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Results for “SOCIAL ISOLATION”

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PubMedDate not supplied

[Psychiatric disease and social isolation in elderly nursing home residents: a comparative study].

As part of a population-based morbidity survey, a sample of over-65-year-old residents of geriatric nursing homes and old people's homes (N = 153) in the city of Mannheim, F.R.G. (Popn. 308,000) was investigated with regard to mental and physical impairment, as well as to the frequency and quality of their family and social contacts. Corresponding data from the investigation of a community sample (N = 350) served as a basis for a direct comparison of old people in residential care and those living in the community. The findings point to a large relative excess both of mental impairments--especially organic brain syndromes--and of physical disabilities among the nursing-home residents. Those in old people's homes, in marked contrast, do not differ in these respects from persons of the same age living in the community. The home residents have on average far fewer social contacts, and derive less help and support from their social relationships, than do their contemporaries who live in private households. From this point of view, there appears to be little difference between those in nursing homes and those in old people's homes. The observed disparities between the home and community samples remained significant following statistical correction of the data for differences in the sample distributions by age and by marital status. The implications of these findings for further research and for geriatric service-planning are discussed.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Solitary drinking, social isolation, and escape drinking motives as predictors of high quantity drinking, among Anglo, African American and Mexican American males.

This paper addresses the phenomenon of 'solitary drinking', considering whether Anglo, African American and Mexican American male regular drinkers differ in the propensity to drink in solitary contexts and whether such differences may help to explain observed ethnic variation in patterns of heavy drinking. Further, the paper considers whether apparent relationships between solitary drinking and drinking patterns are explained by individual personality characteristics such as social isolation and/or by endorsement of 'escape drinking' motives. Data were analysed from a random community sample of 481 adult male regular drinkers in San Antonio, Texas, USA. Contingency table and logistic regression analyses indicated that initially observed ethnic differences in high quantity and high maximum drinking were largely eliminated by controls for education, escape motives and solitary drinking. Ethnic variation in the role of solitary drinking was suggested as well, with solitary drinking more strongly related to high quantity consumption, in particular, among African Americans than among Mexican Americans. The nature of the observed interactions suggests that fundamental differences between Anglos and African Americans in the roles of solitary drinking and escape drinking motives may underlie seemingly similar frequent, lower quantity drinking patterns in these groups that appear more frequently than among Mexican American males.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Effect of social isolation on the metabolism of morphine and its passage through the blood-brain barrier and on consumption of sucrose solutions.

RATIONALE: We have previously shown that place preference conditioning to morphine was observed in social mice at the dose of 8 mg/kg, whereas 4 weeks of isolation impairs the place preference conditioning to morphine (8-100 mg/kg). OBJECTIVE: The present study, aimed at explaining this phenomenon, tested three hypotheses: firstly, a reduced sensitivity to reinforcers induced by isolation; secondly, a difference in morphine disposition in isolated and social mice; thirdly, an altered blood-brain barrier transport of morphine in isolated mice. METHODS: In the sucrose experiments, mice had the choice (for 24 h) between a bottle containing tap water and a bottle containing a sucrose solution. Three sucrose concentrations were used: 0.5, 1 and 2% (weight/weight). In the morphine disposition experiments, the plasma levels of morphine and of morphine-3-glucuronide (M3G) were measured for 240 min. The brain concentrations of morphine was measured at 15 and 30 min. The passage of morphine through the blood-brain barrier was measured using a method modified from that of Takasato (1984). RESULTS: The preference for the sucrose solutions was significantly greater in isolated than in social mice for the concentration of 2%. Isolation reduced the plasma levels of morphine and of M3G, but did not alter the brain concentration of morphine. The passage of morphine through the blood-brain barrier was altered by isolation in neither of the eight structures examined. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the behavioural effect of isolation observed in the conditioned place preference to morphine may depend on changes both in morphine disposition and in the sensitivity to reinforcers in isolated mice.

Analgesics, Opioid↗
PubMed1993

Social isolation attenuates rat forebrain 5-HT release induced by KCI stimulation and exposure to a novel environment.

The technique of microdialysis was employed to investigate in vivo 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) release in isolation-reared rats compared with socially reared rats. Two methods were employed to stimulate 5-HT release: local KCI injection into the frontal cortex of chloral hydrate anaesthetized rats, and the exposure of freely moving rats to a novel environment (the elevated x-maze). Microdialysis probes were implanted into the frontal cortex in the case of KCI stimulation and the ventral hippocampus in the case of exposure to the novel environment, and perfused with artificial CSF (1µl/min). Dialysis samples were collected every 20min and analysed for 5-HT and 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid (5-HIAA) by HPLC with electrochemical detection. Both KCI injection (1µl, 100mM) and a 20min period on the elevated x-maze produced a significant increase in extracellular 5-HT in the socially reared rats. Neither the increase in extracellular 5-HT induced by KCI nor the increase on exposure to the elevated x-maze were observed in the isolation-reared rats. Dialysate 5-HIAA was not affected in socially reared or isolation-reared rats, in either protocol. These results suggest that isolation-reared rats have a reduced presynaptic neuronal function to release 5-HT.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1990

The homeless: social isolates.

Within the last 10 years, homelessness has emerged as one of the leading social problems in the United States. This article contains the findings of a descriptive study of the characteristics and health status of a homeless population in a southeastern city. The homeless population is of interest to nurses because it is representative of a specific disadvantaged group, seriously at risk for a myriad of physical and mental problems. The theoretical model, Social Disaffiliation, can serve as a basis for intervention with a variety of underserved or unserved population groups and the data presented provide opportunities for designing nursing intervention strategies. The study was conceived as a way to gather empirical evidence about the specific health-care needs of the community's homeless, to generate a data base on which to estimate that need, and to use the findings to support the establishment of an innovative practice model, a nurse-managed clinic. The literature suggests that on-site clinics, located in emergency shelters, are effective approaches to providing acceptable and accessible health care to the homeless. Nurses are well prepared to be a key part of the solution to one of the most serious problems facing health care in the U.S. today.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Decreased in vivo binding to brain benzodiazepine receptors during social isolation.

Pharmacologic studies have demonstrated that benzodiazepines can modulate the ultrasonic vocalizations (USV) associated with social separation of rat pups. In this study, in vivo receptor autoradiography was used to determine if brain benzodiazepine receptors were functionally less available to bind an exogenous ligand during social separation. The labelled benzodiazepine receptor antagonist 3H-RO 15-1788 was given to 10-day-old rat pups during 25 minutes of social separation. In autoradiographic studies of brains from separated pups, the binding of 3H-RO 15-1788 was decreased in neocortex (frontal, motor, and somatosensory), hippocampus, and superior and inferior colliculi. As these same regions showed no alteration of in vitro binding of 3H-RO 15-1788, these in vivo binding decreases do not reflect changes in receptor number. The interpretation of decreased in vivo binding and implications of these results for defining the neural substrates of separation behavior are discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Inequalities in the treatment and control of hypertension: age, social isolation and lifestyle are more important than economic circumstances.

OBJECTIVE: To describe socio-economic variations in the treatment and control of hypertension in England. DESIGN: Population based survey. SUBJECTS: Hypertensives numbering 5019, identified in the Health Survey for England for 1993-1994. OUTCOME: Drug treatment and control of hypertension. RESULTS: A total of 1119/2208 (50.7%) hypertensive men, and 1620/2811 (57.6%) hypertensive women, were receiving anti-hypertensive medication. For men, the likelihood of receiving treatment increased with age, widowerhood or divorce, a family history of heart disease, low social support and increasing weight, but was decreased for men who lived alone, owned their own house, smoked or drank heavily. For women, obesity, a family history of heart disease and low social support increased their chance of treatment. A total of 534/1119 (47.7%) men, and 816/1620 (50.4%) of women on treatment, had their hypertension controlled to below 160/90 mmHg. Lack of control was more commonly due to isolated systolic hypertension rather than diastolic hypertension. Increasing age and smoking were associated with poorer control. Men who lived alone and had low social support were less likely to have their hypertension controlled, while those with a family history of heart disease were more likely to be controlled. DISCUSSION: We found little evidence for socio-economic or geographic differences in the management of hypertension. Variations in treatment rates can be explained by variations in use of primary care and opportunistic screening. Control was poorest among older people who are at the highest risk of cardiovascular events. Socially isolated men and smokers were less likely to be treated or controlled, and need to be targeted by future programmes to detect and treat hypertension.

Adult↗