Family study of the aggregation of eating disorders and mood disorders.

BACKGROUND: Family studies have suggested that eating disorders and mood disorders may coaggregate in families. To study further this question, data from a family interview study of probands with and without major depressive disorder was examined. METHOD: A bivariate proband predictive logistic regression model was applied to data from a family interview study, conducted in Innsbruck, Austria, of probands with (N = 64) and without (N = 58) major depressive disorder, together with 330 of their first-degree relatives. RESULTS: The estimated odds ratio (OR) for the familial aggregation of eating disorders (anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder) was 7.0 (95 % CI 1.4, 28; P = 0.006); the OR for the familial aggregation of mood disorders (major depression and bipolar disorder) was 2.2 (0.92, 5.4; P = 0.076); and for the familial coaggregation of eating disorders with mood disorders the OR was 2.2 (1.1, 4.6; P = 0.035). CONCLUSIONS: The familial coaggregation of eating disorders with mood disorders was significant and of the same magnitude as the aggregation of mood disorders alone--suggesting that eating disorders and mood disorders have common familial causal factors.

Slowing of human arm movements during weightlessness: the role of vision.

The human motor system responds to weightlessness by the slowing of movement. It has been suggested that deficits in visuo-motor co-ordination cause this effect. We studied the mechanisms of the slowing of movement in three long-term missions to the Russian space station Mir. In particular, the role of vision in the control of movement in microgravity has been studied in these experiments on seven cosmonauts, pre-, in-, and post-flight. The cosmonauts made arm movements to visual targets under the following conditions of visual control: no visual control, interrupted visual control, and undisturbed visual control. The results showed that the slowing of movement during weightlessness was manifested by decreases of peak velocity and peak acceleration, was not associated with a prolongation of the movement phase of deceleration, and was not affected by manipulation of the conditions of visual control. The slowing of movement tended to subside after the months of the flight and completely disappeared within days after the landing. Accuracy of the movements strictly depended on the constraints imposed on the vision and remained unaffected in-flight. The data presented demonstrate that the slowing of movement in microgravity is not directly related to deficits in sensori-motor co-ordination and is not associated with a reduction of the accuracy of movement. The strategy for motor control in microgravity seems to be directed towards the generation of smooth movements and the maintenance of their accuracy.

The weeping behavior in anorexic and bulimic females.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to examine the proneness, the functions and triggering situations of weeping in anorexic and bulimic women. METHODS: Participants were 36 anorexic and 31 bulimic female patients and 56 age-matched female controls. All women completed the Questionnaire on Adult Crying. We limited our study to results on 'crying proneness', 'functions of crying' and 'determining factors of crying'. RESULTS: Bulimic patients reported to have cried significantly more often in the last 4 weeks, to be more likely to cry in situations of distress and to have used weeping significantly more often as a manipulative behavior than control women. Anorexic patients rated their tendency to cry significantly lower and experienced weeping as significantly more negative than controls. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to control women, anorexic patients associated weeping with negative feelings as opposed to bulimic patients who appeared to use weeping on an intentional basis. These deviations from control women seem to mirror the introvert character of anorexic patients and the extrovert impulsive personality of patients with bulimia nervosa, respectively.

Knowledge of calories and its effect on eating behavior in overweight, normal weight, and underweight individuals.

BACKGROUND: To assess changes in the eating behavior of overweight, normal weight, and underweight individuals in response to knowledge about the caloric content of their food. METHODS: Anonymous self-report questionnaires were completed by 1041 staff members attending the Innsbruck University Hospital cafeteria shortly after it started to display the caloric content of all meals. The questions covered the subjects' weight history, body image, eating behavior, and response to knowledge of caloric content. RESULTS: Among the respondents, 141 were classified as overweight, 728 as normal weight, and 118 as underweight. Overweight individuals reported a significantly more frequent change in eating behavior in response to the information, and were also significantly more distressed about weight and eating and dissatisfied with their bodies and their weight than normal and underweight individuals. CONCLUSIONS: Overweight individuals were more likely to report that they had modified their eating in response to information about calories. Whether this reflects an actual change in eating behavior, or merely a wish to give socially desirable responses, remains uncertain.

[Railroad suicides and attempted suicides in Austria 1990-1994. Extending the hypothesis mass media transmission of suicidal behavior]. / Eisenbahnsuizide und-suizidversuche in Osterreich von 1990-1994. Erweiterung der Hypothese medialer Vermittlung suizidalen Verhaltens.

Suicide on railways (either by being run over by or jumping in front of a train) is one of the "hardest' suicide methods. In Austria, 617 suicides or attempted suicides on railways were registered between 1990 and 1994. This amounts to 5.73% of all suicides committed in this period with women showing a higher percentage than men. In both men and women there was a predominance of younger age groups; the mean age was higher in women than in men (48.0 vs 40.4 years). There was a significant increase in suicides or attempted suicides on railways after a television report on the stress suffered by train drivers concerning possible suicides. Persuading the mass media to treat the subject of "suicide' with reserve and with greater caution, even when not presenting a distinct suicide model, may be of importance in general suicide prevention.

[Movement disorders in weightlessness]. / Bewegungsstörungen in der Schwerelosigkeit.

The system MONIMIR has been developed to study the coordination of eye, head and arm movements as well as spinal reflexes in microgravity and was used during three spaceflights on board of the station MIR. The following investigations in the course of the experiment MONIMIR were performed: (1) slow head movements in three planes, (2.3) fast pointing movements of eyes, head and arm to acoustic and visual targets, (4) tracking movements of eyes, head and arm to visual targets, (5) head and arm movements based on short term memory and (6) patellar-tendon-reflex. In microgravity different functions and effectors showed different nature and degree of disturbance and different courses in adaptation; in most of the tests exactness and velocity of head and arm movement was decreased; head movements were more disturbed than arm movements; fast pointing movements were more severely affected than slow tracking movements which partly improved; visual controlled movements showed better adaptation as only proprioceptive controlled movements; the patellar-tendon-reflex was highly increased. Disturbances were most pronounced in the early stage of the spaceflights; at later stages most of the performances improved. Methods and results can be used not only for improvement of election and health control of cosmonauts/astronauts for future longterm space missions but also for diagnostics and research of adaptational processes in course of diseases or extreme conditions on earth.