Objective To determine the effectiveness of anticholinergic drugs for the treatment of overactive bladder syndrome.

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A New Zealand cohort of 58 patients with bipolar affective disorder was studied prospectively with three-monthly interviews in order to determine the relationship between life events and their relapses. Careful attention was paid to dating life events and the earliest signs of relapse and to assessing the independence of life events from the illness. No statistically significant association was found between life events and the likelihood of relapses, either mania or depression, for the 71% of patients who experienced at least one relapse during the two-year study. This finding is at variance with a companion study, with identical methodology, which found a small increase of life events before relapse. These data add further weight to the previous reports that life events are significant precipitants of bipolar illness only for earlier episodes in the course of this chronic disorder.

The use of anticholinergic drugs by people with overactive bladder syndrome results in statistically significant improvement in symptoms. However, the clinical significance of these differences is uncertain, and the longer-term effects are not known. Dry mouth is a common side effect of therapy.

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Objective-To determine the patterns of sexual behaviour, condom use and sexually transmitted diseases among young New Zealanders, and the characteristics of those with many sexual partners.Subjects-A cohort of young people enrolled in a longitudinal cohort study, and followed up since age three.Method&-Subjects were interviewed at age 18 years as part of a multidisciplinary health and development study. Questions about sexual behaviour were presented by computer.Results-Overall 86211027 (83-9%) surviving in the cohort was interviewed. Only 1.4% declined to answer the section on sexual behaviour. Sexual intercourse in the previous 12 months was reported by 57-6% of the young men and 679%/o of the young women. Amongst those who were sexually active more of the young men reported multiple partners than the young women (59.8%!. v 46*5% p < 0.001).There was a trend for increasing number of partners with indices of lower school achievement but no significant association with socio-economic status. Condom use decreased with increasing number of partners for the young women, and for the young men there was no association. Sexually transmitted diseases were reported more commonly with increasing number of sexual partners for both men and women. The rates of sexual activity were substantially higher than reported in a comparable survey 20 years ago.Conclusions-The pattern of sexual behaviour and condom use, and the occurrence of sexually transmitted diseases in this sample give cause for concern about the spread of sexually transmitted diseases including the possibility of an epidemic of HIV among heterosexual young people in New Zealand.The findings should help in targeting health promotional activities within this age group.

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