%, whereas for urban areas other than Teheran it is 28.1%. While the high coverage in the rural areas is attributed to the 'active' approach and vigilance of the providers of immunisation (i.e. the community health workers and the vaccinators of the mobile teams), the higher coverage in the capital city of Teheran is attributed to the involvement of private paediatricians and the generally higher social, economic, and educational status as well as higher interest of mothers. It is noticed that the results of cluster sampling for determination of immunisation coverage in large metropolitan areas of the developing world must be interpreted with much care. The reason is that in these areas extreme fluctuations in the crude birth rate are common and therefore results tend to over-represent the attributes of the segment of population with lower birth rate. It is also argued that complete immunisation might not be the best indicator for assessing the progress of the immunisation efforts. These and other findings are discussed in detail. are discussed in detail.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed1995

Epidemiologic differences between candidial and trichomonal infections as detected in cytologic smears in Taiwan.

The epidemiologic differences between cytology-detected candidial and trichomonal infections were assessed in 15,933 women attending the 12 district health centres in the Taipei area and a consecutive 1114 patients, visiting venereal disease clinics, whose smears were screened for cervical cancer between July 1991 and December 1992 in Taipei. The Pap smears were examined for the presence of specific organisms, such as trichomonas vaginalis, vaginal candida, herpes simplex virus, human papillomavirus, actinomyces, leptothrix, aspergillu, gardnerella and others. More emphasis was placed on the candidial and trichomonal infection in inflammatory Pap smears. The overall prevalence of candidial and trichomonal infections was 3.40% and 1.88%, respectively. There were striking differences in the prevalence of trichomoniasis ranging from 1.74% in the district health centre population to 3.77% in the venereal disease clinic patients; however, the prevalence of candidial infection remained the same (3.40%) in these two distinct population groups. Indices of socioeconomic status--education and personal hygiene--showed an inverse association with the prevalence of trichomoniasis but a positive correlation with candidiasis. Among participants, younger age (< 20 years old) was independently associated with candidial (OR = 1.95) and trichomonal (OR = 3.87) infections. No sexual behavioural factors were associated with candidial infection in this study; however, having multiple sexual partners (OR = 5.07) was associated with a significantly elevated risk of trichomoniasis, while using condoms was associated with a diminished risk (OR = 0.38). The presence of candidiasis and trichomoniasis was highly associated with abnormal cytologic findings, particularly those indicative of inflammation. There was little evidence that findings suggestive of cervical cancer could be attributed to either candidial or trichomonal infections. These data suggest that trichomoniasis is consistent with venereal transmission of the disease, but transmission by contaminated objects cannot be ruled out because there is an increased relation between trichomoniasis infection and socioeconomic conditions and personal hygiene. Elucidation of such differences may be helpful in designing different strategies to control these infections. Furthermore, the findings can provide a good baseline of prevalence for investigating the relationship between these two pathogens and cervical dysplasia.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Microbial keratitis in Hong Kong: relationship to climate, environment and contact-lens disinfection.

Microbial keratitis has been studied in Hong Kong as a representative sub-tropical climate of south China. An 18-month investigation in 1997/98 of 223 cases of ulcerative keratitis (presumed microbial) was conducted in the 2 million population of Shatin and Kowloon at the Prince of Wales and Hong Kong Eye Hospitals respectively with comprehensive microbiology. A case-control study was pursued at the same time between 45 contact-lens wearers (CLW) developing microbial keratitis and 135 lens-wearing volunteers matched for age, sex, educational status and visual acuity. Home water supplies were sampled for Acanthamoeba. Previous ocular surface disease and trauma (preventable by wearing goggles for grinding) were common predisposing causes while cosmetic wear of contact lenses was responsible for 26% of cases overall. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the commonest bacterium isolated, from both CLW and non-CLW, with infection being acquired within the community. These 28 pseudomonads remained fully sensitive to the third-generation cephalosporins, aminoglycosides and quinolone antibiotics, which is very encouraging. Fungi were isolated, predominantly Fusarium sp., but less commonly than expected. A fungal/bacterial ratio was obtained of 1/17, while in comparison, the expected ratio for a tropical climate ranges from 1/5 (Singapore) to 1/2 (South India). Acanthamoeba was the second commonest microbe isolated from keratitis of CLW. The domestic water environment of 8% of homes of both patients and controls wearing contact lenses was colonized with Acanthamoeba. Lack of hygiene, use of tap water for storing lenses, failure to air-dry lens-storage cases or use of one-step hydrogen peroxide disinfectant were identified as risk factors for keratitis in CLW. The study results commend use of multipurpose solutions by CLW in Hong Kong to achieve the lowest expected rates of infection.

Acanthamoeba Keratitis↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Geophagy as a risk factor for geohelminth infections: a longitudinal study of Kenyan primary schoolchildren.

Geophagy among primary schoolchildren and its impact on geohelminth infection were studied in western Kenya. In a cross-sectional survey, 204 children aged 10-18 years were interviewed about geophagy and examined for helminth infections (Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, Schistosoma mansoni, hookworm). Children found infected were treated with albendazole (600 mg in a single dose) and/or praziquantel (40 mg/kg in a single dose). The children were re-examined after 4, 8 and 11 months. In the initial cross-sectional survey, 77% of the children ate soil daily and 48% of all soil samples were contaminated with eggs of A. lumbricoides (median egg count in contaminated samples was 3/2 g of soil; range 1-15). Twenty-nine children (14.2%) were infected with A. lumbricoides and 87 (42.6%) with T. trichiura. Significant associations between geophagy and infection intensity with A. lumbricoides and T. trichiura, but not S. mansoni or hookworm, were found. Re-infection with A. lumbricoides was twice as common among geophagous children as among non-geophagous children (27.4% vs. 12.0%; P = 0.030). The intensity of reinfections was higher in geophagous children (median 773 eggs/g vs. 95 eggs/g; P = 0.027). The relative risk for A. lumbricoides reinfection was 2.28 for geophagous children (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.02-5.11), and the fraction of reinfection attributable to geophagy was 56.0% (95% CI 1.7%-80.4%). There was a significant difference in T. trichiura infection intensity between geophagous and non-geophagous children (median no. of eggs/g 68 vs. 20; P = 0.049), but not in reinfection rates. No difference between the groups was seen in S. mansoni or hookworm reinfection rate or intensity, or in the families' socioeconomic or educational status. Geophagy was associated with an increased risk of reinfection with A. lumbricoides and possibly with T. trichiura. Neither family background nor infection with non-orally transmitted helminths was associated with geophagy, suggesting that this association was not due to confounding, but causal. Geophagy is therefore likely to be a source of ascariasis and possibly trichiuriasis among primary schoolchildren.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Serum selenium concentration in a representative sample of the Canarian population.

The concentration of serum selenium in 395 individuals (187 males + 218 females) living in the Canary Islands, Spain was determined by hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry. The mean selenium concentration was 74.7 +/- 25.2 microg/l ranging between 7.86 and 182.3 microg/l. Twenty-two adults (7.2% of the total) had serum selenium concentrations under 45 microg/l. It is widely accepted that below this selenium serum concentration (45 microg/l) there is an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. Our results fall within data recently published in other Spanish and European regions and are much lower than data observed in USA or seleniferous regions. The estimated Se intakes of our population were lower than the Recommended Dietary Allowances for American people. Individuals from Lanzarote had a mean Se concentration significantly higher than individuals from the other islands. This could be attributed to differences in Se content of soil and/or differences in dietary habits of the populations. Serum selenium concentration did not vary with the sex of the subjects. Individuals younger than 14 years old had a serum selenium concentration significantly lower than the rest of the individuals. No relationship with socio-economic status, educational level, smoking habits, physical exercise or beer consumption was found. However, individuals who consume wine more than three times a week showed higher selenium concentrations than individuals with lower consumption. Also, individuals with consumption above seven units of spirit drinks a week had the highest mean selenium concentration.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Neurotoxic effects of aluminium among foundry workers and Alzheimer's disease.

BACKGROUND: In a cross-sectional case-control study conducted in northern Italy, 64 former aluminium dust-exposed workers were compared with 32 unexposed controls from other companies matched for age, professional training, economic status, educational and clinical features. The findings lead the authors to suggest a possible role of the inhalation of aluminium dust in pre-clinical mild cognitive disorder which might prelude Alzheimer's disease (AD) or AD-like neurological deterioration. METHODS: The investigation involved a standardised occupational and medical history with particular attention to exposure and symptoms, assessments of neurotoxic metals in serum: aluminium (Al-s), copper (Cu-s) and zinc (Zn-s), and in blood: manganese (Mn-b), lead (Pb-b) and iron (Fe-b). Cognitive functions were assessed by the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Clock Drawing Test (CDT) and auditory evoked Event-Related Potential (ERP-P300). To detect early signs of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), the time required to solve the MMSE (MMSE-time) and CDT (CDT-time) was also measured. RESULTS: Significantly higher internal doses of Al-s and Fe-b were found in the ex-employees compared to the control group. The neuropsychological tests showed a significant difference in the latency of P300, MMSE score, MMSE-time, CDT score and CDT-time between the exposed and the control population. P300 latency was found to correlate positively with Al-s and MMSE-time. Al-s has significant effects on all tests: a negative relationship was observed between internal Al concentrations, MMSE score and CDT score; a positive relationship was found between internal Al concentrations, MMSE-time and CDT-time. All the potential confounders such as age, height, weight, blood pressure, schooling years, alcohol, coffee consumption and smoking habit were taken into account. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest a role of aluminium in early neurotoxic effects that can be detected at a pre-clinical stage by P300, MMSE, MMSE-time, CDT-time and CDT score, considering a 10 micrograms/l cut-off level of serum aluminium, in aluminium foundry workers with concomitant high blood levels of iron. The authors raise the question whether pre-clinical detection of aluminium neurotoxicity and consequent early treatment might help to prevent or retard the onset of AD or AD-like pathologies.

Aged↗
PubMed1997

Factors predictive of poor compliance with follow-up care after facial trauma: a prospective study.

We performed a prospective study of 59 consecutive patients with facial trauma who were treated at an urban public hospital. We obtained demographic and clinical data before treatment, then recorded compliance with clinic follow-up care. As expected, young, minority male patients, victims of assault, and blunt mechanisms of injury predominated in our series, and midface fractures and soft tissue injuries were most commonly seen. Thirty-one (52%) patients were admitted, and 28 (48%) were treated as outpatients. Although 66% of patients kept their initial follow-up appointment, only 46% of patients were seen to completion of the follow-up period. We used univariate and multivariate analyses to identify factors predictive of poor compliance with follow-up care. Factors predictive of poor compliance with the initial follow-up appointment identified in the multivariate analysis were orbital injury site (p < 0.001), Caucasian race (p = 0.007), and not having a telephone at home (p = 0.043). Factors predictive of poor compliance with completion of follow-up were failure to keep initial appointment (p < 0.001), and treatment with observation, suture only, or open reduction internal fixation only (p = 0.018). Age, marital status, employment status, education level, and hospital admission of the patient were not predictive of compliance with follow-up care. Because compliance with follow-up care may be poor, patients with facial trauma should be managed aggressively initially. In particular, patients with orbital fractures, and those treated with watchful waiting only may have poorer long-term compliance with follow-up care.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Extended main family and mental disease in a rural health area].

OBJECTIVE: To check the association between souche family and the incidence of mental illness. DESIGN: A case-control study. SETTING: Health Rural Zone (Tineo-Asturias-Spain). PATIENTS CASE: every person with a new diagnosis of mental illness who has been compiled (CIE-9-CM) the clinical records of the Mental Health Centre. Field-work from 1-1-1996 until 31-12-1997; they could be dead or alive and of fourteen or more years of age, including suicide and suicide attempts without clinical records in the mental health centre and excluding organic psychosis, mental illness caused by organic damage lesion and mentally handicapped (n = 162). CONTROL: living people of fourteen or more years of age, with diagnosis of current mental illness, after more than one year since their discharge from a mental illness. They will mark five or less than five in the GHQ-28 scale. A systematic random sample was done among all patients registered by computer from the health centre (n = 378). We compiled information about: age, sex, family and personal backgrounds of mental illness, rural or urban context, marital status, education level, family structure and GHQ-28. We carried out univariant and bivariant analysis also we adjusted a logistic regression model (SPSSW7.1). MAIN RESULTS: In the souche family we obtained a odds ratio equal 3.29 (95% CI, 1.69-6.43). CONCLUSIONS: The souche family is a risk of mental illness. Research into dynamics and performance should be done.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Health behaviour, risk awareness and emotional well-being in students from Eastern Europe and Western Europe.

Life expectancy and other indices of health have deteriorated markedly in the former socialist countries of Eastern Europe over recent decades. The possible roles of lifestyles, knowledge about health and behaviour, emotional wellbeing and perceptions of control were assessed in a cross-sectional survey of young adults of similar educational status in Eastern and Western Europe. As part of the European Health and Behaviour Survey, data were collected in 1989-1991 from 4170 university students aged 18-30 years from Austria, Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland, and from 2293 students from the German Democratic Republic, Hungary and Poland. Measures were obtained of health behaviours, awareness of the role of lifestyle factors in health, depression, social support, health locus of control, and the value placed on health. After adjustment for age and sex, East European students had less healthy lifestyles than Western Europeans according to a composite index of 11 health behaviours, with significant differences for seven activities: regular exercise, drinking alcohol, avoiding dietary fat, eating fibre, adding salt to food, wearing a seat-belt, and using sunscreen protection. East European students were less likely to be aware of the relationship between lifestyle factors (smoking, exercise, fat and salt consumption) and cardiovascular disease risk. In addition, they were more depressed (adjusted odds of elevated scores on the Beck Depression Inventory of 2.46, 95% C.I. 1.95-3.09), reported lower social support, and had higher beliefs in the "chance" and "powerful others" locus of control. Internal locus of control levels did not differ across regions, and Eastern Europeans placed a higher valuation on their health. Unhealthy lifestyles associated with lack of information about health and behaviour, greater beliefs in uncontrollable influences, and diminished emotional well-being, may contribute to poor health status in Eastern Europe.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Depression, parenthood, and age at first birth.

This study tests the hypothesis that the correlation between current depression and parenthood depends on the age at first birth for adults. An early first birth suggests a poor start in life. It may reflect a disordered transition from adolescence into adulthood and may itself disrupt that transition, with life long consequences that influence emotional well-being. To test the hypothesis we analyze data from a 1995 survey of 2592 US adults 18 through 95. Among the parents we find a generally negative association between age at first birth and recent feelings and signs of depression, adjusting for age, sex, minority status, and education of the respondent's parents. Respondents who had a first birth before age 23 report more feelings and signs of depression than do nonparents; those who had a first birth after age 23 report fewer than do nonparents. The association between depression and age at first birth is monotonic for males but parabolic for females. The age at first birth associated with the lowest predicted depression for females is around 30. Regression analyses indicate that several correlates account for the apparent psychological benefits of delaying first birth: later first marriages, higher educational attainment, lower risk of having had a prolonged period needing a job but not being able to find one, lower risk of having had periods lacking the money for household necessities, and better current physical health. For women, health consequences limit the emotional benefits of prolonged delay of the first birth.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Indicators of socio-economic position and their relation to mortality in Sweden.

This paper estimates the effects on mortality of some indicators of socio-economic position such as employment status (SEI), education and housing tenure. The data from 32,853 persons aged 25-64 were collected from seven independent samples of the Swedish population in 1979-1985. The study was designed as a longitudinal follow-up study ranging from day of interview to December 1993. Information on the dependent variable was obtained from the Cause of Death Register by the personal registration number. The data were analysed by a proportional hazard model. Being a low educated female or renting a flat was associated with increased mortality when tested simultaneously for all independent variables. The excess mortality among unskilled persons and skilled labourers/lower level employees (males) disappeared in successive models when one variable at a time was included in the main models. Sickness pension for males and females, long-term unemployment for males, and ethnicity were also related to increased mortality.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Constructions of masculinity and their influence on men's well-being: a theory of gender and health.

Men in the United States suffer more severe chronic conditions, have higher death rates for all 15 leading causes of death, and die nearly 7 yr younger than women. Health-related beliefs and behaviours are important contributors to these differences. Men in the United States are more likely than women to adopt beliefs and behaviours that increase their risks, and are less likely to engage in behaviours that are linked with health and longevity. In an attempt to explain these differences, this paper proposes a relational theory of men's health from a social constructionist and feminist perspective. It suggests that health-related beliefs and behaviours, like other social practices that women and men engage in, are a means for demonstrating femininities and masculinities. In examining constructions of masculinity and health within a relational context, this theory proposes that health behaviours are used in daily interactions in the social structuring of gender and power. It further proposes that the social practices that undermine men's health are often signifiers of masculinity and instruments that men use in the negotiation of social power and status. This paper explores how factors such as ethnicity, economic status, educational level, sexual orientation and social context influence the kind of masculinity that men construct and contribute to differential health risks among men in the United States. It also examines how masculinity and health are constructed in relation to femininities and to institutional structures, such as the health care system. Finally, it explores how social and institutional structures help to sustain and reproduce men's health risks and the social construction of men as the stronger sex.

Ethnicity↗
PubMed1997

A review of trophoblastic diseases at the medical school of Dicle University.

Gestational trophoblastic disease cases encountered in 88 pregnant women during a period between January 1985 and June 1992 were retrospectively studied. During the same period we had 6800 deliveries. The incidence of gestational trophoblastic diseases was 12.9 per 1000 deliveries. Of these cases 72 (81.8%) were diagnosed as hydatidiform mole and 16 (18.2%) were diagnosed as choriocarcinoma in histopathological investigations. The preferred method of treatment for cases of hydatidiform mole was termination with suction curettage and oxytocin perfusion. Trophoblastic diseases were common in women with five or more pregnancies from rural areas and our incidence was higher when compared with similar studies. Moreover, our patients had low socio-economic and poor educational status. All these factors seem to be etiologic reasons, besides multiparity.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Selection bias in a study on how women experienced induced abortion.

OBJECTIVE: One third of the women who had an induced abortion at the department of gynecology and obstetrics in Malmö 1989 refused to participate in an interview a year later to explore their experience and the care they had received. Using data from the mandatory preoperative visit it was then possible to compare participants with non-participants with regard to socio-demographic characteristics. reproductive history and stated reason for abortion. By continued follow-up of medical records it has furthermore been possible to ascertain how many women conceived within a year, and how many of them applied for another abortion and how many elected to continue the pregnancy to term. SETTING: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Lund University, University Hospital, Malmö Sweden. This is the sole referral hospital serving the population of Malmö (approx. 230000). SUBJECTS: All 1285 women who underwent induced abortion at the department in 1989. + STUDY DESIGN: In each case information on socio-demographic characteristics, reproductive history and stated reasons for abortion was collected at the mandatory clinical visit prior to the abortion. This information was used for comparison of participants and non-participants in the planned 1-year follow-up interview. RESULTS: Young, unmarried women of low educational status and without full-time employment or studying were overrepresented in the non-participant group. The proportion of women with children was however smaller in that group. Within 12 months after the abortion, 118 women 66 (7.7%) of the participants in the follow-up interview and 52 (12%) of the non-participants conceived again but elected to continue the pregnancy to term (P<0.05). whereas 124 of the women 80 (9.5%) and 44 (10.2%) of the respective subgroups again applied for abortion within 12 months. CONCLUSION: One third of the women who underwent induced abortion did not wish to be interviewed about their emotional and somatic experience of the abortion 1 year later. Non-participation at the follow-up interview was associated with socio-demographic factors which in studies about other medical problems have been shown to be associated with increased vulnerability and morbidity. Non-participation was also associated with an increased childbirth rate during the following 2 years. The large proportion of non-participants is a matter for concern as to some extent it reflects inability of the health care system to establish trustful relationships with these women. How the participants in the follow-up study experienced this relationship will soon be published in our next paper. Support from the women's surroundings and the adviser the women met at the public health care system clearly influenced the women's psychological reactions after the abortion. It is therefore important to ascertain to what extent the management of abortion applicants in fact fulfils their individual needs and expectations.

Abortion, Induced↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Age at smoking onset and its effect on smoking cessation.

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between cessation and age at which person starts smoking. Data from a survey of nine neighborhoods in Philadelphia (1985-1987) were analyzed. Interviews were conducted in the home using a structured questionnaire. Participants were from a probability sample (n = 1,700) of males aged 35 years or older. Sixty-six percent of the smokers in this series started smoking before 18 years of age. Smoking cessation rate was 58.1% in Whites and 38.8% in Blacks. Age, race, marital status, education, health condition, amount smoked, and duration of smoking were significant predictors of smoking cessation. Age at initiation of smoking was a significant factor for continuation of smoking. Men who started smoking before 16 years of age had an odds ratio of 2.1 (95% confidence interval: 1.4-3.0) for not quitting smoking compared to those who started at a later age. These findings emphasize the need for prevention program targeted to children below 16 years of age.

Adolescent↗