Women and non-cardiac chest pain: gender differences in symptom presentation.

A substantial number of individuals evaluated for complaints of chest pain do not suffer from coronary heart disease (CHD). Studies show that many patients who complain of symptoms that might be caused by CHD, such as shortness of breath or chest pain, may actually have an anxiety disorder. Gender differences in how patients present with these symptoms have not been adequately explored. The purpose of this study was to explore possible gender differences in the presentation of patients with CHD-like symptoms. Two groups were examined, one comprising 6,381 individuals self-referred for electron beam tomography (EBT) studies and a subset of these individuals who defined a low-risk group based on the absence of risk factors for CHD and low coronary artery calcium (CAC) scores. We explored gender differences in symptom presentation in each group after controlling for relevant variables by using logistic regression models. These analyses showed that women were significantly more likely than men to endorse CHD symptoms that might also be caused by an anxiety disorder. Women in the low risk group reported CHD symptoms also referable to anxiety more often than men, but unlike men did not complain primarily of chest pain. Women were also more likely to have been prescribed antianxiety or antidepressant medication. In previous studies, non-cardiac chest pain has been considered a hallmark of anxiety in individuals seen in medical settings. This study suggests that in individuals with low risk for CHD chest pain was not related to gender, but other anxiety-related symptoms including heart flutter, lightheadedness, nausea, and shortness of breath were more likely to be reported in women than in men

Demographic and Background Characteristics of Learning Disabled Adults

Although learning disabilities (LD) are widely discussed in the literature, many aspects of the field remain ambiguous and confusing. The validity of research on LD is compromised by the use of discrepant definitions. These incompatible and often insufficient criteria also make it nearly impossible to draw generalizable conclusions from many studies. Further , there has been surprisingly little research done describing demographic characteristics of the LD population, with most of these studies focusing on children. Prior studies have indicated correlations between learning disabilities and such factors as handedness, gender, prior family history of the disorder and birth trauma. The present study investigates the strength of these correlations in an adult population using more generalizable DSM-III-R criteria. Subjects were 55 adults referred to a psychology clinic and diagnosed as learning disabled. A control group of 39 adults also referred to the clinic for assessment of learning problems but not diagnosed as LD was also employed. All subjects completed an information gathering questionnaire which collected such background data as ethnicity, income, handedness, occupation, family history of LD and childhood illness and injury. comparisons were made between LD subjects and the learning problem (LP) group and no significant differences were found in handedness, family history of LD, perinatal problems or occurrence of head trauma

Antike Bildwerke im Urteil mittelalterlicher Zeitgenossen

Statuen und Reliefs mit der Wiedergabe der menschlichen Gestalt gehören zum umfangreichen Fundus antiker Artefakte, die als Spolien Eingang in die mittelalterliche Kultur gefunden haben. Als eigenständige Gruppe wurden sie von der Forschungsliteratur jedoch kaum berücksichtigt. Ihre Bedeutung gilt aufgrund der geringen Anzahl an überlieferten Beispielen als marginal, das Verhältnis des mittelalterlichen Betrachters zur antiken Statuarik als indifferent bis ablehnend. Die vorliegende Studie zeichnet ein anderes Bild