Women & ageing.

Demographic changes have forced gerontologists to focus attention on the gender based character of population ageing. Ageing is likely to become a 'gender issue' with a large number of women surviving into very old age in almost all the countries of the world. Elderly women, especially in Third World countries like India, face several jeopardizes. They are likely to be illiterate or poorly educated, unlikely to be employed, most likely to be widowed and dependent on others, and they suffer from malnutrition and disabilitating symptoms as well as report higher psychological distress. The vulnerability of the ageing women, special types of problems they are likely to encounter over the life span, and factors that marginalise them need to be better understood. There is no clear awareness as yet, of the potential contribution of ageing women to the development process as ageing women are stereotypically perceived as burdens on the national economy. Strategies addressed to ensure health and well-being of older women need to be developed.

Patterns of cerebral preference in different occupational groups.

Functional differences between the two cerebral hemispheres were assessed by the Wagner Preference Inventory (WAPI-II). Hemispheric preference pattern of 12 occupational categories were determined by testing a large sample of 1140 adult subjects on WAPI-II. Identifiable cerebral preference patterns emerged for seven occupational groups. Categorization in terms of four different functions of the two hemispheres yielded more refined information. WAPI-II appears to be a quick and valid neurobehavioralmeasures of cerebral dominance, useful to neuropsychologists.

Psychiatric morbidity and the menopause.

A sample consisting of Menopausal, pre menopausal and post menopausal women in the age range of 36 to 50 years was studied using a two stage screening procedure for identifying and assessing psychiatric morbidity. The screening device, General Health questionnaire (GHQ) identified 21 of the 105 women studied as 'possible cases'. On further interviews using standard psychiatric interview (SPI) a higher proportion of menopausal women were found to be psychiatrically ill. The predominant symptom in the Menopausal group was depression. Both menopausal women and women who had undergone hysterectomy (surgical menopause) received higher mean ratings on SPI. The inter-rater reliability of SPI was found to be high and was comparable to those reported by original authors.