Report of the panel on the land surface: Process of change, section 5

The panel defined three main areas of study that are central to the Solid Earth Science (SES) program: climate interactions with the Earth's surface, tectonism as it affects the Earth's surface and climate, and human activities that modify the Earth's surface. Four foci of research are envisioned: process studies with an emphasis on modern processes in transitional areas; integrated studies with an emphasis on long term continental climate change; climate-tectonic interactions; and studies of human activities that modify the Earth's surface, with an emphasis on soil degradation. The panel concluded that there is a clear requirement for global coverage by high resolution stereoscopic images and a pressing need for global topographic data in support of studies of the land surface

The contribution of work and non-work stressors to common mental disorders in the 2007 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey

Evidence for an effect of work stressors on common mental disorders (CMD) has increased over the past decade. However, studies have not considered whether the effects of work stressors on CMD remain after taking co-occurring non-work stressors into account. Method. Data were from the 2007 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey, a national population survey of participants >= 16 years living in private households in England. This paper analyses data from employed working age participants (N=3383: 1804 males; 1579 females). ICD-10 diagnoses for depressive episode, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, agoraphobia, social phobia, panic or mixed anxiety and depression in the past week were derived using a structured diagnostic interview. Questionnaires assessed self-reported work stressors and non-work stressors. Results. The effects of work stressors on CMD were not explained by co-existing non-work stressors. We found independent effects of work and non-work stressors on CMD. Job stress, whether conceptualized as job strain or effort–reward imbalance, together with lower levels of social support at work, recent stressful life events, domestic violence, caring responsibilities, lower levels of non-work social support, debt and poor housing quality were all independently associated with CMD. Social support at home and debt did not influence the effect of work stressors on CMD. Conclusions. Non-work stressors do not appear to make people more susceptible to work stressors ; both contribute to CMD. Tackling workplace stress is likely to benefit employee psychological health even if the employee’s home life is stressful but interventions incorporating non-work stressors may also be effective

Socioeconomic predictors and consequences of depression among primary care attenders with non-communicable diseases in the Western Cape, South Africa:Cohort study within a randomised trial

Background: Socioeconomic predictors and consequences of depression and its treatment were investigated in 4393 adults with specified non-communicable diseases attending 38 public sector primary care clinics in the Eden and Overberg districts of the Western Cape, South Africa.   Methods: Participants were interviewed at baseline in 2011 and 14 months later, as part of a randomised controlled trial of a guideline-based intervention to improve diagnosis and management of chronic diseases. The 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10) was used to assess depression symptoms, with higher scores representing more depressed mood. Results: Higher CESD-10 scores at baseline were independently associated with being less educated (p=0.004) and having lower income (p=0.003). CESD-10 scores at follow-up were higher in participants with less education (p=0.010) or receiving welfare grants (p=0.007) independent of their baseline scores. Participants with CESD-10 scores of 10 or more at baseline (56% of all participants) had 25% higher odds of being unemployed at follow-up (p=0.016), independently of baseline CESD-10 score and treatment status. Among participants with baseline CESD-10 scores of 10 or more, antidepressant medication at baseline was independently more likely in participants who had more education (p=0.002), higher income (p<0.001), or were unemployed (p=0.001). Antidepressant medication at follow up was independently more likely in participants with higher income (p=0.023), and in clinics with better access to pharmacists (p=0.053) and off-site drug delivery (p=0.013).  Conclusions: Socioeconomic disadvantage appears to be both a cause and consequence of depression, and may also be a barrier to treatment. There are opportunities for improving the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of depression in primary care in inequitable middle income countries like South Africa.  Trial registration: The trial is registered with Current Controlled Trials (ISRCTN20283604) and the Office for Human Research Protections Database (IRB00001938, FWA00001637)

Early Service leavers: a study of the factors associated with premature separation from the UK Armed Forces and the mental health of those that leave early.

BACKGROUND: Approximately 18,000 personnel leave the UK Armed Forces annually. Those leaving before completing the minimum term of their contracts are called early Service leavers (ESLs). This study aims to identify characteristics associated with being an ESL, and compare the post-discharge mental health of ESLs and other Service leavers (non-ESLs). METHOD: A cross-sectional study used data on ex-Serving UK Armed Forces personnel. ESLs were personnel leaving before completing their 3-4.5 years minimum Service contracts and were compared with non-ESLs. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the associations between Service leaving status with socio-demographics, military characteristics and mental health outcomes. RESULTS: Of 845 Service leavers, 80 (9.5%) were ESLs. Being an ESL was associated with younger age, female sex, not being in a relationship, lower rank, serving in the Army and with a trend of reporting higher levels of childhood adversity, but not with deployment to Iraq. ESLs were at an increased risk of probable post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), common mental disorders, fatigue and multiple physical symptoms, but not alcohol misuse. CONCLUSIONS: The study suggests that operational Service is not a factor causing personnel to become an ESL. Current mental health problems were more commonly reported among ESLs than other Service leavers. There may be a need to target interventions to ESLs on leaving Service to smooth their transition to civilian life and prevent the negative mental health outcomes experienced by ESLs further down the line

The Impact of Major Events on the Lives of Family Caregivers of Children with Disabilities

Copyright 1996 Families International, Inc.The authors examine the family caregiving experience among families with children with severe emotional disabilities from a perspective that recognizes the importance of the family's views and feelings. This viewpoint anticipates the occurrence of both positive and negative experiences and seeks to illuminate the caregiving process from the perspective of outcomes achieved. Family caregivers of 164 children with serious emotional disorders were asked to identify major pleasant and stressful events that had occurred in the past 12 months. The most frequently described pleasant events related to children's behavior, school activities, and interactions with professionals and friends. Frequently described problem areas included children's behavior, professionals/services, and difficulty with school. The impact of these pleasant and stressful events was examined with respect to caregivers' perceived well-being: (I) overall stress, (2) the ability to fulfill responsibilities, and (3) pleasure experienced in various life domains. Implications of the study findings for supporting family caregivers in their roles are discussed

A five-sample confirmatory factor analytic study of burnout-depression overlap

Objective: It has been asserted that burnout—a condition ascribed to unresolvable job stress—should not be mistaken for a depressive syndrome. In this confirmatory factor analytic study, the validity of this assertion was examined. Methods: Five samples of employed individuals, recruited in Switzerland and France, were mobilized for this study (N = 3,113). Burnout symptoms were assessed with the Shirom–Melamed Burnout Measure, the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)—General Survey, and the MBI for Educators. Depressive symptoms were measured with the PHQ‐9. Results: In all five samples, the latent factors pertaining to burnout’s components correlated on average more highly with the latent Depression factor than with each other, even with fatigue‐related items removed from the PHQ‐9. Second‐order factor analyses indicated that the latent Depression factor and the latent factors pertaining to burnout’s components were reflective of the same overarching factor. Conclusions: This study suggests that the burnout-depression distinction is artificial

A Framework for Examining Social Stress and Susceptibility to Air Pollution in Respiratory Health

Objective: There is growing interest in disentangling the health effects of spatially clustered social and physical environmental exposures and in exploring potential synergies among them, with particular attention directed to the combined effects of psychosocial stress and air pollution. Both exposures may be elevated in lower-income urban communities, and it has been hypothesized that stress, which can influence immune function and susceptibility, may potentiate the effects of air pollution in respiratory disease onset and exacerbation. In this paper, we attempt to synthesize the relevant research from social and environmental epidemiology, toxicology, immunology, and exposure assessment to provide a useful framework for environmental health researchers aiming to investigate the health effects of environmental pollution in combination with social or psychological factors. Data synthesis: We review the existing epidemiologic and toxicologic evidence on synergistic effects of stress and pollution, and then describe the physiologic effects of stress and key issues related to measuring and evaluating stress as it relates to physical environmental exposures and susceptibility. Finally, we identify some of the major methodologic challenges ahead as we work toward disentangling the health effects of clustered social and physical exposures and accurately describing the interplay among these exposures. Conclusions: There is still tremendous work to be done toward understanding the combined and potentially synergistic health effects of stress and pollution. As this research proceeds, we recommend careful attention to the relative temporalities of stress and pollution exposures, to nonlinearities in their independent and combined effects, to physiologic pathways not elucidated by epidemiologic methods, and to the relative spatial distributions of social and physical exposures at multiple geographic scales

Psychosocial correlates with depressive symptoms six years after a first episode of psychosis as compared with findings from a general population sample

BACKGROUND: Depression is frequently occurring during and after psychosis. The aim of this study was to analyze if the psychosocial characteristics associated with depression/depressive symptoms in the late phase of a first episode psychosis (FEP) population were different compared to persons from the general population. METHODS: A questionnaire was sent out to all individuals six years after their FEP and to a general population sample. Depressive symptoms were recorded using a self-rating scale, the Major Depression Inventory. RESULTS: Formerly FEP persons had a higher representation of depressive symptoms/depression, unemployment, financial problems and insufficient social network. Depressive symptoms/depression were found to be associated with psychosocial problems. An age and gender effect was found in the general population, but not in the FEP sample. When the psychosocial characteristics were taken into account there were no association between having had FEP and depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The association between having been a FEP patient and depressive symptoms/depression disappeared when negative social aspects were taken into account

Psychosocial factors during the first year after a coronary heart disease event in cases and referents. Secondary Prevention in Uppsala Primary Health Care Project (SUPRIM)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A large number of studies have reported on the psychosocial risk factor pattern prior to coronary heart disease events, but few have investigated the situation during the first year after an event, and none has been controlled. We therefore performed a case-referent study in which the prevalence of a number of psychosocial factors was evaluated.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Three hundred and forty-six coronary heart disease male and female cases no more than 75 years of age, discharged from hospital within the past 12 months, and 1038 referents from the general population, matched to the cases by age, sex and place of living, received a postal questionnaire in which information on lifestyle, psychosocial and quality of life measures were sought.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The cases were, as expected, on sick leave to a larger extent than the referents, reported poorer fitness, poorer perceived health, fewer leisure time activities, but unexpectedly reported better social support, and more optimistic views of the future than the referents. There were no significant case-referent differences in everyday life stress, stressful life events, vital exhaustion, depressive mood, coping or life orientation test. However, women reported less favourable situations than men regarding stressful life events affecting others, vital exhaustion, depressive mood, coping, self-esteem, sleep, and symptom reporting, and female cases reported the most unfavourable situation of all groups.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In this first controlled study of the situation during the first year after a CHD event disease and gender status both appeared to be determinants of psychological well-being, with gender status apparently the strongest. This may have implications for cardiac rehabilitation programmes.</p