Associations between selected life events and cancer.

This case control study compares 508 women with cancer with 1,563 controls with respect to four different life events as indicators for an increased cancer risk: (1) death of the father during childhood; (2) death of the mother during childhood, both before the age of 16; (3) divorced, separated, or widowed at any time; (4) at least one traumatic World War II experience. The age-adjusted relative risks were 1.10, 1.71, 1.45, and 1.33, respectively. The only variable not showing a significant association with cancer was "death of father." Inferences from the results are limited by the retrospective study design and by the inability to isolate events that are cancer specific from those specific to illness in general.

Psychosocial factors and smoking as risk factors in lung carcinoma.

In a retrospective study as part of a larger study 419 male patients with bronchial carcinoma were questioned by means of a 'biographical questionnaire' concerning their life history, their personality, and their approach to life. Furthermore questions with regard to their smoking habits (tobacco smoke condensate exposure) were asked. Only patients who smoked cigarettes regularly were involved in the interrogation and the results were compared with those of smoking healthy controls and patients with non-malignant lung diseases (N = 162). For each pair group-controls a discriminant analysis was carried out. By reclassification a correct assignment of approx. 62% in each case could then be obtained. In addition, the answer pattern of the carcinoma patients was compared with a group of patients with non-malignant lung diseases. The results obtained were similar to those of the comparison with the healthy control group.

[Measurement of skin temperature in breast cancer--a new possibility of early diagnosis]. / Messung der Hauttemperatur bei Brustkrebs--eine neue Möglichkeit zur Früherkennung?

The local skin temperature was measured by infrared thermometry in 100 women suffering from malign neoplasms of the breast. After thermal stimulation the reaction of the skin temperature was determined in a repeated measurement. The results were compared with standard temperature values obtained in 100 healthy women. Statistical evaluation of the data using discriminant analysis resulted in a score, which allowed to classify 90% of the women with mamma carcinomas and 92% of the controls correctly. The possible application of this passive diagnostic method to the early detection of malign tumors in the breast is discussed.

Psychosocial factors and breast cancer: a critical reevaluation of established hypotheses.

The Bahnson psychosocial risk profile was reexamined for breast cancer screening. The questionnaire was presented to 3,306 women who came to the consultation hour in a hospital for prevention and early detection. It was administered prior to knowledge of the diagnosis. Newly detected breast cancer cases were compared to matched groups of healthy and benign controls on several psychosocial scales. Discrimination between these groups was rather poor, showing the questionnaire's inadequacy to measure factors relevant in discriminating between this study's newly detected cancer cases and controls. Possible explanations for the "poor" results are discussed.

[Psychosocial factors and cancer. A study of 80 women by means of a psychosocial questionnaire (author's transl)]. / Psychosoziale Faktoren und Krebs. Untersuchung von 80 Frauen mit einem psychosozialen Fragebogen.

The psychosocial questionnaire compiled by C. B. Bahnson and M. B. Bahnson and adapted for the German-speaking area was used to question 40 female cancer patients (30 mammary, 6 gastric and 4 pulmonary carcinomata) aged between 36 and 64 years and 40 control subjects selected by the matched pairs method. The cross section examination showed significant differences (p less than or equal to 0.05) between cancer patients and control subjects on single variate examination in 10 individual variables. Discriminant analysis (multivariate examination) revealed a discriminant function of 12 variables which enabled the classification of the entire collective of subjects with 95 percent accuracy in the carcinoma and control groups. Our results confirm largely the hypotheses developed in the USA.

[Prophylaxis in general practice. Aspects of the problems (author's transl)]. / Modell einer Vorsorge in der Allgemeinpraxis. Aspekte ihrer Problematik

For four and a half years prophylactic examinations were carried out quarterly in addition to the statutory early recognition investigations in a general practice. The participation being 42.5% was above the participation rate at the statutory early recognition investigations and showed a marked correlation to age and social stratum, but not to sex. The therapeutic effect, measured by the lowering of the cholesterol level, was compared with data from the literature, our results being below those of the other authors. Then the therapeutic effect was considered from various points of view such as sex, age, social stratum and frequency of participation. The most important result appeared to be that similar investigations are probably necessary once a year at the most on medical grounds, to detect and treat risk factors, which would be of great economic importance.

[Disease, physician-patient contacts and work disability in a general practice]. / Krankheit, Arzt-Patient-Kontakte und Arbeitsunfähigkeit in einer Allgemeinpraxis

The frequency of Coronary Heart Disease symptoms (questionnaire from G. Rose) and some risk factors were recorded for 314 men in a general practice as part of a preventive screening programme. Simultaneously the number of physician-patient contacts and the total days of work disability were registered. The patients were divided into four social classes. There was a significant increase of symptoms of autonomic nervous disorder and hyperuricemia (p less than 0,025) as well as the number of smokers (p less than 0,001) with descending social class. The same trend was found with the frequency of physician-patient contacts and the total days of work disability (p less than 0,1). Patients with vegetative symptoms showed a mean of 7,2 physician-patient contacts and a work disability of 37,4 days per year. For patients with abnormal ECG findings the rates were 5,6 contacts and 33,4 days of disability per year. There was a significant difference in these rates compared to a control group.