Peer support as a catalyst for recovery: a mixed-methods study.

BACKGROUND: Peer support involves people in recovery from mental illness supporting their peers. PURPOSE: This mixed-methods pilot randomized control trial with qualitative interviews aimed to (a) compare peer support worker (PSW) and mental health worker (MHW) client outcomes and (b) provide estimates to inform the design of a larger study. METHOD: Fifteen adults living with a mental illness and receiving services at a community health team were randomly assigned to a PSW or a MHW group. The Quality of Life Interview-Brief Version was administered at baseline and after 6 months of intervention. Participants completed a semi-structured exit interview. FINDINGS: While both groups improved from baseline to 6 months, the PSW group did not improve more than the MHW group. Interviews highlighted therapeutic alliance and boundaries. IMPLICATIONS: This research adds to existing literature that PSWs produce outcomes similar to nonpeer staff and struggle with boundaries related to their unique role.

Cellular phone use and risk of benign and malignant parotid gland tumors--a nationwide case-control study.

The objective of this nationwide study was to assess the association between cellular phone use and development of parotid gland tumors (PGTs). The methods were based on the international INTERPHONE study that aimed to evaluate possible adverse effects of cellular phone use. The study included 402 benign and 58 malignant incident cases of PGTs diagnosed in Israel at age 18 years or more, in 2001-2003, and 1,266 population individually matched controls. For the entire group, no increased risk of PGTs was observed for ever having been a regular cellular phone user (odds ratio = 0.87; p = 0.3) or for any other measure of exposure investigated. However, analysis restricted to regular users or to conditions that may yield higher levels of exposure (e.g., heavy use in rural areas) showed consistently elevated risks. For ipsilateral use, the odds ratios in the highest category of cumulative number of calls and call time without use of hands-free devices were 1.58 (95% confidence interval: 1.11, 2.24) and 1.49 (95% confidence interval: 1.05, 2.13), respectively. The risk for contralateral use was not significantly different from 1. A positive dose-response trend was found for these measurements. Based on the largest number of benign PGT patients reported to date, our results suggest an association between cellular phone use and PGTs.

Growth restriction as a determinant of outcome in preterm discordant twins.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the influence of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) on the outcome of preterm discordant twins. METHODS: Medical records of preterm twins born at 24-34 weeks of gestation between 1995 and 2000 were reviewed. Significant discordancy was defined as more than 15% difference in birth weight. Small for gestational age (SGA) was defined as birth weight less than 10th percentile, according to a twin-adjusted gestational age nomogram. The smaller twins of 96 discordant twin pairs were evaluated. The SGA-discordant group included the smaller twin of a discordant pair who was also SGA (n = 46); the appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA)-discordant group included the smaller twin of a discordant pair who was appropriate for gestational age (n = 50). RESULTS: Maternal age, incidence of maternal hypertension, antenatal steroids, and gestational age at delivery were similar between groups. Delivery for suspected fetal compromise complicated significantly more pregnancies in the SGA-discordant group than in the AGA-discordant group (45.6% versus 16%, P = .005), as did respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) (37% versus 8%, P < .05) and intraventricular hemorrhage (21.7% versus 6%, P = .024). Mortality or severe neonatal morbidity (defined as severe RDS, intraventricular hemorrhage grades 3-4, or necrotizing enterocolitis) were significantly higher among neonates in the SGA-discordant group than in the AGA-discordant group (19.5% versus 6%, P = .04). The risk for major morbidity was 7.7-fold greater in the SGA-discordant than in the AGA-discordant group, adjusted for gestational age. CONCLUSION: Growth restriction in preterm discordant twins is associated with a 7.7-fold increased risk for major neonatal morbidity. Therefore, discordant twins with IUGR require closer monitoring than discordant twins without IUGR.

Smoking and risk of parotid gland tumors: a nationwide case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Because existing data regarding the relation between smoking and salivary gland tumors are sparse, tobacco is currently not classified as a salivary gland carcinogen. The objective of the current study was to assess the association between smoking and benign and malignant parotid gland tumors (PGTs) in a nationwide study. METHODS: The sample included 459 patients with incident PGT, aged > or =18 years, who were diagnosed between 2001 and 2003 and a group of 1265 individually matched, population-based controls. Analyses of the risk of PGT associated with various smoking variables were performed by using conditional logistic regression. Data also were stratified by histologic type; statistical significance tests were 2-sided. RESULTS: Ever smoking cigarettes was associated with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.66 (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.31-2.11) for developing a PGT. The risk was strongest for early ages at smoking initiation, and trends of increasing risk were observed with increasing smoking intensity, pack-years, latent period, and smoking duration (P for trend <.001 for each). Analysis by histologic type indicated remarkably high risks for Warthin tumor (OR for ever cigarette smokers: 15.3; 95% CI, 6.1-38.5). For pleomorphic adenomas and malignant tumors, the risks associated with ever smoking were 1.01 (95% CI, 0.75-1.37) and 1.69 (95% CI, 0.81-3.51), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Smoking plays an important role in the development of Warthin tumor. Although no association was observed for pleomorphic adenoma, the possible indication of increased risk of malignant tumors requires further investigation in larger studies.

The INTERPHONE study: design, epidemiological methods, and description of the study population.

The very rapid worldwide increase in mobile phone use in the last decade has generated considerable interest in the possible health effects of exposure to radio frequency (RF) fields. A multinational case-control study, INTERPHONE, was set-up to investigate whether mobile phone use increases the risk of cancer and, more specifically, whether the RF fields emitted by mobile phones are carcinogenic. The study focused on tumours arising in the tissues most exposed to RF fields from mobile phones: glioma, meningioma, acoustic neurinoma and parotid gland tumours. In addition to a detailed history of mobile phone use, information was collected on a number of known and potential risk factors for these tumours. The study was conducted in 13 countries. Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and the UK using a common core protocol. This paper describes the study design and methods and the main characteristics of the study population. INTERPHONE is the largest case-control study to date investigating risks related to mobile phone use and to other potential risk factors for the tumours of interest and includes 2,765 glioma, 2,425 meningioma, 1,121 acoustic neurinoma, 109 malignant parotid gland tumour cases and 7,658 controls. Particular attention was paid to estimating the amount and direction of potential recall and participation biases and their impact on the study results.