Explaining the gender gap in sickness absence.

Background: In many western countries, women have a much higher rate of sickness absence than men. To what degree the gender differences in sickness absence are caused by gender differences in health is largely unknown. Aims: To assess to what degree the gender gap in sickness absence can be explained by health factors and work- and family-related stressors. Methods: Norwegian parents participating in the Tracking Opportunities and Problems (TOPP) study were asked about sickness absence and a range of factors possibly contributing to gender differences in sickness absence, including somatic and mental health, sleep problems, job control/demands, work-home conflicts, parent-child conflicts and stressful life events. Using a cross-sectional design, we did linear regression analyses, to assess the relative contribution from health and stressors. Results: There were 557 study participants. Adjusting for health factors reduced the gender difference in sickness absence by 24%, while adjusting for stressors in the family and at work reduced the difference by 22%. A simultaneous adjustment for health factors and stressors reduced the difference in sickness absence by about 28%. Conclusions: Despite adjusting for a large number of factors, including both previously well-studied factors (e.g. health, job control/demands) and lesser-studied factors (parent-child conflict and sexual assault), this study found that most of the gender gap in sickness absence remains unexplained. Gender differences in health and stressors account for only part of the differences in sickness absence. Other factors must, therefore, exist outside the domains of health, work and family stressors.

Personality and long-term health-related benefits.

BACKGROUND: Although it is well documented that non-medical factors, like educational level, are associated with sick leave and disability pensioning, the role of personality has only been studied to a limited degree. AIMS: To examine how normal personality traits (as measured by 'The Big Five') are associated with long-term sick leave and disability pensioning. METHODS: In 2008, a sample of Norwegian women participating in the population-based Tracking Opportunities and Problems (TOPP) study were assessed for personality traits. Three years later the women reported on their job status and any episodes of sick leave and disability pensioning over the previous 6 months. Using logistic regression analyses, we examined the association between standardized measures of personality traits and any episodes of long-term sick leave and disability pensioning. RESULTS: Three hundred and sixty-four women were included in the analyses (40% of those invited). One standard level increase in neuroticism was significantly associated with disability pensioning with an odds ratio (OR) of 2.07 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.38-3.10). In contrast, an increase in extroversion and conscientiousness was negatively associated with disability pensioning with ORs of 0.59 (0.39-0.90) and 0.65 (0.43-0.99), respectively. For long-term sick leave, there were no significant associations, although the trends in the estimates were similar. CONCLUSIONS: Personality is strongly associated with disability pensioning, but not with long-term sick leave. In particular, high neuroticism, low extroversion and low conscientiousness seem to increase the risk for disability pensioning. Initiatives aimed to reduce the prevalence of disability pensioning should take personality traits into account.

Health-related quality of life among women diagnosed with in situ or invasive breast cancer and age-matched controls: a population-based study.

PURPOSE: A breast cancer (BC) diagnosis may negatively affect health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, there are few comparisons of HRQoL at several time points for women with BC, and particular when subdivided into invasive and in situ tumors. The purpose of this study was to investigate various aspects of HRQoL in women recently diagnosed with invasive BC or ductal carcinoma in situ (in situ) compared to age-matched BC free controls in a population-wide sample recruited through the Cancer Registry of Norway. METHODS: This cross-sectional study utilized HRQoL data collected in 2020-2022 from a digital survey including 4117 cases (3867 women with invasive BC and 430 with in situ) and 2911 controls. HRQoL was assessed ≥ 21 days after diagnosis, using EORTC QLQ-C30. This includes scores assessing global quality of life (gHRQoL) and HRQoL functions and symptoms. Multivariable regression analyses were used to compare HRQoL between cases and controls and to identify factors associated with gHRQoL and fatigue. Additionally, HRQoL 14 months after diagnosis was analyzed in 1989 of the included cases and in 1212 of the controls. Score differences of ≥ 10 points were considered clinically relevant and thus presented in the results. RESULTS: Invasive BC cases had lower gHRQoL, role- and social functioning in addition to more fatigue than controls. In situ cases had lower role-and social functioning than controls. Invasive BC cases scored worse than in situ on all domains, but the differences were not considered clinically relevant. Physical activity was associated with better gHRQoL and less fatigue in invasive BC, in situ and controls. Both invasive BC and in situ cases improved their role- and social functioning scores from diagnosis to 14 months follow-up, however no improvement was seen for fatigue. CONCLUSION: Women with invasive BC and in situ reported lower role- and social functioning scores than controls right after diagnosis with improvements 14 months after diagnosis. Physical activity was associated with better gHRQoL and less fatigue and should, whenever possible, play a key role in the care for BC patients.

The heritability of avoidant and dependent personality disorder assessed by personal interview and questionnaire.

OBJECTIVE: Personality disorders (PDs) have been shown to be modestly heritable. Accurate heritability estimates are, however, dependent on reliable measurement methods, as measurement error deflates heritability. The aim of this study was to estimate the heritability of DSM-IV avoidant and dependent personality disorder, by including two measures of the PDs at two time points. METHOD: Data were obtained from a population-based cohort of young adult Norwegian twins, of whom 8045 had completed a self-report questionnaire assessing PD traits. 2794 of these twins subsequently underwent a structured diagnostic interview for DSM-IV PDs. Questionnaire items predicting interview results were selected by multiple regression, and measurement models of the PDs were fitted in Mx. RESULTS: The heritabilities of the PD factors were 0.64 for avoidant PD and 0.66 for dependent PD. No evidence of common environment, that is, environmental factors that are shared between twins and make them similar, was found. Genetic and environmental contributions to avoidant and dependent PD seemed to be the same across sexes. CONCLUSION: The combination of both a questionnaire- and an interview assessment of avoidant and dependent PD results in substantially higher heritabilities than previously found using single-occasion interviews only.

In vivo and in vitro studies on soft denture materials: microbial adhesion and tests for antibacterial activity.

The microbiological properties of four tissue conditioners, one soft liner, and one acrylic resin were studied. The tissue conditioners showed no or negligible antimicrobial effects toward salivary microorganisms by two different in vitro tests. In in vitro adhesion experiments, more Streptococcus mutans and Candida albicans adhered to the tissue conditioners and the soft liner in comparison with conventional acrylic resin used for denture-base fabrication. No difference in bacterial adhesion was found among the tissue conditioners. The microbial colonization of two tissue conditioners lined on maxillary dentures in three volunteers was followed for 14 days. No difference among the materials was found, but a tendency for subject-dependence in plaque formation on the materials was noted.