Occupational Capacity Research Articles

Activating Inert Sites in Cobalt Silicate Hydroxides for Oxygen Evolution through Atomically Doping

Metal silicate hydroxides have been recognized as efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts, yet tailoring of their intrinsic activity remains confused. Herein, Fe had been incorporated into cobalt silicate hydroxide nanosheets and the resulted material achieves a competitive OER catalytic activity. It is found that the doping state obviously affects the electrical transport property. Specifically, highly dispersed Fe atoms (low‐concentration Fe doping) trigger slight electron transfer to Co atoms while serried Fe (high‐concentration Fe doping) attract vast electrons. By introducing 6 at.% Fe doping, partial relatively inert Co sites are activated by atomically dispersed Fe, bearing an optimal metal 3d electronic occupation and adsorption capacity to oxygen intermediate. The introduced Co−O−Fe unit trigger the π‐donation effect and decrease the number of electrons in π*‐antibonding orbitals, which enhance the Fe−O covalency and the structural stability. As a result, the sample delivers a low overpotential of 293 mV to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm−2. This work clarifies the superiority of atomically dispersed doping state, which is of fundamental interest to the design of doped catalyst.

Structural assessment of an existing steel frame building for adding new story by linear static analysis

The primary objective of this work is to assess the condition of an existed structural steel frame building that is already occupied by users, and to investigate the load bearing capacity of the major structural members (beams, columns) of the steel frames, so that to find out the possibility of added additional new story that can help to increase the capacity of the building. It was decided by the authorities and the building officials to add another story to accommodate an expansion to increase the occupancy capacity of the building. Structural analysis of the building frames due to original loads would be implemented and then additional story would be added, on the other hand a structural analysis would be performed due to additional story (additional loads). Linear static analysis in both cases was done and responses was evaluated by Demand to Capacity Ratios (DCR), And by a comparison the DCR for columns in both cases, it was found that the bearing capacity of columns allow to add new story safely. Furthermore, redesign of the new building would be carried out using commercial software sap2000. The building façade, such as veneers and curtain walls are not considered as structural elements therefore, not covered in this work. (The connections of joints and foundation analysis would be covered in farther considerations using another finite element program).

Analisis Perilaku ASN Sipir Dalam Melakukan Pembinaan Di Lembaga Pemasyarakatan Kelas II A Pekanbaru

Correctional officers as one of the State Warden Apparatus (ASN) in carrying out their duties are expected to be expected to be professional and in accordance with the provisions of the applicable law. The formulation of the research problem is the behavior of the warden in coaching prisoners, and what are the obstacles in implementing coaching at the Class IIA Pekanbaru Penitentiary?. This type of research is a qualitative research that aims to build a preposition and explain the meaning behind the social reality that occurs. Observation, In-depth Interview and Documentation are the techniques used to collect data. Data were analyzed by data reduction. Data presentation and conclusion. The informants in this study were the Ministry of Law and Human Rights of Riau Province. the Correctional Institution and several inmates. The results of this study are differences in behavior in Correctional Institutions in carrying out basic and different tasks required, different willingness and ability and education possessed. But in general, the warden in carrying out the guidance is in accordance with the goals of the institution, although there are still some shortcomings. There are several advantages in the implementation of coaching, namely excess occupancy capacity, the coaching program cannot run effectively, and the lack of attention from the policy makers in handling the coaching carried out for the inmates.

LINC02678 as a Novel Prognostic Marker Promotes Aggressive Non-small-cell Lung Cancer.

Non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) is considered to be a fatal disease and characterized by a poor prognosis. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been reported to act as biomarkers and therapeutic targets in solid tumors. However, the expression of lncRNAs and their clinical relevance in NSCLC remain undetermined. The gene expression data profiled in The Cancer Genome Atlas and Gene Expression Omnibus (GSE81089) were employed to screen differentially expressed lncRNAs in NSCLC. LINC02678 was found to be upregulated in NSCLC and exhibited hypomethylation of the promoter region in NSCLC tissues. LINC02678 (also called RP11-336A10.5) was associated with poorer overall survival and relapse-free survival in NSCLC patients. In vitro models of gain- and loss-of-function demonstrated that LINC02678 promotes NSCLC progression by promoting NSCLC cell proliferation and cell cycle progression, as well as inducing NSCLC cell migration, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition. LINC02678 was primarily located in the nucleus and could bind with the enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2). Moreover, we found that LINC02678 knockdown impaired the occupancy capacity of EZH2 and trimethylation of lysine 27 on histone 3 (H3K27me3) at the promoter region of cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor 1B (CDKN1B) and E-cadherin, as confirmed by ChIP-qPCR. A mouse transplantation model further demonstrated that LINC02678 could promote the tumorigenic and metastatic capacities of NSCLC cells. We identified LINC02678 as a tumor promoter in NSCLC, which enhanced the growth and metastasis of NSCLC cells by binding with EZH2, indicating that LINC02678 may serve as a potential biomarker for cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Substantiation of criteria of professional suitability in patients with polyneuropathies of the upper limbs from functional overvoltage

Occupational polyneuropathy of the upper extremities from the effects of physical overload in the Russian Federation is a common occupational disease that leads to a long-term decrease in the occupational capacity of patients. But at the same time, the current regulatory documents do not contain any detailed recommendations for the examination of professional suitability in patients with this disease. The aim of the study is to substantiate the ways of improving expert approaches to determining the professional suitability of patients with occupational polyneuropathy caused by physical overload. The adequacy of two alternative approaches to assessing the professional suitability of patients with occupational polyneuropathy was assessed, the first of which allowed the patients to continue working under the influence of physical overload, and the second indicated the need to employ these patients at work without the influence of physical overload. The adequacy of labor recommendations was assessed by the dynamics of the health status of workers in different employment options. According to the dynamic observation of a group of 412 patients with occupational polyneuropathy, it was found that when they continued to work under conditions of physical overload, an unfavorable course of occupational pathology in the form of progression of polyneuropathy was regularly noted (36,1%), less often the development of new occupational diseases of the musculoskeletal system from physical overload. Among patients employed at work without physical overload, cases of progression of occupational pathology were not observed. Among patients with occupational polyneuropathy, in the majority (61.9%) this disease was combined with occupational pathology of the musculoskeletal system, occupational radiculopathies of the cervical and lumbosacral levels. Periodic exacerbations of these diseases can also lead to the need to establish contraindications for admission to physically demanding work. During dynamic observation of patients with occupational polyneuropathy in 39.5% of patients, due to the unfavorable course of cardiovascular diseases, there were grounds for determining contraindications to work under the influence of all harmful industrial factors. As a justification for contraindications to continue working under conditions of physical overload and other harmful production factors (general and local vibration, general hypothermia), the probability of progression of an occupational disease should be considered. When choosing the types of work, one should consider the presence of concomitant occupational and general diseases.

LINC10536 Attenuates Lung Adenocarcinoma Proliferation and Metastasis

Background: LUAD is a devastating disease with poor patient prognosis. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been implicated to play a critical role in LUAD progression. Methods: Differentially expressed and methylated tumor suppressor lncRNAs were found using TCGA, GSE81089) and E-MTAB-6957 datasets. The potential biological functions of LINC10536 were examined by loss- and gain-of-function models. Potential downstream pathway was validated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) arrays were employed to validate the binding between LINC10536 and enhancer of zeste homologue 2 (EZH2). Chromatin immunoprecipitation (CHIP) assays were used to demonstrate CDKN1B and E-cadherin as direct targets of EZH2. Results: The landscape of methylation-mediated tumor suppressor lncRNAs for LUAD were identified in this study. Overexpression of LINC10536 suppressed cell proliferation, cell cycle, invasion, migration and EMT of LUAD cells, whereas knockdown of LINC10536 promoted proliferative and metastatic potential of lung cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. As a nuclear lncRNA LINC10536 knockdown enhanced the occupancy capacity of EZH2 and H3K27me3 at the promoter region of CDKN1B and E-cadherin utilizing CHIP-qPCR. EZH2 knockdown partially reverses the malignant phenotype mediated by shLINC10536 in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, DNA methyltransferase inhibitor 5-azacytosine significantly facilitated LINC10536 expression and its biological functions. Interpretation: Our finding suggests LINC10536 might be a promising target for cancer diagnosis and therapy in clinical practice. Fundings: This project is partially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81772474, 82072563 to LC and 81803023 to YX). Declaration of Interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

OS MIGRANTES E REFUGIADOS, OS IMPACTOS DA COVID-19: RESPOSTA, POR MEIO DE PLANOS E DADOS

This paper aimed to analyze, in general, the situation of migrants and refugees in the face of the adversities generated by the pandemic of COVID-19. During this period, the vulnerability of these groups of people was noted, either by the exclusionary behaviors of the society in which they are inserted, or by the measures taken by the governments to contain the impacts of the disease, as well as mitigation of its effects. To this end, data were presented, referring to the main impacts generated by the health crisis, as well as recommendations for National States to develop adequate response plans. It was found that the situation in the refugee camps is also worrying. The confinement of several people, in the same place, whose number often exceeds the occupation capacity, added to the precarious conditions of health, hygiene and basic sanitation, facilitates the spread of the virus, becoming easy targets of the disease. That is why it was concluded that, as the situation of vulnerability worsens, due to the evolution of the pandemic, so much more effective must be the responses to be given by national governments to guarantee human rights to this group of people. The research took, as a reference, official documents prepared by international organizations (global and regional level) for the protection of human rights. And the exploratory-descriptive method was used, with a qualitative approach, as official documents were analyzed, prepared by international organizations (at global and regional level) for the protection of human rights.

Surge effects and survival to hospital discharge in critical care patients with COVID-19 during the early pandemic: a cohort study

BackgroundThe early months of the COVID-19 pandemic were fraught with much uncertainty and some resource constraint. We assessed the change in survival to hospital discharge over time for intensive care unit patients with COVID-19 during the first 3 months of the pandemic and the presence of any surge effects on patient outcomes.MethodsRetrospective cohort study using electronic medical record data for all patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 admitted to intensive care units from February 25, 2020, to May 15, 2020, at one of 26 hospitals within an integrated delivery system in the Western USA. Patient demographics, comorbidities, and severity of illness were measured along with medical therapies and hospital outcomes over time. Multivariable logistic regression models were constructed to assess temporal changes in survival to hospital discharge during the study period.ResultsOf 620 patients with COVID-19 admitted to the ICU [mean age 63.5 years (SD 15.7) and 69% male], 403 (65%) survived to hospital discharge and 217 (35%) died in the hospital. Survival to hospital discharge increased over time, from 60.0% in the first 2 weeks of the study period to 67.6% in the last 2 weeks. In a multivariable logistic regression analysis, the risk-adjusted odds of survival to hospital discharge increased over time (biweekly change, adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.22, 95% CI 1.04–1.40, P = 0.02). Additionally, an a priori-defined explanatory model showed that after adjusting for both hospital occupancy and percent hospital capacity by COVID-19-positive individuals and persons under investigation (PUI), the temporal trend in risk-adjusted patient survival to hospital discharge remained the same (biweekly change, aOR 1.18, 95% CI 1.00–1.38, P = 0.04). The presence of greater rates of COVID-19 positive/PUI as a percentage of hospital capacity was, however, significantly and inversely associated with survival to hospital discharge (aOR 0.95, 95% CI 0.92–0.98, P < 0.01).ConclusionsDuring the early COVID-19 pandemic, risk-adjusted survival to hospital discharge increased over time for critical care patients. An association was also seen between a greater COVID-19-positive/PUI percentage of hospital capacity and a lower survival rate to hospital discharge.

Analysis of the prevalence of metabolic syndrome risk factors and the option of their correction among workers in underground mining

Aim of the study. To analyze the nutrition and health status of employees of hazardous industries on the example of a mining enterprise and to assess the possibility of modifying risk factors. Materials and methods. The observation group consisted of 177 employees examined in the Center for Occupational Medicine and Occupational Pathology in 2014. The observed employees were to expose to inherent occupational factors in underground work (100%). The average age amounted to 39.7±8.5 years. The average experience was 13.2±6.6 years. The comparison group included 145 employees examined for second time in 2018. While studying, we applied the analysis of working conditions and medical documentation for the period from 2014 to 2018, questionnaires, standardized survey, clinical examination, statistical and mathematical processing results. Results. According to all diagnostic criteria, 34.6% (61) of employees manifested metabolic syndrome (MS) in 2014. Results of clinical and laboratory tests showed other 20.9% (37) of employees matched partial criteria. At that, dyslipidemia and central obesity were observed most frequently (BMI=42.8±5.3 kg/m2, waist measurement =108.8±18.4 cm). In 2018, MS was found in 20% (29) of employees (χ2=8.27, significance level 0.005, 95%CI=1.2-2.5; V=0.2). The percentage of employees suffered from central obesity combined with metabolic disorders, decreased from 20.9% (37) to 11.7% (17) (χ2=4.81, significance level of 0.03, 95% CI=1.0-3.0; V=0.12). At the end of the study, employees had an average BMI=30.3±3.7 kg/m2 (t=1.93, p=0.05), and an average waist measurement =96.1±3.7 cm (t=1.93, p=0.05). Conclusion. Working conditions in underground mining employees contribute to the development of metabolic syndrome. Correction of eating behavior and an increase in physical activity might reduce the risk of forming a metabolic syndrome and preserve employees’ occupational working capacity involving in underground mining only in a long perspective.

Social Learning in Integrated Land and Water Resource Management through Indigenous “Zabo System”: A Study from India Tribal State

Social learning has been cited as essential process for sustainable ecosystem management and enhancement of desirable behavioral change. The present study has focused on an integrated land water resource management through locally developed “zabo system” by the collective action of community. Focus discussion, PRA tools and personal interview methods were used to gather the data. The result reflected that farmers were co-acting together which highly enhanced their occupational capacity (53.3%), adaptive capacity (50%) and knowledge level (69.5%). This system provides 133% more yield of paddy than average yield of the Nagaland state under Jhum cultivation. The study showed that social learning could be an effective tool for bringing sustainability when ecosystem management is at stake.

An equitable method for evaluating habitat amount and potential occupancy

Landscape connectivity measures based on metapopulation theory were developed over 20 years ago. Initially, they applied classic metapopulation models to simple patch-based representations of landscapes using vector spatial data structures. Realism was improved by developing dynamic estimates of occupancy and metapopulation capacity, the latter providing a measure of the integrated habitat amount. Such measures are used to estimate the ability of habitat networks to support metapopulation persistence. The original methods for occupancy mapping and metapopulation capacity were adapted to work with fine-grained, continuous-value raster data. That step shifted the method outside of the classic metapopulation model which left some methodological issues unresolved; in particular, what has been termed the deceptive paradox of patch-based connectivity whereby perverse and what we describe as inequitable results are obtained through arbitrary circumscription of the analysis grid and through the trading of habitat between habitat quality, extent and connectivity. We provide a solution to this issue and apply it within the frame of Drielsma and Ferrier's (2009) raster-based Rapid Evaluation of Metapopulation Persistence (REMP).We demonstrate our solution using simple hypothetical examples; and in order to demonstrate the practicality of our approach to real-world settings, we apply the approach to habitat suitability mapping of the White-browed Treecreeper (Climacteris affinis) in south eastern New South Wales, Australia.

Paediatric major incident simulation and the number of discharges achieved using a major incident rapid discharge protocol in a major trauma centre: a retrospective study

ObjectivesHospitals have the responsibility of creating, testing and maintaining major incident (MI) plans. Plans emphasise readiness for acceptance of casualties, though often they neglect discharge planning and care for existing...

Do stays abroad increase intercultural and general competences, affecting employability?

With a globalized and growing world market, companies and educational institutions are getting more and more ambitious to re-orient their work patterns to the international level. Universities reacted to the demands of the globalized economy for flexibility and adaptability by the internationalization of their study programs. Research question: Do stays abroad and therefore intercultural experiences of students actually promote occupational competences and personal development? Design: In order to investigate this relationship, an online survey was employed, and a sample of N = 367 students, who had spent at least one semester abroad before, was recruited. The questions were aimed at measuring characteristics of the participants’ stays abroad, as well as occupational engagement, resilience, intercultural competence personality characteristics related to job performance. Results: The findings suggest that experience abroad can partly enhance employability by serving as an additional job qualification. The results reveal that people who have experienced a stay abroad show higher work and study commitment and are more ambitious regarding their work. Furthermore, people with experience abroad show higher levels of resilience. They are more active concerning problem solving and have higher abilities to maintain emotional distance to work. Additionally, people show the more cultural intelligence the longer they stay abroad. Regarding the manifestation of cultural intelligence, the contact quality with the host country nationals played a significant role. It was evinced that higher contact quality is associated with higher values of cultural intelligence. Regarding occupational performance capacity, the results highlight that participants with a stay abroad are more dominant in an occupational context, i.e., they are more oriented towards superiority above others. Value: The present study contributes to the understanding of relevant personal skills and characteristics in intercultural contexts and of how personality might affect the process of becoming more competent. By demonstrating that stays abroad can increase certain work-related competences for students this study indicates that companies and educational institutions should spend more recourses on fostering experiences abroad of students and workers, in order to stay in tune with the requirements of globalization.

La ocupación en la Gerontología: una perspectiva crítica del Modelo de Ocupación Humana

Desde la Terapia Ocupacional en el campo de la Gerontología, se propone una reflexión crítica sobre el uso del Modelo de Ocupación Humana en el abordaje de la ocupación en el envejecimiento, reconociendo la emergencia de la perspectiva crítica, los aportes del paradigma del curso de vida en la comprensión holística y contextual de la vejez, y la concepción de envejecimiento saludable. Se revisan los postulados principales del modelo en cuanto a la adaptación ocupacional, la volición, la habituación, la capacidad de desempeño y los entornos en la vejez. Se analiza la participación social en actividades significativas de la persona mayor en la construcción de la vida ocupacional y el rol de la narrativa en la adaptación ocupacional en el envejecimiento. Esta reflexión tiene implicaciones en la fundamentación de la intervención ocupacional en el envejecimiento, tanto desde la perspectiva terapéutica como en la promoción de la salud y la calidad de vida de las personas mayores. En definitiva, el análisis favorece el uso del Modelo de Ocupación Humana en la práctica profesional gerontológica.

Individual Responses to Heat Stress: Implications for Hyperthermia and Physical Work Capacity.

BackgroundExtreme heat events are increasing in frequency, severity, and duration. It is well known that heat stress can have a negative impact on occupational health and productivity, particularly during physical work. However, there are no up-to-date reviews on how vulnerability to heat changes as a function of individual characteristics in relation to the risk of hyperthermia and work capacity loss. The objective of this narrative review is to examine the role of individual characteristics on the human heat stress response, specifically in relation to hyperthermia risk and productivity loss in hot workplaces. Finally, we aim to generate practical guidance for industrial hygienists considering our findings. Factors included in the analysis were body mass, body surface area to mass ratio, body fat, aerobic fitness and training, heat adaptation, aging, sex, and chronic health conditions.FindingsWe found the relevance of any factor to be dynamic, based on the work-type (fixed pace or relative to fitness level), work intensity (low, moderate, or heavy work), climate type (humidity, clothing vapor resistance), and variable of interest (risk of hyperthermia or likelihood of productivity loss). Heat adaptation, high aerobic fitness, and having a large body mass are the most protective factors during heat exposure. Primary detrimental factors include low fitness, low body mass, and lack of heat adaptation. Aging beyond 50 years, being female, and diabetes are less impactful negative factors, since their independent effect is quite small in well matched participants. Skin surface area to mass ratio, body composition, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease are not strong independent predictors of the heat stress response.ConclusionUnderstanding how individual factors impact responses to heat stress is necessary for the prediction of heat wave impacts on occupational health and work capacity. The recommendations provided in this report could be utilized to help curtail hyperthermia risk and productivity losses induced by heat.

New AWMF guidelines for medicolegal assessment of mental and psychosomatic disorders

The guidelines, which were first published in 2012, were fundamentally revised by apanel of experts from 9 medical and psychological societies and published on the website of the Association of the Scientific Medical Societies in Germany in December 2019 (AWMF registration number 051-029). The guidelines contribute to interdisciplinary quality assurance when assessing applicants for insurance or other compensation benefits who claim psychological or psychosomatic illnesses with resulting functional disorders. The guidelines are divided into 3separate parts: partI describes specific aspects of the expert examination, partII describes the criteria for assessing occupational performance capacity in terms of different legal fields and partIII deals with questions of causality in cases of claimed posttraumatic mental disorders.

Anticipating land-use impacts of self-driving vehicles in the Austin, Texas, region

This paper used an implementation of the land-use model SILO in Austin, Texas, over a 27-year period with an aim to understand the impacts of the full adoption of self-driving vehicles on the region’s residential land use. SILO was integrated with MATSim for the Austin region. Land-use and travel results were generated for a business-as-usual case (BAU) of 0% self-driving or “autonomous” vehicles (AVs) over the model timeframe versus a scenario in which households’ value of travel time savings (VTTS) was reduced by 50% to reflect the travel-burden reductions of no longer having to drive. A third scenario was also compared and examined against BAU to understand the impacts of rising vehicle occupancy (VO) and/or higher roadway capacities due to dynamic ride-sharing (DRS) options in shared AV (SAV) fleets. Results suggested an 8.1% increase in average work-trip times when VTTS fell by 50% and VO remained unaffected (the 100% AV scenario) and a 33.3% increase in the number of households with “extreme work-trips” (over 1 hour, each way) in the final model year (versus BAU of 0% AVs). When VO was raised to 2.0 and VTTS fell instead by 25% (the “Hi-DRS” SAV scenario), average work-trip times increased by 3.5% and the number of households with “extreme work-trips” increased by 16.4% in the final model year (versus BAU of 0% AVs). The model also predicted 5.3% fewer households and 19.1% more available, developable land in the city of Austin in the 100% AV scenario in the final model year relative to the BAU scenario’s final year, with 5.6% more households and 10.2% less developable land outside the city. In addition, the model results predicted 5.6% fewer households and 62.9% more available developable land in the city of Austin in the Hi-DRS SAV scenario in the final model year relative to the BAU scenario’s final year, with 6.2% more households and 9.9% less developable land outside the city.

Deriving sequences of operation for air handling units through building performance optimization

Operational parameters of air handling units (AHUs) play an important role in the energy and comfort performance of commercial buildings. Current guidelines to determine these parameters are based on heuristics and are not informed by formal optimization. This paper presents a building performance optimization method to derive sequence of operations for multi-zone AHUs. To this end, 27 variants of a generic EnergyPlus office building model are built representing three levels of occupancy, envelope, and HVAC capacity scenarios. The supply temperature, morning start time, and economizer settings of the model are optimized for the 27 scenarios by using a genetic algorithm. The results highlight that optimal supply temperature setpoints transition from ∼12°C to a range of ∼16°C to ∼20°C over an outdoor temperature range of ∼20°C to ∼0°C. Energy savings are estimated as ∼20% relative to a reference case with a constant supply temperature and preheating/precooling period.

Spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage. Prognostic factors for social readjustment

Sixty-seven patients surviving spontaneous subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) have been followed up for 2-12 years (mean: 7 years) in order to determine prognostic factors concerning the long-term disability in familial and social functioning. A correlation was found between the severity of the neurological deficit at the time of admission and the degree of familial and social disability at the end of the observation period. In addition, the Barthel-Index on discharge was shown to be of prognostic value for readjustment for social--but not for familial--functioning. Other clinical variables in the acute stage, however, including source of bleeding, sex, age, interval between SAH and admission, level of consciousness, cognitive functions, as well as initial Hunt and Hess grading and Glasgow Coma Scale scoring, did not influence the long-term social prognosis. Furthermore, residual neurological signs, cognitive dysfunctions, and the Glasgow Outcome score on discharge were not related to the extent of social handicap in the long-term outcome. At the end of the observation period, significant correlations were found between the presence of persisting neurological and cognitive deficits but also disability in ADL functions and occupational capacity and the decline in familial and social functioning.

Consumption of psychotropic drugs among disability pension applicants with mental disorders: comparing awarded and rejected applicants in Finland

PurposePsychotropic drug consumption as a proxy measure of mental health problems during a disability pension process has only been studied among awarded applicants. This study examined psychotropic drug purchase trajectories among awarded and rejected disability pension applicants. Analyses were conducted in different diagnostic and sociodemographic groups.MethodsA representative 70% sample of Finnish adults applying for disability pension due to a mental disorder in 2009–2011 (N = 18,087) was followed for 4 years in 3-month periods both before and after the pension decision. Register data on purchased drugs measured in defined daily doses (DDDs), gender, age, occupational class, unemployment history, and diagnostic group were used. The DDD levels and trends were analyzed using growth curve models.ResultsPsychotropic drug purchases increased before the pension decision and decreased gradually thereafter among both awarded and rejected applicants. The average DDD level was higher for rejected than awarded applicants before the decision but lower thereafter. The high pre-decision level for rejected applicants was explicit with a lower socioeconomic status. The pre-decision increase in DDDs was steeper for awarded applicants. Changes in DDDs before and after the decision were most prominent for depression, bipolar disorders, schizophrenia, and anxiety disorders.ConclusionAwarded and rejected disability pension applicants differed partly in their trajectories of psychotropic drug consumption. For awarded applicants, the steep rise of consumption prior to the award possibly reflects worsening occupational capacity. Early high consumption for rejected applicants signals long running mental health problems and calls for earlier support.