Degree Of Physical Injury Research Articles

Association Between History of Psychiatric Disorder and Degree of Physical Injury Among Suicide Attempters: Secondary Data Analysis in a Japanese Rural Area.

While there may be differences in the choice of suicide methods between attempters with and those without a history of psychiatric disorders, it is not clear whether these differences predict the actual degree of physical injury. The present study aimed to investigate the association between the history of psychiatric disorder and the degree of physical injury among suicide attempters in a Japanese rural area. We conducted a cross-sectional study analyzing secondary data of 806 suicide attempters from April 2012 to March 2022 obtained from a Japanese rural city. The exposure variable was a history of psychiatric disorders. The primary outcome was the degree of physical injury of suicide attempters: moderate and severe. We conducted a multivariate Poisson regression analysis to estimate the prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Among 806 suicide attempters, a significant negative association between the history of psychiatric disorder and the degree of physical injury was observed (PR = 0.40; 95% CI, 0.28-0.59). Those with and without psychiatric disorders were more likely to choose low- and severe-lethality suicide methods such as drug or psychotropic overdoses and hanging or deep wrist injuries, respectively (P < .001). The present study highlights the importance of considering suicide attempters, both with and without psychiatric disorders, while formulating targeted suicide prevention strategies.

Chronic pain among the hospitalized patients after the 22 July 2011 terror attacks in Oslo and at Utøya Island.

On 22 July 2011, 48 people were hospitalized due to physical injuries from gun shots or explosion, following 2 terror attacks in the Oslo area, Norway. In this study, we have investigated the occurrence of chronic pain, the severity and consequences of chronic pain in these patients, 3 to 4 years after the incidents. Totally 43 eligible terror trauma patients were invited to participate in the study, 30 patients were included. They underwent a consultation with a psychologist and a physician; containing psychological assessment, neuropsychological screening, a standardized clinical interview, medical examination, and a pain protocol. In 18 (60%) the injury was severe, as defined by New Injury Severity Score > 15. Twenty-four patients (80%) reported injury-related chronic pain after the trauma, in 22 with consequences on daily life. Analgesics were used by 20 patients, including 5 in need of opioids. Ten patients had unmet needs of further specialist pain care. In 12 patients, the average pain score last week was above three on a 0-10 Numeric Rating Scale. In these patients, clinical signs of neuropathic pain were evident in 10, as tested by the Douleur Neuropathique score. There were significant correlations (P<0.05) between severity of chronic pain and presence of post-traumatic stress symptoms, reduced quality of life, reduced psychosocial and physical function; but no correlation with pre-injury patient characteristics or the degree of physical injury. Chronic pain was frequent and significant, irrespective of injury severity, in these patients who obtained their physical injuries under extreme psychological conditions.

Peace Science: A Multiple Attribute Approach

AbstractThe major dependent variable in peace science research has appropriately been death from inter-group conflict with war the major focus. However, a tenable hypothesis is that the same or similar motivations result in other risks to life. For example, the number of human deaths each year from preventable nonmilitary sources is approximately 20,000,000. Most major sources that assess the loss of life from military and related conflicts identify, over a long period of time, not more than 2,000,000/year. This dependent variable may also be extended to the non-military category. For example, evidence has emerged that approximately twenty-percent of the active duty female members of the US military are sexually assaulted by other members of the military during their period of service (Dick 2012). Thus, it seems reasonable to address a variety of phenomena that may be represented by a common set of attributes. These variables should include degree of physical injury, size of acting units, and public vs. private agents. Preventable non-military death is similar to the classification for death from war except that the agents are frequently private, such as corporations. This analysis is intended to contribute to a continuing discussion of the boundaries of the peace science domain. One function of the discussion is to foster the examination of a range of behaviors that may derive from a set of basic motives and goals. The discussion section concludes with reference to the problem of understanding a central factor in inter-group conflict – identification with the group.

Psychological distress and post-traumatic symptoms following occupational accidents.

Depression and post-traumatic stress disorder frequently occur as a consequence of occupational accidents. To date, research has been primarily focused on high-risk workers, such as police officers or firefighters, and has rarely considered individuals whose occupational environment involves the risk of severe, but not necessarily life-threatening, injury. Therefore, the present study was aimed at assessing the psychological consequences of accidents occurring in several occupational settings (e.g., construction and industry). Thirty-eight victims of occupational accidents (injured workers) and 38 gender-, age-, and years of education-matched workers who never experienced a work accident (control group) were recruited. All participants underwent a semi-structured interview administered by a trained psychologist, and then were requested to fill in the questionnaires. Injured workers reported more severe anxious, post-traumatic and depressive symptoms, and poorer coping skills, as compared to controls. In the injured group low levels of resilience predicted post-traumatic symptomatology, whereas the degree of physical injury and the length of time since the accident did not play a predictive role. The results suggest that occupational accidents may result in a disabling psychopathological condition, and that a brief psychological evaluation should be included in the assessment of seriously injured workers.

Effects of protease treatment and animal behavior on the dissociative culture of aplysia neurons

The dissociative culture technique of Aplysia neuron is one of the key methods that have been used for studies of cellular and molecular mechanisms of neuronal functioning. However, despite the advantages this method offers as an experimental model, its technical efficiency has had room for improvement. In this study, we examined certain putative factors that might affect the culture quality. The effects of neuronal damage induced by physical injuries, heat shock, and surface protein degradation were evaluated along with the correlation between the culture quality and animal behavior. As a result, we found that physical injury can be a critical factor that affects culture quality, whereas the heat shock and surface protein degradation had negligible effect on it. In addition, we discovered that siphon retraction time was not a good measurement for healthy neurons. Based on these findings, we suggest here an improved method in which the degree of physical injury is reduced by means of multiple protease treatment.

Alleged cases of sexual assault reported to two Addis Ababa hospitals.

To identify the demographic characteristics of victims, their relation to the alleged assailants, the degree of physical injury, the incidence of pregnancy, the pattern of reporting and the care given to these victims. Cross-sectional prospective study. Tikur Anbessa and St. Paul's hospitals, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. One hundred and seventy reported cases of alleged sexual assault. Demographic characteristics, relation to the offender, the rate of pregnancy, the degree of physical injury, time of reporting, and the care given at the hospitals. Victims were mainly children aged less than fifteen years and less educated. Seventy three (42.9%) cases indicated that the offenders were strangers 46.9 (27.1%) were labelled as neighbours. The physical injury identified ranged from minor trauma over the genitalia to perineal injury of major degree. Eleven women (6.5%) were pregnant at the time of reporting. There was significant delay in reporting to the health institution as well as to the police with a mean delay of 15.6 and 18.4 days respectively. The hospital care focussed on the healing of physical injury but not the healing of the psychological trauma. Sexual assault is an important health and social problem affecting the young and less educated girls. The importance of early reporting for evidence collection as well as for prevention of the consequences of this aggression is not appreciated by the victims as well as their relatives. There is need for more effort to prevent this crime as well as to improve the care given to the survivors.

Who develops PTSD from motor vehicle accidents?

Within 1 to 4 months of their motor vehicle accident (MVA), we assessed 158 MVA victims who sought medical attention as a result of the MVA. Using the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS: Blake, Weathers, Nagy, Kaloupek, Klauminzer, Charney & Keane, 1990. National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Boston, MA)., we found that 62 (39%) met DSM-III-R (American Psychiatric Association, 1987. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press) criteria for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Using variables from the victim's account of the accident and its sequelae, pre-MVA psychosocial functioning, demographic variables, pre-MVA psychopathology and degree of physical injury, we found that 70% of the subjects could be classified as PTSD or not with 4 variables: prior major depression, fear of dying in the MVA, extent of physical injury and whether litigation had been initiated. Using multiple regression to predict the continuous variable of total CAPS score, as a measure of post-traumatic stress symptoms, we found that 8 variables combined to predict 38.1% of variance (Multiple R = 0.617).

Violence in Marriage

Societal attitudes about marital violence have changed in the last twenty years. Battered wives have much more legal protection available than even a few years ago. There is now a substantial body of research on battered women and their marriages; less is known about violent men and the reasons for their violent behavior toward wives. Although studies of marital violence have inevitable methodological problems, survey data on the prevalence of violence in marriage suggest that as many wives hit husbands as husbands hit wives but that the degree of physical injury tends to be far greater for women than for men. Numerous studies have attempted to find a relation between various characteristics of the battered wife and the violence she experiences, but most of this work has not been replicated. Studies of men have similarily failed to find many consistent predictors of their violence. Marital rape and a lack of affection between spouses, once violence becomes established, characterize violent marriages. The ...

Participation in Boxing Among Children and Young Adults

The American Academy of Pediatrics opposes boxing in any sports program for children and young adults. Amateur boxing is potentially dangerous and yet youngsters are involved in boxing at ages 3 to 4 years. Approximately 15,000 boxers between ages 10 and 15 years are registered with the National Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Junior Olympics boxing program.1 There may be an even larger number of young boxers in community organizations. Impoverished youths view boxing as a means of financial gain with the potential of providing a new life. Unfortunately, for many, it is a means of improving their physical condition at the risk of slow progressive brain injury, with occasional or no financial rewards. Other sports offer the same conditioning opportunity with minimal or no risk of brain injury. In contrast to professional boxing, amateur boxing is apparently for prestige, recognition, and the enjoyment of winning. Proponents of boxing suggest that it teaches self-defense and discipline, that it builds character and confidence, and that it is relatively safe. Opponents of boxing stress that the principal goal is to render the opponent senseless. Ironically, protective headgear may actually increase brain injuries.2 The degree of physical injury in boxing correlates with the physical strength and activity of the participants; the greatest risks exist when participants are obviously mismatched. The fatality rate in boxing is reported to be low.3 However, the frequency of chronic brain damage is an increasing concern in the medical community.1,4-8 Recent studies4-6 using computed tomography (CT) scanning have revealed brain injury in young boxers.