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The aims of the present study were to examine (1) psychometric properties of Spence and Robbins' measures of the components of workaholism and (2) relations between workaholism and health-related outcomes [job stress, burnout, work engagement, and subjective health complaints (SHC)]. Two hundred and thirty-five bank employees completed questionnaires measuring workaholism, job stress, burnout, work engagement, and SHC. Factor analyses suggested a two-factor model of workaholism, 'Drive' and 'Enjoyment of Work'. There were significant relations between workaholism subscales and SHC, job stress, burnout, and work engagement. The 'Drive' subscale correlated positively with job stress and SHC, and marginally with burnout and work engagement. The 'Enjoyment of Work' subscale correlated negatively with job stress, burnout, and SHC. The results showed that a two-factor model of workaholism provided the best fit for Norwegian data, supported a differentiation of enthusiastic and nonenthusiastic workaholic features, and were related in predictable ways to SHC, burnout, and work engagement, as predicted from contemporary cognitive stress theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

: IntroductionThis review argues that “subjective health complaints” is a better and neutral term for “unexplained medical symptoms.” The most common complaints are musculoskeletal pain, gastrointestinal complaints and “pseudoneurology” (tiredness, sleep problems, fatigue, and mood changes). These complaints are common in the general population, but for some these complaints reach a level that requires care and assistance.: Theoretical assumptionsWe suggest that these complaints are based on sensations from what in most people are normal physiological processes. In some individuals these sensations become intolerable. In some cases it may signal somatic disease, in most cases not. Cases without somatic disease, or with minimal somatic findings, occur under diagnoses like burnout, epidemic fatigue, multiple chemical sensitivity, chronic musculoskeletal pain, chronic low back pain, chronic fatigue syndrome, and fibromyalgia. These complaints are particularly common in individuals with low coping and high levels of helplessness and hopelessness.: ConclusionThe psychobiological mechanisms for this is suggested to be sensitization in neural loops maintained by sustained attention and arousal. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

More than half of the days lost due to sickness absence are due to diagnostic groups that solely or mainly depend on subjective statements from the patient The most frequent subjective health complaints are musculoskeletal pain. These conditions do not seem to qualify as psychiatric or mental disorders, but are not strictly somatic states either. Terms like somatization may be inadequate terms for states that may be best understood as psychobiological feedback loops. Subjective health complaints is suggested as a neutral, descriptive term. Only a minority requires treatment and sickness compensation for prolonged periods for these very common states. In these patients the neurons in feed-forward and positive feedback loops may have developed sensitization. These patients tend to show an abnormal sensitivity to sensory input from muscles, the gastrointestinal tract, and to smell and taste. It seems to be futile to search for single-factor solutions. This approach opens up for the possible effectiveness of many different types of treatment, breaking the feedback loops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main object of this study was to explore different dimensions of the stress experience and the following coping efforts among elite athletes. Sixty-nine Norwegian Winter Olympic athletes, competing in the Lillehammer Games in 1994 participated in the study. Recall of the most stressful experiences was reported through open-ended questions following the Olympic Games, and the actual time of the experience with the following coping efforts were measured with the COPE inventory (19). The stress was mainly experienced during the time period prior to the competition. External distractions and expectations were the most frequently reported stress experiences. The coach was viewed as a major source of stress by some athletes, with a subsequent lack of control and low satisfaction with performance. Type of stress more than the time of the experience seemed to have a detrimental effect on performance. Problem-focused coping strategies were employed at all times, while cognitive defense strategies were employed more days before (time phase 1) and after the competition (time phase 4). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the role of psychosomatic medicine in the development of psychobiology. Distinction between psychological and real causes of disease; Emphasis on the life style factors for disease; Impact of psychosocial factors on illness; Development of rational pathophysiological models.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of subjective health complaints (SHCs) among satisfied and dissatisfied workers. The second aim was to evaluate whether any SHC differences were attributable directly to the work environment or mediated by the individual perception of the environment (satisfactory or not). METHOD: In a cross-sectional study of 458 employees (56% women) in 5 different organizations, work environment, job satisfaction, and SHC were measured. RESULTS: Satisfied workers reported an average of five to six subjective health complaints that correspond to the prevalence found in a Norwegian general population. Work environment explained 43% of the variance for job satisfaction and 9% of the variance in SHCs. CONCLUSION: SHCs are common among satisfied workers. Work environment has only a limited influence on this validated health indicator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to present a complete scoring system for subjective health complaints (SHC) as they are experienced by the lay population. The scoring system records the complaints, and does not map attributions or medical diagnoses. In all, 1,219 subjects (323 men, 896 women) from various occupations were tested with a scoring system, the SHC inventory, previously referred to as the Ursin Health Inventory (UHI). The SHC consists of 29 questions concerning severity and duration of subjective somatic and psychological complaints. The SHC inventory yields scores on single items and a total number of health complaints categorized into five factors: musculoskeletal pain (alpha=0.74), pseudoneurology (alpha=0.73), gastrointestinal problems (alpha=0.62), allergy (alpha=0.58) and flu (alpha=0.67). The SHC inventory is a systematic, easy, and reliable way to score subjective health complaints. The prevalence of these complaints is high, and should be considered before conclusions are reached about new diseases and new attributions of environmental hazards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there is currently no evidence that fibre myalgia is caused by an infection, there are several studies reporting an association between different types of infection and fibromyalgia compared to controls. Inflammation is an important mediator of increased sympathetic nervous system activity and may lead to pain, increased arousal and emotional distress in fibromyalgia patients. This article explores the impact of Helicobacter pylori in fibromyalgia patients and test the hypothesis that Helicobacter pylori status could be predicted from inflammatory and psychological variables in fibromyalgia patients.

The article focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of nonspecific chronic low back pain (CLBP). The use of diagnostic triage and the assessment of prognostic factors are suggested. Psychosocial distress, depressive mood, and prior episodes of LBP should be considered in the assessment of patients with nonspecific CLBP. Cognitive behavioural therapy, supervised exercise therapy and brief educational interventions are recommended to treat nonspecific CLBP.

The association between low socioeconomic status and poor health is well established. Empirical studies suggest that psychosocial factors are important mediators for these effects, and that the effects are mediated by psychobiological mechanisms related to stress physiology.The objective of this paper is to explore these psychobiological mechanisms. Psychobiological responses to environmental challenges depend on acquired expectancies (learning) of the relations between responses and stimuli. The stress response occurs whenever an individual is faced with a challenge. It is an essential element in the total adaptive system of the body, and necessary for adaptation, performance and survival. However, a period of recovery is necessary to rebalance and to manage new demands.Individuals with low social status report more environmental challenges and less psychosocial resources. This may lead to vicious circles of learning to expect negative outcomes, loss of coping ability, strain, hopelessness and chronic stress. This type of learning may interfere with the recovery processes, leading to sustained psychobiological activation and loss of dynamic capacity to respond to new challenges.Psychobiological responses and health effects in humans and animals depend on combinations of demands and expected outcomes (coping, control). In studies of humans with chronic psychosocial stress, and low SES, cortisol baseline levels were raised, and the cortisol response to acute stress attenuated. Low job control was associated with insufficient recovery of catecholamines and cortisol, and a range of negative health effects. Biological effects of choice of lifestyle, which also depends on the acquired outcome expectancies, reinforce these direct psychobiological effects on health.The paper concludes that sustained activation and loss of capacity to respond to a novel stressor could be a cause of the higher risk of illness and disease found among people with lower SES. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We examined whether habitual defense and coping affect the response of hormones (ACTH, cortisol, prolactin, endorphins, and noradrenaline) and immune parameters (numbers of T cells, B cells, natural killer [NK] cells, and proliferative responses to mitogens or antigens) to an acute laboratory stressor (i.e., solving a 3-dimensional puzzle and explaining it to a confederate) in 86 male high school teachers. defense and coping were assessed by Kragh's tachistoscopic Defense mechanism Test (a measure of perceptual defense) and by 4 questionnaire-based coping styles assessing instrumental mastery-oriented coping, emotion-focused coping, cognitive defense, and defensive hostility. The laboratory stressor per se caused a relative increase in immunological (in particular NK cells) and endocrine (ortisol, prolactin) parameters. Defense and coping, however, significantly codetermined the response to the stressor. In particular, instrumental mastery-oriented coping and perceptual defense were related to stress-induced changes in numbers of B cells and in the pituitary adrenal hormones. The results indicate that the impact of a mild psychological stressor on the immune and endocrine system depends to a considerable extent on the specific ways people deal with stressors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a summary of the article `Exercise and Diet Interventions Improve Perceptions of Self in Middle Aged Adults,' by M. Sorensen, S. Andressen, I. Hjerman, I. Holme and H. Ursin which appeared in the 1997 issue of the `Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports.'