Educational mismatch and health status among foreign-born workers in Sweden.

Foreign-born workers have been shown to experience poorer working conditions than native-born workers. Yet relationships between health and educational mismatch have been largely overlooked among foreign-born workers. This study uses objective and self-reported measures of educational mismatch to compare the prevalence of educational mismatch among native (n = 2359) and foreign-born (n = 1789) workers in Sweden and to examine associations between educational mismatch and poor self-rated health. Findings from weighted multivariate logistic regression which controlled for social position and individual-level demographic characteristics suggested that over-educated foreign-born workers had greater odds ratios for poor-self rated health compared to native-born matched workers. This association was particularly evident among men (OR = 2.14, 95% CI: 1.04-4.39) and women (OR = 2.13, 95% CI: 1.12-4.03) from countries outside of Western Europe, North America, and Australia/New Zealand. Associations between under-education and poor-self rated health were also found among women from countries outside of Western Europe, North America, and Australia/New Zealand (OR = 2.02, 95% CI: 1.27-3.18). These findings suggest that educational mismatch may be an important work-related social determinant of health among foreign-born workers. Future studies are needed to examine the effects of long-term versus short-term states of educational mismatch on health and to study relationships over time.

Adrenal and plasma corticosterone of hepatectomized rats: responses during hepatic restoration.

Adrenal and plasma corticosterone concentrations of partially (70%) hepatectomized male rats were examined during the course of liver restoration. Following hepatectomy, 33% of the liver mass observed in the sham operated group was present on day ), with approximately 50, 70, 75 and 82% present on days 2, 3, 4 and 7, respectively. Total restoration was noted by day 14. Plasma proteins abruptly decreased after hepatectomy and then gradually increased as liver mass was restored. The weights of both adrenal glands of hepatectomized animals were increased markedly on days 1 to 3, while adrenal corticosterone concentrations and production were elevated on day 2. Plasma corticosterone levels increased significantly following hepatectomy and remained elevated for 4 days, whereas only on the first day after surgery were the adrenal and plasma corticosterone levels elevated in the sham operated group. These data suggest that, despite the loss of liver mass and hence the apparent loss of delta 4-steroid hydrogenase activity, the adrenal glands do not decrease but actually increase their secretion during the first few days after hepatectomy.

Plasma cortisol of conscious cats during cerebroventricular perfusion with adrenergic, cholinergic and gabanergic antagonists.

Adrenergic (alpha and beta), cholinergic (m and n) and gabanergic (gamma) influences on the regulation of basal hypothalamo-hypophyseal-adrenocortical (HHA) activity, as assessed by plasma cortisol levels, were investigated in non-stressed conscious cats. Alterations in neurotransmitter activities were induced by perfusing the cerebroventricles for 60 min with mock cerebrospinal fluid containing alpha, beta, m, n and gamma antagonists given along or in various combinations. Neither gamma, m nor n blockers altered basal HHA activity, whereas both alpha and beta blockers given alone or together, or combined with m, n and gamma blockers markedly elevated plasma cortisol. These responses were inhibited by the addition of dexamethasone to the perfusion fluid. These data suggest that basal HHA activity in the cat is maintained by a central inhibitory action of the adrenergic system on spontaneously discharging corticotropin-releasing factor neurons, and not via an adrenergic-cholinergic-gabanergic neural chain.

Effects of cerebroventricular perfusion with monovalent and divalent cations on plasma cortisol of conscious cats.

The effects of altering the concentrations of various cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cations on hypothalamo-hypophyseal-adrenocortical (HHA) activity were investigated in conscious cats. The cerebroventricles were perfused with CSF containing high or low [Na+], [K+], [Li+], [Ca2+] and [Mg2+] for 60 min and plasma samples taken periodically for analysis of cortisol. The results demonstrate that changing CSF [Na+] or [Li+] does not substantially alter plasma cortisol levels. Although individually elevating CSF [K+], [Ca2+] or [Mg2+] does not affect plasma cortisol levels, reducing these CSF cations activates the HHA system and the latter in turn is inhibited by the addition of dexamethasone (DEX) to low cation CSF. The excitatory action of reduced [Ca2+] is also inhibited by the addition of norepinephrine to the perfusion fluid, suggesting that lowering this cation affects the HHA system by preventing the release of the adrenergic neurotransmitter. Furthermore, these data suggest that in conscious unrestrained cats basal HHA activity is dependent to some extent upon normal brain extracellular [K+], [Ca2+] and [Mg2+].

Adrenocortical responses of rats to acute hypoxic and hypercapnic stresses after treatment with aminergic agents.

Monoaminergic influences on the regulation of the hypothalamo-hypophyseal-adrenocortical (HHA) system during acute stresses (hypoxia and hypercapnia) were investigated in male rats. Plasma corticosterone levels were used to assess HHA activity, and the alterations in monoaminergic activity were induced by pretreating the animals with various pharmacologic agents (reserpine, alpha MT, FLA-63, pCPA, L-Dopa, pargyline, Lilly 110140, phentolamine and propranolol). Dexamethasone-treated rats were utilized to assess the site at which these monoaminergic substances acted. The latter experiments showed that these agents did not have a marked effect directly on the adrenal cortex and thus the site(s) of action was at the level of the anterior pituitary and/or above. Altering the serotoninergic system did not appreciably influence the HHA response to hypoxia and hypercapnia, whereas increasing the activity of the adrenergic system partially prevented the rise usually observed in plasma corticosterone levels during these stresses. These data suggest that different aminergic pathways may be utilized for different stresses.

Effects of altering monoamine metabolism on the adrenocortical response to hypoxia.

Anesthetized dogs, which had been prepared with lumboadrenal vein cannulae, were intravenously infused with monoamine axidase (alphaETA), tryptophan hydroxylase (pCPA) or tyrosine hydroxylase (alphaMT) inhibitors 30 min prior to exposure to 10% oxygen at ground level. These studies were designed to ascertain the role of the neurotransmitters, serotonin and norepinephrine, in the adrenocortical response to hypoxia. In normoxic animals, alphaETA decreased basal cortisol secretion and increased systolic pressure, whereas pCPA and alphaMT were essentially without afffect on these parameters. All inhibitors prevented the rise in cortisol secretion usually observed in hypoxic dogs. Alpha ETA appeared to inhibit the adrenocortical response to hypoxia as a result of its potent pressore activity, while pCPA and alphaMT inhibited cortisol secretion by interfering with the synthesis of serotonin and norepinephrine, respictively. These data suggest that substances which alter the content and/or turnover of brain monoamines abolish the hypoxic rise in cortisol secretion and thus would lower the resistance of the animal to this stressor.