Suicide attempts in a cohort of drug abusers: a 5-year follow-up study

A group of 125 drug abusers admitted consecutively for detoxification and short-term rehabilitation were followed up 5 years after discharge. They were asked about possible suicide attempts in a semi-structured face-to-face interview. Nearly half of the group (45%) reported having attempted suicide at some point in their life. The most common reasons given were the loss of a person whom they loved, and feelings of loneliness. Only three respondents reported using their drug of choice in the attempt(s). The suicide attempters were more often found to have been in child psychiatric treatment earlier, and to have experienced loss of significant others in childhood, than those who did not report attempting suicide. At follow-up the suicide attempters indicated that they experienced more depressive moods and more severe psychological problems than those who had never made a suicide attempt. The importance of assessing the risk of suicide attempts among drug addicts in order to be able to take measures to prevent future suicidal behaviour is emphasized.     

The dispositional model of job attitudes revisited: Findings of a 10-year study.

Research findings showing that satisfaction scores are stable over time led B. M. Staw and J. Ross (1985) to suggest that job satisfaction is rooted in dispositional mechanisms. The current study tested this hypothesis by administering a questionnaire to 166 U.S. Department of Defense employees on 2 occasions. Measures of job satisfaction (r?=?.37, p?r?=?.41, p?     

Microwave thermoradiotherapy for uveal melanoma: results of a 10-year study

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study is to evaluate clinically the use of microwave-heating (hyperthermia) as an adjuvant to ophthalmic plaque irradiation for treatment of patients with uveal melanoma. Hyperthermia was also used as a radiation sensitizer, allowing for significant dose reductions during ophthalmic plaque radiation therapy. PARTICIPANTS: In this case series, 48 patients were treated with microwave plaque thermotherapy for uveal melanoma. INTERVENTION: Microwave treatment, which involved affixing a miniature microwave dish antenna on the sclera beneath the tumor after completion of plaque brachytherapy, was performed. During hyperthermia treatment, the tumor's apex was targeted to receive a minimum of 42 degrees C for a 45-minute duration. A subset of 38 (79%) were given reduced apical doses of ophthalmic plaque radiation (radioactive isotope of iodine [125I] or palladium-103 [103Pd]) to an average of 52.6 Gy. MAIN OUTCOME PARAMETERS: Patients were evaluated for visual function, microwave toxicity, radiation oculopathy, eye retention, local tumor control, and metastatic disease. RESULTS: Patients have been observed for up to 10 years and for an average of 60 months (5 years). To date, there have been 3 cases of postoperative tumor enlargement (growth) for a 93.8% local control rate. Two patients were lost to follow-up. Seven eyes have been enucleated: three due to neovascular glaucoma, one due to uveitic neovascular glaucoma, and three due to progressive tumor enlargement. Although 15 patients have died, only 4 deaths were because of metastatic choroidal melanoma. Of the original 48 patients, 33 (69%) have maintained within 2 lines or have better than their preoperative visual acuity. Side effects attributable to heating have included decreased intraocular pressure without hypotony as well as chorioretinal scar formation within and around the targeted zone. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this series suggest that adjuvant microwave thermotherapy can be used with reduced doses of ophthalmic plaque radiation therapy to control the growth of uveal melanomas. Although the incidence of neovascular glaucoma, enucleation, and tumor regrowth is comparable to that of other series evaluating radiation alone, the visual acuities of microwave plaque thermotherapy-treated eyes were found to be superior.     

Cardiovascular outcome in white-coat versus sustained mild hypertension: a 10-year follow-up study

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to compare the risk conferred by white-coat versus sustained mild hypertension for the development of cardiovascular disease. METHODS AND RESULTS: Patients (n=479) who underwent 24-hour intra-arterial ambulatory blood pressure monitoring on the basis of a persistently elevated clinic systolic blood pressure of 140 to 180 mm Hg were followed up for the development of subsequent cardiovascular events during a 9.1+/-4. 2-year period. White-coat hypertension, defined as a clinic systolic blood pressure of 140 to 180 mm Hg associated with a 24-hour ambulatory systolic blood pressure <140 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure <90 mm Hg, was present in 126 patients, and the remainder had sustained mild hypertension. A subgroup of patients without complications underwent follow-up echocardiography and carotid ultrasound. White-coat hypertensives were younger (44+/-12 versus 52+/-10 years, respectively; P<0.001) and had a significantly lower incidence of cardiovascular events (1.32 versus 2.56 events per 100 patient-years, respectively; P<0.001) than sustained hypertensives. Multivariate analysis revealed age (P=0.002), sex (P=0.007), race (P=0.001), smoking (P=0.005), and the presence of white-coat hypertension (hazard ratio, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.09 to 0.90; P=0.04) to be independent predictors of subsequent cardiovascular events. Subgroup analysis in patients without complications revealed a lower incidence of left ventricular hypertrophy and lesser degrees of carotid hypertrophy in the white-coat group. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate a relatively benign outcome in white-coat hypertension compared with sustained mild hypertension.     

Adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix associated with pregnancy: a retrospective 10-year investigative study

Plasma proteins, especially albumin, account for much of the normal anion gap. The relationship between globulins and the anion gap has not received much attention except for reports of a narrowing of the gap associated with certain monoclonal immunoglobulin G gammopathies. The author presents a patient with polyclonal gammopathy, the magnitude of which correlated strongly and positively with the anion gap, along with data from 400 patients attending a renal hypertension clinic, which show a significant positive correlation between the anion gap and total globulins. These results indicate that both albumin and globulin concentrations should be taken into account when attempting to explain abnormalities or changes in the magnitude of the gap.     

Endoscopic pancreaticobiliary procedures in patients with a Billroth II resection: a 10-year follow-up study

PURPOSE: To report uveitis associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and to suggest guidelines for treatment. METHODS: Six HIV-seropositive patients (10 eyes) with anterior or posterior uveitis or both were evaluated. After ineffective prolonged treatment with systemic and topical corticosteroids, specific systemic antiretroviral therapy with zidovudine was initiated in all patients. Aqueous humor was cultured in three eyes of three patients, and vitreous humor was cultured in one eye of one patient. RESULTS: In all 10 eyes of six patients, there was resolution of inflammation in 10 to 42 days after commencement of treatment with zidovudine (600 to 800 mg/day), despite no or minimal response to corticosteroids. Cultures of aqueous humor from three eyes of three patients and culture of vitreous humor from one eye of one patient were positive for HIV; no other organism was isolated. Systemic evaluation disclosed no other identifiable cause for the uveitis in any patient. CONCLUSIONS: Infection with HIV appears to be a cause of uveitis. A trial of zidovudine may be warranted in HIV-seropositive patients with uveitis that is poorly responsive to corticosteroid treatment when no other cause is identified. The efficacy of other retroviral agents was not determined.     

Female bisexuality from adolescence to adulthood: Results from a 10-year longitudinal study.

Debates persist over whether bisexuality is a temporary stage of denial or transition, a stable "3rd type" of sexual orientation, or a heightened capacity for sexual fluidity. The present study uses 5 waves of longitudinal data collected from 79 lesbian, bisexual, and "unlabeled" women to evaluate these models. Both the "3rd orientation" and "fluidity" models had support, but the "transitional stage" model did not. Over 10 years, 2/3 of women changed the identity labels they had claimed at the beginning of the study, and 1/3 changed labels 2 or more times. Yet, contrary to the "transitional stage" model, more women adopted bisexual/unlabeled identities than relinquished these identities; few bisexual/unlabeled women ended up identifying as lesbian or heterosexual. Overall, the most commonly adopted identity was "unlabeled." Bisexual/unlabeled women had stable overall distributions of same-sex/other-sex attractions but greater absolute fluctuations in attractions from assessment to assessment than lesbians. All women reported declines in their ratio of same-sex to other-sex behavior over time. These findings demonstrate that the distinction between lesbianism and bisexuality is a matter of degree rather than kind. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The treatment of acute traumatic rupture of the aorta: a 10-year experience

Forty-three patients with aortic rupture secondardy to blunt trauma have been treated at the University of Micigan within the past 10 years with an overall salvage rate of 70%. The diagnosis should be suspected in anyone who has sustained a high speed decelerating injury, if the chest roentgenogram shows media-stinal widening, whether or not there is hypertension of the upper extremities; systolic murmur, or external evidence of chest injury. Aortography should be employed to confirm the diagnosis and to determine the site or sites of rupture. Repair of the lesion should be undertaken as soon as possible and takes priority in most instances over associated injuries. Repair in almost all cases can be accomplished safely and quickly using a bypass shunt without the aid of extracorporeal circulation.     

Financial problems and health complaints among farm couples: Results of a 10-year follow-up study.

Over a 10-year period, this survey study of 91 Dutch dairy farm couples investigated both causal and reversed causal relationships between couples' financial problems and husbands' and wives' mental and physical health complaints, as well as crossover effects of mental and physical health complaints between spouses. These relationships were tested simultaneously using structural equation modeling analyses. Results showed that financial problems were not predictive of health complaints for either spouse but that husbands' health complaints did predict both couples' financial problems and wives' health complaints 10 years later. These findings emphasize the importance of mental and physical health as resources for both the business and the family. For wives, these effects were not found, which may reflect the different positions of husbands and wives at the farm and, hence, the different ways they allocate their resources. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multidisciplinary evaluation of preschool children in a military psychiatry clinic: a 10-year comparison and a brief outcome study

A little over a decade ago, the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Service at Tripler Army Medical Center opened the Child Study Group (CSG), a multidisciplinary diagnostic team clinic for preschool children. The methods and results of the clinic were reported previously (Lee, 1987). The current study is a comparison of the cohort of children seen from January through December 1984 with the parallel group seen from January through June 1994. The paper also presents a brief follow-up study of the children seen in 1994.     

Venous thrombectomy for iliofemoral vein thrombosis--10-year results of a prospective randomised study

In a longitudinal evaluation of 37 patients with severe depression who had undergone brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) 6 months-2 years (mean 14.1 months) previously, the degree of residual dysfunction was predicted by the extent of subcortical white matter hyperintensities (WMHS, p < .01), longer time elapsed since the MRI scan (p < .05), older age (p < .05), and older age at onset of affective disorder (p < .05). Ten (27%) patients developed "probable" dementia syndromes of the vascular type, with such syndromes being predicted by WMHS (p < .01) and older age of onset of affective disorder (p < .05). Institutionalization of patients was predicted largely by the combination of chronic depression, progressive cognitive decline, and advanced age. The study supports the notion that a subgroup of patients with late-onset depressive disorders, without a family history of depression, and with risk factors to cerebrovascular disease, have extensive WMHS on MRI, and that such structural brain changes predispose to chronic depression and progressive cognitive decline.     

The femoral artery-femoral vein polytetrafluoroethylene graft: a 14-year retrospective study

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between sarcoma tumor grade and the quantitative tumor metabolism value for [F-18]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) determined by positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. Seventy patients with bone or soft-tissue sarcomas underwent PET scanning with quantitative determination of tumor FDG metabolic rate (MRFDG) before treatment. MRFDG (micromol/g/min) for each tumor was compared with National Cancer Institute tumor grade, S-phase percentage, and percentage of aneuploidy of the tumor population. The pretreatment quantitative determination of tumor MRFDG by PET correlates strongly with tumor grade but not with the other selected histopathological tumor correlates. In addition, overlap of MRFDG PET values with tumor grade suggests that PET, an objective tumor measurement, may provide an alternative means of assessing tumor biological potential or may have the potential to overcome some of the limitations of traditional pathological evaluation. FDG PET can uniquely provide a metabolic profile of a diverse group of sarcomas noninvasively and provide clinically relevant tumor biological information.     

Tick-borne diseases in Texas: a 10-year retrospective examination of cases

The occurrence of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, human monocytotropic ehrlichiosis, tularemia, tick-borne relapsing fever, and a southern erythema migrans-like illness (Lyme/Lyme-like disease) is determined by the geographic distribution and seasonal activity of the particular vector tick(s). The flulike signs and symptoms early in the course of spotted fever rickettsiosis, ehrlichiosis, tularemia, and relapsing fever are nonspecific and do not readily suggest a particular diagnosis. Laboratory diagnosis, particularly during the acute stage of illness, often is elusive. Empiric treatment with doxycycline can be lifesaving for Rocky Mountain spotted fever and ehrlichiosis. This article provides insight into the significance of each of these tick-transmitted diseases in Texas.     

Repetition of overdose: a retrospective 5-year study

This study investigated the number, timing and disposal (admission or discharge) of patients repeating an overdose who attended the accident and emergency department of a district general hospital during a 5-year period. There was a total of 1958 overdoses by 1597 individuals over the 5-year period. Overdoses were repeated by 12% (n = 191) of patients and accounted for 552 of the total overdoses (representing 361 repeats). First repeats were found to occur more frequently in the 3 months following the original overdose for 43% of patients, 70% of repetitions occurring within a year. The distribution of first repeats showed a similar pattern for males and females. During the 5-year period 49% of all repetitions occurred within 3 months. Almost one-fifth of repeaters were discharged, irrespective of whether it was the patient's 'index' (first overdose within the study period) or a repeat overdose. Within the repeater population, 31% of overdoses occurred on a Friday, Saturday and on, or immediately prior to, a Bank Holiday. Since there was no on-site psychiatric service available at such times, those patients had to wait until the next working day for assessment. The study recommends that all overdose patients should receive psychiatric assessment, and therefore on-site psychiatric services should be available for accident and emergency patients.     

Sibling outcomes and disparate parenting and stepparenting after divorce: Report from a 10-year longitudinal study.

This is a first longitudinal study of parenting and stepparenting of siblings in divorced and remarried families over the postdivorce decade. Disparate parenting of siblings was evident in one half of the families. This was seriously and lastingly detrimental to the marginalized youngsters. The unexpectedly powerful influence of the stepparent on the parenting of the biological parents is reported along with the psychological role of children in reflecting the relationships and projections of parents and stepparents. The study raises clinical and theoretical questions regarding the roots of instability in parenting following disrupted and new adult partnering. The findings also call attention to the distinctive developmental pathways of children in divorced and remarried families. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Association between marginal bone loss around osseointegrated mandibular implants and smoking habits: a 10-year follow-up study

While many factors are conceivable, occlusal loading and plaque-induced inflammation are frequently stated as the most important ones negatively affecting the prognosis of oral implants. Currently, little is known about the relative importance of such factors. The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of smoking and other possibly relevant factors on bone loss around mandibular implants. The participants were 45 edentulous patients, 21 smokers and 24 non-smokers, who were followed for 10-year period after treatment with a fixed implant-supported prosthesis in the mandible. The peri-implant bone level was measured on intraoral radiographs, information about smoking habits was based on a careful interview, and oral hygiene was evaluated from clinical registration of plaque accumulation. Besides standard statistical methods, multiple linear regression models were constructed for estimation of the relative influence of some factors on peri-implant bone loss. The long-term results of the implant treatment were good, and only three implants (1%) were lost. The mean marginal bone loss around the mandibular implants was very small, about 1 mm for the entire 10-year period. It was greater in smokers than in non-smokers and correlated to the amount of cigarette consumption. Smokers with poor oral hygiene showed greater marginal bone loss around the mandibular implants than those with good oral hygiene. Oral hygiene did not significantly affect bone loss in non-smokers. Multivariate analyses showed that smoking was the most important factor among those analyzed for association with peri-implant bone loss. The separate models for smokers and non-smokers revealed that oral hygiene had a greater impact on peri-implant bone loss among smokers than among non-smokers. This study showed that smoking was the most important factor affecting the rate of peri-implant bone loss, and that oral hygiene also had an influence, especially in smokers, while other factors, e.g., those associated with occlusal loading, were of minor importance. These results indicate that smoking habits should be included in analyses of implant survival and peri-implant bone loss.     

Development of depression from preadolescence to young adulthood: Emerging gender differences in a 10-year longitudinal study.

The authors investigated the emergence of gender differences in clinical depression and the overall development of depression from preadolescence to young adulthood among members of a complete birth cohort using a prospective longitudinal approach with structured diagnostic interviews administered 5 times over the course of 10 years. Small gender differences in depression (females greater than males) first began to emerge between the ages of 13 and 15. However, the greatest increase in this gender difference occurred between ages 15 and 18. Depression rates and accompanying gender differences for a university student subsample were no different than for a nonuniversity subsample. There was no gender difference for depression recurrence or for depression symptom severity. The peak increase in both overall rates of depression and new cases of depression occurred between the ages of 15 and 18. Results suggest that middle-to-late adolescence (ages 15–18) may be a critical time for studying vulnerability to depression because of the higher depression rates and the greater risk for depression onset and dramatic increase in gender differences in depression during this period. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The dynamics of assessment center validity: Results of a 7-year study.

The authors investigated temporal trends in the validity of an assessment center consisting of a group discussion and an analysis–presentation exercise for predicting career advancement as measured by average salary growth over a 7-year period in a sample of 679 academic graduates. The validity of the overall assessment rating for persons with tenure of 7 years, corrected for initial differences in starting salaries and restriction in range, was .39. There was a considerable time variation in the validity of both the overall assessment rating and the assessment center dimensions. In accordance with findings from research in managerial effectiveness and development, the interpersonal effectiveness dimension became valid only after a number of years, whereas the firmness dimension was predictive in the whole period and increased with time. For comparison, validity trends for 2 types of interviews and a mental test were also studied. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)