Vaginal symptoms of unknown etiology - a study in dutch general-practice

Vaginal symptoms are frequently presented by women to general practitioners. In many cases, the aetiology of these symptoms remains unknown. This study focused on the factors associated with microbiologically unexplained vaginal symptoms, the course of symptoms and signs in these cases, and factors modifying this course. In a group of 610 women presenting to their general practitioner with vaginal symptoms (itching, irritation, abnormal but non-bloody discharge) the distribution of diagnoses was studied and factors associated with symptoms of unknown aetiology were identified using logistic regression analysis. During a three month follow up, the course of symptoms and signs was studied in 139 women with unexplained vaginal symptoms, using survival analysis methods. It was found that 25% of all the women had symptoms of unknown aetiology. A larger number of these women, compared with women with other diagnoses, were Caucasian, married, more highly educated, used oral contraceptives and reported psychological distress. During the follow-up period, a specific infection was diagnosed in less than 20% of the women with unexplained vaginal symptoms. Over half the women (54%) recovered within three months. Short duration of symptoms before presentation was associated with a higher probability of recovery. From the study, it was found that many women visiting the general practitioner for vaginal symptoms had no demonstrable microbial disorder. Often these symptoms were transient and disappeared without intervention. Persistent symptoms may call for further examination where somatic, as well as psychosocial, factors should be taken into account

Differential effect of social support on the course of chronic disease: A criteria-based literature study

Literature was reviewed in order to examine the effect of social support on the course of chronic diseases. Of the 660 articles obtained, only 65 articles, most of which concerned cardiovascular diseases, met the relevant selection criteria and were methodologically assessed. Social support was mainly operationalized by structural network characteristics (55% of the articles), or by perceived adequacy of support (55% of the articles). Measures to determine type and amount of functional support were used far less frequently. The different operationalizations of social support accounted for varying results regarding the influence on the course of chronic diseases. Perceived social support was apparently of greater importance than structural and functional support measures. Regardless of the type of chronic disease, positively perceived support affected the disease course favorably: there was sufficient evidence for a beneficial influence on psychological adjustment, well-being, functional status, and also more 'objective' health outcomes. Functional measures of the amount of support were related to a more favorable course in cardiovascular disease, which may be partly due to the possibilities that these patients can modify their disease course by adopting healthier lifestyles and better self-care behaviors. Evidence supporting the favorable influence of structural network characteristics was mainly provided by studies on disease-specific mortality

Self-reports and general practitioner information on the presence of chronic diseases in community dwelling elderly. A study on the accuracy of patients' self-reports and on determinants of inaccuracy

Object. The object of the study is to investigate the (in)accuracy of patients' self-reports, as compared with general practitioners' information, regarding the presence of specific chronic diseases, and the influence of patient characteristics. Methods. Questionnaire data of 2380 community dwelling elderly patients, aged 55-85 years, on the presence of chronic non-specific lung disease, cardiac disease, peripheral atherosclerosis, stroke, diabetes, malignancies, and osteoarthritis/rheumatoid arthritis were compared with data from the general practitioners, using the kappa-statistic. Associations between the accuracy of self-reports and patient characteristics were studied by multiple logistic regression analyses. Results. Kappa's ranged from 0.30 to 0.40 for osteoarthritis/rheumatoid arthritis and atherosclerosis, to 0.85 for diabetes mellitus. In the multivariate analyses, educational level, level of urbanization, deviations in cognitive function, and depressive symptomatology had no influence on the level of accuracy. An influence of gender, age, mobility limitations, and recent contact with the general practitioner was shown for specific diseases. For chronic non-specific lung disease, both 'underreporting' and 'overreporting' are more prevalent in males, compared to females. Furthermore, males tend to overreport stroke and underreport malignancies and arthritis, whereas females tend to overreport malignancies and arthritis. Both overreporting and underreporting of cardiac disease are more prevalent as people are older. Also, older age is associated with overreporting of stroke, and with underreporting of arthritis. The self-reported presence of mobility limitations is associated with overreporting of all specific diseases studied, except for diabetes mellitus, and its absence is associated with underreporting, except for diabetes mellitus and atherosclerosis. Recent contact with the general practitioner is associated with overreporting of cardiac disease, atherosclerosis, malignancies and arthritis, and with less frequent underreporting of diabetes and arthritis. Conclusions. Results suggest that patients' self-reports on selected chronic diseases are fairly accurate, with the exceptions of atherosclerosis and arthritis. The associations found with certain patient characteristics may be explained by the tendency of patients to label symptoms, denial by the patient, or inaccuracy of medical records

Shoulder disorders in general practice: Prognostic indicators of outcome

Background. Shoulder pain is common in primary health care. Nevertheless, information on the outcome of shoulder disorders is scarce, especially for patients encountered in general practice. Aim. To study the course of shoulder disorders in general practice and to determine prognostic indicators of outcome. Method. For this prospective follow-up study, 11 Dutch general practitioners recruited 349 patients with new episodes of shoulder pain. The participants filled out a questionnaire at presentation and further ones after 1, 3, 6 and 12 months; these contained questions on the nature, severity and course of the shoulder complaints. The association between potential prognostic indicators and the status of shoulder complaints (absence or presence of symptoms) was evaluated after one and 12 months of follow-up. Results. After one month, 23% of all patients showed complete recovery; this figure increased to 59% after one year. A speedy recovery seemed to be related to preceding overuse or slight trauma and early presentation. A high risk of persistent or recurrent complaints was found for patients with concomitant neck pain and severe pain during the day at presentation. Conclusion. A considerable number of patients (41%) showed persistent symptoms after 12 months. It may be possible to distinguish patients who will show a speedy recovery from those with a high risk of long-standing complaints by determining whether there is a history of slight trauma or overuse, an early presentation or an absence of concomitant neck pain

Direct and buffer effects of social support and personal coping resources in individuals with arthritis

The direct and buffer effects of various aspects of social support and personal coping resources on depressive symptoms were examined. The study concerned a community-based sample of 1690 older persons aged 55-85 yrs, of whom 719 had no chronic disease, 612 had mild arthritis and 359 had severe arthritis. Persons with arthritis reported more depressive symptoms than persons with no chronic diseases. Irrespective of arthritis, the presence of a partner, having many close social relationships, feelings of mastery and a high self-esteem were found to have direct, favourable effects on psychological functioning. Mastery, having many diffuse social relationships, and receiving emotional support seem to mitigate the influence of arthritis on depressive symptoms, which is in conformity with the buffer hypothesis. Favourable effects of these variables on depressive symptomatology were only, or more strongly, found in persons suffering from severe arthritis

Effects of social support and personal coping resources on mortality in older age: The longitudinal aging study Amsterdam

This study focuses on the role of social support and personal coping resources in relation to mortality among older persons in the Netherlands. Data are from a sample of 2,829 noninstitutionalized people aged between 55 and 85 years who took part in the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam in 1992- 1995. Social support was operationally defined by structural, functional, and perceived aspects, and personal coping resources included measures of mastery, self-efficacy, and self-esteem. Mortality data were obtained during a follow-up of 29 months, on average. Cox proportional hazards regression models revealed that having fewer feelings of loneliness and greater feelings of mastery are directly associated with a reduced mortality risk when age, sex chronic diseases, use of alcohol, smoking, self-rated health, and functional limitations are controlled for. In addition, persons who received a moderate level of emotional support (odds ratio (OR) = 0.49, 95% confidence interval (Cl) 0.33-0.72) and those who received a high level of support (OR = 0.68, 95% Cl 0.47-0.98) had reduced mortality risks when compared with persons who received a low level of emotional support. Receipt of a high level of instrumental support was related to a higher risk of death (OR = 1.74, 95% Cl 1.12-2.69). Interaction between disease status and social support or personal coping resources on mortality could not be demonstrated

Psychological status among elderly people with chronic diseases: Does type of disease play a part?

Psychological status, including depressive symptoms, anxiety, and mastery, was measured in a community-based sample of 3,076 persons aged 55 to 85 with various chronic diseases. Strong, linear associations were found between the number of chronic diseases and depressive symptoms and anxiety, indicating that psychological distress among elderly people is more apparent in the presence of (more) diseases. Furthermore, in contrast to general assumptions that mastery is a relatively stable state, our results indicate that mastery is affected by having chronic diseases. The 8 groups of chronically ill patients (with cardiac disease, peripheral atherosclerosis, stroke, diabetes, lung disease, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, or cancer) did differ in their associations with psychological distress. Psychological distress is most frequently experienced by patients with osteoarthritis rheumatoid arthritis, and stroke, whereas diabetic and cardiac patients appear to be the least psychologically distressed. Differences in disease characteristics, such as functional incapacitation and illness controllability, may partly explain these observed psychological differences across diseases

Determination of Chlamydia trachomatis Prevalence in an Asymptomatic Screening Population: Performances of the LCx and COBAS Amplicor Tests with Urine Specimens

This study determined the performances of the LCx (Abbott) and COBAS Amplicor (Roche) tests with urine specimens for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in an asymptomatic screening population. Randomly selected women and men (age range, 15 to 40 years) registered in 20 general practices in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, were invited to participate in this study. Urine specimens (n = 2,906; 1,138 specimens from men and 1,717 specimens from women) were tested for C. trachomatis by the COBAS Amplicor (Roche) and LCx (Abbott) tests. Samples which were positive by only one assay were subjected to discrepant analyses by a third assay (in-house plasmid PCR). By the LCx assay C. trachomatis DNA was detected in urine specimens from 46 of 1,717 women and 29 of 1,138 men, while the COBAS Amplicor detected C. trachomatis DNA in 52 and 35 specimens, respectively. When comparing the LCx and COBAS Amplicor tests, 32 test results (20 for women and 12 for men) were discrepant. After discrepant analyses the following sensitivities, specificities, and positive predictive values were found for the LCx and COBAS Amplicor tests: 78.6 versus 98.8%, 99.7 versus 99.9%, and 88.0 versus 95.4%, respectively. No prominent differences were found between men and women with regard to the test performances. After discrepant analyses the overall prevalences of C. trachomatis in women and men were 3.0 and 2.8%, respectively. For both women and men the prevalence in the younger age groups was higher than that in the older age groups. In conclusion, the COBAS Amplicor tests shows better diagnostic characteristics than the LCx assay for the detection of C. trachomatis in urine specimens from an asymptomatic screening population. In this asymptomatic population the overall prevalence of C. trachomatis was 2.9%