Sudden onset headache is a common condition that sometimes indicates a life-threatening subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) but is mostly harmless. We have performed a prospective study of 137 consecutive patients with this kind of headache (thunderclap headache=TCH). The examination included a CT scan, CSF examination and follow-up of patients with no SAH during the period between 2 days and 12 months after the headache attack. The incidence was 43 per 100 000 inhabitants >18 years of age per year; 11.3% of the patients with TCH had SAH. Findings in other patients indicated cerebral infarction (five), intracerebral haematoma (three), aseptic meningitis (four), cerebral oedema (one) and sinus thrombosis (one). Thus no specific finding indicating the underlying cause of the TCH attack was found in the majority of the patients. A slightly increased prevalence of migraine was found in the non-SAH patients (28%). The attacks occurred in 11 cases (8%) during sexual activity and two of these had an SAH. Nausea, neck stiffness, occipital location and impaired consciousness were significantly more frequent with SAH but did not occur in all cases. Location in the temporal region and pressing headache quality were the only features that were more common in non-SAH patients. Recurrent attacks of TCH occurred in 24% of the non-SAH patients. No SAH occurred later in this group, nor in any of the other patients. It was concluded that attacks caused by a SAH cannot be distinguished from non-SAH attacks on clinical grounds. It is important that patients with their first TCH attack are investigated with CT and CSF examination to exclude SAH, meningitis or cerebral infarction. The results from this and previous studies indicate that it is not necessary to perform angiography in patients with a TCH attack, provided that no symptoms or signs indicate a possible brain lesion and a CT scan and CSF examination have not indicated SAH.

As a coping strategy, telework may reduce stress from some sources; however, it may also undermine restorative functions of the home. Investigating this tradeoff between stress mitigation and the constraint of restoration, we analysed questionnaire data from 101 full-time Swedish governmental employees whose workplace relocated to another city. After the relocation, 58 employees performed ≥ 20 per cent of their ordinary paid work at home. Coping with commuting and parenting demands frequently figured among reasons for teleworking. Having a separate room for telework appeared to ameliorate spatial but not temporal or mental overlap of work and non-work life. Teleworkers and non-teleworkers alike experienced the home more as a place of restoration than one of demands. Teleworking was reliably associated with restoration, conditional on gender; of those who teleworked, women reported less, and men more, effective restoration than their counterparts among non-teleworkers.Le télétravail, comme stratégie d'affrontement ( coping ), peut lutter contre le stress de diverses façons; mais il peut aussi miner les fonctions reconstituantes du foyer. Pour l'étude du compromis entre l'atténuation du stress et les contraintes du retour à l'état normal, nous avons analysé les réponses à un questionnaire rempli par 101 fonctionnaires suédois à plein-temps dont le travail a été délocalisé. A la suite de ce changement, 58 de ces agents réalisaient au moins 20% de leur tâche habituelle chez eux. Le télétravail était souvent vu

As part of the downsizing of a large insurance company in Sweden, all personnel 55 years of age and older were invited to apply for early retirement on financially favourable terms. A total of 357 (55%) of senior employees applied for and were permitted early retirement, while 276 remained employed. Effects of voluntary/forced choice of employment status on subsequent adaptation were evaluated. Gender differences were also tested. The study compared early retirees and persons continuing to work over the years following downsizing with regard to satisfaction, well‐being, health, and work centrality. 224 ‘retirees’ and 146 ‘stayers’ filled in a questionnaire on mental health and work conditions on two occasions (at an 18‐month interval). Results indicated that voluntary (as opposed to forced) choice was directly and positively associated with satisfaction, psychological well‐being and health for both groups. Females showed lower values of work centrality, appeared to be more inclined to apply for retirement, and were generally more satisfied with the outcome than males.

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