Psychosexual study of women with detrusor instability
Article Abstract:
The detrusor muscle of the bladder, which is responsible for emptying the organ when it is filled with urine, can become unstable and contract in an involuntary manner, leading to incontinence. In fact, this is a cause of a large proportion of cases of female incontinence; however, in most cases, the cause of detrusor instability cannot be identified. One possibility is that many cases of detrusor instability are the result of psychosomatic illness. This notion was investigated in a study of 63 women who complained of urinary incontinence. The subjects, and 27 women without incontinence, underwent testing to evaluate several aspects of urinary function, including urine flow, measurement of the urethra (the tube through which urine passes from the bladder), and stress (incontinence) tests. In addition, psychological tests were administered to patients and controls. Results showed that 35 women had stress incontinence (leakage of urine during stresses such as coughing or laughing), 28 had detrusor instability, and 9 had both conditions. The two incontinent groups did not differ in their scores on psychological tests, but the patients with detrusor instability had elevated scores on the hypochondriasis, depression, and hysteria scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), as compared with controls. Abnormal MMPI profiles were obtained for 86 percent of the women with detrusor instability, 69 percent of the stress-incontinence group, and 37 percent of the controls. Both incontinent groups had a lower frequency of uplifts, and more intense hassles, than the controls, as measured by the Uplift and Hassle Scales. The incontinent women experienced more sexual dysfunction than controls. In summary, urinary incontinence in some women appears to be associated with psychological and sexual dysfunctions, with an array of negative feelings expressed by women with that condition. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Obstetrics and Gynecology
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0029-7844
Year: 1990
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Dishing it out; direct-to-home satellite television is hot
Article Abstract:
A number of Canadian TV distribution companies have filed a civil suit charging that DTH technology contravenes the Radiocommunication Act because it provides access to TV signals not licensed in Canada. The service, first introduced in 1994, is very popular because it provides clear access to more than 150 stations.
Publication Name: Maclean's
Subject: News, opinion and commentary
ISSN: 0024-9262
Year: 1996
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Don't Forget the Sakharovs
Article Abstract:
Nobel peace prize winner and Soviet dissident Sakharov is still free. Pressure against him is moving. He could be silenced through his wife or by imprisonment in a psychiatric hospital.
Publication Name: Economist
Subject: Economics
ISSN: 0013-0613
Year: 1983
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