An evaluation of the absolute and relative stability of alexithymia over 11years in a Finnish general population.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated if alexithymia, a personality construct with difficulties in emotional processing, is stable in the general population. METHODS: Altogether 3083 unselected subjects aged 30 and older in Finland completed the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) in the longitudinal Health 2000 and Health 2011 general population surveys (BRIF8901). The stability of alexithymia at the 11-year follow-up was assessed with t-tests, correlations, and separate linear regression models with base-line and follow-up age, gender, marital status, education, and 12-month depressive and anxiety disorders as confounders. RESULTS: The mean score (SD) of the TAS-20 for the whole sample was 44.2 (10.4) in 2000 and 44.2 (10.9) in 2011 (p=0.731). The mean score of the TAS-20 subscale Difficulty Identifying Feelings increased by 0.3 points, Difficulty Describing Feelings decreased by 0.6 points and Externally Oriented Thinking increased by 0.3 points. The effect sizes of the changes varied from negligible to small. Age had little effect except for the group of the oldest subjects (75-97years): the TAS-20 mean (SD) score was 49.1 (10.1) in 2000 and 53.1 (10.3) in 2011 (p<0.001), the effect size for the increase was medium. TAS-20 score in 2000 explained a significant proportion of variance in TAS-20 score in 2011. Controlling for all baseline confounders improved the model incrementally; the same applied to controlling for confounders at follow-up. Baseline depression or anxiety disorders were not associated with the TAS-20 scores in 2011, whereas current diagnoses were. CONCLUSIONS: According to our large longitudinal study both the absolute and relative stability of alexithymia assessed with the TAS-20 are high in the adult general population.

Difficulties in emotional regulation: association with poorer oral health-related quality of life in the general population.

Personality is one of the strongest predictors of subjective well-being and may, according to a few previous studies, affect how people report oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). Alexithymia, a personality trait involving difficulties in emotional regulation, is associated with poorer health-related quality of life in the general population. We studied if alexithymia is also associated with poorer OHRQoL in a general population sample of 4,460 adults. Oral health-related quality of life was measured using the 14-item Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) and alexithymia was measured using the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Controlling for clinically assessed dental health, depression, anxiety, and socio-demographic variables, higher scores on the TAS-20 as well as on its three dimensions [difficulties in identifying feelings (DIF), difficulties in describing feelings (DDF), and externally oriented thinking (EOT)] were associated with higher OHIP-14 composite scores according to Poisson regression analyses. In adjusted logistic regression analyses, the TAS-20 and two of its dimensions (DIF and DDF) were positively and significantly associated with the seven OHIP-14 dimensions and the prevalence of those reporting one or more OHIP-14 items fairly often or very often. The study showed that difficulties in emotional regulation might be reflected in poorer OHRQoL, regardless of the dental health status, depression, anxiety, and socio-demographic variables.

Hepatitis A, B, C and HIV infections among Finnish female prisoners--young females a risk group.

OBJECTIVES: Previous prison studies have shown that the female gender is associated with higher hepatitis C prevalence. However, there are few prison studies of gender differences concerning the risk factors of hepatitis C infections. We studied the prevalence of hepatitis and HIV infections and the risk factors among Finnish female prisoners. METHODS: The material consisted of 88 females and 300 male prisoners as controls. RESULTS: The prevalence of hepatitis C virus antibodies was 52%, hepatitis B surface antigen 0%, hepatitis A virus antibodies 38% and HIV antibodies 1% among women, and 44%, 0.7%, 4% and 0.7% respectively among men. Among women, 71% of the age group 16-24 had HCV. There was no significant association between gender and HCV. Women were more commonly sharing syringes/needles and had unsafe sexual habits. Among women, HCV was associated only with IDU and syringe/needle sharing whereas among men also with tattoos, cumulative years in prison and age. CONCLUSIONS: Especially young females had a high prevalence of HCV. The study showed that the risk factors are differentiated by gender. This should be taken into account when assessing earlier studies which mainly concentrate on men.

[Coordination in transplantation]. / Koordination vid transplantationer.

In Scandinavia transplantations are performed at special units at certain university hospitals, which coordinate donor and recipient operations. Today there is a 24-hour organ retrieval service in the Nordic countries. Transplantation centres exist at Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Kommunehospitalet, Arhus and Odense University Hospital in Denmark, at Helsinki University Hospital in Finland, at Rigshospitalet, Oslo in Norway, and at Huddinge University Hospital, Uppsala University Hospital, Sahlgrenska Hospital, Gothenburg, and Malmö General Hospital in Sweden.