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Biomedical subjects

M Rimpelä

Publications and source records attributed to M Rimpelä.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Bar coding--a functional tool in survey research.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The aim was to assess the value of bar coding, together with developed microcomputer programs, as a tool to speed up mailing and handling of return responses of a survey where over 4000 adolescents received a mailed questionnaire. DESIGN: Bar codes were used for displaying the identification number of a questionnaire, as well as each response alternative and number of the question. These bar codes were read by a wand, a handhold scanner, connected to a microcomputer and the data were automatically entered into a computer data file. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Compared with previous similar surveys, the use of bar codes did not seem to affect a manner of responding. Bar coding saved human steps in handling of return responses, reduced an error rate, and helped to control the process of work. Bar coding is recommended as a new technical tool for preparations of future large scale surveys.

Attitude to Computers↗
PubMed1989

Menstrual pain, health and behaviour in girls.

Prevalence of menstrual pain, use of medication and school absenteeism due to the pain were studied by means of a mailed questionnaire in a sample representing 12-18-year-old girls in Finland (n = 3370, response rate 87%). Prevalence of menstrual pain was 48% among 12-year-old post-menarcheal girls and 79% among 18-year-olds. Thirty percent of the 16-year-old girls had used medication and 21% had stayed at home due to menstrual pain in the last 6 months; 3% had both been absent and used medication several times. Three types of factors were associated with menstrual pain: (1) physiological (gynaecological age, duration of menstrual flow); (2) indicators of poor self-rated health (not feeling active in the morning, bad physical condition, number of common colds); (3) unhealthy practices (consumption of alcohol, low physical activity, smoking). The prevalence of menstrual pain did not correlate with the variables describing the place of residence or the socio-economic status of the family. The determinants of menstrual pain are supposed to lie more in the biological construct and micro-environment of the girls than in macro-level structures of the society. The experience of pain seems to be related to self-rated health as a whole and to lifestyle rather than to specific disorders and health practices.

Absenteeism↗
PubMed1988

Coffee drinking among Finnish youth.

The suggestion that coffee may have negative health effects has made coffee-drinking habits medically interesting. This paper reports upon coffee use among young people and describes how coffee-users differ from non-users. Data comes from questionnaires from representative nationwide samples of 12-18-year-old Finnish youth in 1977-1985. Their coffee use decreased from 1977 to 1985, and the decrease could be seen in all age and socio-demographic groups studied. In 1981, 35% of the girls and 45% of the 12-year-old boys drank coffee daily. For 18-year-olds the corresponding percentages were 67 and 75, and the mean number of cups consumed per day was 2.3 and 3.1. Compared to the non-users, the coffee-users were from lower social classes, lived more often in the countryside, and had poorer school achievement. Health-damaging habits such as smoking were more common among the coffee-users, their perceived health was somewhat poorer, and they seemed to mature earlier. The difference in regard to health disappeared after adjusting for differences in socio-demographic background and health habits. The heavy users (four cups or more a day) usually differed more from the non-users than did the moderate users (one to three cups daily).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Biological age, health, and health-risk indicators among 25-57-year-old men in two parts of Finland.

Biological age, health, and health-risk indicators were examined among 460 systematically chosen men, aged 25-57 years, in two parts of Finland. Morbidity rates and the prevalence of some health-risk indicators were higher and the standard of living lower in North Karelia than in South-West Finland. The index of biological age (IBA) did not show significant differences between the districts and did not correlate with health-risk indicators. People working in physically hard occupations (industrial and mining workers) were found to have more diseases and had higher IBA values than had workers in lighter occupations. The results suggest that both ageing and morbidity are regulated by occupational status and social conditions connected with it.

Adult↗