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H Magnusson

Publications and source records attributed to H Magnusson.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Physical health and depressive symptoms in older Europeans. Results from EURODEP.

BACKGROUND: Associations between physical health and depression are consistent across cultures among adults up to 65 years of age. In later life, the impact of physical health on depression is much more substantial and may depend on sociocultural factors. AIMS: To examine cross-national differences in the association between physical health and depressive symptoms in elderly people across western Europe. METHOD: Fourteen community-based studies on depression in later life in nine western European countries contributed to a total study sample of 22 570 respondents aged 65 years and older. Measures were harmonized for depressive symptoms (EURO-D scale), functional limitations and chronic physical conditions. RESULTS: In the majority of the participating samples, the association of depressive symptoms with functional disability was stronger than with chronic physical conditions. Associations were slightly more pronounced in the UK and Ireland. CONCLUSIONS: The association between physical health and depressive symptoms in later life is consistent across western Europe.

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PubMed2001

Exercise may induce reversible low bone mass in unloaded and high bone mass in weight-loaded skeletal regions.

Exercise during growth and adolescence increases bone mineral density (BMD) in weight-loaded skeletal regions. The development of BMD in unloaded or minimally loaded regions during activity is unclear. We measured BMD in one unloaded, one partly loaded and one highly loaded skeletal region in 67 active soccer players, mean age 22.7 years (range 17-35 years), 128 former soccer players, mean age 54.0 years (range 19-85 years) and 138 controls, mean age 50.6 years (range 19-80 years). The active soccer players played at three different levels: premier league, 3rd league or 6th league. Duration of exercise in these three grou s was 12, 8 and 6 h/week, respectively. BMD (g/cm ) was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in the upper part of the skull (the unloaded skeletal region), the arms (the partly loaded region) and the femoral neck (the maximal loaded region). Data are presented as mean +/- SD. Active soccer players had 10.3 +/- 10.4% lower BMD in the upper part of the skull (p < 0.001), 1.4 +/- 6.3% higher BMD in the arm (NS) and 12.7 +/- 9.8% higher BMD in the femoral neck (p<0.001) compared with age- and gender-matched controls. All three levels of soccer players demonstrated, independent of activity level, the same discrepancies in BMD compared with controls. Former soccer players had lower BMD in the upper part of the skull until age 70 years and higher BMD in the femoral neck until age 50 years compared with controls. The BMD of the arm was not different in former soccer players compared with controls. In summary, active soccer players had lower BMD in the unloaded skeletal region, no difference in BMD in the partly loaded region and higher BMD in the weight-loaded region compared with controls. The discrepancies compared with controls diminished with age so that no differences were found in BMD after age 70 years. In conclusion, unloaded and weight-loaded skeletal regions may respond differently to increased and decreased physical activity.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗
PubMed2001

The duration of exercise as a regulator of bone mass.

Exercise is associated with increased peak bone mineral density (BMD). To determine the relationship between the duration of exercise and BMD, we measured BMD of the axial and appendicular skeleton by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and speed of sound (SOS), broadband attenuation (BUA), and stiffness index by quantitative ultrasound (QUS) of the calcaneus, in 67 active male national soccer players (mean age 23 years, range 17-35), which included 23 premier-league players exercising 12 h/week (range 8-18), 23 third-league players exercising 8 h/week (range 3-18), and 21 sixth-league players exercising 6 h/week (range 2-10). Results were compared with 24 sedentary age- and gender-matched controls and presented as mean +/- SEM. BMD was higher in all weight-bearing regions for the whole group relative to controls (BMD: total body 6.8 +/- 0.7%, leg 9.6 +/- 0.8%, lumbar spine 13.2 +/- 1.2%, femoral neck 12.7 +/- 1.2% [all p < 0.001]; calcaneus SOS 4.2 +/- 0.3%, BUA 8.7 +/- 1.5%, and stiffness index 24.2 +/- 2.0% [all p < 0.01]). No differences were found in head or arm BMD. There were no differences in BMD or QUS measurements when comparing soccer players exercising for different activity durations. Duration of activity correlated with BMD weight-loaded regions and with QUS, provided it was less <6 h/week (p < 0.01 respectively), but not when exercising more frequently. Femoral neck BMD increased by 3.3% across every hour increase in activity in those with 0-6 h of exercise/week and by 0.7% in those exercising more than this (p < 0.01). We conclude that, in national-league soccer, the BMD needed to attain a bone strength commensurate with that of duration of activity is achieved by 6 h of exercise per week. Beyond this, additional exercise confers no higher BMD. The skeleton adapts to the prevalent level of exercise intensity required and no further.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗
PubMed2001

Religion as a cross-cultural determinant of depression in elderly Europeans: results from the EURODEP collaboration.

BACKGROUND: The protective effects of religion against late life depression may depend on the broader sociocultural environment. This paper examines whether the prevailing religious climate is related to cross-cultural differences of depression in elderly Europeans. METHODS: Two approaches were employed, using data from the EURODEP collaboration. First, associations were studied between church-attendance, religious denomination and depression at the syndrome level for six EURODEP study centres (five countries, N = 8398). Secondly, ecological associations were computed by multi-level analysis between national estimates of religious climate, derived from the European Value Survey and depressive symptoms, for the pooled dataset of 13 EURODEP study centres (11 countries, N = 17,739). RESULTS: In the first study, depression rates were lower among regular church-attenders, most prominently among Roman Catholics. In the second study, fewer depressive symptoms were found among the female elderly in countries, generally Roman Catholic, with high rates of regular church-attendance. Higher levels of depressive symptoms were found among the male elderly in Protestant countries. CONCLUSIONS: Religious practice is associated with less depression in elderly Europeans, both on the individual and the national level. Religious practice, especially when it is embedded within a traditional value-orientation, may facilitate coping with adversity in later life.

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PubMed1999

Depression in Europe. Geographical distribution among older people.

BACKGROUND: This is the first report of results from the EURODEP Programme. AIMS: To assess the prevalence of depression judged suitable for intervention in randomised samples of those aged > or = 65 in nine European centres. METHOD: The GMS-AGECAT package. RESULTS: Differences in prevalence are apparent, 8.8% (Iceland) to 236% (Munich). When sub-cases and cases are added together, five high- and four low-scoring centres emerge. Women predominated over men. Proportions of sub-cases to cases revealed striking differences but did not explain prevalence. There was no constant association between prevalence and age. A meta-analysis (n = 13,808) gave an overall prevalence of 12.3%, 14.1% for women and 8.6% for men. CONCLUSIONS: Considerable variation occurs in the levels of depression across Europe, the cause for which is not immediately obvious. Case and sub-case levels taken together show greater variability, suggesting that it is not a matter of case/sub-case selection criteria, which were standardised by computer. Substantial levels of depression are shown but 62-82% of persons had no depressive level. Opportunities for treatment exist.

Age Distribution↗
PubMed1999

Cross-cultural comparison of depressive symptoms in Europe does not support stereotypes of ageing.

BACKGROUND: Stereotypes of older people suggest that they are depressed. AIMS: To examine depression symptoms among people aged > or = 65 in the general population and to ask the following questions. Are there high proportions of depressive symptoms among otherwise well people? Do these levels reflect the prevalence of depression? Do key symptoms vary with age and do they confirm stereotypes? METHOD: Nine centres contributed data from community-based random samples, using standardised methods (GMS-AGECAT package). RESULTS: Proportions of depressive symptoms varied between centres. Some often associated with ageing were rare. Many were more common in women. Low-prevalence centres tended to have fewer symptoms among 'well' people, but there were inconsistencies. Low levels of symptoms among the well population of a centre did not necessarily predict lower levels in the depressed. CONCLUSIONS: Variations in the prevalence of depressive symptoms occurred between centres, not always related to levels of illness. There was no consistent relationship between proportions of symptoms in well persons and cases for all centres. Few symptoms were present in > 60% of the older population--stereotypes of old age were not upheld.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1999

Development of the EURO-D scale--a European, Union initiative to compare symptoms of depression in 14 European centres.

BACKGROUND: In an 11-country European collaboration, 14 population-based surveys included 21,724 subjects aged > or = 65 years. Most participating centres used the Geriatric Mental State (GMS), but other measures were also used. AIMS: To derive from these instruments a common depression symptoms scale, the EURO-D, to allow comparison of risk factor profiles between centres. METHOD: Common items were identified from the instruments. Algorithms for fitting items to GMS were derived by observation of item correspondence or expert opinion. The resulting 12-item scale was checked for internal consistency, criterion validity and uniformity of factor-analytic profile. RESULTS: The EURO-D is internally consistent, capturing the essence of its parent instrument. A two-factor solution seemed appropriate: depression, tearfulness and wishing to die loaded on the first factor (affective suffering), and loss of interest, poor concentration and lack of enjoyment on the second (motivation). CONCLUSIONS: The EURO-D scale should permit valid comparison of risk-factor associations between centres, even if between-centre variation remains difficult to attribute.

Age Distribution↗
PubMed1999

Depression symptoms in late life assessed using the EURO-D scale. Effect of age, gender and marital status in 14 European centres.

BACKGROUND: Data from surveys involving 21,724 subjects aged > or = 65 years were analysed using a harmonised depression symptom scale, the EURO-D. AIMS: To describe and compare the effects of age, gender and mental status on depressive symptoms across Europe. METHOD: We tested for the effects of centre, age, gender and marital status on EURO-D score. Between-centre variance was partitioned according to centre characteristics: region, religion and survey instrument used. RESULTS: EURO-D scores tended to increase with age, women scored higher than men, and widowed and separated subjects scored higher than others. The EURO-D scale could be reduced into two factors: affective suffering, responsible for the gender difference, and motivation, accounting for the positive association with age. CONCLUSIONS: Large between-centre differences in depression symptoms were not explained by demography or by the depression measure used in the survey. Consistent, small effects of age, gender and marital status were observed across Europe. Depression may be overdiagnosed in older persons because of an increase in lack of motivation that may be affectively neutral, and is possibly related to cognitive decline.

Age Distribution↗
PubMed1998

Microbiological quality of Icelandic cooked-peeled shrimp (Pandalus borealis).

Iceland is a major producer of cold water shrimp, Pandalus borealis. In recent years considerable attention has been given to improve hygiene in the factories producing cooked, peeled and frozen shrimp. To keep track of the bacteriological status of the end product, shrimp from most of the factories is routinely analysed bacteriologically by the request of shrimp exporters. This paper reports on the results of a bacteriological analysis of 7913 samples of shrimp from 26 Icelandic factories over a 6-year period. The results showed that the geometric mean of APC (at 35 degrees C) was 1718 per g and 57% of the samples had APC under 1000 per g. Some 70% of the samples had less than one coliform per g and 99.9% of the samples had less than one faecal coliform per g. Staphylococcus aureus was detected in less than 0.2% of the samples. The results show improvement in bacterial profiles, mainly total coliforms, over the 6-year period. Overall, the results show acceptable bacterial numbers in the finished product, indicating a high level of hygiene. Listeria spp. were, however, found in 270 of 3331 samples examined or 8.1%. Species identification was done on 49 of the 270 positive samples. The proportion of L. monocytogenes was found to be 26.5%.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Isolation and characterization of the major gel proteins in human semen, semenogelin I and semenogelin II.

Semenogelin I and semenogelin II constitute the major gel-forming proteins in human semen. The gel proteins were rapidly solubilized and separated from spermatozoa in ejaculates collected at pH 9.7 in buffer containing 4 mol/l urea and dithiothreitol. This protected the semenogelins from proteolytic degradation by prostate-specific antigen, and allowed their isolation by affinity chromatography on heparin-Sepharose. Semenogelins I and II were almost selectively retained and eluted partially separated in 0.25 mol/l NaCl. Further purification was achieved by chromatography on Superose. Approximately 10-20 mg semenogelin I and 2-5 mg semenogelin II were recovered from each sample with a purity exceeding 95% as judged by SDS/PAGE. The molecular mass of semenogelin I (49 958 Da) and the major form of semenogelin II (63 539 Da) measured by mass spectrometry was consistent with the reported cDNA data. The occurrence of a second, larger form of semenogelin II was due to asparagine-linked glycosylation. The amino-termini of the purified proteins were blocked, but digestion with pyroglutamate amino-peptidase enabled the identification of amino-terminal sequences consistent with the reported cDNA data. The amino acid compositions of the purified proteins were also consistent with those derived from cDNA data. The absorption coefficients (280 nm, 1%, 1 cm) for semenogelins I and II were 5.5 and 5.4, respectively, and the isoelectric point was above pH 9.5 for both proteins.

Amidohydrolases↗
PubMed1994

Characterisation of the endothelin receptor mediating contraction of human pulmonary artery using BQ123 and Ro 46-2005.

We have characterised the endothelin receptor mediating contraction of human isolated pulmonary artery. Endothelin-1 induced a concentration-dependent contraction of human endothelium-denuded pulmonary artery (EC50 5.6 nM). In contrast, endothelin-3 produced only a small contraction (approximately 12% of maximum endothelin-1 response) at the highest concentration tested (1 microM). The ETB receptor-selective agonist, sarafotoxin S6c (0.1 nM to 1 microM) did not cause contraction of human pulmonary artery. Pretreatment of human pulmonary artery with BQ123 (1-10 microM), an ETA receptor-selective blocking drug, resulted in a concentration-dependent, surmountable antagonism of endothelin-1-induced contractions (apparent pKB 6.6-7.0). Schild analyses yielded a shallow slope (0.58), which was significantly less than unity and, consequently, the calculated pA2 (8.1) was greater than the individual pKB values. Pretreatment of human pulmonary artery with Ro 46-2005 (30 microM), a non-peptide. non-selective endothelin receptor-blocking drug, resulted in a surmountable antagonism of endothelin-1-induced contractions (apparent pKB 5.5). In conclusion, endothelin-1-induced contraction of human pulmonary artery appears to be mediated predominantly via ETA receptors, although the shallow Schild slope observed with BQ123 indicates possible receptor heterogeneity.

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PubMed1986

Methohexitone anaesthesia for microlaryngoscopy: circulatory modulation with metoprolol and dihydralazine.

Anaesthesia for microlaryngoscopy was induced and maintained with fentanyl 3 micrograms kg-1 and methohexitone (initial bolus of 1-1.5 mg kg-1 plus subsequent infusion of 4 mg kg-1 h-1). Suxamethonium was used to induce neuromuscular blockade. Twenty minutes before induction of anaesthesia, previously normotensive patients (n = 35), and patients with hypertension well controlled by beta-receptor antagonists (n = 16) were pretreated with metoprolol (M) 0.2 mg kg-1 i.v. and dihydralazine (DH) 0.2 mg kg-1 i.v., dihydralazine 0.2 mg kg-1 i.v. alone, or saline. Arterial pressure (AP) and heart rate (HR) were monitored: any arrhythmia and ST60-T changes were noted. After the methohexitone infusion was stopped, the times for emergence and full recovery were short (median 2 min 15 s and 5 min later, respectively). Pretreatment with M + DH abolished increases in AP and HR during endoscopy. Arrhythmias were observed in fewer pretreated patients than in controls (P less than 0.05). ST60-T changes in the ECG indicating myocardial ischaemia were found in two of 19 M + DH and in six of 21 saline-pretreated patients. One of these six patients developed a myocardial infarction. Pretreatment with dihydralazine alone attenuated the pressor response to microlaryngoscopy, but was associated with consistently high HR and an incidence of arrhythmias as well as ST60-T changes similar to that found after saline.

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