Browsing by Subject "Disability"
Now showing items 1-20 of 27
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(2016)Objectives: To explore long-term effects of treatment and prognostic relevance of variables assessed at baseline and during the European secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) trial of interferon beta 1b (IFNB-1b). Methods: We assessed 362 patients (60% female; median age 41 years; Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS): 5.5; 51% randomized to IFNB-1b) for their EDSS and treatment history after 10 years. Non-parametric analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and multivariate linear regression models were applied. Results: Median EDSS was 6.0 at the end of the randomized controlled trial (RCT), in the IFNB-1b and placebo groups, and 7.0 in long-term follow-up patients (those receiving IFNB-1b in the RCT were 6.5 and those receiving placebo in the RCT were 7.0; p = 0.086). 24 patients (6.6%) were deceased. The EDSS at baseline and the EDSS change during the RCT were the most important predictors of the EDSS 10 years later (partial R-2: 0.47). The ability to predict changes in EDSS 10 years after the RCT was limited (R-2: 0.12). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures remained in the predictive models, but explained <5% of the variability. Conclusions: The results from this analysis did not provide convincing evidence to support a favorable long-term outcome in those patients allocated IFNB-1b during the RCT, in our SPMS cohort. The progressive stage of the disease remains largely unpredictable by clinical and conventional MRI measures, so better prognostic markers are needed.
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(2018)Personal values influence behavior and decision making, but their long-term associations with health-related quality of life (HRQoL), frailty, and mortality are less clear. We studied these associations from midlife to old age in a 26-year follow-up of the Helsinki Businessmen Study (HBS) cohort. In 1974, 1320 clinically healthy men (born 1919-1934) reported in a 12-item questionnaire their personal values. In 2000, a mailed questionnaire, including assessment of HRQoL with RAND-36 (SF-36) instrument, was sent to survivors, and 1025 men responded. In 2000, the presence of phenotypic frailty was assessed using modified Fried criteria including indicators of shrinking, physical weakness, exhaustion, and physical inactivity. Mortality through December 31, 2000 was verified from national registries. Using a factor analysis, the data of the 12-item questionnaire of personal values were loaded in 3 factors: valuing health ("Health"), enjoyable and varying life ("Enjoyment"), and comfort and work-oriented life ("Work-life-balance"). Adjusted for age, we found a significant positive association between valuing "Health" in midlife and RAND-36 domains of Physical functioning (p = .032) and Vitality (p = .005) in old age. "Health" also predicted less frailty (p = .008), and "Enjoyment" was associated with higher mortality (p = .017). Value priorities of men assessed in midlife had long-term associations with HRQoL and frailty in old age, and they may also predict mortality.
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(2001)Gene technology is a rapidly growing area in the field of biotechnology. People's lives are pervaded by a flow of biomedical knowledge showing the associations between biology and identity. Gene testing has already improved lives of a number of people. Some reliable, low cost tests are used to clarify a diagnosis and direct a physician toward appropriate treatments, while others allow families to avoid having children with devastating diseases or identify people at high risk for conditions that may be preventable. The goal of this paper is to study the kind of attitudes Finnish general population has toward gene tests. Rapidly developing gene technology gives people the reason to think of how to act in a situation where the hereditary make up of the future generations can easily be altered to please ones ideals. People were asked to describe in their own words what benefits and drawbacks do they find in prenatal gene tests. The basic finding of my study is that people people are concerned about the new innovations, yet raising hopes for the new discoveries. Respondents show more positive attitudes toward prenatal gene tests than negative. The most crucial finding, however, is that the tests are able to provide information about the health of a baby. Everyone is wishing for healthy offspring and hopes to avoid unnecessary pain and worries. The most active respondents seem to be females in the most acute child bearing age. Marital status, nor ones education level do not seem to explain my findings. Income level, however, does indicate that people with more money seem to have stronger attitudes toward the issue. Prenatal gene tests raise a lot of feelings because they clearly have two different sides to an issue. The ones against the testing are afraid of its possible effects to eugenics, the ones in favor of the test plead to the decrease of human suffering. The question is difficult do to the fact that it has no either or answer. Public needs more information about the issue as well as clear laws and regulations to follow the correct use of those tests.
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(2016)Background: Evidence shows that low back specific patient information is effective in sub-acute low back pain (LBP), but effectiveness and cost-effectiveness (CE) of information in early phase symptoms is not clear. We assessed effectiveness and CE of patient information in mild LBP in the occupational health (OH) setting in a quasi-experimental study. Methods: A cohort of employees (N = 312, aged Results: Compared to NC, the Booklet reduced HC costs by 196(sic) and SA by 3.5 days per year. In 81 % of the bootstrapped cases the Booklet was both cost saving and effective on SA. Compared to NC, in the Combined arm, the figures were 107(sic), 0.4 days, and 54 %, respectively. PHI decreased in both interventions. Conclusions: Booklet information alone was cost-effective in comparison to natural course of mild LBP. Combined information reduced HC costs. Both interventions reduced physical impairment. Mere booklet information is beneficial for employees who report mild LBP in the OH setting, and is also cost saving for the health care system.
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(2018)Background: We assessed the effectiveness of three interventions that were aimed to reduce non-acute low back pain (LBP) related symptoms in the occupational health setting. Methods: Based on a survey (n = 2480; response rate 71%) on LBP, we selected a cohort of 193 employees who reported moderate LBP (Visual Analogue Scale VAS > 34 mm) and fulfilled at least one of the following criteria during the past 12 months: sciatica, recurrence of LBP >= 2 times, LBP >= 2 weeks, or previous sickness absence. A random sample was extracted from the cohort as a control group (Control, n = 50), representing the natural course of LBP. The remaining 143 employees were invited to participate in a randomised controlled trial (RCT) of three 1:1:1 allocated parallel intervention arms: multidisciplinary rehabilitation (Rehab, n = 43); progressive exercises (Physio, n = 43) and self-care advice (Advice, n = 40). Seventeen employees declined participation in the intervention. The primary outcome measures were physical impairment (PHI), LBP intensity (Visual Analogue Scale), health related quality of life (QoL), and accumulated sickness absence days. We imputed missing values with multiple imputation procedure. We assessed all comparisons between the intervention groups and the Control group by analysing questionnaire outcomes at 2 years with ANOVA and sickness absence at 4 years by using negative binomial model with a logarithmic link function. Results: Mean differences between the Rehab and Control groups were - 3 [95% CI -5 to - 1] for PHI, - 13 [- 24 to - 1] for pain intensity, and 0.06 [0.00 to 0.12] for QoL. Mean differences between the Physio and Control groups were - 3 [95% CI -5 to - 1] for PHI, -13 [- 29 to 2] for pain intensity, and 0.07 [0.01 to 0.13] for QoL. The main effects sizes were from 0.4 to 0.6. The interventions were not effective in reducing sickness absence. Conclusions: Rehab and Physio interventions improved health related quality of life, decreased low back pain and physical impairment in non-acute, moderate LBP, but we found no differences between the Advice and Control group results. No effectiveness on sickness absence was observed.
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(BioMed Central, 2018)Abstract Background We assessed the effectiveness of three interventions that were aimed to reduce non-acute low back pain (LBP) related symptoms in the occupational health setting. Methods Based on a survey (n = 2480; response rate 71%) on LBP, we selected a cohort of 193 employees who reported moderate LBP (Visual Analogue Scale VAS > 34 mm) and fulfilled at least one of the following criteria during the past 12 months: sciatica, recurrence of LBP ≥ 2 times, LBP ≥ 2 weeks, or previous sickness absence. A random sample was extracted from the cohort as a control group (Control, n = 50), representing the natural course of LBP. The remaining 143 employees were invited to participate in a randomised controlled trial (RCT) of three 1:1:1 allocated parallel intervention arms: multidisciplinary rehabilitation (Rehab, n = 43); progressive exercises (Physio, n = 43) and self-care advice (Advice, n = 40). Seventeen employees declined participation in the intervention. The primary outcome measures were physical impairment (PHI), LBP intensity (Visual Analogue Scale), health related quality of life (QoL), and accumulated sickness absence days. We imputed missing values with multiple imputation procedure. We assessed all comparisons between the intervention groups and the Control group by analysing questionnaire outcomes at 2 years with ANOVA and sickness absence at 4 years by using negative binomial model with a logarithmic link function. Results Mean differences between the Rehab and Control groups were − 3 [95% CI -5 to − 1] for PHI, − 13 [− 24 to − 1] for pain intensity, and 0.06 [0.00 to 0.12] for QoL. Mean differences between the Physio and Control groups were − 3 [95% CI -5 to − 1] for PHI, − 13 [− 29 to 2] for pain intensity, and 0.07 [0.01 to 0.13] for QoL. The main effects sizes were from 0.4 to 0.6. The interventions were not effective in reducing sickness absence. Conclusions Rehab and Physio interventions improved health related quality of life, decreased low back pain and physical impairment in non-acute, moderate LBP, but we found no differences between the Advice and Control group results. No effectiveness on sickness absence was observed. Trial registration Number NCT00908102 Clinicaltrials.gov
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(BioMed Central, 2020)Abstract Background Markov models are a key tool for calculating expected time spent in a state, such as active life expectancy and disabled life expectancy. In reality, individuals often enter and exit states recurrently, but standard analytical approaches are not able to describe this dynamic. We develop an analytical matrix approach to calculating the expected number and length of episodes spent in a state. Methods The approach we propose is based on Markov chains with rewards. It allows us to identify the number of entries into a state and to calculate the average length of episodes as total time in a state divided by the number of entries. For sampling variance estimation, we employ the block bootstrap. Two case studies that are based on published literature illustrate how our methods can provide new insights into disability dynamics. Results The first application uses a classic textbook example on prednisone treatment and liver functioning among liver cirrhosis patients. We replicate well-known results of no association between treatment and survival or recovery. Our analysis of the episodes of normal liver functioning delivers the new insight that the treatment reduced the likelihood of relapse and extended episodes of normal liver functioning. The second application assesses frailty and disability among elderly people. We replicate the prior finding that frail individuals have longer life expectancy in disability. As a novel finding, we document that frail individuals experience three times as many episodes of disability that were on average twice as long as the episodes of nonfrail individuals. Conclusions We provide a simple analytical approach for calculating the number and length of episodes in Markov chain models. The results allow a description of the transition dynamics that goes beyond the results that can be obtained using standard tools for Markov chains. Empirical applications using published data illustrate how the new method is helpful in unraveling the dynamics of the modeled process.
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(2020)Background Markov models are a key tool for calculating expected time spent in a state, such as active life expectancy and disabled life expectancy. In reality, individuals often enter and exit states recurrently, but standard analytical approaches are not able to describe this dynamic. We develop an analytical matrix approach to calculating the expected number and length of episodes spent in a state. Methods The approach we propose is based on Markov chains with rewards. It allows us to identify the number of entries into a state and to calculate the average length of episodes as total time in a state divided by the number of entries. For sampling variance estimation, we employ the block bootstrap. Two case studies that are based on published literature illustrate how our methods can provide new insights into disability dynamics. Results The first application uses a classic textbook example on prednisone treatment and liver functioning among liver cirrhosis patients. We replicate well-known results of no association between treatment and survival or recovery. Our analysis of the episodes of normal liver functioning delivers the new insight that the treatment reduced the likelihood of relapse and extended episodes of normal liver functioning. The second application assesses frailty and disability among elderly people. We replicate the prior finding that frail individuals have longer life expectancy in disability. As a novel finding, we document that frail individuals experience three times as many episodes of disability that were on average twice as long as the episodes of nonfrail individuals. Conclusions We provide a simple analytical approach for calculating the number and length of episodes in Markov chain models. The results allow a description of the transition dynamics that goes beyond the results that can be obtained using standard tools for Markov chains. Empirical applications using published data illustrate how the new method is helpful in unraveling the dynamics of the modeled process.
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(2019)Difficult ethical issues arise for patients and professionals in medical genetics, and often relate to the patient’s family or their social context. Tackling these issues requires sensitivity to nuances of communication and a commitment to clarity and consistency. It also benefits from an awareness of different approaches to ethical theory. Many of the ethical problems encountered in genetics relate to tensions between the wishes or interests of different people, sometimes even people who do not (yet) exist or exist as embryos, either in an established pregnancy or in vitro. Concern for the long-term welfare of a child or young person, or possible future children, or for other members of the family, may lead to tensions felt by the patient (client) in genetic counselling. Differences in perspective may also arise between the patient and professional when the latter recommends disclosure of information to relatives and the patient finds that too difficult, or when the professional considers the genetic testing of a child, sought by parents, to be inappropriate. The expectations of a patient’s community may also lead to the differences in perspective between patient and counsellor. Recent developments of genetic technology permit genome-wide investigations. These have generated additional and more complex data that amplify and exacerbate some pre-existing ethical problems, including those presented by incidental (additional sought and secondary) findings and the recognition of variants currently of uncertain significance, so that reports of genomic investigations may often be provisional rather than definitive. Experience is being gained with these problems but substantial challenges are likely to persist in the long term.
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(2020)BackgroundSkeletal dysplasias are rare disorders often leading to severe short stature. This study aimed to gain new comprehensive information about functioning and equality in people affected by skeletal dysplasia compared to matched controls without skeletal dysplasia.MethodsFunctioning was assessed by questionnaire, which was formed by operationalizing International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) core set's categories into the items according to the ICF linking rules, using primarily Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System PROMIS (R) - items.ResultsAltogether 80 subjects with skeletal dysplasia and 55 age-, gender- and place of residence -matched controls participated. People with skeletal dysplasia experienced more pain (p
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(BioMed Central, 2020)Abstract Background Skeletal dysplasias are rare disorders often leading to severe short stature. This study aimed to gain new comprehensive information about functioning and equality in people affected by skeletal dysplasia compared to matched controls without skeletal dysplasia. Methods Functioning was assessed by questionnaire, which was formed by operationalizing International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) core set’s categories into the items according to the ICF linking rules, using primarily Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System PROMIS® - items. Results Altogether 80 subjects with skeletal dysplasia and 55 age-, gender- and place of residence -matched controls participated. People with skeletal dysplasia experienced more pain (p < 0.001) and the pain interfered more their daily lives (p = 0.037) compared to the controls. They had more problems related to musculoskeletal functions and exercise tolerance, difficulties in mobility, used more assistive products and technology and were more affected by climate and seasonal changes (p < 0.001). They met challenges in self-care, acquisition of goods and services and household tasks (p < 0.001) and in participating in close social relationships, leisure time activities (p < 0.001) and associations and organizational services (p = 0.007). They felt less satisfied with remunerative work (p = 0.003), felt more inequality (p = 0.008), met more negative attitudes of others (p < 0.001) and felt having less support given by family and friends (p = 0.022). They used more social and health services and experienced more dissatisfaction with those. Conclusions Our study indicates that skeletal dysplasias restrict functioning extensively and significantly affect daily living. By building accessible environment and improving equal services, functioning could be improved.
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(2020)The possibility to participate in education and lifelong learning has been introduced in EU disability policy in recent decades as one of the key means to improve the socioeconomic position of disabled persons. Simultaneously, lifelong learning has been developed as the defining concept of EU education policy to increase social cohesion and economic competitiveness. However, the education, employment rate and socioeconomic status of disabled persons have remained far below the EU average. In this article, we theorize governmentality to explore (1) how EU lifelong learning and disability policy discourses constitute and govern disabled persons and (2) how disabled persons are positioned in the policy discourses. The data consist of the most relevant EU policy documents concerning lifelong learning and disability policy in the twenty-first century. We argue that the policies constitute and govern disabled persons as a group who do not fulfil the premises set for the lifelong learner, and that consequently, policy discourses marginalize disabled persons instead.
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(2019)Objective: Nonspecific health complaints associated with indoor air are common in work environments. In some individuals, symptoms become persistent without an adequate explanation. The aim was to study factors that associate with the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of employees with persistent, nonspecific indoor-air-related symptomatology. Methods: We present baseline results of a randomized controlled trial of interventions targeted on the HRQoL of the employees with indoor-air-associated nonspecific symptoms. The main participant-inclusion criterion was the presence of persistent indoor-air-related multiorgan symptoms with no known pathophysiological or environment-related explanation. As a comparison for participants' HRQoL (n = 52) we used data from the general-population Health 2011 study (BRIF8901) including information on subjects matched to the participants' working status and age and subjects with asthma, anxiety or depressive disorder, or other chronic conditions with work disability. Results: The participants showed greater and a clinically significant impairment of HRQoL [M = 0.83, SE = 0.013] than individuals from the general population [M = 0.95, SE = 0.001, p <.001, Hedges' g = 2.33] and those with asthma [M = 0.93, SE = 0.005, p <.001, Hedges' g = 1.46], anxiety and depressive disorder [M = 0.89, SE = 0.006, p <.001, Hedges' g = 0.73], or a chronic condition with work disability [M = 0.91, SE = 0.003, p <.001, Hedges' g = 1.11]. Prevalent symptoms of depression, anxiety, and insomnia and poor recovery from work were associated with a poor HRQoL. Conclusions: Individuals with nonspecific indoor-air-associated symptoms have a poorer HRQoL than individuals in the general population with a globally burdensome disease. Psychological distress associated with a poor HRQoL should be considered in the making of decisions about the treatment of these patients.
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(2017)Purpose To assess the impact of preoperative knowledge on anxiety, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), disability, and pain in surgically treated spinal stenosis patients. Methods One hundred patients were randomised into an intervention group (IG, n = 50) or control group (CG, n = 50). Both groups received routine preoperative patient education. IG additionally underwent a feedback session based on a knowledge test. Primary outcome measure was anxiety at the time of surgery. HRQoL, disability, and pain constituted the secondary outcome measures during a 6-month follow-up. Results In IG, a significant reduction in anxiety was noted after the intervention, whereas in CG, anxiety reduced only after the surgery. In both groups, a significant improvement in HRQoL, disability, and pain was noticed at the 6-month follow-up, but there were no between-group differences. Conclusions Higher knowledge level may reduce preoperative anxiety but does not seem to affect the self-reported clinical outcomes of surgery.
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(2017)Background: Major mental disorders are highly disabling conditions that result in substantial socioeconomic burden. Subjective and objective measures of functioning or ability to work, their concordance, or risk factors for them may differ between disorders. Methods: Self-reported level of functioning, perceived work ability, and current work status were evaluated among psychiatric care patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (SSA, n = 113), bipolar disorder (BD, n = 99), or depressive disorder (DD, n = 188) within the Helsinki University Psychiatric Consortium Study. Correlates of functional impairment, subjective work disability, and occupational status were investigated using regression analysis. Results: DD patients reported the highest and SSA patients the lowest perceived functional impairment. Depressive symptoms in all diagnostic groups and anxiety in SSA and BD groups were significantly associated with disability. Only 5.3% of SSA patients versus 29.3% or 33.0% of BD or DD patients, respectively, were currently working. About half of all patients reported subjective work disability. Objective work status and perceived disability correlated strongly among BD and DD patients, but not among SSA patients. Work status was associated with number of hospitalizations, and perceived work disability with current depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Psychiatric care patients commonly end up outside the labour force. However, while among patients with mood disorders objective and subjective indicators of ability to work are largely concordant, among those with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder they are commonly contradictory. Among all groups, perceived functional impairment and work disability are coloured by current depressive symptoms, but objective work status reflects illness course, particularly preceding psychiatric hospitalizations. (C) 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
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(2017)Objective: The main aim was to investigate the associations between Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)-defined structural pathologies of the knee and physical function. Design: A cohort study with frequency matching on age and sex with eighty symptomatic subjects with knee pain and suspicion or diagnosis of knee osteoarthritis (OA) and 57 asymptomatic subjects was conducted. The subjects underwent knee MRI, and the severity of structural changes was graded by MRI Osteoarthritis Knee Score (MOAKS) in separate knee locations. WOMAC function subscores were recorded and physical function tests (20-m and 5-min walk, stair ascending and descending, timed up & go and repeated sit-to-stand tests) performed. The association between MRI-defined structural pathologies and physical function tests and WOMAC function subscores were evaluated by linear regression analysis with adjustment for demographic factors, other MRI-features and pain with using effect size (ES) as a measure of the magnitude of an association. Results: Cartilage degeneration showed significant association with poor physical performance in TUG-, stair ascending and descending-, 20-m- and 5-min walk-tests (ESs in the subjects with cartilage degeneration anywhere between 0.134 [95%CI 0.037-0.238] and 0.224 [0.013-0.335]) and with increased WOMAC function subscore (ES in the subjects with cartilage degeneration anywhere 0.088 [0.012-0.103]). Also, lateral meniscus maceration and extrusion were associated with poor performance in stair ascending test (ESs 0.067 [0.008-0.163] and 0.077 [0.012-0.177]). Conclusions: After adjustments cartilage degeneration was associated with both decreased self-reported physical function and poor performance in the physical function tests. Furthermore, subjects with lateral meniscus maceration and extrusions showed significantly worse performance in stair ascending tests. (C) 2017 Osteoarthritis Research Society International. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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(2019)Background Increasing the level of physical activity among persons with signs of frailty improves physical functioning. There is a lack of long-term supervised physical exercise intervention studies including a validated definition of frailty. Aims To present baseline characteristics of persons with signs of frailty participating in a randomized long-term home-based physical exercise trial (HIPFRA), and to study associations between the severity of frailty, functional independence and health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL). Methods Three hundred persons, >= 65 years old and with signs of frailty (assessed by Fried ' s phenotype criteria) were recruited from South Karelia, Finland and randomized to a 12-month physiotherapist-supervised home-based physical exercise program (n = 150), and usual care (n = 150). Assessments at the participants' homes at baseline, and after 3, 6 and 12 months included the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), the Functional Independence Measure (FIM), HRQoL (15D) and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Results Eligibility was screened among 520 persons; 300 met the inclusion criteria and were randomized. One person withdrew consent after randomization. A majority (75%) were women, 182 were pre-frail and 117 frail. The mean age was 82.5 (SD 6.3) years, SPPB 6.2 (2.6), FIM 108.8 (10.6) and MMSE 24.4 (3.1) points, with no significant differences between the study groups. Inverse associations between the severity of frailty vs. FIM scores and HRQoL (p <0.001 for both) were found. Conclusions Our participants showed marked physical frailty without major disabilities. The severity of frailty seems to be associated with impaired functional independence and HRQoL.
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(2020)Aims/hypothesis Diabetes is associated with an increased risk of dementia. We estimated the potential impact of trends in diabetes prevalence upon mortality and the future burden of dementia and disability in England and Wales. Methods We used a probabilistic multi-state, open cohort Markov model to integrate observed trends in diabetes, cardiovascular disease and dementia to forecast the occurrence of disability and dementia up to the year 2060. Model input data were taken from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, Office for National Statistics vital data and published effect estimates for health-state transition probabilities. The baseline scenario corresponded to recent trends in obesity: a 26% increase in the number of people with diabetes by 2060. This scenario was evaluated against three alternative projected trends in diabetes: increases of 49%, 20% and 7%. Results Our results suggest that changes in the trend in diabetes prevalence will lead to changes in mortality and incidence of dementia and disability, which will become visible after 10-15 years. If the relative prevalence of diabetes increases 49% by 2060, expected additional deaths would be approximately 255,000 (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 236,000-272,200), with 85,900 (71,500-101,600) cumulative additional cases of dementia and 104,900 (85,900-125,400) additional cases of disability. With a smaller relative increase in diabetes prevalence (7% increase by 2060), we estimated 222,200 (205,700-237,300) fewer deaths, and 77,000 (64,300-90,800) and 93,300 (76,700-111,400) fewer additional cases of dementia and disability, respectively, than the baseline case of a 26% increase in diabetes. Conclusions/interpretation Reducing the burden of diabetes could result in substantial reductions in the incidence of dementia and disability over the medium to long term.
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(2017)Background: Diagnostic definitions for depressive disorders remain a debated topic, despite their central role in clinical practice and research. We use both recent evidence and nationally representative data to derive an empirically-based modification of DSM-IV/-5 Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Method: A modified MDD diagnosis was derived by analyzing data from Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys, a multistage probability sample of adults (n=20 013; age >= 18 years) in coterminous USA, Alaska and Hawaii. The old and the newly suggested MDD definitions were compared for their associated disability (WHO Disability Assessment Schedule and number of disability days in past month), suicide attempt, and other covariates. Results: Our data-driven definition for major depression was "lack of interest to all or most things" plus four other symptoms from the set (weight gain, weight loss, insomnia, psychomotor retardation, fatigue, feelings of worthlessness, diminished ability to think concentrate, suicidal ideation attempt}. The new definition captured all the disability implied by MDD and excluded cases that showed no greater disability than the general population nor increased risk of suicide attempts. The lifetime prevalence of the new diagnosis was 14.7% (95% CI=14-15.4%) of the population, slightly less than for the old definition (16.4%; CI =15.4-17.3%). Limitations: Only conservative modifications of MDD could be studied, because of restrictions in the symptom data. Conclusions: With only small adjusting, the new definition for major depression may be more clinically relevant than the old one, and could serve as a conservative replacement for the old definition. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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(2018)To evaluate the association between two measurement tools (Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale, SOFAS and Sheehan Disability Scale, SDS), returning to work (RTW) and their inter-correlation. 132 psychiatric patients referred to assessment of work ability participated. The association between SOFAS and SDS Work to RTW were assessed by logistic regression. Inter-correlations between SOFAS and SDS were assessed with the Spearman's rho correlation coefficient. SOFAS and SDS Work scores were associated with a 1-year RTW and SOFAS and SDS were inter-correlated. When assigning the ability to work, both subjective and objective measures of function predict RTW.
