title: Stress management in men with solvent-induced chronic toxic encephalopathy.
abstract: Stress management was studied in male patients with solvent-induced chronic toxic encephalopathy (TE) of types 2A (TE 2A, n = 31) and 2B (TE 2B, n = 26). The patients were compared with a healthy reference group (n = 57). Self-reported symptoms (90-item Symptoms Checklist [SCL-90]), sense of coherence, coping strategies, and level of mastery were measured. As expected, both TE groups reported highly deviating symptoms on most SCL-90 scales. The TE 2B patients, who had objectified cognitive dysfunction, reported more use of passive, less situationally adequate coping strategies; a weaker sense of coherence; and a lower degree of mastery. In contrast, the TE 2A cases showed only minor deviations from the reference group in these respects. The results suggest that having a strong sense of coherence, a sense of mastery, and flexible resources for stress management could be dependent on intact brain functions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University Hospital, Sweden. bjorn.karlson@ymed.lu.se
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Karlson
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Seger
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Osterberg
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Abjörnsson
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Orbaek
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001925:Brain Damage, Chronic / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000523:psychology*; D003625:Data Collection; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000523:psychology*; D011336:Probability; D012016:Reference Values; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012997:Solvents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D012997:Solvents