[Substance abuse in middle and old age -- general abuse]

[Depression and Violence: A Contradiction?]

Depression and Violence: A Contradiction? Abstract. Depression is one of the leading diseases worldwide. Its symptoms are of great importance for a variety of areas within internal medicine, as patients often pay a visit to their general practitioners first. Although symptoms of depression are observed in both genders, existing peculiarities of the symptoms in men are only insufficiently known or acknowledged. Therefore, we dedicate this article to the concept of male depression, which can be characterized by social withdrawal, irritability or substance abuse. Here, we present practice-related associations between depression and violent behavior, which will be illustrated by two case studies. Of particular relevance is the so-called suicidal-homicidal syndrome, which should make further psychiatric, if not forensic-psychiatric evaluation mandatory.

[Substance abuse in middle and old age-everyday drug alcohol and nicotine: use and abuse]

Alcohol as a semi-luxury item is socially accepted in our society and its usage constitutes a normative behaviour. The transition from consumption to abuse is often rapid. Results supply evidence for widely spread alcohol addictions in Germany. The following paper examines the consumption and the abuse of alcohol using the data from the Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study of Adulthood (ILSE). The findings of a questionnaire investigating diet and medical examination data [interview data referring to alcohol consumption and laboratory findings concerning Gamma-Glutamyl-Transferase levels (Gamma-GT-levels)] based on two cohorts (years of birth 1930-1932 and 1950-1952) from centres of investigation in Heidelberg and Leipzig are adopted in this study. The centre comparison indicates higher alcohol consumption in the Leipziger study participants. The findings register less alcohol usage at the second measurement point, where as the Gamma-GT-levels rise and a greater endangering of health can, therefore, be noted. Besides alcohol, cigarettes are a widely accepted everyday drug in Germany. The health risks are enormous (e. g. high blood pressure, bronchitis and lung cancer). The smoking habits of the two cohorts will be described at two measurement points concerning participants from Heidelberg and Leipzig. The cohort comparison demonstrates a significant disadvantage of the younger women, although, as for as, the men are concerned no clear difference can be found.