Risk factors for ulnar nerve compression at the elbow: a case control study

Background. Ulnar nerve compression at the elbow is frequently encountered as the second most common compression neuropathy in the arm. As dexterity may be severely affected, the disease entity can seriously interfere with daily life and work. However, epidemiological research considering the risk factors is rarely performed

Striking increase in incidence of prostate cancer in men aged < 60 years without improvement in prognosis

Increased awareness and improved diagnostic techniques have led to earlier diagnosis of prostate cancer and increased detection of subclinical cases, resulting in improved prognosis. We postulated that the considerable increase in incidence under age 60 is not attributable only to increased detection. To test this hypothesis, we studied incidence, mortality and relative survival among middle-aged patients diagnosed in south-east Netherlands and East Anglia (UK) between 1971 and 1994. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing did not occur before 1990. Between 1971 and 1989, the age-standardized incidence at ages40–59 increased from 8.8 to 12.5 per 105 in The Netherlands and from 7.0 to 11.6 per 105 in East Anglia.Five-year relative survival did not improve in East Anglia and even declined in south-east Netherlands from 65% [95% confidence interval (CI) 47–83) in 1975–79 to 48% (CI 34–62) in 1985–89. Mortality due to prostate cancer among men aged 45–64 years increased by 50% in south-east Netherlands and by 61% in East Anglia between 1971 and 1989, but decreased slightly in the 1990s. Because other factors adversely influencing the prognosis are unlikely, our results indicate an increase in the incidence of fatal prostate cancer among younger men in the era preceding PSA testing. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig

Health-related and work-related aspects associated with sick leave: a comparison of chronically ill and non-chronically ill workers.

Contains fulltext : 47758.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)OBJECTIVES: Our aims were to study to what extent chronically ill workers (CIWs) take more sick leave than non-chronically ill workers (NCIWs) and to explore which health-related and work-related aspects are associated with the sick leave patterns of the two groups. METHODS: A questionnaire on work, health and sick leave was sent to all employees of a university in The Netherlands (response: 49.1%). Analyses were conducted for 444 CIWs and 1,347 NCIWs. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated to quantify the contribution of being chronically ill to sick leave in general, frequent sick leave, prolonged sick leave, and present sick leave. The contributions of health-related and work-related aspects to sick leave were investigated by multiple logistic regression analyses for both CIWs and NCIWs separately. RESULTS: CIWs showed significantly increased ORs for general, frequent, prolonged and present sick leave when compared with NCIWs. Fatigue, emotional exhaustion and perceived health complaints showed stronger associations with sick leave for both CIWs and NCIWs than various work-related aspects. Workers of 46 years of age and older showed less sick leave than workers under the age of 36. Male respondents and scientific personnel showed less frequent sick leave than the other respondents, and so did respondents working more than 40 h a week, compared with part-timers. The final regression models explained 8%-16% of the variance in sick leave. CONCLUSIONS: CIWs take two to three times more and longer sick leave than NCIWs. Health-related aspects are more strongly associated with sick leave than work-related aspects for both CIWs and NCIWs. Sick leave patterns were, nevertheless, only partly explained by health-related and work-related aspects. In any case, future studies of sick leave should certainly take the presence of chronic disease into account as an important determinant of sick leave