Biomedical subjects

Charlotte Ørsted Hougaard

Publications and source records attributed to Charlotte Ørsted Hougaard.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Coping with unemployment: does educational attainment make any difference?

AIMS: The aim of this study was to examine the cross-sectional association between educational attainment and coping strategies with unemployment in a random sample of 37- to 56-year-old Danish men and women in long-term unemployment. METHODS: Data were based on a survey among 575 men and 1,064 women who had been unemployed at least 70% of the time during a three-year period (October 1996 to October 1999). The outcome measures were two scales for coping with unemployment, one for problem-solving coping, and one for avoidant coping. Educational attainment was measured by years of vocational training. RESULTS: A significant association was found between low educational attainment and low use of problem-solving coping among both men, OR = 1.81 (95% CI 1.19-2.75), and women, OR = 1.57 (1.13-2.18). Adjustment for cohabitation status, self rated health, economic strain, and unemployment status did not change this association substantially. High use of avoidant coping was associated with low educational attainment among men, OR = 1.57 (0.98-2.51). For women, medium educational attainment was significantly associated with low use of avoidant coping, OR = 0.60 (0.42-0.85). This result was not affected by adjustment for the covariates. CONCLUSIONS: Coping strategies are considered a potential modifier of the impact of unemployment on health and well-being. In this study, differences in coping strategies with unemployment were associated with educational attainment.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2006

Socioeconomic position and variations in coping strategies in musculoskeletal pain: a cross-sectional study of 1,287 40- and 50-year-old men and women.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between socioeconomic position and coping strategies in musculoskeletal pain. DESIGN AND SUBJECTS: Cross-sectional study of a random sample of 40- and 50-year-old Danes, participation rate 69%, n=7,125. The study included 1,287 persons who reported functional limitations due to musculoskeletal pain. METHODS: Data was collected by postal questionnaires and scales were developed on problem-solving coping and avoidant coping, based on a range of preliminary studies. Multivariate logistic regression analyses was used to study the correlation with socioeconomic position, measured by occupational social class. RESULTS: Among women, there was no correlation between social class and avoidant coping, but a significant decrease in the use of problem-solving coping by decreasing social class, adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 2.64 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.31-5.32) in social class V vs social classes I + II. Among men, there was no correlation between social class and problem-solving coping, but a significant increase in the use of avoidant coping with decreasing social class, adjusted OR = 3.31 (95% CI 1.75-6.25) in V vs I + II. CONCLUSION: It is important for clinicians who advise and support patients in their response to musculoskeletal pain to be aware of socioeconomic differences in coping strategies. Gender differences in the association between socioeconomic factors and coping should be further investigated.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2004

Revitalising the Metropolit 1953 Danish male birth cohort: background, aims and design.

Recent research indicates that factors operating during childhood are related to adult health. Thus, longitudinal studies with information on subsequent phases may be key to understanding later health outcomes. The main objective of this paper is to describe the history and design of a Danish birth cohort, and its revitalisation. In 1965, information from birth certificates for 11 591 of a total of 12 270 males born in 1953 in the Metropolitan area of Copenhagen, Denmark were traced. These boys were the study population of a sociological investigation conducted with the aim of describing social mobility. At age 12 years, 9537 of these cohort members completed a questionnaire in school, which included cognitive measures and information on social aspirations and leisure time activities. In 1966 educational performance tests were administered for these boys and, in 1968, mothers of 2890 cohort members were interviewed regarding family social backgrounds. With the establishment of the Civil Registration System (CRS) in 1968, it was possible to identify 11 532 cohort members. In 2002 we began the process of revitalising this study with the aim of investigating the influence of early life factors on later health. We succeeded in ascertaining the vital status of all subjects in the CRS. This showed that 863 subjects had died between 1968 and 2002. Linkages to the Register of Causes of Death, the National Hospital Register, Psychiatric Central Register and Danish Cancer Registry have been completed. In total, 7969 cohort members had been hospitalised for any somatic illness and, according to the Psychiatric Central Register, 1382 men had been admitted to a psychiatric hospital or ward. In the Cancer Registry we found 363 of our study participants. Analyses exploring the influence of social conditions in early life, birth dimensions, and childhood cognition on adult health experience are at various stages of completion. A questionnaire-based postal follow-up survey is planned. Thus, the Metropolit study provides an important opportunity to examine the processes by which factors that operate over the life course influence adult health.

Birth Weight↗