Sex differences in mortality of people who visited emergency rooms for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

We assess the sex differences in mortality in a population-based cohort of those Barcelona residents older than 14 yr of age who received emergency room services (ERS) for either chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or asthma, during the period from 1985 to 1989. Vital status was followed to the end of 1995. A total of 15,517 individuals, 9,918 males and 5,599 females were included in the study. Asthma was diagnosed in 16% of males and 53% of females. Overall, 50% of males and 30% of females died during the follow-up period. The mortality rates in both males and females who visited emergency rooms for COPD or asthma were significantly higher than the expected rates in the general population. These relative increases in the mortality rates were significantly higher in females than in males for both causes of death, COPD (age-adjusted female/male ratio = 2.39), and asthma (ratio = 3.95). However, survival was better in females than males among individuals in the study. The higher fatality in males than females was observed for all causes of death, all respiratory causes, and COPD (risk ratio among patients with COPD = 0.42, 0.29-0.59, and among patients with asthma = 0.11, 0.02-0.60), but not for asthma. Mortality for asthma was higher in females with a diagnosis of COPD (2.79, 1.52-5.13), but it was not different among individuals in whom asthma was diagnosed (1.02, 0.56-1.87). Greater severity of COPD in males than in females could explain a higher risk of dying for all respiratory causes and COPD in males. The increased risk of asthma death in females may be due to problems of coding the term "asthma" in death certificates. The higher rates in females than in males when comparing with the general population, may be an expression of a greater similarity in risk factors, such as smoking, in our population than in males and females of the general population.     

Review of Exploring existential meaning: Optimizing human development across the life span.

Reviews the book, Exploring existenial meaning: Optimizing human development across the life span by Gary T. Reker and Kerry Chamberlain (2000). The form of personal meaning that constitutes the main focus for the volume is existential meaning, characterized by the editors in terms of "attempts to understand how events in life fit into a larger context," which involves both "a sense of coherence (order, reason for existence) and a sense of purpose (mission in life, direction)" (p. 1). This is a remarkably well integrated collection of essays, given the usual standards for edited volumes. The contributed chapters, sandwiched between the editors' brief Introduction and their longer integrative chapter at the end, are organized into distinct sections addressing, respectively, theoretical and conceptual issues, empirical research, and applications and interventions. This volume not only provides a comprehensive survey of recent work on existential meaning but is likely to have a broader appeal as well. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The quest for meaning: Religious affiliation differences in the correlates of religious quest and search for meaning in life.

Religious traditions are considered to provide their members with a way to integrate their experiences into a coherent, comprehensible whole; functioning as a meaning system. Given that religious traditions vary in certain ways, the meaning systems they provide to their members might also differ from one another. The present study was concerned with whether seeking existential meaning in religion and life is compatible with other expressions of religiousness across denominations. Using a multigroups application of path analysis, we investigated whether the relations of two forms of existential seeking, secular (search for meaning in life) and sacred (religious quest), with several religious and psychological well-being measures differed as a function of denomination in a sample of Catholic and Protestant young adults (Study 1; N = 284) and a sample of Catholic, Evangelical, and Non-Evangelical Protestant young adults (Study 2; N = 454). Although comparisons across studies are difficult because the “Protestant” category in Study 1 could have included both Evangelical and non-Evangelical Protestants, one consistent pattern did emerge: there were no denomination-based differences in any of the relations of search for meaning with any of the religiousness variables in either study. Also, in both studies, Catholics demonstrated a positive relation of search for meaning with religious quest and negative relations of search for meaning with presence of meaning in life and overall religiousness. Results for religious quest appeared unstable across studies, raising possible questions about its measurement qualities. Implications for the study of cultural and existential factors and religion are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Laboratory animal allergy

Since the second World War, excess mortality of males has been steadily growing in Poland. The aim of this paper was to analyze the basic relationships between excess male mortality and some social and economic factors, with special reference to both age and place of residence. Data published in Demographic Yearbooks and included in reports produced by the Government Population Council were used in the analysis. The excess male mortality is expressed in terms of male/female mortality ratio, and also in terms of the difference between the average female and male life expectancy. In the early 1990s the general male mortality rate in Poland was by 23% higher than the general female mortality rate, whereas in males at younger working age (20-44 years) mortality was three times higher, and in the older age (45-64 years) groups 2.7 times higher than the female mortality. Compared with the majority of European countries, Poland is characterised by high rates of excess male mortality, which points to a deteriorated health status of the population. At present, excess mortality of the working age males is much higher than in the 1960s and 1970s. Our analysis of the 1960-1994 trends revealed that the highest excess male mortality occurs in the 20-24 age group. Although recently a falling trend has been observed in the infant, juvenile and post working age groups, a continuous increase is noted in the working age population of Poland. Causes of death were also included in our analysis. Among circulatory diseases, the highest excess mortality was due to acute myocardial infarction (the risk of death from this disease was 8 times higher for males than for females). Accidents, injuries and poisoning constitute another leading group of causes responsible for excess mortality (6/1 male/female death risk ratio). The excess male mortality rates are higher in the rural than in the urban areas. The excess male mortality was also reflected in the indices of average life expectancy. In 1995, the average life expectancy was 67.6 years for males and 76.4 years for females. Thus, in Poland males live 8.6 years shorter than females on average. Increased excess mortality among the working age males, a considerable difference between male and female average life expectancy, disturbed demographic male/female balance, these are at least some of the reasons why further in depth studies of excess male mortality in Poland should continue.     

Positive reinterpretation of fear of death: A Japanese (Morita) psychotherapy approach to anxiety treatment.

Describes Morita therapy, a Japanese cognitive–behavioral therapy that aims toward clients' acceptance of the self-actualizing and existential meaning of anxiety (i.e., the fear of death and failure), instead of trying to resist or control anxiety symptoms. The positive reinterpretation technique attempts to mobilize clients' energy from egocentric self-preocccupations to productive and constructive action-taking. A case illustration is presented of a 35-yr-old female death-anxious client with paroxysmal anxiety reactions who was successfully treated in a single Morita session; successful maintenance continued at 40-mo follow-up. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The past makes the present meaningful: Nostalgia as an existential resource.

The present research tested the proposition that nostalgia serves an existential function by bolstering a sense of meaning in life. Study 1 found that nostalgia was positively associated with a sense of meaning in life. Study 2 experimentally demonstrated that nostalgia increases a sense of meaning in life. In both studies, the link between nostalgia and increased meaning in life was mediated by feelings of social connectedness. Study 3 evidenced that threatened meaning increases nostalgia. Study 4 illustrated that nostalgia, in turn, reduces defensiveness following a meaning threat. Finally, Studies 5 and 6 showed that nostalgia disrupts the link between meaning deficits and compromised psychological well-being. Collectively, these findings indicate that the provision of existential meaning is a pivotal function of nostalgia. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sulfation of nod factors via nodHPQ is nodD independent in Rhizobium tropici CIAT899

The purpose of this study is to elucidate the relationships between subjective life satisfaction and the following 8 factors of quality of life: physical condition, daily living activities, working condition, economic status, social status, medical status, marriage status, mental status. One hundred and fifty-four male and 116 female Beh?et patients in 13 medical facilities were analyzed in this study. Mantel-Haenszel's odds ratio method and stepwise logistic regression analysis were applied to evaluate the influence of quality of life on subjective life satisfaction in Beh?et disease patients. Males had higher problem scores than females in the following: physical condition, daily living activities, working condition, economic status, social status, marriage status, mental status. With regard to the effect on subjective life satisfaction, physical condition, daily living activities, working phase, economic phase, social phase, marriage relations, mental phase showed significantly high odds ratio in male, while physical condition, working phase, economic phase, social phase, medical phase, marriage relations, mental phase showed significantly high odds ratios in females by Mantel-Haenzel age-adjusted method. Physical condition, daily living activities, working phase, economic phase, social phase, and mental phase showed significantly high odds ratios in males after adjusting for active disease symptom periods, while physical condition, working phase, economic phase, social phase, medical phase, marriage relations, mental phase showed significantly high odds ratio in females after adjusting for active disease symptom. By stepwise logistic regression analysis, working phase and mental phase in males, economic phase and mental phase in females were shown to be significant. Improvement of quality of life including mental phase and working phase appear to raise the life satisfaction in Beh?et's disease patients.     

Age identification: a comparison between Finnish and North-American cultures

This study examined perceptions of age among Finnish males and females in three age groups; twenty-five to thirty-nine-year-olds (n = 446), forty to fifty-four-year-olds (n = 482) and fifty-five to sixty-four-year-olds (n = 427). The age perceptions of the Finnish sample were further compared with those of a North-American sample with corresponding age groups (n = 169, n = 187, n = 222) reported by Barak, Stern, and Gould (1988). Four age concepts used were chronological age, subjective age, ideal age, and disparity age. As expected on the basis of previous studies in age identification, no difference was found between Finnish males and females in terms of subjective age. Ideal age, however, differentiated Finnish males and females; the age ideal of females was significantly higher when compared with males with respective chronological ages. The comparison between Finnish and North-Eastern U.S. sample indicated that the latter group had more youthful age identity while the Finns expressed a greater acceptance of their present age status. This was seen in higher subjective and ideal ages of Finns when compared with their North-American counterparts. Socio-cultural differences in terms of meanings associated with chronological age and aging are discussed.     

A longitudinal investigation of depression, hopelessness, social support, and major and minor life events and their relation to suicidal ideation in adolescents

The longitudinal relationship of psychological and social-environmental factors with adolescent suicidal ideation over a 1-year-period was examined in a sample of 374 high school students. Students were assessed twice over a 1-year period with measures of depression, hopelessness, major negative life events, daily hassles, social support, and suicidal ideation. At the initial assessment, daily hassles and negative life events for males and social support and depression for females were significant factors related to suicidal ideation levels 1 year later. Changes in depression and hopelessness were significantly related to changes in suicidal ideation over the 1 year interval for males and females. Differences found between males and females in the relationship of psychological and social-environmental variables with suicidal ideation supports the need to examine gender specific relationships when conducting research on suicidal behavior in adolescents.     

Coincidence of bone infarct and aggressive bone metastasis

Fuyuan Country, in Yunnan Province, China has an extremely high lung cancer mortality both in males and non-smoking females. Out of 5768 deaths, 588 patients died of malignant diseases. Lung cancer was the number one cause of death among malignant diseases both in males and females. The rate of lung cancer death to the whole of malignant diseases was 56.2% for males and 55.0% for females. Indoor soot and combustion emission derived from smoky coal produced in northern Fuyuan exhibited high mutagenic activities against Salmonella typhimurium TA98 strain in Ames test. Resected lung tissues derived from the patients with lung cancer in Fuyuan contained significantly higher concentrations of benzo(a)pyrene than those in Japan, both in males and females (i.e., 608.7 +/- 477.1 pg/dry weight for samples of the patients in Fuyuan, 180.1 +/- 104.5 for Japanese non-smokers, and 207.5 +/- 98.8 for Japanese heavy smokers, respectively). These results suggest that mutagenic chemicals contained in coal as well as indoor environment may have a great influence on lung carcinogenesis in Fuyuan, Yunnan Province, China.     

Serum levels of endothelial and neural cell adhesion molecules in prostate cancer

The purpose of this study was to describe the longitudinal development of running economy [defined as the oxygen uptake (VO2) at a submaximal running speed] in males and females from teenage to young adult age using data from the Amsterdam Growth and Health Study. Submaximal VO2 (in ml.kg-1.min-1) was measured in 84 males and 98 females while they ran on a treadmill at a constant speed of 8 km.h-1 for 6 min at three different treadmill slopes (0%, 2.5% and 5%). This test was carried out six times, on the same subjects at the ages of 13, 14, 15, 16, 21, and 27 years. The longitudinal development of running economy in males and females was analysed using a two-way analysis of variance for repeated measurements. At all three slopes, a significant decrease in VO2 with increasing age was found for both males and females, implying a significant increase in running economy for both sexes. Males showed significantly higher VO2 values than females at all ages measured and for all three slopes, suggesting that females have a significantly higher running economy than males. In order to make a better comparison of the VO2 of individuals of different sizes, allometric models were used; power function ratios were constructed in which body mass was expressed to an exponential power. Following this analysis the difference in submaximal VO2 and running economy between males and females appeared even larger.     

Paring down life to the essentials: An epicurean psychodynamics of midlife changes.

This article presents a psychodynamic hypothesis about a certain type of productive midlife change often to be observed in creative individuals. This model is called paring down life to the essentials and is connected to the Epicurean tradition. It is exemplified by analyzing the autobiographical narrative of Charles Handy, a leading business philosopher, who at midlife left his previous employment to dedicate himself to writing about the search for meaning in a capitalist world. The psychodynamic interpretation of this process dialectically bridges between Elliot Jacques seminal interpretation of the resolution of the midlife crisis as acceptance of mortality and Ernest Becker’s theory that the denial of death is one of the deepest human motivations—a hypothesis strongly corroborated by empirical research. Focusing life on a heightened process of creation at midlife is shown to reflect both death acceptance and denial of death. It is argued that this model for midlife change could be of importance in contemporary consumerist culture. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A 15-year follow-up study after deliberate self-poisoning

The 15-year follow-up of mortality and the factors associated with death from various causes were studied in an unselected group of patients surviving deliberate self-poisoning in 1978. The cohort included 152 females and 101 males. By the end of 1993 a total of 37 (24%) of the females and 33 (33%) of the males admitted in 1978 had died. The total follow-up mortality was 4.5 times greater than expected for the female group (95% confidence interval: 3.1-6.1) and 3.6 times greater than expected (2.5-5.1) for the male group. It was highest in the first 5-year period. With regard to specific causes the mortality ratio was highest for deaths from suicide. For females it was 61.1 (30.5-109.4) and for males: 38.8 (20.4-65.4) times the expected ratio. It was also significantly raised for deaths from cardiovascular diseases in females: SMR = 3.7 (2.0-6.4) and from respiratory diseases in males: SMR = 3.3 (1.2-7.1). Significant predictors for death from all causes were age > or = 30 years: RR = 4.4 (2.3-8.5) and male sex: RR = 2.1 (1.2-3.5). Imprisonment was found to be a protective factor: RR = 0.2 (0.1-0.5). Predictors for death from suicide were age > or = 30: RR = 3.1 (1.2-8.1), male sex: RR = 3.3 (1.4-7.9) and a serious suicidal attempt, as evaluated by a psychiatrist: RR = 3.4 (1.4-7.9). It is concluded that patients who survive parasuicide by deliberate self-poisoning are at increased risk of death. The predictors for death are not very specific and are difficult to apply in clinical work with these patients.     

High prevalence of voiding symptoms in Taiwanese women

Selenium is a trace element which plays a vital role in many metabolic functions and in particular is an integral part of the antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase. It may be involved in the prevention of a number of diseases including cardiovascular diseases and cancer, which are the main causes of death in Singapore with ethnic differences. The National University of Singapore Heart Study measured cardiovascular risk factors, including serum selenium, in a random of the general population aged 30 to 69 years from 1993 to 1995. Mean serum selenium was higher in Chinese (males 126 and females 119 micrograms/L) and Malays (males 122 and females 122 micrograms/L) than Indians (males 117 and females 115 micrograms/L). These levels (with an estimated mean of 122 micrograms/L in Singapore) are lower than those in the USA but higher than those in Western Europe. The proportions with serum selenium < 80 micrograms/L (classified as low values) were low, though highest in Indians (males 1.2% and females 1.2%), then Chinese (males 0.6% and females 1.3%) and then Malays (males 0.0% and females 0.0%), but the differences were not statistically significant. The overall estimate for the prevalence of low selenium in Singapore was 0.8%. It is concluded that levels of serum selenium in Singapore are satisfactory and no action with regard to dietary supplementation is needed. Serum selenium levels are slightly lower in Indians than in Chinese and Malays (probably due to a more vegetarian diet) and this may make a small contribution to Indians' higher rates of coronary heart disease compared to Chinese and Malays.     

Relationship between physical exercise and health of the elderly people in a rural community

The significance of life style and regular physical exercise for health of elderly people in a rural community was evaluated by questionnaires. The subjects studied were a group who had been playing gate ball (such as croquet) for more than three years (N = 86) and a group who had not (N = 255). Significantly more males in the group playing gate ball (GB group) than in the group not playing gate ball (n-GB group) reported feeling healthier than three years before. The average overall score for life style which indicates a healthier life style was analyzed. The score for life style of males was significantly lower in the GB group than in the n-GB group. Significantly more males in the GB group did not take snacks or smoke than those in the n-GB group. Regarding regular physical exercise, significantly fewer females in the GB group went for a daily walk than those in the n-GB group. The average score for integrated regular physical exercise was significantly higher in the GB group than in the n-GB group. The scores for regular physical exercise of females in the GB group, even in spite of disability or hypertension, were significantly higher than those in the n-GB group. From this survey it appears that regular physical exercise including gate ball may be beneficial for health of elderly people in a rural community.     

Nuclear attitudes and reactions: Associations with depression, drug use, and quality of life.

Investigated attitudes and amount of distress associated with the ever-present threat of nuclear war and the possibility of accidents at nuclear power plants. A nuclear attitudes questionnaire consisting of 15 items was administered to 211 19–24 yr old males and 511 20–24 yr old females who grew up in the nuclear age. The items were found to reflect 4 latent factors (Nuclear Concern, Nuclear Support, Fear of the Future, and Nuclear Denial), all of which in turn represent 2nd-order construct of nuclear anxiety. Females reported significantly more nuclear concern, less nuclear support, more fear of the future, and less nuclear denial than did males. In latent-variable models, nuclear anxiety was significantly associated with less purpose in life, less life satisfaction, more powerlessness, more depression, and more drug use. It is concluded that the threat of nuclear war and accidents is significantly related to psychological distress and may disturb normal maturational development. (63 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex comparisons in life satisfaction and psychosocial adjustment scores with an older adult sample: examining the effect of sex role differences in older cohorts

The present study examined how sex and other individual-difference factors (i.e., age level, locus of control orientation, and self-actualization subscale scores) relate to older adults' scores on life satisfaction and psychosocial adjustment. Seventy-eight older adults (n = 39 females) were recruited from independent-living retirement communities located in Pennsylvania. Results indicated that females in the sample were not significantly different in mean life satisfaction scores but were significantly lower in mean psychosocial adjustment scores than males in the sample. There were no significant age-level differences in mean scores. Qualitative data from unstructured post-testing interviews revealed that women were more likely to express regret and sometimes frustration toward perceived "missed opportunities" in life (e.g., career) due to expected social roles of being a wife and mother in the decades ranging from the 1920s through the 1960s; these feelings of regret or frustration were not expressed by any of the males in the study.     

Sexual differentiation of play behavior in the ferret.

Three experiments examined the endocrine mechanisms responsible for sex differences in prepubertal play behavior of ferrets. In Exp I, 6 gonadally intact adolescent males exhibited higher levels of "stand-over" behavior than 6 females did in tests between 63 and 123 days of age with gonadally intact female partners of the same age. In Exp II, with 69 Ss, those Ss exposed to androgen or to ovarian steroids over Days 5–20 of postnatal life subsequently exhibited significantly higher levels of stand-over behavior in tests with females than did control females gonadectomized on Day 5 and not given steroids. None of the Ss in Exp II exhibited levels of stand-over behavior comparable to those of the gonadally intact males in Exp I. In Exp III, with 36 Ss, males gonadectomized and implanted subcutaneously with testosterone capsules on Day 70 and tested with females at 84–96 days of age exhibited levels of stand-over behavior comparable to those observed in Exp I in gonadally intact males of the same age (Weeks 12–24). Males gonadectomized on Day 70 and given no hormone at testing exhibited significantly lower levels of this behavior. Significantly lower levels were also exhibited by males gonadectomized on Day 35 and females gonadectomized on Day 70, regardless of whether they were tested with testosterone present after Day 70. Sex differences in the expression of prepubertal play behavior of ferrets apparently result from differential exposure of males and females to androgen over an extended postnatal period. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The anti-inflammatory action of the mineral bischofite

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence and pattern of smoking amongst Pakistanis. SAMPLING DESIGN: A two stage stratified sample design was adopted for the survey, Primary Sampling Units (PSU's) and Secondary Sampling Units (SSU's). SETTING: Urban and Rural, Pakistan 1990-94. SUBJECTS: Stratified systematic sample of 9441 males and females aged 15 years and above. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Smokers were defined as, subjects who were currently smoking and who had smoked > or = 100 cigarettes/beedis or chillum/huqqa in their life time. RESULTS: In Pakistan 21.6% (36% males and 9% females) of 9441 subjects were smokers. In urban areas it was 20.7% and in rural 22.0%, males were predominant in both urban and rural areas. Proportion of smokers who used cigarette/beedi were significantly higher in males (60%) while chillum/huqqa were more in females (62%). Prevalence increased with age upto 64 years, after which it declined but in urban females it continued to rise with age. Among both males and females; illiterate, married individuals with poor general health were more likely to smoke. These factors were 2 to 3 times more in males and 2 to 5 times more in females who were more likely to be smokers than those who were literate, single individuals with good general health. CONCLUSION: Smoking was more prevalent in illiterate, married persons and those with poor general health.     

Existentialism, psychology, and psychotherapy.

The basic elements of existentialism and its relevance to psychology and psychotherapy are considered. "Existentialists are concerned with the meaning of life… . The existential analysts emphasize the study of the experiencing individual. Events are looked at in terms of their meaning for the individual… . In an attempt to get at the patient's inner universe of experience, the existential analyst studies how the phenomenological coordinates of time, space, causality, and materiality are experienced… . Logotherapy focuses upon the search for meaning in human existence." If it is approached as an area representing possible suggestions for further study "existentialism may have much to offer and psychology considerable to gainp" (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)