[Outpatient rehabilitation as mirrored by the users--findings on the quality of outpatient orthopaedic rehabilitation provided by the Federal Insurance Institute for Employees, BfA]. / Ambulante Rehabilitation im Spiegel der Nutzer--Ergebnisse zur Qualität der Regelversorgung in der ambulanten orthopädischen Rehabilitation der Bundesversicherungsanstalt für Angestellte.

This article presents the central results of a survey including all persons insured by the BfA (Bundesversicherungsanstalt für Angestellte, German Federal Insurance Institute for Employees) who had participated in outpatient orthopaedic rehabilitation between March and August of 2002. A total of 3838 insured persons were addressed, 69 % replied (n = 2660 questionnaires). The standardized survey included an appraisal of the outpatient rehabilitation measure, the care provided by physicians, psychologists and therapists, the organisation and performance of the rehabilitation measure, as well as of the stressors and general conditions specific to various outpatient measures. The assessment of treatment outcome, physical and psychosocial improvements, and the attainment of therapy goals were of particular importance. Overall, the results show a positive appraisal of outpatient rehabilitation but also indicate the necessity for optimisation--particularly with regard to resting rooms, physician and psychological care, as well as the suitability of the therapy for everyday life. Above all, however, the comparison of the rehabilitation centres shows a great variance in quality of care. Some rehabilitation centres show extraordinary results in many aspects of quality, whereas others reveal systematic deficits of quality.

[MORBUS: the Sentinel Practice Network. Report on a study in South Oldenbury]. / MORBUS: Beobachtungspraxen in Niedersachsen Bericht zur Erhebung in Süd-Oldenburg.

There has been considerable public concern that emissions from intensive livestock farming may have hazardous effects on human health, particularly on the respiratory system. From October 1991 to September 1992, data on consultations of asthmatic children (up to 8 years) were obtained by a network of 25 GP and paediatric practices in South Oldenburg, a region with one of the highest livestock densities in Germany. Comparable data from a similar network of 75 practices in 3 adjacent regions (Brunswick, Hanover, Verden) with average livestock density served as a reference. In South Oldenberg, 2084 consultations of 542 asthmatic children were observed, with asthma being the reason for visit in 734 of the contacts (36%). The boy-girl ratio was 2.1:1 among index patients and 1.9:1 among consultations. Consultation rate was 25.2 contacts by asthmatic children per 1,000 total consultations of children up to 8 years in South Oldenburg, compared to 17.8 per 1,000 in Hanover, 15.7 per 1,000 in Brunswick and 13.6 per 1,000 in Verden. Consultations due to asthma scored 11.2/1,000 in South Oldenburg, 10.8/1,000 in Hanover, 7.2/1,000 in Brunswick and 6.5/1,000 in Verden. Asthmatic patients in South Oldenburg were younger (mean age 38 vs. 42 months) than those observed in the reference regions. There were no regional patterns in sex ratio, severity of asthma, respiratory allergies or atopic dermatitis. As this is an ecological study design, inferences concerning the cause of the observed regional differences can only be weak. We therefore propose a case-control study in order to obtain exposure and health data on an individual level.

Smoking and Parkinson's disease: a case-control study in Germany.

BACKGROUND: In a hospital based case-control study, we investigated the role of environmental factors in the aetiology of Parkinson's disease. This paper describes our results on smoking habits. METHODS: The smoking histories of 380 Parkinson's disease (PD) patients recruited from nine German clinics were compared to those of age- and sex-matched control subjects (379 neighbourhood controls and 376 controls from the same region). Detailed information on smoking behaviour was collected in structured personal interviews in order to calculate the number of pack-years smoked up to the time of diagnosis. Conditional logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (OR) and control for potential confounders. RESULTS: Among PD patients, 44% had ever smoked, as compared to 59% in both control groups. Among ever-smoking patients, 74% quit prior to the date of diagnosis, as compared to roughly 45% of the ever-smoking control subjects. The OR for ever having smoked was 0.5 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.3-0.7), P trend < 0.00005). CONCLUSIONS: The results are considered in terms of criteria for causality. Plausible explanations for the observed inverse association between smoking and PD include: 1. A genetic predisposition that increases the risk for PD (such as defective detoxification enzymes) simultaneously decreases the likelihood of smoking. 2. Inherently lower dopamine levels in predestined PD patients cause them to be less prone to addiction. 3. Smoking is neuroprotective.

Diet and Parkinson's disease. I: A possible role for the past intake of specific foods and food groups. Results from a self-administered food-frequency questionnaire in a case-control study.

In a case-control study, we compared the past dietary habits of 342 Parkinson's disease (PD) patients recruited from nine German clinics with those of 342 controls from the same neighborhood or region. Data were gathered with a structured interview and a self-administered food-frequency questionnaire, and analyzed using multivariate conditional logistic regression to control for educational status and cigarette smoking. There was no significant difference between cases and controls in the consumption of fruits and vegetables, although there was a negative trend for the consumption of raw vegetables. Controls reported a higher potato consumption than patients (OR = 0.43, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.24-0.74, highest versus lowest quartile). Patients reported eating significantly larger quantities of sweet foods as well as having more snacks than controls. This may, however, be the result of an illness-related change in dietary habits leading to a selective recall effect, since sweet foods may enhance the transport of L-dopa across the blood-brain barrier. We also found that patients consumed less beer (OR = 0.26, 95% CI: 0.14-0.49) and spirits (OR = 0.56, 95% CI: 0.36-0.86), but not wine, and they consumed less coffee (OR = 0.27, 95% CI: 0.14-0.52, highest versus lowest quartile), but not tea, than controls. This may relate to a possible interaction between dopaminergic activity and the intake of ethanol or caffeine. Significantly more patients than controls reported ever consuming raw meat (OR = 1.78, 95% CI: 1.21-2.63). These results suggest that the intake of certain foods may be associated with the development of PD.

Diet and Parkinson's disease. II: A possible role for the past intake of specific nutrients. Results from a self-administered food-frequency questionnaire in a case-control study.

In a case-control study, we compared the past dietary habits of 342 Parkinson's disease (PD) patients recruited from nine German clinics with those of 342 controls from the same neighborhood or region. Data were gathered with a structured interview and a self-administered food-frequency questionnaire. Nutrient intakes were calculated from the reported food intakes through linkage with the German Federal Food Code and analyzed using multivariate conditional logistic regression to control for total energy intake, educational status, and cigarette smoking. At the macronutrient level, patients reported higher carbohydrate intake than controls after adjustment for total energy intake, smoking, and educational status (OR = 2.74, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.30-6.07, for the highest versus lowest quartile, p trend = 0.02). This was reflected in higher monosaccharide and disaccharide intakes at the nutrient level. There was no difference between patients and controls in protein and fat intake after adjustment for energy intake. We found an inverse association between the intakes of beta-carotene (OR = 0.67, 95% CI: 0.37-1.19, p trend = 0.06) and ascorbic acid (OR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.33-1.09, p trend = 0.04) by patients, although only the trend for ascorbic acid intake reached statistical significance. There was no difference between groups for alpha-tocopherol intake after adjustment for energy intake. We also found that patients reported a significantly lower intake of niacin than controls (OR = 0.15, 95% CI: 0.07-0.33, p trend < 0.00005). Our results suggest that if antioxidants play a protective role in this disease, the amounts provided by diet alone are insufficient. Although the interpretation of the inverse association between niacin intake and PD is complicated by the high niacin content in coffee and alcoholic beverages, which were also inversely associated with PD in this study, the strength of this association and its biologic plausibility warrant further investigation.

Possible environmental, occupational, and other etiologic factors for Parkinson's disease: a case-control study in Germany.

In a case-control study, we investigated the possible etiologic relevance to Parkinson's disease (PD) of rural factors such as farming activity, pesticide exposures, well-water drinking, and animal contacts; toxicologic exposures such as wood preservatives, heavy metals, and solvents; general anesthesia; head trauma; and differences in the intrauterine environment. We recruited 380 patients in nine German clinics, 379 neighborhood control subjects, and 376 regional control subjects in the largest case-control study investigating such factors and collected data in structured personal interviews using conditional logistic regression to control for educational status and cigarette smoking. The latter was strongly inversely associated with PD. There were significantly elevated odds ratios (OR) for pesticide use, in particular, for organochlorines and alkylated phosphates, but no association was present between PD and other rural factors. A significantly elevated OR was present for exposure to wood preservatives. Subjective assessment by the probands indicated that exposure to some heavy metals, solvents, exhaust fumes, and carbon monoxide was significantly more frequent among patients than control subjects, but this was not confirmed by a parallel assessment of job histories according to a job exposure matrix. Patients had undergone general anesthesia and suffered severe head trauma more often than control subjects, but a dose-response gradient was not present. Patients reported a significantly larger number of amalgam-filled teeth before their illness than control subjects. The frequency of premature births and birth order did not differ between patients and control subjects. Patients reported significantly more relatives affected with PD than control subjects. These results support a role for environmental and genetic factors in the etiology of PD.

[Does previous exposure to oral contraceptives modify survival in breast cancer?]. / Beeinflusst die vorangegangene Einnahme oraler Kontrazeptiva das Uberleben beim Mammakarzinom?

The influence of a positive history of oral contraceptive (OC) use on survival of breast cancer was studied in 471 patients. 297 (63%) of them were ever users of OCs and 202 (43%) were long-term users (> or = 49 months). The median follow-up amounted to 56 (6-96) months. Except for a significantly higher frequency of poorly differentiated tumours in OC users (p = 0.01) there was no difference in the distribution of histopathological features between OC users and non-users. Nevertheless, compared to non-users OC user showed a significantly increased 5-year-survival (p = 0.017). This effect was strongly correlated with duration of use (p = 0.004) and time since last use (p = 0.02). The influence of OC use achieved significance after a duration of use of four or more years or in case of OC use at the time of diagnosis. The positive effect persisted in multivariate analyses and was mainly attributed to long-term OC users with tumours of a generally expected poor prognosis.

Oral contraceptive use and the prognosis of breast cancer.

In 471 breast cancer patients the influence of a positive history of oral contraceptive (OC) use on survival was investigated. 297 (63%) patients used OCs during any period of their life and 92 (20%) used them still at the time of diagnosis. Sixty months after diagnosis OC users had a significantly increased overall survival (p = 0.037). Survival rates amounted to 79.5% and 70.3% for OC users and non-users, respectively. The effect persisted after adjustment for other prognostic factors and was mainly attributed to women who had taken OCs four years or longer (p = 0.025). Comparing the survival after a 56 months median follow-up dependent on duration of OC use (never, 1-48 months, > or = 49 months) in subgroups of prognostic factors, the most significant influence on survival was observed among long-term users with tumors more than 2 cm in diameter (p = 0.005), with axillary node-positive tumors (1-3 nodes, p = 0.055/ > or = 4 nodes, p = 0.019), and with tumors of low estrogen receptor (p = 0.015) or progesterone receptor content (p = 0.04). The difference in survival between OC users and non-users cannot be explained by the distribution of prognostic factors investigated (histological type, histological grade, tumor size, lymph node involvement, hormonal receptor content). OC users had an even higher percentage of poorly differentiated tumors (p = 0.003). These results suggest an effect of OC use on tumor biology during the preclinical phase of the disease.

[Etiology of Parkinson disease. An epidemiologic perspective with possible implications for prevention]. / Die Atiologie des Morbus Parkinson. Eine epidemiologische Perspektive mit möglichen Implikationen für die Prävention.

This review summarizes recent epidemiological research about the etiology of idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD). Descriptive and analytical epidemiologic studies, supported by basic neurosciences research, suggest a role for neurotoxins in the pathogenesis of PD, but also for mediating environment influences, which include occupational exposures, urban or rural living and nutritional factors. Such epidemiologic evidence can provide a basis for the potential development of preventive measures for this disease.

Comparison of recalled and validated oral contraceptive histories.

From a case-control study of the relation between oral contraceptives and breast cancer carried out in East Germany during 1982-1986, the authors obtained information on oral contraceptive use through interviews of study subjects and from the records of prescribing gynecologists. The degree of agreement regarding information from these two sources was assessed for 234 breast cancer cases and 524 controls who had ever used oral contraceptives. Agreement between information obtained from medical records and that from interviews on total duration of use, number of episodes of use, and time since first and last use was reasonably good, and levels of agreement did not differ appreciably between cases and controls. Lower levels of agreement were observed for individual brand names and the duration of use of specific brands. Attempts should be made to obtain information on specific brands from medical records when investigating the effects of individual preparations.

PIP: Researchers used the results of interview data on oral contraceptive (OC) use in both breast cancer cases and hospital controls to compare the accuracy of their recall with data from gynecologic records. The 234 breast cancer cases were patients at the Central Institute of Cancer Research in Berlin, the German Democratic Republic. The 524 age=matched controls were patients in the ear, nose, and throat; eye; orthopedic; and skin wards at Klinikum Berlin-Buch, the district hospital. All the data were collected between November 1982 and June 1986. Interviewers used a calendar and samples of OC brands to help the women recall periods of use and brand names used. The availability of gynecologists' records was significantly associated with use of medical care, including cervical smears, duration of OC use, and the time since last OC use (p .01). When the interval since first and last OC use within 12 months, the agreement between patients and gynecologists was essentially the same for both cases and controls (first OC use, 72.4% vs. 67.8%; weighted kappa = .81 vs. .79; p .001) (last OC use, 80.4% vs. 68.7%, weighted kappa = .86 vs. .89; p .001). The highest percentages of agreement on ever use of OCs occurred with the most recently introduced brand name (Minisiston, 98.7% for cases and 99% for controls) and phasic OCs (Deposiston, 97.9% and 96.4%, respectively; Sequenz-Ovosiston, 92.7% and 89.9%, respectively). These findings showed that use of a calendar and brand samples results in rather accurate recall of overall OC use. They also indicated that having breast cancer does not affect recall of OC use. This study's investigators suggested that in studies examining the effects of individual substances or doses, researchers should try to obtain data from medical records.

[Data quality in the MORBUS Sentinel Project--expiratory wheezing in infants]. / Zur Datenqualität im Sentinelprojekt MORBUS--Exspiratorisches Giemen bei Kleinkindern.

Since 1991 the MORBUS project is being conducted to establish and run a sentinel network of 100 general and paediatric practices in three regions of Germany. A number of health conditions have been and will be monitored consecutively with special emphasis on environmentally determined health problems. From March to June, 1991, 1054 contacts of 1- and 2-year-old children with expiratory wheezing were reported. Quality of these event data was assessed by means of internal completeness. Important clinical information was missing in about 10% of all cases without evidence for regional differentiations. Data quality by this criterion was better in first contact than in re-contact cases (9.7% vs 18.1% missing). Questions concerning the parents (allergies, smoking, education) were less frequently answered (up to 24% missing) than questions of obvious medical relevance to the child. Completeness of parental information varied considerably between regions. There was no association between the medical specialty of the doctors and the quality of their data. In a longitudinal view, there was a slightly positive trend over time in the proportion of clinically incomplete case reports at borderline statistical significance (p = 0.057). Apart from these minor findings then, there was an overall good consistency of completeness in the MORBUS data on expiratory wheezing. By optimizing questionnaires and data transmission, it should be possible to increase the data quality even further.

Accuracy of recall of use of an intrauterine device.

Within a case-control study of the relationship between oral contraceptives and breast cancer, information on other contraceptive practices, including use of an intrauterine device (IUD) was obtained through interviews of study subjects and from the records of gynaecologists. Information from these two sources was compared for 239 women who had ever used an IUD. The results showed that agreement on total duration, number of IUD episodes, and time since first and time since last IUD use was excellent. As approximately 75% of IUDs used were unknown, agreement on brands could not be investigated. Studies investigating the effects of individual types of IUDs should use physician records as an additional source of information.

PIP: Researchers analyzed interview and physician records' data on 45 women with breast cancer (cases) admitted to the Central Institute of Cancer Research in Berlin, East Germany between November 1982-June 1986 and born in 1983 or later and 194 women (controls) admitted to the Klinikum Berlin-Buch also in East Germany for conditions other than breast cancer to compare recall accuracy in women who had ever used an IUD. These women were drawn from case control study of the relationship between breast cancer and oral contraceptive use was part of the WHO Collaborative Study of Neoplasia and Steroid Contraceptives. Agreement between patient recall and physician records was exceptional for duration of IUD use (p.001), number of IUD episodes (kappa=0.79), time since 1st IUD and time since last IUD use (p.001). Agreement rates did not differ between cases and controls. 75% of the women could not name the IUD brand used so the researcher could not examine agreement of brand name. Thus, other than brand name, this study showed that validity of information on IUD use obtained from interviews is significant. In fact, it also pointed out that case control studies probably yield sound relative risk estimates.

Nonexperimental evaluation of the effectiveness of a screening program for lung cancer.

The effectiveness of screening to control lung cancer was examined in the German Democratic Republic by analyzing data from a cancer registry and incidence and mortality rates for lung cancer relative to different screening policies, and by two case-control studies. Mortality from lung cancer did not appear to be affected by the screening programs studied. The high cost of mass screening, combined with uncertainty about the benefits of early treatment of lung cancer, outweigh the vague advantages of such screening.

Combined oral contraceptives containing chlormadinone acetate and breast cancer: results of a case-control study.

The main subject of this hospital-based case-control study was the possible relationship between use of combined oral contraceptives (OCs) containing chlormadinone acetate and breast cancer. Analyses were based on data from 490 cases with newly diagnosed breast cancer and 1,223 controls and were separately performed for combined OCs with and without chlormadinone. For either of the combined OCs, risk was not elevated in ever users, did not increase with duration of use and did not change with time since initial exposure or with time since most recent use. However, the relative risk was increased in current users: RR = 1.72 (0.88, 3.36) for combined OCs with chlormadinone and RR = 1.42 (1.01, 2.00) for combined OCs without chlormadinone, which is, however, explained as a screening effect. These results show that chlormadinone as a constituent of combined OCs does not influence breast cancer risk.

PIP: The main subject of this hospital-based case-control study was the potential relationship between use of combined oral contraceptives (OCs) containing chlormadinone acetate (CA) and breast cancer. Analyses were performed for combined OCs with and without CA. For either of the combined OCs, risk was not elevated in ever users, it did not increase with the duration of use, and it did not change with time since the initial exposure or with time since most recent use. However, the relative risk was increased in current users---RR=1.72 (0.88, 3.36) for combined OCs with CA and RR=1.42 (1.01, 2.00) for combined OCs without CA which is explained as a screening effect. These results demonstrate that CA as a constituent of combined OCs does not influence breast cancer risk.

[Use of oral contraceptives in East Germany by middle-aged females]. / Zur Anwendung oraler Kontrazeptiva in der DDR bei Frauen mittleren Alters.

This study was based on the data from 1214 women included in the controlled group within a hospital-based case-control study on the association between breast cancer and the use of oral contraceptives. This is a sample of middle-aged women. Women with a reason for referral, presumably associated with infertility, were excluded. Oral contraceptives are (apart from coitus interruptus) in 76% of the cases the method of contraception most frequently used, followed by the rhythm method and condoms. The use depends strongly on the age. Only 40% of the women, now 55-60 years of age, ever used oral contraceptives, whereas 91% of those now under 40 have been using them. Other connections can be seen with level of education, marital status, and reproduction and sex life. With the use of special preparations, there are differences between women of younger and older generations, partially based on the different times these preparations were introduced to the market. The exclusive use of sequential oral contraceptives decreases in the older cases.

Screening for lung cancer in the middle-aged.

A screening programme for lung diseases has been in operation in the German Democratic Republic for more than 3 decades. The programme is based on biennial chest X-rays (70 x 70 mm posterior-anterior) of the population 40 years of age or over. With respect to lung cancer the results show that, for the population under 60 years of age, the adjusted relative risk of dying from lung cancer among subjects who took part in the last screening round compared with subjects who did not but were screened at least once during the preceding 10-year period was 0.93 (95% confidence interval 0.65-1.33).