Læknablaðið : fylgirit - 01.08.2003, Page 40

I ABSTRACTS / 27TH NORDIC PSYCHIATRIC CONGRESS
S-XIV/5 Friday 15/8,11:00-12:30
Excess mortality in bipolar and unipolar disorder in
Sweden
Urban Ösby, MD, PhD, Senior Consultant, Karolinska Institutet, Berzelius vág 8, SE-171
77 Stockholm, Sweden. Lena Brandt, Nestor Correia, Anders Ekbom, Pár Sparén.
urban. osby@cns. ki.se
Background and Aim: This is the first population-based study of
mortality for patients with bipolar and unipolar disorder followed-
up from the onset of illness.
Method: All patients with a hospital diagnosis of bipolar (N=15,386)
or unipolar (N=39,182) disorder in Sweden from 1973 to 1995 were
linked with the cause-of-death register to determine date and cause
of death. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and numbers of ex-
cess deaths were calculated by 5-year age and calendar time
periods.
Results: SMR for suicide was 15.0 for men and 22.4 for women in
bipolar disorder, and correspondingly 20.9 and 27.0 in unipolar
disorder. For all natural causes of death, SMR was 1.9 for men and
2.1 for women in bipolar disorder, and 1.5 and 1.6 in unipolar dis-
order. In bipolar disorder, most excess deaths were from natural
causes, whereas in unipolar disorder, most excess deaths were from
unnatural causes. SMR for suicide was especially high for the
younger patients during the first years after the first diagnosis. In-
creasing SMR for suicide was found for females in unipolar dis-
order.
Cundusions: Suicide risk was highly increased in both bipolar and
unipolar disorder. Still, natural causes of death caused half the ex-
cess deaths in bipolar disorder.
S-XV/1 Friday 15/8,11:00-12:30
Gender, work, stress and depression
Birgil Peterson
No abstract received
S-XV/2 Friday 15/8,11:00-12:30
Gender and PTSD
Murianne Kastrup. Consultant, Centre Transcultural Psychiatry, Rigshospitalet 2100
Copenhagen, Denmark
nwrianne. kastrup@rh. dk
Background: There is no indication that men and women have
different lifetime prevalence of exposure to traumatic events. But
women have a PTSD lifetime prevalence that is twice as high as
men and exposed to a given trauma women are four times as likely
to develop PTSD and the course of disorder tends to become more
chronic.
Results: Findings of gender differences in PTSD among persons
exposed to political violence are inconsistent and surprisingly little
attention has been paid to gender and refugee status.
Treatment of traumatized women includes consideration of the
complexity of the social context in which they live. Women are pro-
viders of emotional support, and exposure to disaster may overload
the womaiTs capacity to cope.
Refugee women in a mental health setting often share common
traits and may experience dis-empowerment, fear for safety of
themselves and their children, and continuous harassment.
In order to empower refugee women the therapist and the
patienl have to look for common ground and agree on goals for
treatment in recognition of cultural incongruities.
Condusion: The paper will outline ways to optimize the fulfillment
of refugee women's need for treatment with a particular focus on
the rights of these women.
S-XV/3 Friday 15/8,11:00-12:30
The psychiatrist's role in a profession with an increasing
number of female psychiatrists
Karin Garde, Psychiatrist, Boserupvej 2,4000 Roskilde, Denmark
karin.garde@shh. hosp. dk
Background: During the last decades an increase in the female
proportion of medical students has resulted in a growing proportion
of female psychiatrists (35% of specialists in psychiatry in Denmark
are female).
Aims: In which ways does this change influence the working con-
ditions, the clinical performance and decision-making, the choice of
subspecialty and the prestige of the profession?
Mcthod: Study of the (scarce) available literature.
Rcsults: Male and female doctors and psychiatrists differ in a
number of ways, for instance the working conditions for female
psychiatrists being stressed by double responsibility (family/pro-
fession) and differing expectations from staff. Research areas differ,
male psychiatrists being more involved in biological research,
female psychiatrists in psychosocial research. The prestige of the
psychiatric profession is traditionally linked to the biological re-
search areas, much less to the psychosocial areas.
Conclusions: Tliere are remarkable gender differences among male
and female psychiatrists concerning their working conditions,
clinical performance, and choice of areas of interest. The prestige of
the profession is traditionally linked to the choice of special areas
of interests.
S - XV / 4 Friday 15/8, 11:00-12:30
Social and psychopathological aspects of gender
differences in first episode psychotic patients
Anne Thorup, MD, PhD Student, OPUS-projektet, Bispebjerg Hospital, C F Richs Vej
23, 2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark. Lx>ne Petersen, Johan 0hIensch!æger, Merete
Nordenloft, Pia Jeppesen, Per Jprgensen, Maj-Britt Abel.
atv@dadlnet.dk
Objective: A two-site randomised controlled trial of intensive
psychosocial treatment with first episode psychotic patients, 18-45
years old with diagnoses of schizophrenia, delusional disorder, and
other paranoiac states, is conducted in Copenhagen and Aarhus,
Denmark.
Method: The treatment consists of assertive community treatment.
40 L/EKNABLAÐIÐ / FYLGIRIT 48 2003/89