Sample records for abnormal mental status

  1. The Mental Status Expert (MSE): an expert system for scoring and interpreting the mental status examination.

    PubMed Central

    Hier, D. B.; Jao, C. S.; Brint, S. U.

    1994-01-01

    The mental status examination is the most difficult and time-consuming portion of the neurological examination. A complete mental status examination requires the examiner to assess alertness, memory, language, praxis, gnosis, attention, and visual-spatial functions. Findings of the mental status need to be interpreted in terms of severity of deficits, nature of the deficits, likely etiology, and likely area of corresponding brain injury. The performance of an accurate, complete, and detailed mental status examination is a daunting task for the medical student or resident in training. Traditional mental status examinations show considerable inter-examiner variability for items administered and for interpretation of abnormalities. Even in academic settings, mental status examinations have little educational content. PMID:7949891

  2. Pilot Mental Workload with Predictive System Status Information

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Trujillo, Anna C.

    1998-01-01

    Research has shown a strong pilot preference for predictive information of aircraft system status in the flight deck. However, the mental workload associated with using this predictive information has not been ascertained. The study described here attempted to measure mental workload. In this simulator experiment, three types of predictive information (none, whether a parameter was changing abnormally, and the time for a parameter to reach an alert range) and four initial times to a parameter alert range (1 minute, 5 minutes, 15 minutes, and ETA+45 minutes) were tested to determine their effects on subjects mental workload. Subjective workload ratings increased with increasing predictive information (whether a parameter was changing abnormally or the time for a parameter to reach an alert range). Subjective situation awareness decreased with more predictive information but it became greater with increasing initial times to a parameter alert range. Also, subjective focus changed depending on the type of predictive information. Lastly, skin temperature fluctuated less as the initial time to a parameter alert range increased.

  3. Do You Hear Voices? Problems in Assessment of Mental Status in Deaf Persons with Severe Language Deprivation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Glickman, Neil

    2007-01-01

    When mental health clinicians perform mental status examinations, they examine the language patterns of patients because abnormal language patterns, sometimes referred to as language dysfluency, may indicate a thought disorder. Performing such examinations with deaf patients is a far more complex task, especially with traditionally underserved…

  4. [Incidence and risk factors for mental abnormalities in children of psychiatric inpatients].

    PubMed

    Stelzig-Schöler, Renate; Hasselbring, Laura; Yazdi, Kurosch; Thun-Hohenstein, Leonhard; Stuppäck, Christoph; Aichhorn, Wolfgang

    2011-01-01

    Children of mentally ill parents are exposed to a variety of stress- and harmful life events. To which extent the mental illness of one or both parents affects their children's mental development is barely studied. Therefore, over a period of 6 months 142 patients with children below the age of 18 (n=237 children), who were admitted to the Dept. for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy 1 of the Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, were questioned for abnormalities in their children's mental development. Additionally all these patients were assessed for their family situation, demographic data and psychiatric disorder. 38.4% (n=91) of the children showed mental abnormalities. The most common one were emotional (n=41), social (n=41) and learning (n=34) disabilities. Parental duration of the illness (p=0.001), age of the children (p=0.044), illness of both parents (p=0.008), longlasting family conflicts (p=0.003) and living with only one parent (p=0.012) were correlated significantly with mental abnormalities in children. The results confirm an increase risk for mental abnormalities in children of psychiatric patients. This risk varies with existing risk and protective factors, which can be partially influenced. Therefore children of mentally ill parents with problems in their mental development should be detected early. Even if genetic risk factors cannot be changed reducing known psychosocial risk factors and promotion protective factors can significantly influence a healthy development of these vulnerable children.

  5. Teaching Abnormal Psychology to Improve Attitudes toward Mental Illness and Help-Seeking

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kendra, Matthew S.; Cattaneo, Lauren B.; Mohr, Jonathan J.

    2012-01-01

    Abnormal psychology instructors often use traditional and personal methods to educate students about and improve student attitudes toward mental illness and professional help-seeking. Data from abnormal psychology students (N = 190) were used to determine if and how students' attitudes toward mental illness and professional help-seeking attitudes…

  6. Mentally abnormal homicide in New Zealand as defined by legal and clinical criteria: a national study.

    PubMed

    Simpson, Alexander I F; Skipworth, Jeremy; McKenna, Brian; Moskowitz, Andrew; Barry-Walsh, Justin

    2006-09-01

    Homicides by people with mental illness have been studied using either clinical or legal categorization of the homicide as abnormal. No previous study has employed both definitions in the same population. A retrospective study of all homicides in New Zealand between 1988 and 2000 considered mentally abnormal homicide using a legal definition (when the courts deemed a contribution of mental illness was present) and a clinical definition (defined as the presence of a discharge diagnosis from inpatient mental health treatment) of 'mentally abnormal'. Rates, characteristics and time trends were investigated. Of the 844 cases, 7.1% met legal criteria for being mentally abnormal, while 7.7% had ever received a diagnosis for a psychotic illness, and a further 14.5% had been admitted to a psychiatric hospital for any other reason. The majority (60%) of perpetrators with a psychotic diagnosis received a mental health disposition from the court. Of these, 60% were first diagnosed with their psychotic illness prior to the homicide, while 28% were first diagnosed at the time of the offence and a further 12% after imprisonment. Of all those who received a psychotic diagnosis, 89% had post-conviction admissions or a mental health disposition. Legal and clinical definitions of mentally abnormal homicide detect similar rates of mentally abnormal homicide, but illustrate somewhat different dimensions of the relationship between mental illness and homicide.

  7. "Idiopathic" mental retardation and new chromosomal abnormalities

    PubMed Central

    2010-01-01

    Mental retardation is a heterogeneous condition, affecting 1-3% of general population. In the last few years, several emerging clinical entities have been described, due to the advent of newest genetic techniques, such as array Comparative Genomic Hybridization. The detection of cryptic microdeletion/microduplication abnormalities has allowed genotype-phenotype correlations, delineating recognizable syndromic conditions that are herein reviewed. With the aim to provide to Paediatricians a combined clinical and genetic approach to the child with cognitive impairment, a practical diagnostic algorithm is also illustrated. The use of microarray platforms has further reduced the percentage of "idiopathic" forms of mental retardation, previously accounted for about half of total cases. We discussed the putative pathways at the basis of remaining "pure idiopathic" forms of mental retardation, highlighting possible environmental and epigenetic mechanisms as causes of altered cognition. PMID:20152051

  8. The association between acute mental stress and abnormal left atrial electrophysiology.

    PubMed

    O'Neal, Wesley T; Hammadah, Muhammad; Sandesara, Pratik B; Almuwaqqat, Zakaria; Samman-Tahhan, Ayman; Gafeer, Mohamad M; Abdelhadi, Naser; Wilmot, Kobina; Al Mheid, Ibhar; Bremner, Douglas J; Kutner, Michael; Soliman, Elsayed Z; Shah, Amit J; Quyyumi, Arshed A; Vaccarino, Viola

    2017-10-01

    Acute stress may trigger atrial fibrillation (AF), but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. We examined if acute mental stress results in abnormal left atrial electrophysiology as detected by more negative deflection of P-wave terminal force in lead V 1 (PTFV 1 ), a well-known marker of AF risk. We examined this hypothesis in 422 patients (mean age = 56 ± 10 years; 61% men; 44% white) with stable coronary heart disease who underwent mental (speech task) stress testing. PTFV 1 was defined as the duration (milliseconds) times the value of the depth (μV) of the downward deflection (terminal portion) of the P-wave in lead V 1 measured on digital electrocardiograms (ECG). Electrocardiographic left atrial abnormality was defined as PTFV 1 ≤ -4000 μV*ms. Mean PTFV 1 values during stress and recovery were compared with rest. The percentage of participants who developed left atrial abnormality during stress and recovery was compared with the percentage at rest. Compared with rest, PTFV 1 became more negative during mental stress (mean change =  -348, 95% CI = [-515, -182]; P < 0.001) and no change was observed at recovery (mean change = 12, 95%CI = [-148, 172]; P = 0.89). A larger percentage of participants showed left atrial abnormality on ECGs obtained at stress (n = 163, 39%) and recovery (n = 142, 34%) compared with rest (n = 127, 30%). Acute mental stress alters left atrial electrophysiology, suggesting that stressful situations promote adverse transient electrical changes to provide the necessary substrate for AF. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. Mentally abnormal prisoners on remand: I—Rejected or accepted by the NHS?

    PubMed Central

    Coid, Jeremy W

    1988-01-01

    Increasing numbers of mentally abnormal offenders are sentenced to prison. The decision to treat or imprison them is influenced by the attitudes of consultant psychiatrists and their staff. The process whereby those decisions were made and the willingness of consultants to offer treatment were investigated. A retrospective survey of all (362) mentally abnormal men remanded to Winchester prison for psychiatric reports over the five years 1979-83 showed that one in five were rejected for treatment by the NHS consultant psychiatrist responsible for their care. Those with mental handicaps, organic brain damage, or a chronic psychotic illness rendering them unable to cope independently in the community were the most likely to be rejected. They posed the least threat to the community in terms of their criminal behaviour yet were more likely to be sentenced to imprisonment. Such subjects were commonly described by consultants as too disturbed or potentially dangerous to be admitted to hospital or as criminals and unsuitable for treatment. Consultants in mental hospitals were most likely and those in district general hospitals and academic units least likely to accept prisoners. The fact that many mentally ill and mentally handicapped patients can receive adequate care and treatment only on reception into prison raises serious questions about the adequacy of current management policies and the range of facilities provided by regional health authorities. PMID:3136837

  10. Engaged Lifestyle, Personality, and Mental Status Among Centenarians

    PubMed Central

    Baenziger, Joan; MacDonald, Maurice; Siegler, Ilene C.; Poon, Leonard W.

    2010-01-01

    This study assessed engaged lifestyle activities (e.g., volunteering, traveling, and public speaking) for centenarians of the Georgia Centenarian Study. A total of 285 centenarians and near-centenarians (i.e., 98 years and older) and their proxy informants participated in this study. The Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) was assessed for all centenarians, and proxy informants reported on lifestyle activities and personality traits of the centenarians. Results suggested that participants who had volunteered, traveled, and those who had given public talks and balanced their checkbooks were more likely to show relatively high mental status scores (i.e., MMSE > 17). Personality traits were found to be moderators in the relationship between engaged lifestyle and mental status: Participants with high levels of Emotional Stability, Extraversion, Openness, and Conscientiousness and with high levels of engaged lifestyle were more likely to show relatively high mental status scores (i.e., MMSE > 17), whereas participants with low levels of Emotional Stability, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness and with low levels of engaged lifestyle were more likely to show relatively low mental status scores (i.e., MMSE < 18). The results suggest that engaged lifestyle, particularly in combination with personality traits, plays an important role in the level of cognitive functioning among oldest old adults. PMID:21132076

  11. Cortical thickness abnormalities associated with dyslexia, independent of remediation status.

    PubMed

    Ma, Yizhou; Koyama, Maki S; Milham, Michael P; Castellanos, F Xavier; Quinn, Brian T; Pardoe, Heath; Wang, Xiuyuan; Kuzniecky, Ruben; Devinsky, Orrin; Thesen, Thomas; Blackmon, Karen

    2015-01-01

    Abnormalities in cortical structure are commonly observed in children with dyslexia in key regions of the "reading network." Whether alteration in cortical features reflects pathology inherent to dyslexia or environmental influence (e.g., impoverished reading experience) remains unclear. To address this question, we compared MRI-derived metrics of cortical thickness (CT), surface area (SA), gray matter volume (GMV), and their lateralization across three different groups of children with a historical diagnosis of dyslexia, who varied in current reading level. We compared three dyslexia subgroups with: (1) persistent reading and spelling impairment; (2) remediated reading impairment (normal reading scores), and (3) remediated reading and spelling impairments (normal reading and spelling scores); and a control group of (4) typically developing children. All groups were matched for age, gender, handedness, and IQ. We hypothesized that the dyslexia group would show cortical abnormalities in regions of the reading network relative to controls, irrespective of remediation status. Such a finding would support that cortical abnormalities are inherent to dyslexia and are not a consequence of abnormal reading experience. Results revealed increased CT of the left fusiform gyrus in the dyslexia group relative to controls. Similarly, the dyslexia group showed CT increase of the right superior temporal gyrus, extending into the planum temporale, which resulted in a rightward CT asymmetry on lateralization indices. There were no group differences in SA, GMV, or their lateralization. These findings held true regardless of remediation status. Each reading level group showed the same "double hit" of atypically increased left fusiform CT and rightward superior temporal CT asymmetry. Thus, findings provide evidence that a developmental history of dyslexia is associated with CT abnormalities, independent of remediation status.

  12. Etiologies of altered mental status in patients with presumed ethanol intoxication.

    PubMed

    Martel, Marc L; Klein, Lauren R; Lichtenheld, Andrew J; Kerandi, Allan M; Driver, Brian E; Cole, Jon B

    2018-06-01

    Altered mental status is a commonly evaluated problem in the ED. Ethanol intoxication is common, and prehospital history may bias emergency physicians to suspect this as the cause of altered mental status. Quantitative ethanol measurement can rapidly confirm the diagnosis, or if negative, prompt further evaluation. Our objective was to identify the etiologies of altered mental status in ED patients initially presumed to be intoxicated with ethanol but found to have negative quantitative ethanol levels. This was a 5-year (2012-2016) electronic medical record review of ED patients presenting with altered mental status. Patients were included if they presented with presumed ethanol intoxication and had an initial ethanol concentration of zero. Etiologies of altered mental status were categorized into medical, traumatic, psychiatric, and drug-related causes. 29,322 patients presented during the study period with presumed alcohol intoxication, 1875 patients had negative ethanol levels. The etiology of altered mental status was due to illicit substances in 1337 patients (71%), psychiatric causes in 354 patients (19%), medical causes in 166 patients (9%) and trauma in 18 patients (1%). A total of 179 patients (10%) were admitted to the hospital; 19 patients (1%) to the ICU. The presumptive diagnosis of ethanol intoxication in patients presenting to the ED with altered mental status was inaccurate in 5% of patients. The etiology of altered mental status was serious and required hospitalization in 10% of the cohort. Rapid assessment of quantitative ethanol levels should be performed, breathalyzers may be preferred over serum testing. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Cortical thickness abnormalities associated with dyslexia, independent of remediation status

    PubMed Central

    Ma, Yizhou; Koyama, Maki S.; Milham, Michael P.; Castellanos, F. Xavier; Quinn, Brian T.; Pardoe, Heath; Wang, Xiuyuan; Kuzniecky, Ruben; Devinsky, Orrin; Thesen, Thomas; Blackmon, Karen

    2014-01-01

    Abnormalities in cortical structure are commonly observed in children with dyslexia in key regions of the “reading network.” Whether alteration in cortical features reflects pathology inherent to dyslexia or environmental influence (e.g., impoverished reading experience) remains unclear. To address this question, we compared MRI-derived metrics of cortical thickness (CT), surface area (SA), gray matter volume (GMV), and their lateralization across three different groups of children with a historical diagnosis of dyslexia, who varied in current reading level. We compared three dyslexia subgroups with: (1) persistent reading and spelling impairment; (2) remediated reading impairment (normal reading scores), and (3) remediated reading and spelling impairments (normal reading and spelling scores); and a control group of (4) typically developing children. All groups were matched for age, gender, handedness, and IQ. We hypothesized that the dyslexia group would show cortical abnormalities in regions of the reading network relative to controls, irrespective of remediation status. Such a finding would support that cortical abnormalities are inherent to dyslexia and are not a consequence of abnormal reading experience. Results revealed increased CT of the left fusiform gyrus in the dyslexia group relative to controls. Similarly, the dyslexia group showed CT increase of the right superior temporal gyrus, extending into the planum temporale, which resulted in a rightward CT asymmetry on lateralization indices. There were no group differences in SA, GMV, or their lateralization. These findings held true regardless of remediation status. Each reading level group showed the same “double hit” of atypically increased left fusiform CT and rightward superior temporal CT asymmetry. Thus, findings provide evidence that a developmental history of dyslexia is associated with CT abnormalities, independent of remediation status. PMID:25610779

  14. Physical health status of pupils in a school for the mentally disabled in Lagos.

    PubMed

    Ezeaka, V C; Iroha, E O

    2003-12-01

    The study set out to assess the health status of pupils of a school for children with mental disability. The school is Modupe Cole Memorial Child Care and Treatment Home School, Akoka, Lagos. The records of 211 pupils were reviewed and the pupils were clinically examined by the author. Seventy-four (35.1%) of the subjects had complete immunization, 48(22.7%) had incomplete immunization while 44(20.9%) received no immunization. The probable aetiology of mental disability in the subjects was due to postnatal causes (96; 45.5%), natal causes (44; 20.8%), prenatal causes (12; 5.7%) and unknown (59; 28.0%). The most abnormal findings on physical examination were in the central nervous system (199; 94.3%), the musculoskeletal system (137; 64.9%), the mouth/teeth (125; 59.2%) and the skin (98; 46.4%). These findings were worse amongst the residential students than in the non-residential students (p < 0.001). The information obtained from this study will help to serve as a reference for purposes of health planning and policy formulation for children with mental disability.

  15. Infertile Individuals’ Marital Relationship Status, Happiness, and Mental Health: A Causal Model

    PubMed Central

    Ahmadi Forooshany, Seyed Habiballah; Yazdkhasti, Fariba; Safari Hajataghaie, Saiede; Nasr Esfahani, Mohammad Hossein

    2014-01-01

    Background This study examined the causal model of relation between marital relation- ship status, happiness, and mental health in infertile individuals. Materials and Methods In this descriptive study, 155 subjects (men: 52 and women: 78), who had been visited in one of the infertility Centers, voluntarily participated in a self-evaluation. Golombok Rust Inventory of Marital Status, Oxford Happiness Ques- tionnaire, and General Health Questionnaire were used as instruments of the study. Data was analyzed by SPSS17 and Amos 5 software using descriptive statistics, independent sample t test, and path analysis. Results Disregarding the gender factor, marital relationship status was directly related to happiness (p<0.05) and happiness was directly related to mental health, (p<0.05). Also, indirect relation between marital relationship status and mental health was significant (p<0.05). These results were confirmed in women participants but in men participants only the direct relation between happiness and mental health was significant (p<0.05). Conclusion Based on goodness of model fit in fitness indexes, happiness had a mediator role in relation between marital relationship status and mental health in infertile individu- als disregarding the gender factor. Also, considering the gender factor, only in infertile women, marital relationship status can directly and indirectly affect happiness and mental health. PMID:25379161

  16. History of co-occurring disorders and current mental health status among homeless veterans.

    PubMed

    Ding, Kele; Slate, Matthew; Yang, Jingzhen

    2018-06-18

    Homeless veterans are at high risk for co-occurring disorders (COD), defined as mental illnesses that include at least one alcohol or other drug use disorder and at least one non-drug related mental disorder. However, epidemiological studies examining the prevalence of COD and associated mental health status in this population are limited. The objectives of the study were: (1) to describe a history of diagnosed mental disorders among homeless veterans admitted to a transitional housing program, and (2) to examine the associations of the prior diagnosed COD and other mental disorders with current mental health status. Study participants were male homeless veterans admitted to a transitional housing program from July 2015 to September 2017 in a large municipal area in Northeast Ohio, the United States. Cross-sectional, self-reported data from the admission assessment were included and analyzed. History of mental disorder diagnoses were aggregated into five categories for the purpose of this study: no mental disorders, only alcohol or other drug use disorder(s), one non-drug related mental disorder, two or more non-drug related mental disorders, and COD. Current mental status were measured as empowerment, mental component summary score (MCS) and physical component summary score (PCS) of health related quality of life (VR-12), and perceived overall well-being. Sample distribution of the five categories and their associations with current mental status were examined using Generalized Linear Model test. Of all participants, 76.7% had at least one prior diagnosed mental disorder, including 47.4% with any drug-related disorders. Over one-third (37.2%) reported having COD. Compared to those with no mental disorder history, those with COD scored significantly lower on MCS and empowerment scores; those with any prior diagnosed non-drug related mental disorders also scored significantly lower on MCS. No significant differences, however, were found in current mental health

  17. Neurologic, neuropsychologic, and computed cranial tomography scan abnormalities in 2- to 10-year survivors of small-cell lung cancer.

    PubMed

    Johnson, B E; Becker, B; Goff, W B; Petronas, N; Krehbiel, M A; Makuch, R W; McKenna, G; Glatstein, E; Ihde, D C

    1985-12-01

    In order to evaluate the relationship between neurologic function and cranial irradiation, 20 patients treated on National Cancer Institute (NCI) small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) trials who were alive and free of cancer 2.4 to 10.6 years (median, 6.2) from the start of therapy were studied. All were tested with a neurologic history and examination, mental status examination, neuropsychologic testing, and review of serial computed cranial tomography (CCT) scans. Fifteen patients had been treated with prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI), two patients with therapeutic cranial irradiation, and three received no cranial irradiation. All patients but one were ambulatory and none were institutionalized. Fifteen patients (75%) had neurologic complaints, 13 (65%) had abnormal neurologic examinations, 12 (60%) had abnormal mental status examinations, 13 (65%) had abnormal neuropsychologic testing, and 15 (75%) had abnormal CCT scans. Compared with those given low-dose maintenance chemotherapy during PCI using 200 to 300 rad per fraction, patients who were given high-dose induction chemotherapy during the time of cranial irradiation or large radiotherapy fractions (400 rad) were more likely to have abnormal mental status examinations (6/6 v 4/9) and abnormal neuropsychologic tests (6/6 v 4/9), but no major difference in CCT findings was present. CCT scans in the majority of cases (11/18) showed progressive ventricular dilatation or cerebral atrophy up to 8 years after stopping therapy. We conclude neurologic abnormalities are common in long-term survivors of SCLC, and may be more prominent in patients given high-dose chemotherapy during cranial irradiation or treated with large radiotherapy fractions. The CCT scan abnormalities are common and progressive years after prophylactic cranial irradiation and chemotherapy are stopped.

  18. The mental health status and associated factors affecting underprivileged Iranian women.

    PubMed

    Maharlouei, Najmeh; Hoseinzadeh, Amin; Ghaedsharaf, Esmaeil; Zolfi, Hosein; Arab, Parisa; Farahmand, Zahra; Hallaj, Mahbanoo; Fazilat, Shiva; Heidari, Sayed Taghi; Joulaei, Hassan; Karbalaie, Fatemeh; Lankarani, Kamran B

    2014-12-01

    The prevalence of mental disorders in Iran approximates to that of other countries. This study evaluates mental health status and its related factors among underprivileged women in Shiraz, Iran. This research was conducted between June, 2010 and November, 2012, and comprised 2108 women who participated in the Shiraz Women's Health Cohort Study. The questionnaire used in the study was completed by trained general practitioner and included demographic information and the 28-item version of the General Health. The t-test, chi-square test and multivariate logistic regression model were used for statistical analysis. A P-value <0.05 was considered significant. The mean age of the participants was 49.7±10.6 years. According to the General Health Questionnaire, the most prevalent mental disorder was social dysfunction observed in 1643 (77.9%) participants followed by somatic symptoms found in 1308 (62%) subjects. Mental disorders were most prevalent among married women (63.8%, P=0.004). Participants holding high school diploma or university degree (141; 52.4%) comprised the smallest proportion of subjects with mental disorders (P=0.01). Of a total 265 participants whose husband were in prison, 171 (64.5%) exhibited mental disorders, presenting the greatest proportion of women with mental disorders. Logistic regression analysis showed an association between mental health status and participants' level of education, number of children and marital status, based on the General Health Questionnaire total score. The results of this study showed a considerably higher prevalence of mental disorders among Iranian women in comparison with the general population. Therefore policymakers should pay greater attention to the mental health status of underprivileged Iranian women. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Dental Caries and Periodontal Status of Mentally Handicapped Institutilized Children

    PubMed Central

    Gupta, Sarika; Arya, Astha

    2014-01-01

    Background: Dental caries and periodontal disease are the most prevalent dental disease among mentally retarded children worldwide. Aims and Objectives: A study was carried out in Jodhpur city of Rajasthan state of India to assess the Dental caries and periodontal Status of Mentally handicapped attending special schools children in Jodhpur city. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted in 80 mentally handicapped subjects, attending a Special Needs school in Jodhpur City. Dental caries and Periodontal Status were recorded following the WHO basic oral health survey. Results: None of the subject had healthy periodontal status, dental caries was found in 79.2% of the subjects, Lymphadenopathy was observed in highest number of subjects 55 (76.3%). Conclusion: Health professionals should therefore be aware of the impact of mental illness and its treatment on oral health, Health personnel should receive training to support and provide all possible services to this population. PMID:25177632

  20. Association between weight status and men's positive mental health: The influence of marital status.

    PubMed

    de Montigny, Francine; Cloutier, Lyne; Meunier, Sophie; Cyr, Caroline; Coulombe, Simon; Tremblay, Gilles; Auger, Nathalie; Roy, Bernard; Gaboury, Isabelle; Lavoie, Brigitte; Dion, Harold; Houle, Janie

    The purpose of this study was to (1) examine the association between weight status and men's positive mental health, defined as the presence of symptoms of emotional, psychological, and social well-being, and (2) evaluate the moderating effect of marital status. A total of 645 men aged between 19 and 71 years self-reported their height and weight and answered a questionnaire measuring their emotional, psychological, and social well-being. Analysis of variance revealed that mean levels of emotional, psychological, and social well-being did not significantly differ according to men's weight status. Moderation analyses indicated that, for men in a relationship (married or living common-law), there were no significant associations between overweight, obesity, and the three components of positive mental health. However, for single men, overweight was marginally associated with higher emotional well-being, while obesity was associated with lower psychological well-being and marginally associated with lower social well-being. Results of the present study suggest that health professionals and researchers should take the characteristics (such as marital status) of men with obesity and overweight into account when working with them. Mental health researchers may need to examine men in each weight category separately (e.g. obesity vs. overweight), since the association with positive mental health can differ from one category to another. Copyright © 2016 Asia Oceania Association for the Study of Obesity. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. [Mental health status in railway female workers and its occupational influencing factors].

    PubMed

    Ji, F L; Liu, Z M; Liu, Z S; Zou, J F; Yu, W L; Li, H M; Li, J; Kong, L M; Jiang, Q

    2018-02-20

    Objective: To investigate the mental health status of railway female workers and related influencing factors, and to provide a scientific strategy for labor protection regulations in railway female workers. Methods: Cluster sampling was used to select 5033 female workers from Jinan, Nanning, Qinghai-Tibet, and Wuhan railway systems in China from January to August, 2016. A uniform reproductive health questionnaire, as well as the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90) , was used to investigate their general information (age, marital status, education level, and family income) , work type (day shift, night shift, or work on shift) , work position, and the presence or absence of exposure to occupational hazardous factors. The score on each factor of SCL-90 and the positive rate of mental health status were calculated. Results: The positive rate of mental health status was 10.6% in railway female workers. The workers exposed to occupational hazardous factors had a significantly higher positive rate of mental health status than those not exposed to occupational hazardous factors (14.20% vs 8.02%, P <0.01) . There were significant differences in the positive rate of mental health status between workers with different ages, marital status, education levels, histories of abortion, or annual family income levels ( P <0.01) . The scores of somatization (1.54±0.62) and horror (1.28±0.47) in SCL-90 were significantly higher than the Chinese adult norm ( P <0.01) . The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that exposure to occupational hazardous factors, night shift, overwork, and carrying heavy objects were associated with mental health problems ( OR =1.797, 95% CI : 1.393-2.318; OR =0.641, 95% CI : 0.498-0.827; OR =0.586, 95% CI : 0.439-0.783; OR =0.580, 95% CI : 0.378-0.890) . Conclusion: Railway female workers have lower levels of mental health than the general population and are under significant occupational stress. Exposure to occupational hazardous factors, night

  2. Spirituality and sexual orientation: relationship to mental well-being and functional health status.

    PubMed

    Coleman, Christopher L

    2003-09-01

    Research has shown that spirituality has a positive effect on physical and mental health; however, few studies have explored the influence of spirituality and sexuality on mental well-being and functional health status in people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). This descriptive cross-sectional study was designed to examine the relationships among spirituality, sexual orientation, mental well-being and aspects of functional health status (physical, role, social and cognitive functioning) in a sample of 117 African-American men and women living with HIV/AIDS. Spirituality was measured using the Spiritual Well-Being Scale. A demographic questionnaire gathered data on sexual orientation, age and gender. The Medical Outcomes Study Questionnaire-30 assessed aspects of functional health status and mental well-being. The HIV Symptom Checklist for Persons With HIV disease was used to collect data on HIV symptoms. The data were collected in 1996. The findings indicate that spirituality had a direct relationship with cognitive and social functioning and was inversely related to HIV symptoms. Sexual orientation had direct relationships with mental well-being, cognitive, physical, social and role functioning. t-Tests showed that heterosexual participants reported poorer mental well-being and functional health status compared with homosexual participants. Regression analysis showed that spirituality, sexual orientation, age and HIV symptoms contributed significantly to mental well-being and functional health status. The regression analysis showed that spirituality, sexual orientation, age and HIV symptoms contributed significantly to mental well-being and functional health status. Further research is needed to explore the various ways that sexual orientation influences health status findings in those with HIV disease in certain segments of the population. The findings support the inclusion of spirituality as a variable when

  3. Behavioral lifestyle and mental health status of Japanese factory workers.

    PubMed

    Ezoe, S; Morimoto, K

    1994-01-01

    Lifestyle factors, sometimes associated with physical health and mortality, have also been known to be associated with mental health status. This study seeks to correlate behavioral lifestyles with major components of mental health among Japanese factory workers. We administered the 28-item version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and a questionnaire concerning eight personal health practices to 2,132 male and 668 female factory workers at a camera-manufacturing company in Japan. There were strong negative relationships of a higher total number of favorable lifestyles as indicated by the Health Practice Index (HPI) to psychological distress and its components: somatic symptoms, anxiety-insomnia, and social dysfunction. After controlling for the effects of confounding factors that included age, marital status, and somatic condition, multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that five of the eight health factors among male workers--mental stress, nutritional balance, eating breakfast regularly, physical exercise, and working hours--were significantly related to the grade of psychological distress or its three components. Among female workers, five health practices, i.e., mental stress, physical exercise, sleeping hours, working hours, and cigarette smoking, were significantly associated with the grade of psychological distress or its three components. Good health practices might be individually and as a whole associated with better mental health status in factory workers.

  4. Determinate factors of mental health status in Chinese medical staff

    PubMed Central

    Zhou, Chenyu; Shi, Lei; Gao, Lei; Liu, Wenhui; Chen, Zhenkang; Tong, Xinfa; Xu, Wen; Peng, Boshi; Zhao, Yan; Fan, Lihua

    2018-01-01

    Abstract Numerous previous studies have investigated the mental health status of medical staff in China and explored its associated determinate factors; however, scope and methods associated with these have introduced uncertainty regarding the results. The aim of this study was to perform a comprehensive examination of the mental health status of Chinese medical staff and its relative risk factors based on a cross-sectional survey. We conducted a broad area, cross-sectional, questionnaire-based survey of Chinese medical workers. Participants were randomly selected from 27 hospitals in the Heilongjiang province. The questionnaire that was distributed consisted of 5 parts: the demographic characteristics of the participant; questions related to the relative risk factors of psychological health; the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C); the Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS); and the Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS). The last 3 components were used to evaluate the mental health status of the target population. Logistic and linear regression were used to analyze the determinate factors of the mental health status of Chinese medical staff. Of the 1679 questionnaires distributed, 1557 medical workers responded (response rate: 92.73%; male: 24.1%; female 75.9%). The results of mental health status self-assessments indicated that 32.3% of participants were considered to have some degree of PTSD (based on the PCL-C). The SDS index was 0.67 and the mean score from SAS was 55.26; a result higher than found in the general population. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that being female, dissatisfaction or average satisfaction with income, and good or very good self-perceived psychological endurance when faced with an emergency were associated with a reduction of PTSD symptoms. A frequency of verbal abuse incidents greater than 4 was associated with an increase in PTSD symptoms. The mental health status of Chinese medical staff

  5. Investigating the Relationship between Perceived Discrimination, Social Status, and Mental Health*

    PubMed Central

    Lee, Hedwig; Turney, Kristin

    2012-01-01

    A growing body of evidence suggests that experiences with discrimination have implications for mental health and that these associations may vary by social status. We use data from the Chicago Community Adult Health Study (CCAHS) to examine how two types of perceived discrimination, chronic everyday discrimination and major lifetime discrimination, are linked to mental health, and how this association varies by race/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status. Results indicate that everyday discrimination is generally independently linked to greater depressive symptoms, loneliness, and hostility across all social status groups. Major discrimination is not associated with depressive symptoms or loneliness after adjusting for a host of covariates, but is associated with hostility, especially for certain groups. These findings highlight the need to examine multiple indicators of discrimination and mental health, and to pay attention to both differences and similarities in these associations by social status. PMID:22900235

  6. Socioeconomic Status and the Prevalence of Mental Retardation in Bangladesh.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Islam, Shaheen; And Others

    1993-01-01

    A population-based study of the prevalence of mental retardation among children (ages 2-9) in Bangladesh screened 10,000 children and found the prevalence rates of 5.9 per thousand for severe and 14.4 per thousand for mild mental retardation. Only the prevalence of mild mental retardation was strongly associated with low socioeconomic status.…

  7. Utilization of Mental Health Services and Mental Health Status Among Children Placed in Out-of-Home Care: A Parallel Process Latent Growth Modeling Approach.

    PubMed

    Yampolskaya, Svetlana; Sharrock, Patty J; Clark, Colleen; Hanson, Ardis

    2017-10-01

    This longitudinal study examined the parallel trajectories of mental health service use and mental health status among children placed in Florida out-of-home care. The results of growth curve modeling suggested that children with greater mental health problems initially received more mental health services. Initial child mental health status, however, had no effect on subsequent service provision when all outpatient mental health services were included. When specific types of mental health services, such as basic outpatient, targeted case management, and intensive mental health services were examined, results suggested that children with compromised functioning during the baseline period received more intensive mental health services over time. However, this increased provision of intensive mental health services did not improve mental health status, rather it was significantly associated with progressively worse mental health functioning. These findings underscore the need for regular comprehensive mental health assessments focusing on specific needs of the child.

  8. Mental health status and healthcare utilization among community dwelling older adults.

    PubMed

    Adepoju, Omolola; Lin, Szu-Hsuan; Mileski, Michael; Kruse, Clemens Scott; Mask, Andrew

    2018-04-27

    Shifts in mental health utilization patterns are necessary to allow for meaningful access to care for vulnerable populations. There have been long standing issues in how mental health is provided, which has caused problems in that care being efficacious for those seeking it. To assess the relationship between mental health status and healthcare utilization among adults ≥65 years. A negative binomial regression model was used to assess the relationship between mental health status and healthcare utilization related to office-based physician visits, while a two-part model, consisting of logistic regression and negative binomial regression, was used to separately model emergency visits and inpatient services. The receipt of care in office-based settings were marginally higher for subjects with mental health difficulties. Both probabilities and counts of inpatient hospitalizations were similar across mental health categories. The count of ER visits was similar across mental health categories; however, the probability of having an emergency department visit was marginally higher for older adults who reported mental health difficulties in 2012. These findings are encouraging and lend promise to the recent initiatives on addressing gaps in mental healthcare services.

  9. The association between perceived social support, socio-economic status and mental health in young Malaysian adults.

    PubMed

    Tam, C L; Foo, Y C; Lee, T H

    2011-06-01

    To examine gender differences in mental health and perceived social support, relationship between parents' income and mental health, and differences in mental health across education levels. A total of 303 students aged 16 to 26 years were recruited from Selangor, Malaysia. The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and General Health Questionnaire were used to measure the level of perceived social support and the mental health status. Demographic data, including education level and parents' income, were also obtained. Females perceived significantly higher levels of overall social support than males (t = -2.7; p < 0.05). However, there were no significant differences in mental health status between males and females (t = -1.8; p > 0.05), as well as mental health status among different parental income groups (chi2 = 5.0; p > 0.05) and the education levels of the subjects (chi2 = 0.7; p > 0.05). A more favourable mental health status of the subjects was associated with higher parental incomes (r = -0.1; p < 0.05). There were gender differences for perceived social support, but not for mental health status in older adolescents and young adults. There was also a relationship between parental income and an individual's mental health status, but mental health was not related to their education level.

  10. Distended Bladder Presenting with Altered Mental Status and Venous Obstruction

    PubMed Central

    Washco, Vaughan; Engel, Lee; Smith, David L.; McCarron, Ross

    2015-01-01

    Background New onset or acute worsening of bilateral lower extremity swelling is commonly caused by venous congestion from decompensated heart failure, pulmonary disease, liver dysfunction, or kidney insufficiency. A thromboembolic event, lymphatic obstruction, or even external compression of venous flow can also be the culprit. Case Report We report the case of an 83-year-old male with a history of myelodysplastic syndrome that progressed to acute myeloid leukemia, bipolar disorder, and benign prostatic hypertrophy. He presented with altered mental status and new onset lower extremity edema caused by acute bladder outflow obstruction. Computed tomography of the abdomen and pelvis showed the patient's distended bladder compressing bilateral external iliac veins. Conclusion Insertion of a Foley catheter resulted in several liters of urine output and marked improvement in his lower extremity edema and mental status a few hours later. Our extensive workup failed to reveal a cause of the patient's acute change in mental status, and we attributed it to a concept known as cystocerebral syndrome. PMID:25829883

  11. The economic status of parents with serious mental illness in the United States.

    PubMed

    Luciano, Alison; Nicholson, Joanne; Meara, Ellen

    2014-09-01

    Parents with serious mental illness may be vulnerable to financial insecurity, making successful parenting especially difficult. We explored relationships among parenting, serious mental illness, and economic status in a nationally representative sample. The sample included all working-age participants from the 2009 and 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (n = 77,326). Two well-established scales of mental health distinguished participants with none, mild, moderate, and serious mental illness. We compared economic status by parenthood status and mental illness severity. Rates of employment were low for parents with serious mental illness (38% full time and 17% part time among mothers; 60% full time and 9% part time among fathers) compared with parents with no mental illness (50% full time and 19% part time among mothers; 85% full time and 5% part time among fathers). Mothers and fathers with serious mental illness were twice as likely to fall below the U.S. Census poverty threshold as their peers without mental illness. Parents with serious mental illness are less likely to be employed than those without mental illnesses, and are highly likely to be living in poverty. Reducing poverty by helping parents with serious mental illness achieve better jobs and education is likely to translate into family stability and better outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

  12. Self-concept and mental health status of 'stay-at-home' children in rural China.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Ke-Fu; Su, Hong; He, Li; Wu, Jia-Ling; Chen, Ming-Chun; Ye, Dong-Qing

    2009-09-01

    To describe the self-concept and mental health status of 'stay-at-home' children and to explore the differences between stay-at-home children and non-stay-at-home children. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Changfeng County to collect information on self-concept and mental health status. Children were classified as 'stay-at-home' or 'non-stay-at-home' for data analysis. Stay-at-home children accounted for 55.1% of children. The two groups of children differed significantly on the total scores of self-concept (stay-at-home, 52.48 +/- 14.29; non-stay-at-home, 55.24 +/- 15.10). The mental health status of stay-at-home children was poor, with significant difference between them (stay-at-home, 41.17 +/- 12.25; non-stay-at-home, 40.14 +/- 13.11). Using multivariate linear regression analysis, we found that the total P-H score, gender, low family economic status, stay-at-home status and being cared for by an uncle/aunt or an older sibling were independent variables for mental health of the children. This study suggests that stay-at-home children have a greater risk of mental health problems than their counterparts in rural Anhui province, China. In addition, this study provides useful baseline information on childhood mental health and has identified important risk factors that would be important in planning strategies for prevention of mental health problems for stay-at-home children.

  13. Seizures in the elderly: Impact on mental status, mood and sleep

    PubMed Central

    Haut, Sheryl R.; Katz, Mindy; Masur, Jonathan; Lipton, Richard B.

    2009-01-01

    Co-morbidities of epilepsy have not been well explored in the elderly. Herein, we examined mental status, mood, and sleep in elderly patients with epilepsy, compared to age and gender matched community controls without epilepsy from the Einstein Aging Study. Testing included a mental status test, the Blessed Information Memory and Concentration (BIMC) test; Prime-MD Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) Depression and Anxiety Modules; and Medical Outcomes Study Sleep Scale. Persons with epilepsy (n=31) had higher mean BIMC scores than controls (n=31, BIMC 6.3 vs.1.2; p<0.0001). Mean PHQ Depression scores were higher for cases than controls indicating more depressive symptoms (4.2 vs. 0.8; p=0.006); six cases (18%) and no controls met screening criteria for depression. Mean PHQ Anxiety scores were also higher for cases than controls (3.7 vs. 0.0; p=0.001). Cases demonstrated poorer sleep scores in the categories of somnolence (p=0.009) and shortness of breath/headache (p=0.021). Thus, co-morbidities of epilepsy in this elderly population included decreased mental status, a higher prevalence of depression and anxiety, and poorer sleep health when compared to age mates without epilepsy. Mental status impairment was not related to anti-epileptic medication or mood disturbance. Further investigation will explore these associations prospectively. PMID:19189862

  14. Baseline assessment of campus-wide general health status and mental health: Opportunity for tailored suicide prevention and mental health awareness programming.

    PubMed

    Hawley, Lisa D; MacDonald, Michael G; Wallace, Erica H; Smith, Julia; Wummel, Brian; Wren, Patricia A

    2016-01-01

    A campus-wide assessment examined the physical and mental health status of a midsize midwestern public university. Two thousand and forty-nine students, faculty, and staff on a single college campus were assessed in March-April 2013. Participants completed an online survey with sections devoted to demographics, physical and mental health status, and suicide knowledge and experiences. This study captured broad physical and mental health indicators. Students, faculty, and staff in certain demographic groups were more likely to report significant problems associated with mental and physical health. Specifically, women, faculty and staff of color, and nonheterosexual persons reported worse health outcomes. Across 8 mental health indicators, students reported consistently worse mental health than their faculty/staff counterparts. This paper presents findings from a significant campus-wide physical and mental health surveillance initiative. Results indicate the need for targeted physical and mental health support and intervention among these demographic groups.

  15. [Association between illness and mental status in pregnant women and birth defects].

    PubMed

    Zhao, D D; Dai, Y X; Guo, L Q; Liu, R; Wang, H L; Mi, B B; Dang, S N; Yan, H

    2017-11-10

    Objective: To understand the prevalence of birth defects, related diseases and mental status of women during pregnancy in Shaanxi province and to analyse the major risk factors on birth defects and congenital heart disease. Possible association between maternal diseases or mental status and the risk of birth defects, was also explored. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used in this study and stratified multistage random sampling method was used. The whole survey was from Jury 2013 to November 2013. Logistic regression method was used to analyze the association between maternal diseases, mental status during pregnancy and birth defects. Results: The overall prevalence of birth defects was 195.04 per 10 000 in Shaanxi. Among the 29 121 mothers participating in this study, 51.1% developed illness and 6.8% "changed their mental status during pregnancy. After adjusting all the confounding factors, results showed that, histories of cold" , fever, and intrahepatic cholestasis were ( OR =1.33, 95 %CI : 1.10-1.61, OR =1.54, 95 %CI : 1.09-2.16, and OR =32.77, 95 %CI :4.08-263.04) respectively, during pregnancy that related to birth defects. Self-reported unstable mental status ( OR =1.60, 95 %CI : 1.19-2.15) and family friction ( OR =2.07, 95 %CI : 1.12-3.79) were both related to the birth rates. Histories of cold and fever ( OR =1.59, 95 %CI : 1.28-1.98; OR =1.43, 95 %CI : 1.48-4.00), during early pregnancy, unstable mental status during mid-pregnant period ( OR =1.52, 95 %CI : 1.05-2.19), unstable mental status during late-pregnant period ( OR =1.63, 95 %CI : 1.05-2.19) and family friction during late-pregnant period ( OR =2.89, 95 %CI : 1.16-7.20) were found to be related to birth defects. Compared with those without history of cold, those with the history of cold during first ( OR =1.24, 95 %CI : 1.02-1.52) and second stages ( OR =2.06, 95 %CI : 1.30-3.26) of pregnancy were more likely to bear fetus with birth defects. Compared with those without these histories

  16. Weight Status and Weight Perception in Relation to Mental Distress and Psychosocial Protective Factors Among Adolescents.

    PubMed

    Christoph, Mary J; Jarrett, Elizabeth S; Gower, Amy L; Borowsky, Iris W

    To measure how weight status and weight perception relate to mental distress and psychosocial protective factors in adolescents. Adolescents in 8th, 9th, and 11th grade participating in the 2013 Minnesota Student Survey (N = 122,180) were classified on the basis of weight perception (overweight or not overweight) and weight status (not overweight, overweight, obese). Bivariate tests were used to assess the relationship of weight status and weight perception with internal mental distress, and generalized linear models were used to measure the association between weight status and weight perception with psychosocial protective factors including parent, school, and friend connectedness, social competency, and positive identity. Logistic regressions measured the relationship between psychosocial protective factors and internal mental distress. Prevalence of internal mental distress ranged from 14.5% for overweight boys who perceived themselves as not overweight to 55.0% for girls who were not overweight but self-perceived as overweight. Across all weight-status categories, adolescents who perceived themselves as overweight, compared to those who did not, had higher internal mental distress and lower mean levels of psychosocial protective factors. All psychosocial protective factors were related to lower odds of internal mental distress, with significant small differences by weight status and weight perception. Weight status and weight perception affected both mental distress and psychosocial protective factors. Those who perceived themselves as overweight, regardless of weight status, had the highest prevalence of mental distress and the lowest levels of psychosocial protective factors. Health care providers should consider screening for weight perception to provide a tailored approach to adolescent care. Copyright © 2017 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Mental health status among Japanese medical students: a cross-sectional survey of 20 universities.

    PubMed

    Ohtsu, Tadahiro; Kaneita, Yoshitaka; Osaki, Yoneatsu; Kokaze, Akatsuki; Ochiai, Hirotaka; Shirasawa, Takako; Nanri, Hinako; Ohida, Takashi

    2014-12-01

    The purposes of this study were to evaluate the mental health status of Japanese medical students and to examine differences based on gender, as well as on university type and location, using the results of a nationwide survey. Between December 2006 and March 2007, we conducted a questionnaire survey among fourth-year medical students at 20 randomly selected medical schools in Japan. The data from 1,619 students (response rate: 90.6%; male: 1,074; female: 545) were analyzed. We used the Japanese version of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) to measure mental health status. Poor mental health status (GHQ-12 score of 4 points or higher) was observed in 36.6% and 48.8% of the male and female medical students, respectively. The ratio of the age-adjusted prevalence of poor mental health status in female versus male medical students was 1.33 (95% confidence interval: 1.10-1.62). The universities were categorized into two groups based on the university type (national/public: 15 vs. private: 5) or location (in a large city: 7 vs. in a local city: 13 cities). The prevalence of poor mental health status in both men and women differed between these groups, although not significantly. The GHQ-12 scores in men significantly differed between the categorized groups of universities. These results suggest that adequate attention must be paid to the mental health of medical students, especially females, and that a system for providing mental health care for medical students must be established in the context of actual conditions at each university.

  18. Maternal mental health and nutritional status of six-month-old infants.

    PubMed

    Hassan, Bruna Kulik; Werneck, Guilherme Loureiro; Hasselmann, Maria Helena

    2016-01-01

    To analyze if maternal mental health is associated with infant nutritional status at six month of age. A cross-sectional study with 228 six-month-old infants who used primary health care units of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Southeastern Brazil. Mean weight-for-length and mean weight-for-age were expressed in z-scores considering the 2006 World Health Organization reference curves. Maternal mental health was measured by the 12-item General Health Questionnaire. The following cutoff points were used: ≥ 3 for common mental disorders, ≥ 5 for more severe mental disorders, and ≥ 9 for depression. The statistical analysis employed adjusted linear regression models. The prevalence of common mental disorders, more severe mental disorders and depression was 39.9%, 23.7%, and 8.3%, respectively. Children of women with more severe mental disorders had, on average, a weight-for-length 0.37 z-scores lower than children of women without this health harm (p = 0.026). We also observed that the weight-for-length indicator of children of depressed mothers was, on average, 0.67 z-scores lower than that of children of nondepressed women (p = 0.010). Maternal depression was associated with lower mean values of weight-for-age z-scores (p = 0.041). Maternal mental health is positively related to the inadequacy of the nutritional status of infants at six months.

  19. Associations between sleep disturbance and mental health status: a longitudinal study of Japanese junior high school students.

    PubMed

    Kaneita, Yoshitaka; Yokoyama, Eise; Harano, Satoru; Tamaki, Tetsuo; Suzuki, Hiroyuki; Munezawa, Takeshi; Nakajima, Hiromi; Asai, Takami; Ohida, Takashi

    2009-08-01

    A limited number of longitudinal studies have addressed the association between sleep disturbance and mental health status among adolescents. To examine whether each of these is a risk factor for the onset of the other, we conducted a prospective longitudinal study of Japanese adolescents. In 2004, we performed a baseline study of students attending three private junior high schools in Tokyo, and in 2006, a follow-up study was performed on the same population. The mean age of the subjects was 13 years. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was used to evaluate sleep disturbance, and the 12-item General Health Questionnaire was used to evaluate mental health status. The subjects were 698 students, of whom 516 were suitable for analysis. The incidence of newly developed poor mental health status during the 2 years leading to the follow-up study was 35.1%. New onset of poor mental health status was significantly associated with new onset of sleep disturbance and lasting sleep disturbance. The incidence of sleep disturbance during the 2 years leading to the follow-up study was 33.3%. New onset of sleep disturbance was significantly associated with new onset of poor mental health status and lasting poor mental health status. Sleep disturbance and poor mental health status increase each other's onset risk.

  20. Mental Status Documentation: Information Quality and Data Processes

    PubMed Central

    Weir, Charlene; Gibson, Bryan; Taft, Teresa; Slager, Stacey; Lewis, Lacey; Staggers, Nancy

    2016-01-01

    Delirium is a fluctuating disturbance of cognition and/or consciousness associated with poor outcomes. Caring for patients with delirium requires integration of disparate information across clinicians, settings and time. The goal of this project was to characterize the information processes involved in nurses’ assessment, documentation, decisionmaking and communication regarding patients’ mental status in the inpatient setting. VA nurse managers of medical wards (n=18) were systematically selected across the US. A semi-structured telephone interview focused on current assessment, documentation, and communication processes, as well as clinical and administrative decision-making was conducted, audio-recorded and transcribed. A thematic analytic approach was used. Five themes emerged: 1) Fuzzy Concepts, 2) Grey Data, 3) Process Variability 4) Context is Critical and 5) Goal Conflict. This project describes the vague and variable information processes related to delirium and mental status that undermine effective risk, prevention, identification, communication and mitigation of harm. PMID:28269919

  1. Mental Status Documentation: Information Quality and Data Processes.

    PubMed

    Weir, Charlene; Gibson, Bryan; Taft, Teresa; Slager, Stacey; Lewis, Lacey; Staggers, Nancy

    2016-01-01

    Delirium is a fluctuating disturbance of cognition and/or consciousness associated with poor outcomes. Caring for patients with delirium requires integration of disparate information across clinicians, settings and time. The goal of this project was to characterize the information processes involved in nurses' assessment, documentation, decisionmaking and communication regarding patients' mental status in the inpatient setting. VA nurse managers of medical wards (n=18) were systematically selected across the US. A semi-structured telephone interview focused on current assessment, documentation, and communication processes, as well as clinical and administrative decision-making was conducted, audio-recorded and transcribed. A thematic analytic approach was used. Five themes emerged: 1) Fuzzy Concepts, 2) Grey Data, 3) Process Variability 4) Context is Critical and 5) Goal Conflict. This project describes the vague and variable information processes related to delirium and mental status that undermine effective risk, prevention, identification, communication and mitigation of harm.

  2. Work-related Mental Consequences: Implications of Burnout on Mental Health Status Among Health Care Providers

    PubMed Central

    Papathanasiou, Ioanna V.

    2015-01-01

    Introduction: Burnout can create problems in every aspect of individual’s’ human life. It may have an adverse effect on interpersonal and family relations and can lead to a general negative attitude towards life. Aim: The purpose of this study is to investigate whether burnout is associated with the mental health status of health care providers. Material and Methods: The sample in this study consisted of 240 health care employees. The Greek version of Maslach’s Burnout Inventory (MBI) was used for measuring burnout levels and the Greek version of the Symptoms Rating Scale for Depression and Anxiety (SRSDA) questionnaire was used to evaluate health care providers’ mental health status. Descriptive statistics were initially generated for sample characteristics. Normality was checked by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and data was processed with parametric tests. General linear models with MBI dimensions as independent variables and SRSDA subscales as dependent variables were used to determine the relation between burnout and mental health status. Statistics were processed with SPSS v. 17.0 (SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA). Statistical significance was set at p=0.05. Results: The average age of the sample is 40.00±7.95 years. Regarding gender the percentage of men is 21.40% (N=49) and of women is 78.60% (N=180). Overall the professional burnout of health care workers is moderate. The mean score for emotional exhaustion is 26.41, for personal accomplishment 36.70 and for depersonalization 9.81. The mean for each subscale of SRSDA is 8.23±6.79 for Depression Beck-21, 3.96±4.26 for Depression Beck-13, 4.91±4.44 for Melancholia, 6.32±4.35 for Asthenia and 6.36±4.72 for Anxiety. The results of general linear models with the MBI dimensions as independent variables and the SRSDA subscales as dependent variables are shown that emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment are statistically correlated with all subscales of SRSDA, while depersonalization is not correlated

  3. Interstitial lung abnormalities and self-reported health and functional status.

    PubMed

    Axelsson, Gisli Thor; Putman, Rachel K; Araki, Tetsuro; Sigurdsson, Sigurdur; Gudmundsson, Elias Freyr; Eiriksdottir, Gudny; Aspelund, Thor; Miller, Ezra R; Launer, Lenore J; Harris, Tamara B; Hatabu, Hiroto; Gudnason, Vilmundur; Hunninghake, Gary Matt; Gudmundsson, Gunnar

    2018-01-09

    We investigated the association between interstitial lung abnormalities (ILA) and self-reported measures of health and functional status in 5764 participants from the Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility-Reykjavik study. The associations of ILA to activities of daily living (ADLs), general health status and physical activity were explored using logistic regression models. Participants with ILA were less likely to be independent in ADLs (OR 0.70; 95% CI 0.55 to 0.90) to have good or better self-reported health (OR 0.66; 95% CI 0.52 to 0.82) and to participate in physical activity (OR 0.72; CI 0.56 to 0.91). The results demonstrate ILA's association with worsening self-reported health and functional status. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  4. [A survey of mental health status in armored vehicle crew].

    PubMed

    Yang, Q L; Kao, X B; Wu, G B; Guo, S W; Chai, W L; Chen, Y N; Ji, L J; Wang, Y Q

    2016-06-20

    To investigate the mental health status in armored vehicle crew (commanders, gunners, and drivers) , to know the level of mental health in them, and to provide educational intervention. In April 2009, 120 male armored vehicle crew with >2 driving years were enrolled as battle group, and 70 male persons within the same age group who were not engaged in armored vehicle operation were enrolled as control group. The Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90) was used to evaluate the mental status of the 180 subjects. Compared with the control group, the battle group showed significantly higher scores on the subscales of obsessive-compulsive symptom, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, phobic anxiety, and paranoid ideation (t=2.323, 3.250, 3.158, 2.712, 2.391, and 2.137, all P<0.05) , as well as significantly higher total score, number of positive items, and average score of positive symptoms (t=4.128, 4.357, and 4.632, all P<0.05). In the battle group, the scores on the subscales of somatization, obsessive-compulsive symptom, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, psychoticism, and additional items, total score, number of positive items, and average score of positive symptoms were significantly lower than the military reference values (t=4.364, 5.127, 5.280, 3.783, 7.012, 5.361, 4.369, 6.167, 6.476, 3.558, 6.357, 4.379, and 6.763, all P<0.05). A survey should be performed on the mental health status of armored vehicle crew, including obsessive-compulsive symptom, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, and anxiety. Mental health service for the crew should be enhanced to improve their psychological quality.

  5. Maternal mental health and nutritional status of six-month-old infants

    PubMed Central

    Hassan, Bruna Kulik; Werneck, Guilherme Loureiro; Hasselmann, Maria Helena

    2016-01-01

    ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To analyze if maternal mental health is associated with infant nutritional status at six month of age. METHODS A cross-sectional study with 228 six-month-old infants who used primary health care units of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Southeastern Brazil. Mean weight-for-length and mean weight-for-age were expressed in z-scores considering the 2006 World Health Organization reference curves. Maternal mental health was measured by the 12-item General Health Questionnaire. The following cutoff points were used: ≥ 3 for common mental disorders, ≥ 5 for more severe mental disorders, and ≥ 9 for depression. The statistical analysis employed adjusted linear regression models. RESULTS The prevalence of common mental disorders, more severe mental disorders and depression was 39.9%, 23.7%, and 8.3%, respectively. Children of women with more severe mental disorders had, on average, a weight-for-length 0.37 z-scores lower than children of women without this health harm (p = 0.026). We also observed that the weight-for-length indicator of children of depressed mothers was, on average, 0.67 z-scores lower than that of children of nondepressed women (p = 0.010). Maternal depression was associated with lower mean values of weight-for-age z-scores (p = 0.041). CONCLUSIONS Maternal mental health is positively related to the inadequacy of the nutritional status of infants at six months. PMID:27007683

  6. Assessing Bisexual Stigma and Mental Health Status: A Brief Report

    PubMed Central

    Bostwick, Wendy

    2013-01-01

    Bisexual women often report higher rates of depression and mental health problems than their heterosexual and lesbian counterparts. These disparities likely occur, in part, as a result of the unique stigma that bisexual women face and experience. Such stigma can in turn operate as a stressor, thereby contributing to poor mental health status. The current pilot study tested a new measure of bisexual stigma and its association with mental health. Results suggest a moderate positive correlation between the two, and point to areas for future consideration when measuring bisexual stigma. PMID:24683314

  7. [Correlational study among anger, perceived stress and mental health status in middle aged women].

    PubMed

    Lee, Pyoung-Sook

    2003-10-01

    This study was to identify the relationships of trait anger, mode of anger expression, and perceived stress to mental health status in middle aged women. The subjects were 157 middle aged women from 40s to 60s who lived in Seoul. Data was collected by questionnaire surveys using the convenience sampling. The instruments used for this study were Spielberger's trait anger scale and anger expression scale, Cohen, Kamarck, and Mermelstein's perceived stress and Derogatis's SCL-90-R. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient, and Stepwise multiple regression with SAS/PC. The trait anger of middle aged women indicated a significantly positive correlation to perceived stress(r=.180, p=.023) and mental health status(r.=021, p=.014). Anger-in(r=.237, p<.05), and perceived stress(p=.461, p<.01) showed significantly positive correlation to mental health status. The most significant predictor influencing health status of middle aged women was perceived stress, and anger-in and the variance explained was 27%. These results suggested that middle aged women with high degree of trait anger is likely to be high in stress perception. Perceived stress and anger-in are major factors influencing mental health status.

  8. A prospective study of diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging abnormalities in patients with cluster of seizures and status epilepticus.

    PubMed

    Jabeen, S A; Cherukuri, Pavankumar; Mridula, Rukmini; Harshavardhana, K R; Gaddamanugu, Padmaja; Sarva, Sailaja; Meena, A K; Borgohain, Rupam; Jyotsna Rani, Y

    2017-04-01

    To study the frequency, imaging characteristics, and clinical predictors for development of periictal diffusion weighted MRI abnormalities. We prospectively analyzed electro clinical and imaging characteristic of adult patients with cluster of seizures or status epilepticus between November 2013 and November 2015, in whom the diffusion weighted imaging was done within 24h after the end of last seizure (clinical or electrographic). There were thirty patients who fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Twenty patients (66%) had periictal MRI abnormalities. Nine patients (34%) did not have any MRI abnormality. All the patients with PMA had abnormalities on diffusion weighted imaging (DWI). Hippocampal abnormalities were seen in nine (53%), perisylvian in two (11.7%), thalamic in five (30%), splenium involvement in two (11.7%) and cortical involvement (temporo-occipital, parieto-occipital, temporo-parietal, fronto-parietal and fronto-temporal) in sixteen (94.1%) patients. Complete reversal of DWI changes was noted in sixteen (80%) patients and four (20%) patients showed partial resolution of MRI abnormalities. Mean duration of seizures was significantly higher among patients with PMA (59.11+20.97h) compared to those without MRI changes (27.33+9.33h) (p<0.001). Diffusion abnormalities on MRI are common in patients with cluster of seizures and status epilepticus and were highly concordant with clinical semiology and EEG activity. Patients with longer duration of seizures/status were more likely to have PMA. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Relationships among mental health status, social context, and demographic characteristics in Taiwanese aboriginal adolescents: a structural equation model.

    PubMed

    Yen, Cheng-Fang; Hsu, Chia-Chuang; Liu, Shu-Chun; Huang, Chi-Fen; Ko, Chih-Hung; Yen, Ju-Yu; Cheng, Chung-Ping

    2006-10-01

    The purposes of this study were to examine the relationships among mental health status, demographic characteristics, and social contexts, including family conflict and support, connectedness to school, and affiliation with peers who exhibit delinquent behavior and who use substances, among Taiwanese aboriginal adolescents. A total of 251 aboriginal junior high school students in an isolated mountainous area of southern Taiwan were recruited, and the relationships among mental health status, demographic characteristics, and social contexts among them were examined using a structural equation model (SEM). The SEM revealed that family conflict and support had direct influences on mental health status and connectedness to school. Family conflict had a direct relationship with affiliation with peers who use substances, and family conflict and support were both indirectly linked with affiliation with peers who exhibit delinquent behavior and who used substances; these were mediated by a poor mental health status. Female and older age were directly linked with a poor mental health status and were indirectly linked with a greater number of peers who exhibit delinquent behavior and who use substances via the poor mental health status. Disruptive parenting was directly linked with affiliation with peers who use substances. The authors suggest that those who devise strategies to improve aboriginal adolescents' mental health and discourage substance use should take these relationships among mental health, demographic characteristics, and social contexts into account.

  10. Mental health status, aggression, and poor driving distinguish traffic offenders from non-offenders but health status predicts driving behavior in both groups

    PubMed Central

    Abdoli, Nasrin; Farnia, Vahid; Delavar, Ali; Dortaj, Fariborz; Esmaeili, Alireza; Farrokhi, Noorali; Karami, Majid; Shakeri, Jalal; Holsboer-Trachsler, Edith; Brand, Serge

    2015-01-01

    Background In Iran, traffic accidents and deaths from traffic accidents are among the highest in the world, and generally, driver behavior rather than technical failures or environmental conditions are responsible for traffic accidents. In a previous study, we showed that among young Iranian male traffic offenders, poor mental health status, along with aggression, predicted poor driving behavior. The aims of the present study were twofold, to determine whether this pattern could be replicated among non-traffic offenders, and to compare the mental health status, aggression, and driving behavior of male traffic offenders and non-offenders. Methods A total of 850 male drivers (mean age =34.25 years, standard deviation =10.44) from Kermanshah (Iran) took part in the study. Of these, 443 were offenders (52.1%) and 407 (47.9%) were non-offenders with lowest driving penalty scores applying for attaining an international driving license. Participants completed a questionnaire booklet covering socio-demographic variables, traits of aggression, health status, and driving behavior. Results Compared to non-offenders, offenders reported higher aggression, poorer mental health status, and worse driving behavior. Among non-offenders, multiple regression indicated that poor health status, but not aggression, independently predicted poor driving behavior. Conclusion Compared to non-offenders, offenders reported higher aggression, poorer health status and driving behavior. Further, the predictive power of poorer mental health status, but not aggression, for driving behavior was replicated for male non-offenders. PMID:26300646

  11. The Mental Health Status and Intellectual Ability of Unwed Mothers Dwelling in Korean Shelter Homes

    PubMed Central

    Jo, Suyeon; Park, Soowon; Youn, Jung Hae; Choi, Hyo Jung; Lee, Ji Yeon; Lee, Jun-Young

    2018-01-01

    Although many unwed mothers have issues concerning mental health and intellectual ability, little research has focused on their mental and cognitive status. Due to the public stigma attached to unwed mothers in South Korea, they tend to conceal their status and are less likely to seek psychiatric and psychological help. In this context, this study aims to assess the current status of their mental health and intellectual characteristics. A total of 48 unwed mothers from two shelter homes in South Korea agreed to participate in the study. We compared the mental health status of these unwed mothers with that of the general female population. Unwed mothers were more likely than those of the general female population to have mood disorders, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), alcohol and nicotine use disorders, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Among the 48 unwed mothers, 20 (41.7%) had an IQ of less than 70, and the mean IQ (78.31) was significantly lower than the normalized mean IQ of the general female population. This study confirmed that unwed mothers dwelling in Korean shelter homes are more likely than the general female population to have mental disorders. PMID:29601524

  12. Health Status of Individuals With Serious Mental Illness

    PubMed Central

    Dickerson, Faith B.; Brown, Clayton H.; Daumit, Gail L.; LiJuan, Fang; Goldberg, Richard W.; Wohlheiter, Karen; Dixon, Lisa B.

    2006-01-01

    We examined indices of the health of persons with serious mental illness. A sample of 100 adults with schizophrenia and 100 with major mood disorder were recruited from randomly selected outpatients who were receiving community-based psychiatric treatment. Participants were surveyed about health indicators using items from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Study III and the National Health Interview Survey. Their responses were compared with those of matched samples from the general population surveys. A total of 1% of persons with serious mental illness, compared with 10% from the general population sample, met criteria for all 5 of selected health indicators: nonsmoker, exercise that meets recommended standards, good dentition, absence of obesity, and absence of serious medical co-occurring illness. Within the mentally ill group, educational level, but not a diagnosis of schizophrenia versus mood disorder, was independently associated with a composite measure of health behaviors. We conclude that an examination of multiple health indicators may be used to measure overall health status in persons with serious mental illness. PMID:16469943

  13. The potential role of attitudes towards suicide between mental health status and suicidal ideation among Chinese children and adolescents.

    PubMed

    Tan, L; Yang, Q H; Chen, J L; Zou, H X; Xia, T S; Liu, Y

    2017-09-01

    The objective of this study was to investigate the contributions of mental health status and attitudes towards suicide on suicidal ideation in a sample of 6568 Chinese children and adolescents in China. Attitudes towards suicide were investigated as a possible moderator and mediator of the influence of mental health status on suicidal ideation. Descriptive statistical analyses, Pearson correlation analyses and hierarchical regression analyses were adopted as methods of data analyses. Approximately 35.38% of children and adolescents in our study reported having suicidal ideation. Mental health status and attitudes towards suicide both had an independent effect on the severity of suicidal ideation. Results indicated that mental health status was positively associated with suicidal ideation, while attitudes towards suicide were negatively associated with suicidal ideation. Moderation analysis showed that the impact of mental health status on suicidal ideation was significantly greater among children and adolescents who reported favourable attitudes towards suicide. Attitudes towards suicide partially mediated the link between mental health status and the severity of suicidal ideation. Specifically, students who experienced poorer mental health status might be more likely to report significantly more favourable attitudes towards suicide, which in turn promote greater suicidal ideation. These results have implications for the prevention of youth suicide, suggesting that mental health status and attitudes towards suicide could be important targets for prevention and intervention for children and adolescents at risk of suicidal ideation. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. Associations between subjective social status and DSM-IV mental disorders: Results from the World Mental Health Surveys

    PubMed Central

    Scott, Kate M.; Al-Hamzawi, Ali Obaid; Andrade, Laura H.; Borges, Guilherme; Caldas-de-Almeida, Jose Miguel; Fiestas, Fabian; Gureje, Oye; Hu, Chiyi; Karam, Elie G.; Kawakami, Norito; Lee, Sing; Levinson, Daphna; Lim, Carmen C.W.; Navarro-Mateu, Fernando; Okoliyski, Michail; Posada-Villa, Jose; Torres, Yolanda; Williams, David R.; Zakhozha, Victoria; Kessler, Ronald C.

    2017-01-01

    Importance The inverse social gradient in mental disorders is a well-established research finding with important implications for causal models and policy. This research has used traditional objective social status (OSS) measures such as education, income and occupation. Recently, subjective social status (SSS) measurement has been advocated to capture perception of relative social status, but to date there are no studies of associations between SSS and mental disorders. Objective To estimate associations of SSS with DSM-IV mental disorders in multiple countries and to investigate whether the associations persist after comprehensive adjustment of OSS. Design; Setting; Participants Face-to-face cross-sectional household surveys of community-dwelling adults in 18 countries in Asia, South Pacific, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East (n= 56,085). SSS was assessed with a self-anchoring scale reflecting respondent evaluations of their place in the social hierarchies of their countries in terms of income, education and occupation. Scores on the 1–10 SSS scale were categorised into four categories: low (scores 1–3); low-mid (scores 4 and 5); high-mid (scores 6 and 7); high (scores 8–10). OSS was assessed with a wide range of fine-grained objective indicators of income, education and occupation. Main Outcome Measures The Composite International Diagnostic Interview assessed 12-month prevalence of 16 DSM-IV mood, anxiety and impulse control disorders. Results Graded, inverse associations were found between SSS and all 16 mental disorders. Gross odds-ratios (lowest versus highest SSS categories) in the range 1.8–9.0 were attenuated but remained significant for all 16 disorders (ORs: 1.4–4.9) after adjusting for OSS indicators. The pattern of inverse association between SSS and mental disorders was significant in 14/18 individual countries, and in low, middle and high income country groups, but was significantly stronger in higher versus lower income countries

  15. Determinate factors of mental health status in Chinese medical staff: A cross-sectional study.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Chenyu; Shi, Lei; Gao, Lei; Liu, Wenhui; Chen, Zhenkang; Tong, Xinfa; Xu, Wen; Peng, Boshi; Zhao, Yan; Fan, Lihua

    2018-03-01

    Numerous previous studies have investigated the mental health status of medical staff in China and explored its associated determinate factors; however, scope and methods associated with these have introduced uncertainty regarding the results. The aim of this study was to perform a comprehensive examination of the mental health status of Chinese medical staff and its relative risk factors based on a cross-sectional survey.We conducted a broad area, cross-sectional, questionnaire-based survey of Chinese medical workers. Participants were randomly selected from 27 hospitals in the Heilongjiang province. The questionnaire that was distributed consisted of 5 parts: the demographic characteristics of the participant; questions related to the relative risk factors of psychological health; the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C); the Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS); and the Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS). The last 3 components were used to evaluate the mental health status of the target population. Logistic and linear regression were used to analyze the determinate factors of the mental health status of Chinese medical staff.Of the 1679 questionnaires distributed, 1557 medical workers responded (response rate: 92.73%; male: 24.1%; female 75.9%). The results of mental health status self-assessments indicated that 32.3% of participants were considered to have some degree of PTSD (based on the PCL-C). The SDS index was 0.67 and the mean score from SAS was 55.26; a result higher than found in the general population. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that being female, dissatisfaction or average satisfaction with income, and good or very good self-perceived psychological endurance when faced with an emergency were associated with a reduction of PTSD symptoms. A frequency of verbal abuse incidents greater than 4 was associated with an increase in PTSD symptoms.The mental health status of Chinese medical staff is poor

  16. Mental Health Status of Double Minority Adolescents: Findings from National Cross-Sectional Health Surveys.

    PubMed

    Chiang, Szu-Ying; Fleming, Theresa; Lucassen, Mathijs; Fenaughty, John; Clark, Terryann; Denny, Simon

    2017-06-01

    Little population-based work has been published about the mental health of adolescents with both sexual/gender (SG) and ethnic minority (i.e. double minority) status. This study aimed to provide an overview on their mental health. Analysis of data from a total of 17,607 high school students from New Zealand's 2007 and 2012 cross-sectional nationally representative Adolescent Health Surveys, including a total of 1306 (7.4%) SG minority participants, of whom 581 (3.3%) were also an ethnic minority. SG minority status, minority ethnicity, and female sex were associated with higher mental distress and poorer well-being. Generally speaking, double minority students reported poorer mental health than SG majority students of the same ethnicity, but reported better mental health than SG minority New Zealand European students. Explanations and future directions for research were suggested to further explore how double minority students negotiate mental health in the context of their communities/cultures in New Zealand.

  17. 49 CFR 1515.7 - Procedures for waiver of criminal offenses, immigration status, or mental capacity standards.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 9 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Procedures for waiver of criminal offenses, immigration status, or mental capacity standards. 1515.7 Section 1515.7 Transportation Other Regulations... FOR INDIVIDUALS § 1515.7 Procedures for waiver of criminal offenses, immigration status, or mental...

  18. Coping strategies, mental health and HIV status: Predictors of suicidal behaviour among PWIDs.

    PubMed

    Akram, Bushra; Ilyas, Mubeen

    2017-04-01

    To understand suicidal behaviour among people who inject drugs. This correlational, cross-sectional study was conducted in two Pakistani cities of Gujrat and Jhelum from October 2015 to March 2016, and comprised male injecting-drug users aged18-60 years. Multistage systematic random sampling method was used. Urdu-translated versions of the brief cope inventory, mental health status scale and suicidal behaviour questionnaire (revised) were administered. SPSS 16 was used for data analysis. Of the 200 participants, 83(41.5%) were aged 26-32 years. The prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus was in 94(47%) cases. Suicidal behaviour was positively associated with psychological distress and human immunodeficiency virus status (p<0.05), whereas it was negatively associated with mental health, psychological well-being and coping strategies (p<0.05). Regression analysis showed mental health index and psychological well-being were negative predictors, whereas psychological distress and human immunodeficiency virus status were positive predictors of suicidal behaviour among the participants (p<0.05). The level of stress led people who inject drugs towards suicidal behaviour. However, the level of stress varied according to the severity of human immunodeficiency virus and poor mental health.

  19. Differences in mental health outcomes by acculturation status following a major urban disaster.

    PubMed

    Adams, Richard E; Boscarino, Joseph A

    2013-01-01

    A number of studies have assessed the association between acculturation and psychological outcomes following a traumatic event. Some suggest that low acculturation is associated with poorer health outcomes, while others show no differences or that low acculturation is associated with better outcomes. One year after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, we surveyed a multi-ethnic population of New York City adults (N= 2,368). We assessed posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depression, panic attack, anxiety symptoms, and general physical and mental health status. We classified study respondents into "low," "moderate," or "high" acculturation, based on survey responses. Bivariate results indicated that low acculturation individuals were more likely to experience negative life events, have low social support, and less likely to have pre-disaster mental health disorders. Those in the low acculturation group were also more likely to experience post-disaster perievent panic attacks, have higher anxiety, and have poorer mental health status. However, using logistic regression to control for confounding, and adjusting for multiple comparisons, we found that none of these outcomes were associated with acculturation status. Thus, our study suggests that acculturation was not associated with mental health outcomes following a major traumatic event.

  20. Lifestyles and mental health status are associated with natural killer cell and lymphokine-activated killer cell activities.

    PubMed

    Morimoto, K; Takeshita, T; Inoue-Sakurai, C; Maruyama, S

    2001-04-10

    We investigated the association of lifestyle and mental health status with natural killer (NK) cell and lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cell activities in healthy males. NK cell activity was determined in 105 male workers and LAK cell activity was determined in 54 male workers. Peripheral blood was obtained from each subject and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were isolated from the blood. These PBMC were used as effector cells. LAK cells were generated by incubation of PBMC with interleukin-2 for 72 h. NK cell activity against NK-sensitive K562 cells and LAK cell activity against NK-resistant Raji cells were examined by 51Cr release assay. Overall lifestyles were evaluated according to the answers on a questionnaire regarding eight health practices (cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, eating breakfast, hours of sleep, hours of work, physical exercise, nutritional balance, mental stress). Subjects with a good overall lifestyle showed significantly higher NK cell (P < 0.05) and LAK cell (P < 0.05) activities than those with a poor overall lifestyles. Among eight lifestyle factors, cigarette smoking has relatively strong effects on NK cell and LAK cell activities. Subjects who complained of unstable mental status had significantly lower NK cell activity than those who reported stable mental status. When subjects were divided into four groups by lifestyle and mental health status, subjects who had poor or moderate lifestyle and reported unstable mental status showed the lowest NK cell activity and subjects who had good lifestyle and reported stable mental status showed the highest NK cell activity among four groups.

  1. Prevalence of Mental Health Problems and Associated Risk Factors among Rural-to-Urban Migrant Children in Guangzhou, China

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Ke; Zheng, Jing; Liu, Jiali; You, Liming

    2017-01-01

    Rural-to-urban migration, which has achieved a huge scale during China’s economic reform, is a potential risk factor for the mental health of migrant children. To test this hypothesis, this study assessed the mental health status of rural-to-urban migrant children. Guided by Andersen’s behavioral model, the study explored the risk factors associated with mental health. The study recruited 1182 fifth/sixth-grade children from four private and four public primary schools in Guangzhou in 2014 in a descriptive cross-sectional design. Mental health status was measured by the strengths and difficulties questionnaire. Predisposing characteristics including demographics (e.g., age, gender), social structure (e.g., education, occupation) and health beliefs (health attitude) were recorded. Enabling characteristics including family and community resources and the need for health services were analyzed to explore the risk factors. The results indicate that more rural-to-urban migrant children were classified in the abnormal (21.0%) or borderline (18.8%) categories based on the total difficulties scores, the proportions of which were much higher than those of local children (9.8% abnormal, 13.8% borderline). Factors associated with a greater likelihood of mental health problems included single-parent families, seeking health information actively, family income cannot meet basic needs and poor perceived health status. Compared with the local children, the rural-to-urban migrant children had relatively poor mental health, hence monitoring and supporting mental health for rural-urban migrant children is critical. PMID:29135949

  2. Prevalence of Mental Health Problems and Associated Risk Factors among Rural-to-Urban Migrant Children in Guangzhou, China.

    PubMed

    Wang, Jun; Liu, Ke; Zheng, Jing; Liu, Jiali; You, Liming

    2017-11-14

    Rural-to-urban migration, which has achieved a huge scale during China's economic reform, is a potential risk factor for the mental health of migrant children. To test this hypothesis, this study assessed the mental health status of rural-to-urban migrant children. Guided by Andersen's behavioral model, the study explored the risk factors associated with mental health. The study recruited 1182 fifth/sixth-grade children from four private and four public primary schools in Guangzhou in 2014 in a descriptive cross-sectional design. Mental health status was measured by the strengths and difficulties questionnaire. Predisposing characteristics including demographics (e.g., age, gender), social structure (e.g., education, occupation) and health beliefs (health attitude) were recorded. Enabling characteristics including family and community resources and the need for health services were analyzed to explore the risk factors. The results indicate that more rural-to-urban migrant children were classified in the abnormal (21.0%) or borderline (18.8%) categories based on the total difficulties scores, the proportions of which were much higher than those of local children (9.8% abnormal, 13.8% borderline). Factors associated with a greater likelihood of mental health problems included single-parent families, seeking health information actively, family income cannot meet basic needs and poor perceived health status. Compared with the local children, the rural-to-urban migrant children had relatively poor mental health, hence monitoring and supporting mental health for rural-urban migrant children is critical.

  3. Relationship between cortex and pulvinar abnormalities on diffusion-weighted imaging in status epilepticus.

    PubMed

    Nakae, Yoshiharu; Kudo, Yosuke; Yamamoto, Ryoo; Dobashi, Yuichi; Kawabata, Yuichi; Ikeda, Shingo; Yokoyama, Mutsumi; Higashiyama, Yuichi; Doi, Hiroshi; Johkura, Ken; Tanaka, Fumiaki

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this study was to analyze the pattern of magnetic resonance diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) findings in status epilepticus in terms of clinical characteristics. Participants comprised 106 patients with status epilepticus who were admitted to our hospital and underwent DWI. Forty-five patients (42.5 %) showed abnormal findings on DWI and were divided into two groups, comprising 26 patients (24.5 %) with cortex lesions alone and 19 patients (17.9 %) with cortex and pulvinar lesions in the same hemisphere. A long duration of status epilepticus (>120 min) tended to be more prevalent among patients with cortex and pulvinar lesions (57.9 %) than among patients with cortex lesions alone (30.8 %) by univariate and multivariate analyses. Todd's palsy tended to be more frequent in patients with abnormalities on DWI (24/45, 53.3 %) than in patients with normal DWI (21/61, 34.4 %). Six of the 26 patients with cortex lesions alone (23.1 %) had taken anti-epileptic drugs before the attack compared to none of the 19 patients with both cortex and pulvinar lesions. The trend toward a longer duration of status epilepticus in patients with both cortex and pulvinar lesions favors a spreading pattern of seizure discharge from cortex to pulvinar via cortico-pulvinar pathways, and anti-epileptic drugs might, to some extent, prevent spreading of seizure discharge from cortex to pulvinar. In addition, existence of high-intensity areas on DWI at the onset of epilepsy may be a predictive factor for the occurrence of Todd's palsy.

  4. Mental health status among married working women residing in Bhubaneswar city, India: a psychosocial survey.

    PubMed

    Panigrahi, Ansuman; Padhy, Aditya Prasad; Panigrahi, Madhulita

    2014-01-01

    Mental health is a major public health concern worldwide. This study aimed to assess the mental health status and its correlates among married working women residing in Bhubaneswar city of Odisha, India. A cross-sectional study was undertaken in 240 households involving 240 married working women following a multistage cluster random sampling design. Using the predesigned, pretested interview schedule and self-reporting questionnaire, all relevant information was collected. Our study revealed that 32.9% of study respondents had poor mental health and only about 10% of these women had sought any kind of mental health services. Logistic regression analysis showed that 3 predictors such as favourable attitude of colleagues, sharing their own problems with husband, and spending time for yoga/meditation/exercise had significant positive impact on the mental health status of married working women. A preventive program regarding various aspects of mental health for married working women at workplace as well as community level could be a useful strategy in reducing this public health problem.

  5. The employment status of people with mental illness: National survey data from 2009 and 2010

    PubMed Central

    Luciano, Alison; Meara, Ellen

    2014-01-01

    Objective The aim of this study was to describe employment by mental illness severity in the U.S. during 2009-2010. Methods The sample included all working-age participants (age 18 to 64) from the 2009 and 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (N = 77,326). Two well-established scales of mental health distinguished participants with none, mild, moderate, and serious mental illness. Analyses compared employment rate and income by mental illness severity and estimated logistic regression models of employment status controlling for demographic characteristics and substance use disorders. In secondary analyses, we assessed how the relationship between mental illness and employment varied by age and education status. Results Employment rates decreased with increasing mental illness severity (none = 75.9%, mild = 68.8%, moderate = 62.7%, serious = 54.5%, p<0.001). Over a third of people with serious mental illness, 39%, had incomes below $10,000 (compared to 23% among people without mental illness p<0.001). The gap in adjusted employment rates comparing serious to no mental illness was 1% among people 18-25 years old versus 21% among people 50-64 (p < .001). Conclusions More severe mental illness was associated with lower employment rates in 2009-2010. People with serious mental illness are less likely to be employed after age 49 than people with no, mild, or moderate mental illness. PMID:24933361

  6. Mental health status among Burmese adolescent students living in boarding houses in Thailand: a cross-sectional study

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background In Tak province of Thailand, a number of adolescent students who migrated from Burma have resided in the boarding houses of migrant schools. This study investigated mental health status and its relationship with perceived social support among such students. Methods This cross-sectional study surveyed 428 students, aged 12–18 years, who lived in boarding houses. The Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL)-37 A, Stressful Life Events (SLE) and Reactions of Adolescents to Traumatic Stress (RATS) questionnaires were used to assess participants’ mental health status and experience of traumatic events. The Medical Outcome Study (MOS) Social Support Survey Scale was used to measure their perceived level of social support. Descriptive analysis was conducted to examine the distribution of sociodemographic characteristics, trauma experiences, and mental health status. Further, multivariate linear regression analysis was used to examine the association between such characteristics and participants’ mental health status. Results In total, 771 students were invited to participate in the study and 428 students chose to take part. Of these students, 304 completed the questionnaire. A large proportion (62.8%) indicated that both of their parents lived in Myanmar, while only 11.8% answered that both of their parents lived in Thailand. The mean total number of traumatic events experienced was 5.7 (standard deviation [SD] 2.9), mean total score on the HSCL-37A was 63.1 (SD 11.4), and mean total score on the RATS was 41.4 (SD 9.9). Multivariate linear regression analysis revealed that higher number of traumatic events was associated with more mental health problems. Conclusions Many students residing in boarding houses suffered from poor mental health in Thailand’s Tak province. The number of traumatic experiences reported was higher than expected. Furthermore, these traumatic experiences were associated with poorer mental health status. Rather than making a generalized

  7. Oral health and nutritional status of semi-institutionalized persons with mental retardation in Brazil.

    PubMed

    Batista, Luciana Rodrigues Vieira; Moreira, Emilia Addison Machado; Rauen, Michelle Soares; Corso, Arlete Catarina Tittoni; Fiates, Giovanna Medeiros Rataichesck

    2009-01-01

    Association between oral health status and nutritional status was investigated in 200 semi-institutionalized persons with mental retardation aged 5-53 years, 45.5% female, in the cities of Florianópolis and São José, province of Santa Catarina, Brazil. In this cross-sectional study, clinical-odontological examination revealed a high percentage of individuals (68%) with heavily compromised dentition. The index of decayed, missing and filled deciduous and permanent teeth, which increased from 2.85+/-2.87 in children to 20.5+/-6.86 units in adults, was used to classify the individuals' oral health status. Anthropometric evaluation revealed the prevalence of suboptimal nutritional status in 52% of children and adolescents [22% underweight, 30% at risk of overweight or overweight], and in 60% of adults [7% underweight, 53% overweight or obese]. Significant association was found between unsatisfactory oral health status and overweight in children (chi(2)=4.627; p=0.031). Findings evidenced the existence of a relationship between oral health status and nutritional status in persons with mental retardation.

  8. The role of public policies in reducing mental health status disparities for people of color.

    PubMed

    Alegría, Margarita; Pérez, Debra Joy; Williams, Sandra

    2003-01-01

    Ethnic and racial disparities in mental health are driven by social factors such as housing, education, and income. Many of these social factors are different for minorities than they are for whites. Policies that address gaps in these social factors therefore can address mental health status disparities. We analyze three policies and their impact on minorities: the Individuals with Disability Education Act, Section 8 housing vouchers, and the Earned Income Tax Credit. Two of the three policies appear to have been effective in reducing social inequalities between whites and minorities. Expansion of public policies can be the mechanism to eliminate mental health status disparities for minorities.

  9. Structural cerebral abnormalities and neurodevelopmental status in single ventricle congenital heart disease before Fontan procedure.

    PubMed

    Knirsch, Walter; Mayer, Kristina Nadine; Scheer, Ianina; Tuura, Ruth; Schranz, Dietmar; Hahn, Andreas; Wetterling, Kristina; Beck, Ingrid; Latal, Beatrice; Reich, Bettina

    2017-04-01

    Neonates with single ventricle congenital heart disease are at risk for structural cerebral abnormalities. Little is known about the further evolution of cerebral abnormalities until Fontan procedure. Between August 2012 and July 2015, we conducted a prospective cross-sectional two centre study using cerebral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and neuro-developmental outcome assessed by the Bayley-III. Forty-seven children (31 male) were evaluated at a mean age of 25.9 ± 3.4 months with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (25) or other single ventricle (22). Cerebral MRI was abnormal in 17 patients (36.2%) including liquor space enlargements (10), small grey (9) and minimal white (5) matter injuries. Eight of 17 individuals had combined lesions. Median (range) cognitive composite score (CCS) (100, 65-120) and motor composite score (MCS) (97, 55-124) were comparable to the reference data, while language composite score (LCS) (97, 68-124) was significantly lower ( P  = 0.040). Liquor space enlargement was associated with poorer performance on all Bayley-III subscores (CCS: P  = 0.02; LCS: P  = 0.002; MCS: P  = 0.013). The number of re-operations [odds ratio (OR) 2.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1-4.3] ( P  = 0.03) and re-interventions (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.1-3.8) ( P  = 0.03) was associated with a higher rate of overall MRI abnormalities. Cerebral MRI abnormalities occur in more than one third of children with single ventricle, while the neuro-developmental status is less severely affected before Fontan procedure. Liquor space enlargement is the predominant MRI finding associated with poorer neuro-developmental status, warranting further studies to determine aetiology and further evolution until school-age. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.

  10. Stress at work and mental health status among female hospital workers.

    PubMed Central

    Estryn-Behar, M; Kaminski, M; Peigne, E; Bonnet, N; Vaichere, E; Gozlan, C; Azoulay, S; Giorgi, M

    1990-01-01

    Relations between working conditions and mental health status of female hospital workers were studied in a sample of 1505 women: 43% were nurses, 32% auxiliaries, and 7% ancillary staff; 13% were other qualified health care staff, mainly head nurses; 5% had occupations other than direct health care; 63% worked on the morning, 20% on the afternoon, and 17% on the night shift. Data were collected at the annual routine medical visit by the occupational health practitioner, using self administered questionnaires and clinical assessments. Five health indicators were considered: a high score to the general health questionnaire (GHQ); fatigue; sleep impairment; use of antidepressants, sleeping pills, or sedatives; and diagnosis of psychiatric morbidity at clinical assessment. Four indices of stress at work were defined: job stress, mental load, insufficiency in internal training and discussion, and strain caused by schedule. The analysis was conducted by multiple logistic regression, controlling for type of occupation, shift, number of years of work in hospital, daily travel time to work, age, marital status, number of children, and wish to move house. Sleep impairment was mostly linked to shift and strain due to schedule. For all other indicators of mental health impairment and especially high GHQ scores, the adjusted odds ratios increased significantly with the levels of job stress, mental load, and strain due to schedule. This evidence of association between work involving an excessive cumulation of stress factors and mental wellbeing should be considered in interventions aimed at improving the working conditions of hospital workers. PMID:2310704

  11. Childhood trauma and chronic illness in adulthood: mental health and socioeconomic status as explanatory factors and buffers.

    PubMed

    Mock, Steven E; Arai, Susan M

    2010-01-01

    Experiences of traumatic events in childhood have been shown to have long-term consequences for health in adulthood. With data from the 2005 Canadian Community Health Survey we take a life course perspective of cumulative disadvantage and examine the potential role of mental health and socioeconomic status in adulthood as multiple mediators of the link between childhood trauma and chronic illness in adulthood. Mental health and socioeconomic status are also tested as buffers against the typically adverse consequences of childhood trauma. The results suggest mental health and socioeconomic status partially explain the association of childhood trauma with chronic illness in adulthood, with mental health showing a stronger effect. In addition, an analysis of the interactions suggested higher socioeconomic status is a potential protective factor for those with a history of trauma. Results also suggest cumulative disadvantage following trauma may lead to chronic illness and suggest the need for public health expenditures on resources such as counseling and income supports to prevent or reduce psychological harm and chronic illness resulting from traumatic events.

  12. Dietary Habits and Nutritional Status in Mentally Retarded Children and Adolescents: A Study from North Western India

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mathur, Manju; Bhargava, Rachna; Benipal, Ramandeep; Luthra, Neena; Basu, Sabita; Kaur, Jasbinder; Chavan, B. S.

    2007-01-01

    Objective: To compare the dietary habits and nutritional status of mentally retarded (MR) and normal (NG) subjects and to examine the relationship between the dietary habits and nutritional status and the level of mental retardation in the MR group. Method: A case control design was utilized: 117 MR (random sampling) and 100 NG (quota sampling)…

  13. Impact of metoprolol treatment on mental status of chronic heart failure patients with neuropsychiatric disorders

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Xuelu; Lou, Xueming; Cheng, Xianliang; Meng, Yong

    2017-01-01

    Background Metoprolol treatment is well established for chronic heart failure (CHF) patients, but the central nervous system side effects are often a potential drawback. Objective To investigate the impact of metoprolol treatment on change in mental status of CHF patients with clinical psychological disorders (such as depression, anxiety, and burnout syndrome). Methods From February 2013 to April 2016, CHF patients with clinical mental disorders received metoprolol (23.75 or 47.5 mg, qd PO, dose escalated with 23.75 mg each time until target heart rate [HR] <70 bpm was achieved) at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University. Mental status was assessed by means of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) scale. The primary outcome assessed was change in mental status of patients post-metoprolol treatment and the association with reduction in HR achieved by metoprolol. Results A total of 154 patients (median age: 66.39 years; males: n=101) were divided into eight groups on the basis of their mental status. HR decreased significantly from baseline values in all the groups to <70 bpm in the 12th month, P≤0.0001. The HADS depression and CBI scores significantly increased from baseline throughout the study frame (P≤0.0001 for all groups), but a significant decrease in the HADS anxiety score was observed in patients with anxiety (P≤0.0001 for all groups). Regression analysis revealed no significant correlation in any of the groups between the HR reduction and the change in the HADS/CBI scores, except for a change in the CBI scores of CHF patients with depression (P=0.01), which was HR dependent. Conclusion Metoprolol treatment worsens the depressive and high burnout symptoms, but affords anxiolytic benefits independent of HR reduction in CHF patients with clinical mental disorders. Hence, physicians need to be vigilant while prescribing metoprolol in CHF patients who present with mental disorders

  14. Impact of metoprolol treatment on mental status of chronic heart failure patients with neuropsychiatric disorders.

    PubMed

    Liu, Xuelu; Lou, Xueming; Cheng, Xianliang; Meng, Yong

    2017-01-01

    Metoprolol treatment is well established for chronic heart failure (CHF) patients, but the central nervous system side effects are often a potential drawback. To investigate the impact of metoprolol treatment on change in mental status of CHF patients with clinical psychological disorders (such as depression, anxiety, and burnout syndrome). From February 2013 to April 2016, CHF patients with clinical mental disorders received metoprolol (23.75 or 47.5 mg, qd PO, dose escalated with 23.75 mg each time until target heart rate [HR] <70 bpm was achieved) at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University. Mental status was assessed by means of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) scale. The primary outcome assessed was change in mental status of patients post-metoprolol treatment and the association with reduction in HR achieved by metoprolol. A total of 154 patients (median age: 66.39 years; males: n=101) were divided into eight groups on the basis of their mental status. HR decreased significantly from baseline values in all the groups to <70 bpm in the 12th month, P ≤0.0001. The HADS depression and CBI scores significantly increased from baseline throughout the study frame ( P ≤0.0001 for all groups), but a significant decrease in the HADS anxiety score was observed in patients with anxiety ( P ≤0.0001 for all groups). Regression analysis revealed no significant correlation in any of the groups between the HR reduction and the change in the HADS/CBI scores, except for a change in the CBI scores of CHF patients with depression ( P =0.01), which was HR dependent. Metoprolol treatment worsens the depressive and high burnout symptoms, but affords anxiolytic benefits independent of HR reduction in CHF patients with clinical mental disorders. Hence, physicians need to be vigilant while prescribing metoprolol in CHF patients who present with mental disorders.

  15. Mental Disorders and Socioeconomic Status: Impact on Population Risk of Attempted Suicide in Australia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Page, Andrew; Taylor, Richard; Hall, Wayne; Carter, Gregory

    2009-01-01

    The population attributable risk (PAR) of mental disorders compared to indicators of socioeconomic status (SES) for attempted suicide was estimated for Australia. For mental disorders, the highest PAR% for attempted suicide was for anxiety disorders (males 28%; females 36%). For SES, the highest PAR% for attempted suicide in males was for…

  16. Employment status is associated with both physical and mental health quality of life in people living with HIV.

    PubMed

    Rueda, Sergio; Raboud, Janet; Mustard, Cameron; Bayoumi, Ahmed; Lavis, John N; Rourke, Sean B

    2011-04-01

    To evaluate the relationship between employment status and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in HIV/AIDS. A total of 361 participants provided baseline data in the context of an ongoing cohort study examining the natural history of neurobehavioral functioning and its effects on HRQOL. We administered tests and collected laboratory data to determine demographic status, HIV disease markers, psychosocial symptom burden, neurocognitive function and HRQOL (MOS-HIV). We performed regression analyses to evaluate the contribution of employment status to the physical and mental health components of quality of life (QOL). Multivariate analyses showed that employment status was strongly related to better physical and mental health QOL after controlling for potential confounders. We found, however, that employment status had a greater impact on physical health than mental health QOL [physical health (β = 6.8, 95% CI 4.6 to 9.1) and mental health QOL (β = 3.3, 95% CI 0.93 to 5.7)]. The effect of employment for physical health QOL was stronger than that observed for ethnicity, social support, or having an AIDS diagnosis and was comparable to that observed with having many HIV-related symptoms. This cross-sectional study suggests that there may be physical and mental health benefits associated with obtaining or keeping employment, or more likely that both selection and causation mechanisms comprise an interactional and reinforcing process.

  17. Orphan status, HIV risk behavior, and mental health among adolescents in rural Kenya.

    PubMed

    Puffer, Eve S; Drabkin, Anya S; Stashko, Allison L; Broverman, Sherryl A; Ogwang-Odhiambo, Rose A; Sikkema, Kathleen J

    2012-09-01

    To examine orphan status, mental health, social support, and HIV risk among adolescents in rural Kenya. Randomly selected adolescents aged 10-18 years completed surveys assessing sexual activity, sex-related beliefs and self-efficacy, mental health, social support, caregiver-child communication, time since parental death, and economic resources. Analysis of covariance and regression analyses compared orphans and nonorphans; orphan status was tested as a moderator between well-being and HIV risk. Orphans reported poorer mental health, less social support, and fewer material resources. They did not differ from nonorphans on HIV risk indicators. Longer time since parental death was associated with poorer outcomes. In moderator analyses, emotional problems and poorer caregiver-youth communication were more strongly associated with lower sex-related self-efficacy for orphans. Orphans are at higher risk for psychosocial problems. These problems may affect orphans' self-efficacy for safer sex practices more than nonorphans. Decreased HIV risk could be one benefit of psychosocial interventions for orphans.

  18. Trauma and Poor Mental Health in Relation to Economic Status: The Case of Cambodia 35 Years Later

    PubMed Central

    Jarl, Johan; Cantor-Graae, Elizabeth; Chak, Thida; Sunbaunat, Ka; Larsson, Charlotte A

    2015-01-01

    Background Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in south-east Asia and is still emerging from the events of the Khmer Rouge reign. It has been suggested that the atrocities experienced by the Cambodian population can explain why Cambodia continues to lag behind its neighbours in economic outcomes. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether there is an association between exposure to past trauma and/or current poor mental health and current economic status in Cambodia. Method A newly conducted survey performed in two regions (north-west and south-east Cambodia) collected information on trauma exposure, psychiatric symptoms, self-rated health outcomes and socio-economic information for 3200 persons aged 18–60. Economic outcomes were measured as household debt and poverty status and whether the respondent was economically inactive. All models were analysed using logistic regression. Results No association was found between high exposure to conflict-related or civilian trauma and any economic outcomes save for a negative association between civilian trauma and poverty in the south-east. Current post-traumatic stress was related solely to poverty status. All other measures of current mental health status, however, were found to be strongly negatively associated with all measures of economic status. Thus, mental health interventions could potentially be utilised in poverty reduction strategies, but greater efficacy is likely to be achieved by targeting current mental health status rather than previous trauma exposure. PMID:26301591

  19. [Perceived discrimination at work for being an immigrant: a study on self-perceived mental health status among immigrants in Italy].

    PubMed

    Di Napoli, Anteo; Gatta, Rosaria; Rossi, Alessandra; Perez, Monica; Costanzo, Gianfranco; Mirisola, Concetta; Petrelli, Alessio

    2017-01-01

    exposure to discrimination is widely understood as a social determinant of psychophysical health and a contributing factor to health inequities among social groups. Few studies exist, particularly in Italy, about the effects of discrimination among immigrants at workplace. to analyse the association between perceived discrimination at work for being an immigrant and mental health status among immigrants in Italy. a sub-sample of 12,408 immigrants residing in Italy was analysed. data came from the survey "Social conditions and integration of foreign citizens in Italy", carried out in 2011-2012 by the Italian National Institute of Statistics (Istat). Self-perceived mental health status was measured through mental component summary (MCS) of SF-12 questionnaire, assuming as worse health status MCS score distribution ≤1st quartile. In order to evaluate the probability of poor health status, a multivariate log-binomial model was performed assuming: discrimination at work for being an immigrant as determinant variable; age, gender, educational level, employment status, area of origin, residence in Italy, length of stay in Italy, self-perceived loneliness and satisfaction about life as potential confounding variables. among immigrants, 15.8% referred discrimination at his/her workplace in Italy for being an immigrant. Higher probability of poor mental health status was observed for immigrants who referred discrimination at workplace (Prevalence Rate Ratio - PRR: 1.16) who arrived in Italy since at least 5 years (PRR: 1.14), for not employed subjects (PRR: 1.31), and for people from the Americas (PRR: 1.14). Lower probability of poor mental health status was found in immigrants from Western- Central Asia (PRR: 0.83) and Eastern-Pacific Asia (PRR: 0.79). Compared to immigrants residing in North-Eastern Italy, higher probability of worse mental health status was observed in people who resided in Northern-Western (PRR: 1.30), Central (PRR: 1.26), and Southern (PRR: 1

  20. Physical and mental health status of survivors of multiple cancer diagnoses: findings from the National Health Interview Survey.

    PubMed

    Andrykowski, Michael A

    2012-07-15

    Little research has identified the physical and mental health status of survivors of multiple primary cancer diagnoses. By using data from the population-based 2009 National Health Information Survey, 154 survivors of multiple primary cancer diagnoses, 1427 survivors of a single cancer diagnosis, and 25,004 individuals without a history of cancer diagnosis were identified. The multiple cancer group was compared with the single cancer and no cancer groups with regard to physical and mental health status using analysis of covariance and binary logistic regression. Relative to the no cancer group, the multiple cancer group reported significantly poorer mental health status, greater lifetime, recent, and current prevalence of a variety of medical conditions and comorbidities, and more health-related disability. Although observed group differences between the multiple cancer and single cancer groups were less pronounced than those between the multiple cancer and no cancer groups, a consistent pattern was also evident; the multiple cancer group reported significantly poorer status relative to the single cancer group across a range of mental and physical health and illness-related disability indices. Diagnosis of 2 or more primary cancers (excluding nonmelanoma skin cancers) is associated with increased risk for poorer physical and mental health status over and above that associated with diagnosis of a single primary cancer. Survivors of multiple and single primary cancer diagnoses should be considered as distinct subgroups, and increased attention should be devoted to the unique status and needs of survivors of multiple primary cancer diagnoses. Copyright © 2011 American Cancer Society.

  1. Employment stability and mental health in Spain: towards understanding the influence of gender and partner/marital status.

    PubMed

    Cortès-Franch, Imma; Escribà-Agüir, Vicenta; Benach, Joan; Artazcoz, Lucía

    2018-04-02

    The growing demand for labour flexibility has resulted in decreasing employment stability that could be associated with poor mental health status. Few studies have analysed the whole of the work force in considering this association since research on flexible forms of employment traditionally analyses employed and unemployed people separately. The gender division of work, and family characteristics related to employment situation, could modify its association with mental wellbeing. The objective of the study was to examine the relationship between a continuum of employment stability and mental health taking into account gender and partner/marital status. We selected 6859 men and 5106 women currently salaried or unemployed from the 2006 Spanish National Health Survey. Employment stability was measured through a continuum from the highest stability among employed to lowest probability of finding a stable job among the long-term unemployed. Mental health was measured with the 12-item version of the General Health Questionnaire. Logistic regression models were fitted for each combination of partner/marital status and gender. In all groups except among married women employment stability was related to poor mental health and a gradient between a continuum of employment stability and mental health status was found. For example, compared with permanent civil servants, married men with temporary contract showed an aOR = 1.58 (95%CI = 1.06-2.35), those working without a contract aOR = 2.15 (95%CI = 1.01-4.57) and aOR = 3.73 (95%CI = 2.43-5.74) and aOR = 5.35 (95%CI = 2.71-10.56) among unemployed of up to two years and more than two years, respectively. Among married and cohabiting people, the associations were stronger among men. Poor mental health status was related to poor employment stability among cohabiting women but not among married ones. The strongest association was observed among separated or divorced people. There is a rise in poor

  2. Association between corneal temperature and mental status of treatment-resistant schizophrenia inpatients.

    PubMed

    Shiloh, Roni; Schapir, Lior; Bar-Ziv, Danit; Stryjer, Rafael; Konas, Shai; Louis, Rachel; Hermesh, Haggai; Munitz, Hanan; Weizman, Abraham; Valevski, Avi

    2009-09-01

    Preliminary point-prevalent data suggest that drug-free schizophrenia patients may exhibit increased body/corneal temperature, that antipsychotic drugs (APDs) may decrease body/core temperature and that patients' mental status might be associated with their body/corneal temperature. Hence, we hypothesized that treatment-resistant psychotic APD-treated schizophrenia patients' mental status may correlate with their corneal temperature during a continuous 6-week period. Corneal temperature of 12 treatment-resistant schizophrenia inpatients and 16 healthy volunteers was evaluated 2-3 times a week during 6 consecutive weeks using a flir thermal imaging camera. A significant and substantial correlation was found between inpatients' mean weekly Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS)'s total scores and their mean weekly corneal temperature during the 6-week study period (r=0.82; n=6 weeks; p=0.043). There was no significant difference in mean 6-week corneal temperature between the patient group and the healthy subjects (34.25+/-0.64 degrees C vs. 34.39+/-0.69 degrees C, respectively; t=1.127, df=131, p=0.26). This study indicates that treatment-resistant overtly psychotic schizophrenia inpatients' mental status (as assessed by the PANSS) correlates with their corneal temperature. The relevance of these phenomena to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, the biological mechanism underlying corneal temperature alterations and the possible role of temperature-modulating drugs (neuroleptics or non-neuroleptics) on schizophrenic psychosis merits further large-scale investigation in both medicated- and drug-free schizophrenia patients compared to matched controls.

  3. Oral Health and Nutritional Status of Semi-Institutionalized Persons with Mental Retardation in Brazil

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Batista, Luciana Rodrigues Vieira; Moreira, Emilia Addison Machado; Rauen, Michelle Soares; Corso, Arlete Catarina Tittoni; Fiates, Giovanna Medeiros Rataichesck

    2009-01-01

    Association between oral health status and nutritional status was investigated in 200 semi-institutionalized persons with mental retardation aged 5-53 years, 45.5% female, in the cities of Florianopolis and Sao Jose, province of Santa Catarina, Brazil. In this cross-sectional study, clinical-odontological examination revealed a high percentage of…

  4. Change in subjective social status following HIV diagnosis and associated effects on mental and physical health among HIV-positive gay men in Australia.

    PubMed

    Heywood, Wendy; Lyons, Anthony

    2017-07-01

    This study investigates the impact of HIV diagnosis on subjective social status and if changes are linked to health outcomes. Two measures of subjective social status, socio-economic and standing in the community were examined in 342 Australian HIV-positive gay men in 2014. Participants recalled ratings at diagnosis were compared with current ratings. Self-reported mental (psychological distress, self-esteem, positive mental health and satisfaction with life) and physical health (self-rated health, CD4 count, viral load). Half of the participants reported improvements in subjective socio-economic status (59%) or standing in the community (52%) since diagnosis, yet one quarter reported socio-economic status (25%) or standing in the community had decreased (23%). Increases in either measure of subjective social status were linked to higher self-esteem, positive mental health, satisfaction with life and better self-rated health. Decreases in subjective social status, however, were strongly linked to poorer outcomes on all mental health measures. Decreases in standing in the community were also associated with poorer physical self-rated health. Most participants reported their subjective social status were the same or better since diagnosis. Changes in subjective social status following diagnosis were strongly linked to mental health outcomes. Those who reported a decrease in subjective social status were particularly vulnerable to mental health problems.

  5. The relationships between oral status, physical and mental health, nutritional status and diet type in elderly Japanese women with dementia.

    PubMed

    Sadamori, Shinsuke; Hayashi, Syouji; Hamada, Taizo

    2008-12-01

    To suggest methods for maintaining an adequate nutritional status for elderly patients with dementia by evaluating the relationships between oral status, physical and mental health, and feeding conditions. Feeding difficulties in dementia patients are related to food intake, and failure to eat may be associated with weight loss in long-term care facilities. The relationship between compromised oral function and diet is still unclear. A cross-sectional study of 94 elderly women with dementia (mean age 89.6 +/- 5.6 years) from a nursing home was undertaken to investigate their oral, physical and mental and nutritional status. There were significant differences in serum albumin (p = 0.0284), N-ADL (p = 0.0005), NM scale (p = 0.0004) and HDS-R (p = 0.0004) between denture wearers and non-denture wearers. However, there were no significant differences in body mass index between denture wearers and non-denture wearers. A suitable type of diet and assistance with feeding could maintain the nutritional status of elderly patients with dementia if they are still feeding themselves. The nutritional support team will benefit from the participation of a dentist.

  6. Orphan Status, HIV Risk Behavior, and Mental Health Among Adolescents in Rural Kenya

    PubMed Central

    Drabkin, Anya S.; Stashko, Allison L.; Broverman, Sherryl A.; Ogwang-Odhiambo, Rose A.; Sikkema, Kathleen J.

    2012-01-01

    Objective To examine orphan status, mental health, social support, and HIV risk among adolescents in rural Kenya. Methods Randomly selected adolescents aged 10–18 years completed surveys assessing sexual activity, sex-related beliefs and self-efficacy, mental health, social support, caregiver–child communication, time since parental death, and economic resources. Analysis of covariance and regression analyses compared orphans and nonorphans; orphan status was tested as a moderator between well-being and HIV risk. Results Orphans reported poorer mental health, less social support, and fewer material resources. They did not differ from nonorphans on HIV risk indicators. Longer time since parental death was associated with poorer outcomes. In moderator analyses, emotional problems and poorer caregiver–youth communication were more strongly associated with lower sex-related self-efficacy for orphans. Conclusions Orphans are at higher risk for psychosocial problems. These problems may affect orphans’ self-efficacy for safer sex practices more than nonorphans. Decreased HIV risk could be one benefit of psychosocial interventions for orphans. PMID:22728899

  7. Determination of physical health status and healthy lifestyle behaviors of individuals with mental illness.

    PubMed

    Erginer, Derya Kayar; Günüşen, Neslihan Partlak

    2018-02-23

    The aim of this study is to determine the physical health status and healthy lifestyle behaviors of individuals with mental illness. A descriptive research design was used. The sample of the study consisted of 115 individuals with mental illness. The Health Lifestyle Behaviors Scale II was used to assess the healthy lifestyle behaviors of the participants. Of the individuals, 49.6% were found to have metabolic syndrome. Individuals with mental illness obtained the lowest score from the physical activity dimension of the scale. Individuals with mental illness need to receive education and support, especially in terms of nutrition and exercise. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  8. A systematic review of the nutritional status of women of a childbearing age with severe mental illness.

    PubMed

    McColl, Helen; Dhillon, Manpreet; Howard, Louise M

    2013-02-01

    Little is known about the nutritional status of pregnant women with severe mental illness. We therefore carried out a systematic review to investigate whether pregnant women and childbearing aged women with severe mental illness have significantly greater nutritional deficiencies compared with pregnant women and childbearing aged women with no mental illness. We carried out a search using MEDLINE, EMBASE and PsycINFO from January 1980 to January 2011 for studies on nutritional status of childbearing aged women with psychotic disorders. Identification of papers and quality rating of papers (using a modified version of the Newcastle-Ottawa scale) was carried out by two reviewers independently. We identified and screened 4,130 potentially relevant studies from the electronic databases. Fifteen studies met the inclusion criteria (n = 587 women). There were no studies of pregnant women. There was some evidence of low serum folate and vitamin B(12) levels and elevated homocysteine levels in childbearing aged women with psychotic disorders. Further research into the nutritional status of childbearing aged women with severe mental illness is needed. Maternal nutrition has a profound impact on foetal outcome, is a modifiable risk factor and therefore needs prioritising in the care of all childbearing aged women with severe mental illness.

  9. White matter abnormalities are associated with overall cognitive status in blast-related mTBI.

    PubMed

    Miller, Danielle R; Hayes, Jasmeet P; Lafleche, Ginette; Salat, David H; Verfaellie, Mieke

    2017-08-01

    Blast-related mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is a common injury of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. Research has suggested that blast-related mTBI is associated with chronic white matter abnormalities, which in turn are associated with impairment in neurocognitive function. However, findings are inconsistent as to which domains of cognition are affected by TBI-related white matter disruption. Recent evidence that white matter abnormalities associated with blast-related mTBI are spatially variable raises the possibility that the associated cognitive impairment is also heterogeneous. Thus, the goals of this study were to examine (1) whether mTBI-related white matter abnormalities are associated with overall cognitive status and (2) whether white matter abnormalities provide a mechanism by which mTBI influences cognition. Ninety-six Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OEF) veterans were assigned to one of three groups: no-TBI, mTBI without loss of consciousness (LOC) (mTBI-LOC), and mTBI with LOC (mTBI + LOC). Participants were given a battery of neuropsychological tests that were selected for their sensitivity to mTBI. Results showed that number of white matter abnormalities was associated with the odds of having clinically significant cognitive impairment. A mediation analysis revealed that mTBI + LOC was indirectly associated with cognitive impairment through its effect on white matter integrity. These results suggest that cognitive difficulties in blast-related mTBI can be linked to injury-induced neural changes when taking into account the variability of injury as well as the heterogeneity in cognitive deficits across individuals.

  10. Sense of coherence (SOC) may reduce the effects of occupational stress on mental health status among Japanese factory workers.

    PubMed

    Urakawa, Kayoko; Yokoyama, Kazuhito

    2009-10-01

    To examine if sense of coherence (SOC) can reduce the adverse effects of job stress on mental health status, self-administered questionnaires were distributed among 740 workers in a manufacturing industry. The questionnaire contained SOC, Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ), and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Complete answers were recovered from 466 workers (62.8%), consisting of 387 males and 79 females, with ages of 45.1 + or - 12.0 yr, and used for the analysis. The logistic regression analysis revealed the followings: Both for males and females, high GHQ was significantly associated with scores on SOC and JCQ job demand subscale, i.e. the mental health status was adversely related to job demand whereas it was positively associated with SOC. Similarly, the mental health status was affected adversely by managerial work in males, whereas was positively by co-workers support in females. Thus, high SOC enables workers to cope with their job demand, which is a potent job stressor, indicating that SOC is an important factor determining their coping ability to job stress for both genders. Male managerial employees may cope with their strong job stress because of high SOC, protecting their mental health status. Social support seems also significant for prevention of mental well-being of female workers from work-related stressors.

  11. Facebook Addiction and Its Relationship with Mental Health among Thai High School Students.

    PubMed

    Hanprathet, Nitt; Manwong, Mereerat; Khumsri, Jiraporn; Yingyeun, Rungmanee; Phanasathit, Muthita

    2015-04-01

    To investigate the relationship between Facebook addiction and mental health among high school students. This cross-sectional analytic study was performed among 972 high school students from four provinces associated with high economic prosperity in Thailand: Bangkok, ChiangMai, Ubon Ratchathani and Songkhla, utilizing a multistage cluster sampling technique. Facebook addiction was assessed using the Thai version of the Bergen-Facebook Addiction Scale (Thai-BFAS), while a Thai version ofthe General Health Questionnaire (Thai GHQ-28) was used for mental health evaluation. The relationship between Facebook addiction and mental health was analyzed through multiple logistic regressions. The prevalence of Facebook addiction and abnormal mental health were 41.9% (95% CI; 38.6, 45.2), and 21.9% (95% CI; 19.2, 24.8), respectively. After adjustment for confounding factors (sufficiency of household income, school location, level of education, GPAX learning deficits and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), the individuals identified as having Facebook addiction were discovered to be at a high risk of developing abnormal general mental health (ORadj = 1.7, 95% CI: 1.1, 2.4), somatic symptoms (OR = 1.2, 95% CI: 0.9, 1.7), anxiety and insomnia (ORadj = 1.3, 95% CI: 0.9, 1.8), social dysfunction (OR = 1.5, 95% CI: 1.1, 2.1) and severe depression (ORadj = 1.5, 95% CI: 1.0, 2.2). Moreover; there were pronounced trends of increasing risk according to the level of Facebook addiction (Ptrend < 0.05). It was found that Facebook addiction among high school students could be associated with abnormal, general mental health status, somatic symptoms, anxiety & insomnia, social dysfunction, and severe depression. Therefore, it is essential that the relevant authorities educate young people about the mental health impacts linked with Facebook addictive usage and impose appropriate public health policies by screening Facebook addiction and mental health issues in risk groups.

  12. Effects of Parent Immigration Status on Mental Health Service Use Among Latino Children Referred to Child Welfare.

    PubMed

    Finno-Velasquez, Megan; Cardoso, Jodi Berger; Dettlaff, Alan J; Hurlburt, Michael S

    2016-02-01

    Latino families may be at risk of experiencing stressors resulting from the immigration process, such as those related to documentation status and acculturation, that may increase their need for mental health services. However, little research exists on the mental health needs and service use of Latino children. This study examined how parental nativity and legal status influence mental health needs and service utilization among children in Latino families investigated by child welfare. Data from the second National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, a nationally representative, prospective study of families investigated by child welfare agencies for maltreatment, were used to examine mental health need and service use in a subset of Latino children who remained in the home following a maltreatment investigation (N=390). Although children of immigrants did not differ from children of U.S.-born parents in levels of clinical need, they had lower rates of mental health service receipt. After the analyses accounted for other relevant variables, the odds of receiving services were significantly lower (odds ratio=.09) for children whose parents were undocumented compared with children whose parents were U.S. citizens. This study contributes to growing discourse on Latino family needs within the child welfare system. Analyses support earlier research regarding the effects of parent nativity on mental health service use and advance the literature by identifying parent legal status as a unique barrier to child service receipt.

  13. Examining the impact of socioeconomic status and socioecologic stress on physical and mental health quality of life among breast cancer survivors.

    PubMed

    Ashing-Giwa, Kimlin T; Lim, Jung-won

    2009-01-01

    To examine how physical and mental health quality of life (QOL) varies in relation to the socioeconomic status and ethnicity among breast cancer survivors; to determine key socioecologic factors influencing outcomes. Cross-sectional. Participants were recruited from the California Cancer Surveillance Program, from hospital registries, and from community agencies in southern California. 703 multiethnic population-based breast cancer survivors, including European, African, Latina, and Asian Americans. Participants completed a mailed questionnaire or answered a telephone survey. To identify socioeconomic status and socioecologic stress, four measures were used: household income, education, job type, and the Life Stress Scale. Physical and mental health QOL, socioeconomic status (income, education, and job type), and socioecologic stress. After controlling for the demographic and medical information, health-related QOL was significantly correlated to socioeconomic status, such that higher socioeconomic status groups expressed better QOL. Ethnic variations existed in QOL according to socioeconomic status. Socioecologic stress was the most important factor influencing physical and mental health QOL. The findings provide additional evidence that low socioeconomic status and high socioecologic stress exacerbate negative QOL sequelae. Practice and research implications include the need for greater attention to QOL outcomes among at-risk lower socioeconomic status survivors and the recognition of the unique contributions of socioeconomic status, socioecologic stress, and ethnicity on physical and mental health QOL.

  14. Can music preference indicate mental health status in young people?

    PubMed

    Baker, Felicity; Bor, William

    2008-08-01

    In the aftermath of the double suicide of two teenage girls in 2007, the media linked the themes of 'emo' music and the girls' mental state. But it is not just emo music that has been the subject of scrutiny by the media. Rap music, country, and heavy metal have also been blamed for antisocial behaviours including violence, theft, promiscuity and drug use. It remains an important research and clinical question as to whether music contributes to the acting out of behaviours described in the music lyrics or whether the preferred music represents the already existing behavioural tendencies in the subject. This paper surveys and discusses the relevant literature on music preference and adolescent music listening behaviours, and their links with adolescent mental health. Studies have found a relationship between various genres of music and antisocial behaviours, vulnerability to suicide, and drug use. However, studies reject that music is a causal factor and suggest that music preference is more indicative of emotional vulnerability. A limited number of studies have found correlations between music preference and mental health status. More research is needed to determine whether music preferences of those with diagnosed mental health issues differ substantially from the general adolescent population.

  15. Mental health status and related characteristics of Chinese male rural-urban migrant workers.

    PubMed

    Yang, Tingzhong; Xu, Xiaochao; Li, Mu; Rockett, Ian R H; Zhu, Waner; Ellison-Barnes, Alejandra

    2012-06-01

    To explore mental health status and related characteristics in a sample of Chinese male rural-urban migrants. Subjects were 1,595 male rural-urban migrant workers selected though a multi-stage sample survey conducted in two cities (Hangzhou and Guangzhou). Data were collected by means of a self-administered questionnaire. Both life and work stressors were examined. Stress and mental health status were measured by the Chinese Perceived Stress Scale (CPSS) and the Chinese Health Questionnaire (CHQ), respectively. Unconditional logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with probable mental disorders. There are approximately 120 million rural-urban migrants in China. The prevalence of probable mental disorders in the sample population was 24.4% (95% CI: 23.3-25.5%), which was higher than among urban residents (20.2%, 95% CI: 18.8-21.7%). Logistic regression analysis revealed that five characteristics were positively associated with risk for probable mental disorders: originating in the South (OR = 2.00; 95% CI = 1.02, 4.00), higher life stress (OR = 7.63; 95% CI = 5.88, 10.00), staying in the city for 5-9 months each year (OR = 2.56; 95% CI = 1.67, 3.85), higher work stress (OR = 2.56; 95% CI = 1.96, 3.33), and separation from wife (OR = 2.43; 95% CI = 1.61, 3.57). Employment in machinery and transportation (OR = 0.54; 95% CI = 0.36, 0.81) and higher self-worth (OR = 0.42; 95% CI = 0.28, 0.62) were negatively associated. Findings support an urgent need to develop specific policies and programs to address mental health problems among Chinese rural-urban migrants.

  16. Sleep, mental health status, and medical errors among hospital nurses in Japan.

    PubMed

    Arimura, Mayumi; Imai, Makoto; Okawa, Masako; Fujimura, Toshimasa; Yamada, Naoto

    2010-01-01

    Medical error involving nurses is a critical issue since nurses' actions will have a direct and often significant effect on the prognosis of their patients. To investigate the significance of nurse health in Japan and its potential impact on patient services, a questionnaire-based survey amongst nurses working in hospitals was conducted, with the specific purpose of examining the relationship between shift work, mental health and self-reported medical errors. Multivariate analysis revealed significant associations between the shift work system, General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) scores and nurse errors: the odds ratios for shift system and GHQ were 2.1 and 1.1, respectively. It was confirmed that both sleep and mental health status among hospital nurses were relatively poor, and that shift work and poor mental health were significant factors contributing to medical errors.

  17. Psychosis prediction in secondary mental health services. A broad, comprehensive approach to the "at risk mental state" syndrome.

    PubMed

    Francesconi, M; Minichino, A; Carrión, R E; Delle Chiaie, R; Bevilacqua, A; Parisi, M; Rullo, S; Bersani, F Saverio; Biondi, M; Cadenhead, K

    2017-02-01

    Accuracy of risk algorithms for psychosis prediction in "at risk mental state" (ARMS) samples may differ according to the recruitment setting. Standardized criteria used to detect ARMS individuals may lack specificity if the recruitment setting is a secondary mental health service. The authors tested a modified strategy to predict psychosis conversion in this setting by using a systematic selection of trait-markers of the psychosis prodrome in a sample with a heterogeneous ARMS status. 138 non-psychotic outpatients (aged 17-31) were consecutively recruited in secondary mental health services and followed-up for up to 3 years (mean follow-up time, 2.2 years; SD=0.9). Baseline ARMS status, clinical, demographic, cognitive, and neurological soft signs measures were collected. Cox regression was used to derive a risk index. 48% individuals met ARMS criteria (ARMS-Positive, ARMS+). Conversion rate to psychosis was 21% for the overall sample, 34% for ARMS+, and 9% for ARMS-Negative (ARMS-). The final predictor model with a positive predictive validity of 80% consisted of four variables: Disorder of Thought Content, visuospatial/constructional deficits, sensory-integration, and theory-of-mind abnormalities. Removing Disorder of Thought Content from the model only slightly modified the predictive accuracy (-6.2%), but increased the sensitivity (+9.5%). These results suggest that in a secondary mental health setting the use of trait-markers of the psychosis prodrome may predict psychosis conversion with great accuracy despite the heterogeneity of the ARMS status. The use of the proposed predictive algorithm may enable a selective recruitment, potentially reducing duration of untreated psychosis and improving prognostic outcomes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  18. Coping skills and mental health status in adolescents when a parent has cancer: a multicenter and multi-perspective study.

    PubMed

    Krattenmacher, Thomas; Kühne, Franziska; Führer, Daniel; Beierlein, Volker; Brähler, Elmar; Resch, Franz; Klitzing, Kai v; Flechtner, Hans-Henning; Bergelt, Corinna; Romer, Georg; Möller, Birgit

    2013-03-01

    Parental cancer increases the risk of psychosocial problems in adolescents. We investigated the frequency and efficacy of adolescents' coping strategies and relationships between those strategies and mental health status. Age and gender differences regarding coping and mental health were also investigated. In total, 214 adolescents from 167 families participated in a cross-sectional, multicenter study. All participants were recruited from standard oncological care. Among the participants, 52% utilized a child-centered intervention program. Adolescents' coping skills were measured using KIDCOPE. Mental health status was rated by adolescents and parents by the SDQ for symptomatology and the KIDSCREEN for well-being. We found that 29% of the adolescents showed emotional and behavioral problems. We found gender differences in mental health status but not in coping. Adolescents used a broad spectrum of coping strategies. Active problem-solving, distraction, acceptance, wishful thinking and seeking social support were the most frequently used coping strategies. The utilization of certain coping skills was mediated by their perceived efficacy. Problem-focused or approach-oriented coping strategies generally are associated with better mental health, while avoidance-oriented coping are associated with worse mental health. Emotion-focused coping was associated with both lower and higher mental health. The strategies used by adolescents to cope with parental cancer are associated with their mental health. Problem-solving and approach-oriented coping strategies should be facilitated by psychological interventions regardless of age and gender. Age and gender differences in adolescents' mental health should be further investigated because these differences are not explained by differences in coping strategies. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Early Maladaptive Schemas and Cognitive Distortions in Adults with Morbid Obesity: Relationships with Mental Health Status.

    PubMed

    da Luz, Felipe Q; Sainsbury, Amanda; Hay, Phillipa; Roekenes, Jessica A; Swinbourne, Jessica; da Silva, Dhiordan C; da S Oliveira, Margareth

    2017-02-28

    Dysfunctional cognitions may be associated with unhealthy eating behaviors seen in individuals with obesity. However, dysfunctional cognitions commonly occur in individuals with poor mental health independently of weight. We examined whether individuals with morbid obesity differed with regard to dysfunctional cognitions when compared to individuals of normal weight, when mental health status was controlled for. 111 participants-53 with morbid obesity and 58 of normal weight-were assessed with the Mini-Mental State Examination, Young Schema Questionnaire, Cognitive Distortions Questionnaire, Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale, and a Demographic and Clinical Questionnaire. Participants with morbid obesity showed higher scores in one (insufficient self-control/self-discipline) of 15 early maladaptive schemas and in one (labeling) of 15 cognitive distortions compared to participants of normal weight. The difference between groups for insufficient self-control/self-discipline was not significant when mental health status was controlled for. Participants with morbid obesity showed more severe anxiety than participants of normal weight. Our findings did not show clinically meaningful differences in dysfunctional cognitions between participants with morbid obesity or of normal weight. Dysfunctional cognitions presented by individuals with morbid obesity are likely related to their individual mental health and not to their weight.

  20. Are there differences in the mental health status of adolescents in Puducherry?

    PubMed

    Deb, Sibnath; Sathyanarayanan, Pooja; Machiraju, Ravali; Thomas, Shinto; McGirr, Kevin

    2017-06-01

    The present study assessed the mental health of adolescents in Puducherry, India. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 291 students (121 male and 170 female) in the 14-17year old age group, grades IX and XI. The students were recruited from private, public, co-ed and single sex schools. Along with a Structured Questionnaire, the Mental Health Inventory was administered. We sought to investigate as to whether there would be differences in mental health status of adolescents based on age, class, gender and other demographic variables. There were significant age differences with respect to global mental health, psychological distress, anxiety and loss of behavioural/emotional control. Family type-wise significant differences in global mental health, life satisfaction and loss of behavioural/emotional control were also found. Significant differences were observed with respect to global mental health, psychological well-being, positive effects, psychological distress and depression across socio-economic groups. Number of siblings also accounted for differences in anxiety and emotional ties. However, no significant gender differences were observed across mental health sub-scales. Results suggest the need for promotion of mental health awareness and intervention programs for adolescents, their parents and teachers. There is also a need for advocacy in children and adolescent rights regarding welfare, well-being and protection from violence. The objective is to enhance psychological well-being and reduce psychological distress in students across different social strata. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Alcohol use and self-perceived mental health status among pregnant and breastfeeding women in Canada: a secondary data analysis.

    PubMed

    Lange, S; Quere, M; Shield, K; Rehm, J; Popova, S

    2016-05-01

    To estimate the prevalence of alcohol consumption during pregnancy and while breastfeeding in Canada from 2003 to 2010, and to test the relation between self-perceived mental health status and alcohol consumption during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. Secondary analysis of four cycles of the Canadian Community Health Survey, a population-based cross-sectional survey. Canada. A total of 18 612 pregnant and 15 836 breastfeeding women. The prevalence of alcohol consumption during pregnancy and while breastfeeding and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated by province and territory, and cycle. The relation between self-perceived mental health status and alcohol consumption during pregnancy and while breastfeeding was explored using quasi-Poisson regression models. Alcohol consumption during pregnancy and while breastfeeding, and self-perceived mental health status. In Canada, between 2003 and 2010, approximately one in every ten pregnant women (9.9%; 95%CI 9.2-10.5%) and two in every ten breastfeeding women (20.3%; 95%CI 19.4-21.2%) women consumed alcohol. Women with a lower self-perceived mental health status (i.e. 'good') were 1.40 (95%CI 1.18-1.67, P < 0.001) times more likely to have consumed alcohol during pregnancy, compared with women with an 'excellent' self-perceived mental health. There were no notable differences between the categories of mental health status in regard to alcohol consumption while breastfeeding. Despite public health efforts in Canada, a significant proportion of pregnant and breastfeeding women consume alcohol. It is imperative that a standard screening protocol be initiated among pregnant and breastfeeding women, especially in high-risk populations (e.g. women utilising substance abuse treatment programs). In Canada in 2003-2010, approximately 10% of pregnant and 20% of breastfeeding women consumed alcohol. © 2015 Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

  2. Mental health status of varenicline and bupropion users during a quit attempt compared to current smokers, other quitters, and non-smokers.

    PubMed

    Shewale, Anand R; Borse, Mrudula S; Brown, Joshua D; Li, Chenghui

    2015-09-01

    Varenicline and bupropion are commonly prescribed non-nicotine containing smoking cessation agents. Post-marketing reports suggest an increased incidence of psychiatric disturbances associated with varenicline and bupropion. However, pre-existing psychiatric disorders may confound the association between these smoking cessation agents and psychiatric disturbances. We compared the mental health status of individuals using varenicline or bupropion to that of people quitting without medication, current smokers, and non-smokers while controlling for pre-existing conditions. A cross-sectional design was used. Data were from 2006-2011 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Mental health status was assessed using the mental component summary (MCS) from the 12-item Short Form survey (SF-12v2), 2-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2), and Kessler 6 Scale (K6). Differences in MCS score were compared using linear regression. Logistic regressions were used to compare positive screenings for depression using PHQ-2 and for psychological distress using K6. Of 578 use episodes, 453 (78.38%) were bupropion and 125 (21.62%) were varenicline. After adjusting for potential confounders, mental health status of varenicline users was not different from current smokers or people who quit smoking without medication, but worse than non-smokers; bupropion was strongly associated with lower mental health status relative to all groups across all three measures. Varenicline was not associated with worse mental health compared to smokers or those who quit without medication, after adjusting for pre-existing psychiatric disorders. Bupropion was associated with worse mental health status than smokers, former smokers who quit without medication, and nonsmokers, even after adjusting for pre-existing psychiatric disorders. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Mental Health Status, Health Care Utilisation, and Service Satisfaction among Immigrants in Montreal: An Epidemiological Comparison.

    PubMed

    Whitley, Rob; Wang, JiaWei; Fleury, Marie-Josee; Liu, Aihua; Caron, Jean

    2017-08-01

    To examine variations between immigrants and nonimmigrants in 1) prevalence of common mental disorders and other mental health variables; 2) health service utilisation for emotional problems, mental disorders, and addictions, and 3) health service satisfaction. This article is based on a longitudinal cohort study conducted from May 2007 to the present: the Epidemiological Catchment Area Study of Montreal South-West (ZEPSOM). Participants were followed up at 4 time points (T1, n = 2433; T4, n = 1095). Core exposure variables include immigrant status (immigrant vs. nonimmigrant), duration of residence, and region of origin. Key outcome variables included mental health status, health service utilisation, and health service satisfaction. Data were analysed both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Immigrants had been in Canada for 20 years on average. Immigrants had significantly lower rates of high psychological distress (32.6% vs. 39.1%, P = 0.016), alcohol dependence (1.4% vs. 3.9%, P =0.010), depression (5.2% vs. 9.2%, P = 0.008), and various other mental disorders. They had significantly higher scores of mental well-being (48.9 vs. 47.1 score, P = 0.014) and satisfaction with social (34.0 vs. 33.4 score, P = 0.021) and personal relationships (16.7 vs. 15.6 score, P < 0.001). Immigrants had significantly lower rates of health service utilisation for emotional problems, mental disorders, and addictions and significantly higher rates of health service satisfaction at all time points. Asian and African immigrants had particularly low rates of utilisation and high rates of satisfaction. Immigrants had better overall mental health than nonimmigrants.

  4. Mental health inequalities in Slovenian 15-year-old adolescents explained by personal social position and family socioeconomic status.

    PubMed

    Klanšček, Helena Jeriček; Ziberna, Janina; Korošec, Aleš; Zurc, Joca; Albreht, Tit

    2014-03-28

    Mental health inequalities are an increasingly important global problem. This study examined the association between mental health status and certain socioeconomic indicators (personal social position and the socioeconomic status of the family) in Slovenian 15-year-old adolescents. Data originate from the WHO-Collaborative cross-national 'Health Behavior in School-aged Children' study conducted in Slovenia in 2010 (1,815 secondary school pupils, aged 15). Mental health status was measured by: KIDSCREEN-10, the Strength and Difficulties questionnaire (SDQ), a life satisfaction scale, and one question about feelings of depression. Socioeconomic position was measured by the socioeconomic status of the family (Family Affluence Scale, perceived material welfare, family type, occupational status of parents) and personal social position (number of friends and the type of school). Logistic regression and a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were performed. Girls had 2.5-times higher odds of suffering feelings of depression (p < 0.001), 1.5-times higher odds of low life satisfaction (p = 0.008), and a greater chance of a lower quality of life and a higher SDQ score than boys (p = 0.001). The adolescents who perceived their family's material welfare as worse had 4-times higher odds (p < 0.001) of a low life satisfaction, a greater chance of a low quality of life, and a higher SDQ score than those who perceived it as better (p < 0.001). Adolescents with no friends had lower KIDSCREEN-10 and higher SDQ scores than those who had more than three friends. Despite the fact that Slovenia is among the EU members with the lowest rates of social inequalities, it was found that adolescents with a lower socioeconomic position have poorer mental health than those with a higher socioeconomic position. Because of the financial crisis, we can expect an increase in social inequalities and a greater impact on adolescents' mental health status in Slovenia in the future.

  5. Comparison of Neural Network and Linear Regression Models in Statistically Predicting Mental and Physical Health Status of Breast Cancer Survivors

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-07-15

    Long-term effects on cancer survivors’ quality of life of physical training versus physical training combined with cognitive-behavioral therapy ...COMPARISON OF NEURAL NETWORK AND LINEAR REGRESSION MODELS IN STATISTICALLY PREDICTING MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH STATUS OF BREAST...34Comparison of Neural Network and Linear Regression Models in Statistically Predicting Mental and Physical Health Status of Breast Cancer Survivors

  6. Neurodevelopmental, functional and growth status of term low birth weight infants at eighteen months.

    PubMed

    Juneja, M; Shankar, A; Ramji, S

    2005-11-01

    This study was done to evaluate the neurodevelopmental, functional and growth status of term infants weighing 2000 g or less at 18 months, and to analyze major medical and social factors associated with an adverse neurodevelopmental and/or functional outcome. All infants were assessed for growth, audio-visual, neurological impairment, and motor and mental development using Indian modification of Bayley Scales of infant development. A detailed history was also taken. Term infants with birth weight of >2500 g without any antenatal or neonatal complications served as controls. Fifty low birth weight (LBW) term infants and 30 controls were evaluated. The mean mental development Quotient for LBW infants [91.51(16.97)] was significantly lower than that of Controls [102.02(8.4)]; the mean motor development Quotient however was comparable. The LBW infants were significantly lagging in terms of weight, length and head circumference at assessment. Neonatal complications were associated with an abnormal motor outcome while lower Socio-economic status and maternal education were related to adverse mental status. We concluded that Term LBW infants are at a significant disadvantage in terms of growth and mental scores at 18 months.

  7. Sex chromosome abnormalities and psychiatric diseases

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Xinzhu; Yang, Jian; Li, Yuhong; Ma, Xin; Li, Rena

    2017-01-01

    Excesses of sex chromosome abnormalities in patients with psychiatric diseases have recently been observed. It remains unclear whether sex chromosome abnormalities are related to sex differences in some psychiatric diseases. While studies showed evidence of susceptibility loci over many sex chromosomal regions related to various mental diseases, others demonstrated that the sex chromosome aneuploidies may be the key to exploring the pathogenesis of psychiatric disease. In this review, we will outline the current evidence on the interaction of sex chromosome abnormalities with schizophrenia, autism, ADHD and mood disorders. PMID:27992373

  8. Early Maladaptive Schemas and Cognitive Distortions in Adults with Morbid Obesity: Relationships with Mental Health Status

    PubMed Central

    da Luz, Felipe Q.; Sainsbury, Amanda; Hay, Phillipa; Roekenes, Jessica A.; Swinbourne, Jessica; da Silva, Dhiordan C.; da S. Oliveira, Margareth

    2017-01-01

    Dysfunctional cognitions may be associated with unhealthy eating behaviors seen in individuals with obesity. However, dysfunctional cognitions commonly occur in individuals with poor mental health independently of weight. We examined whether individuals with morbid obesity differed with regard to dysfunctional cognitions when compared to individuals of normal weight, when mental health status was controlled for. 111 participants—53 with morbid obesity and 58 of normal weight—were assessed with the Mini-Mental State Examination, Young Schema Questionnaire, Cognitive Distortions Questionnaire, Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale, and a Demographic and Clinical Questionnaire. Participants with morbid obesity showed higher scores in one (insufficient self-control/self-discipline) of 15 early maladaptive schemas and in one (labeling) of 15 cognitive distortions compared to participants of normal weight. The difference between groups for insufficient self-control/self-discipline was not significant when mental health status was controlled for. Participants with morbid obesity showed more severe anxiety than participants of normal weight. Our findings did not show clinically meaningful differences in dysfunctional cognitions between participants with morbid obesity or of normal weight. Dysfunctional cognitions presented by individuals with morbid obesity are likely related to their individual mental health and not to their weight. PMID:28264484

  9. Mental Retardation and the Law: A Report on Status of Current Court Cases.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Levine, Jan Martin, Ed.

    Brief reports on the status of approximately 75 ongoing or recently decided court cases in states of relevance to the mentally retarded are provided. Cases cover the following issues: commitment, community living and services, criminal law, discrimination, guardianship, institutions and deinstitutionalization, medical/legal issues, parental rights…

  10. Mental Health Status, Health Care Utilisation, and Service Satisfaction among Immigrants in Montreal: An Epidemiological Comparison

    PubMed Central

    Wang, JiaWei; Fleury, Marie-Josee; Liu, Aihua; Caron, Jean

    2016-01-01

    Objective: To examine variations between immigrants and nonimmigrants in 1) prevalence of common mental disorders and other mental health variables; 2) health service utilisation for emotional problems, mental disorders, and addictions, and 3) health service satisfaction. Methods: This article is based on a longitudinal cohort study conducted from May 2007 to the present: the Epidemiological Catchment Area Study of Montreal South-West (ZEPSOM). Participants were followed up at 4 time points (T1, n = 2433; T4, n = 1095). Core exposure variables include immigrant status (immigrant vs. nonimmigrant), duration of residence, and region of origin. Key outcome variables included mental health status, health service utilisation, and health service satisfaction. Data were analysed both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Results: Immigrants had been in Canada for 20 years on average. Immigrants had significantly lower rates of high psychological distress (32.6% vs. 39.1%, P = 0.016), alcohol dependence (1.4% vs. 3.9%, P =0.010), depression (5.2% vs. 9.2%, P = 0.008), and various other mental disorders. They had significantly higher scores of mental well-being (48.9 vs. 47.1 score, P = 0.014) and satisfaction with social (34.0 vs. 33.4 score, P = 0.021) and personal relationships (16.7 vs. 15.6 score, P < 0.001). Immigrants had significantly lower rates of health service utilisation for emotional problems, mental disorders, and addictions and significantly higher rates of health service satisfaction at all time points. Asian and African immigrants had particularly low rates of utilisation and high rates of satisfaction. Conclusions: Immigrants had better overall mental health than nonimmigrants. PMID:27836931

  11. Attitudes toward mental illness in adults by mental illness-related factors and chronic disease status: 2007 and 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

    PubMed

    Kobau, Rosemarie; Zack, Matthew M

    2013-11-01

    We examined how attitudes toward mental illness treatment and its course differ by serious psychological distress, mental illness treatment, chronic disease, and sociodemographic factors using representative state-based data. Using data from jurisdictions supporting the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System's Mental Illness and Stigma Module (35 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico), we compared adjusted proportions of adults agreeing that "Treatment can help people with mental illness lead normal lives" (treatment effectiveness) and that "People are generally caring and sympathetic to people with mental illness" (supportive environment), by demographic characteristics, serious psychological distress, chronic disease status, and mental illness treatment. Attitudes regarding treatment effectiveness and a supportive environment for people with mental illness varied within and between groups. Most adults receiving mental illness treatment agreed that treatment is effective. Fewer adults with serious psychological distress than those without such distress agreed that treatment is effective. Fewer of those receiving treatment, those with psychological distress, and those with chronic disease perceived the environment as supportive. These data can be used to target interventions for population subgroups with less favorable attitudes and for surveillance.

  12. Employment status, duration of residence and mental health among skilled migrants to New Zealand: results of a longitudinal study.

    PubMed

    Pernice, Regina; Trlin, Andrew; Henderson, Anne; North, Nicola; Skinner, Monica

    2009-05-01

    To report findings on employment, duration of residence and mental health from a longitudinal study of 107 skilled immigrants to New Zealand from the People's Republic of China, India and South Africa. Demographic and employment data were collected by face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire that included (as the mental health instrument) the General Health Questionnaire 12 (GHQ-12). The initial interview took place after the immigrants had been resident in New Zealand for an average of five months. Four subsequent interviews were conducted annually (1999-2002) on or about the anniversary of the first interview. Rather than an initial euphoric period followed by a mental health crisis, the results indicated poor mental health status in the first two years irrespective of employment status. Thereafter, mental health slightly improved as did employment rates. A surprising result was that although the South Africans had the highest employment rate, there were neither substantial mental health differences among the three groups nor was there a significant improvement during the course of the longitudinal study.

  13. Mental disorders and employment status in the São Paulo Metropolitan Area, Brazil: gender differences and use of health services.

    PubMed

    França, Mariane Henriques; Barreto, Sandhi Maria; Pereira, Flavia Garcia; Andrade, Laura Helena Silveira Guerra de; Paiva, Maria Cristina Alochio de; Viana, Maria Carmen

    2017-10-09

    Mental disorders are associated with employment status as significant predictors and as consequences of unemployment and early retirement. This study describes the estimates and associations of 12-month DSM-IV prevalence rates of mental disorders and use of health services with employment status by gender in the São Paulo Metropolitan Area, Brazil. Data from the São Paulo Megacity Mental Health Survey was analyzed (n = 5,037). This is a population-based study assessing the prevalence and determinants of mental disorders among adults, using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. The associations were estimated by odds ratios obtained through binomial and multinomial logistic regression. This study demonstrates that having mental disorders, especially mood disorders, is associated with being inactive or unemployed among men and inactive among women, but only having a substance use disorder is associated with being unemployed among women. Among those with mental disorders, seeking health care services is less frequent within unemployed.

  14. Vitamin D Status, Cardiometabolic, Liver, and Mental Health Status in Obese Youth Attending a Pediatric Weight Management Center.

    PubMed

    MacDonald, Krista; Godziuk, Kristine; Yap, Jason; LaFrance, Rena; Ansarian, Mohammad; Haqq, Andrea; Mager, Diana R

    2017-10-01

    Vitamin D (VitD) deficiency and obesity are reaching epidemic proportions in North America, particularly in those with comorbid conditions such as diabetes or liver disease. The study objective was to determine the prevalence of suboptimal vitD status and interrelationships with anthropometric, cardiometabolic, liver, mental health, and lifestyle (sleep/screen time) parameters in an ambulatory population of children with obesity. Children (2-18 years) attending a pediatric weight management clinic (n = 217) were retrospectively reviewed. Variables studied included anthropometric (weight, height, body mass index, waist circumference), vitD (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D), cardiometabolic (systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, glucose, insulin, homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, total cholesterol), liver enzymes (alanine aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyl transferase), and mental health (number, diagnosis) parameters. Suboptimal vitD status (25-hydroxyvitamin D <75 nmol/L was present in 76% of children with obesity (12.0 ± 2.9 years). Blood pressure categorized as prehypertension, stage I hypertension, and stage II hypertension was present in 14%, 25%, and 7% of children, respectively. Mental health diagnoses including anxiety, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, mood disorders, and learning disabilities/developmental delays occurred in 18%, 17%, 10%, and 15%, of children, respectively. Waist circumferences >100 cm were associated with lower vitD levels (58 ± 18 vs 65 ± 17 nmol/L; P = 0.01). VitD status ≥50 nmol/L was associated with lower insulin (15.8 [11.7-23.1] mU/L vs 21.1 [14.3-34.2] mU/L; P < 0.01) and homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (3.5 [2.5-4.9] vs 4.8 [3.1-6.9]; P < 0.01) values and systolic blood pressure percentiles (73.0 ± 25.8 vs 80.6 ± 17.0; P = 0.04). Children with obesity had a high

  15. Quality of life and mental health status of arsenic-affected patients in a Bangladeshi population.

    PubMed

    Syed, Emdadul H; Poudel, Krishna C; Sakisaka, Kayako; Yasuoka, Junko; Ahsan, Habibul; Jimba, Masamine

    2012-09-01

    Contamination of groundwater by inorganic arsenic is one of the major public-health problems in Bangladesh. This cross-sectional study was conducted (a) to evaluate the quality of life (QOL) and mental health status of arsenic-affected patients and (b) to identify the factors associated with the QOL. Of 1,456 individuals, 521 (35.78%) were selected as case and control participants, using a systematic random-sampling method. The selection criteria for cases (n=259) included presence of at least one of the following: melanosis, leucomelanosis on at least 10% of the body, or keratosis on the hands or feet. Control (nonpatient) participants (n=262) were selected from the same villages by matching age (±5 years) and gender. The Bangladeshi version of the WHOQOL-BREF was used for assessing the QOL, and the self-reporting questionnaire (SRQ) was used for assessing the general mental health status. Data were analyzed using Student's t-test and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), and the WHOQOL-BREF and SRQ scores between the patients and the non-patients were compared. The mean scores of QOL were significantly lower in the patients than those in the non-patients of both the sexes. Moreover, the mental health status of the arsenic-affected patients (mean score for males=8.4 and females=10.3) showed greater disturbances than those of the non-patients (mean score for males=5.2 and females=6.1) of both the sexes. The results of multiple regression analysis revealed that the factors potentially contributing to the lower QOL scores included: being an arsenic-affected patient, having lower age, and having lower annual income. Based on the findings, it is concluded that the QOL and mental health status of the arsenic-affected patients were significantly lower than those of the non-patients in Bangladesh. Appropriate interventions are necessary to improve the well-being of the patients.

  16. Evaluation of smoking status identification using electronic health records and open-text information in a large mental health case register.

    PubMed

    Wu, Chia-Yi; Chang, Chin-Kuo; Robson, Debbie; Jackson, Richard; Chen, Shaw-Ji; Hayes, Richard D; Stewart, Robert

    2013-01-01

    High smoking prevalence is a major public health concern for people with mental disorders. Improved monitoring could be facilitated through electronic health record (EHR) databases. We evaluated whether EHR information held in structured fields might be usefully supplemented by open-text information. The prevalence and correlates of EHR-derived current smoking in people with severe mental illness were also investigated. All cases had been referred to a secondary mental health service between 2008-2011 and received a diagnosis of schizophreniform or bipolar disorder. The study focused on those aged over 15 years who had received active care from the mental health service for at least a year (N=1,555). The 'CRIS-IE-Smoking' application used General Architecture for Text Engineering (GATE) natural language processing software to extract smoking status information from open-text fields. A combination of CRIS-IE-Smoking with data from structured fields was evaluated for coverage and the prevalence and demographic correlates of current smoking were analysed. Proportions of patients with recorded smoking status increased from 11.6% to 64.0% through supplementing structured fields with CRIS-IE-Smoking data. The prevalence of current smoking was 59.6% in these 995 cases for whom this information was available. After adjustment, younger age (below 65 years), male sex, and non-cohabiting status were associated with current smoking status. A natural language processing application substantially improved routine EHR data on smoking status above structured fields alone and could thus be helpful in improving monitoring of this lifestyle behaviour. However, limited information on smoking status remained a challenge.

  17. Assessment of mental health status among school going adolescents in North East India: A cross sectional school based survey.

    PubMed

    U, Harikrishnan; Arif, Ali; H, Sobhana

    2017-12-01

    Adolescent emotional responses and behaviors are often passed off as growth pangs and academic stress, thereby missing those that need deeper understanding and mental health interventions. The aim of the study is to understand mental health status among the school adolescents in Tezpur, Assam. The present study was a cross sectional study that used convenience sampling in selection of the schools. A total of 10 schools were selected for the purpose of the study. 1403 Adolescents were selected for data analysis. Socio-Demographic Performa and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire [SDQ] were administered to the participants. The results indicated that five predictors (gender, education, family type, academic performance, socio economic status in the family) explained 9.79% of the variance (F=5.040, P<0.000) in total difficulty levels: (Academic performance; β=0.08; t=3.15; P=0.002) and (Socio economic status; β=0.07, t=3.02, P=0.003). In the study less than one tenth of the participants have some mental health issues and this calls for concern. Schools should have standing operation procedures in place to periodically screen adolescents for mental health related issues. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Cobalamin and folate status predicts mental development scores in North Indian children 12-18 mo of age.

    PubMed

    Strand, Tor A; Taneja, Sunita; Ueland, Per M; Refsum, Helga; Bahl, Rajiv; Schneede, Joern; Sommerfelt, Halvor; Bhandari, Nita

    2013-02-01

    Micronutrient deficiencies can affect cognitive function. Many young children in low- and middle-income countries have inadequate cobalamin (vitamin B-12) status. The objective was to measure the association of plasma concentrations of folate, cobalamin, total homocysteine, and methylmalonic acid with cognitive performance at 2 occasions, 4 mo apart, in North Indian children aged 12-18 mo. Bayley Scales of Infant Development II were used to assess cognition. In multiple regression models adjusted for several potential confounders, we measured the association between biomarkers for folate and cobalamin status and psychomotor or mental development scores on the day of blood sampling and 4 mo thereafter. Each 2-fold increment in plasma cobalamin concentration was associated with a significant increment in the mental development index score of 1.3 (95% CI: 0.2, 2.4; P = 0.021). Furthermore, each 2-fold increment in homocysteine or methylmalonic acid concentration was associated with a decrement in mental development index score of 2.0 (95% CI: 0.5, 3.4; P = 0.007) or 1.1 (95% CI: 0.3, 1.8; P = 0.004) points, respectively. Plasma folate concentration was significantly and independently associated with mental development index scores only when children with poor cobalamin status were excluded, ie, in those who had cobalamin concentrations below the 25th percentile. None of these markers was associated with psychomotor scores in the multiple regression models. Cobalamin and folate status showed a statistically significant association with cognitive performance. Given the high prevalence of deficiencies in these nutrients, folate and cobalamin supplementation trials are required to measure any beneficial effect on cognition.

  19. Medical students' health behaviour and self-reported mental health status by their country of origin: a cross-sectional study.

    PubMed

    Terebessy, András; Czeglédi, Edit; Balla, Bettina Claudia; Horváth, Ferenc; Balázs, Péter

    2016-05-28

    Numerous previous studies have investigated the lifestyle and self-perceived health status of medical students. This study examined whether students' country of origin contributed to their mental health and health risk behaviour. We conducted our cross-sectional questionnaire survey over four consecutive years (2009-2012). The target population was fourth-year English- and Hungarian-language course medical students at Semmelweis University, Hungary. We gathered data on medical students' health behaviour (tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, dietary habits and exercise) and mental health status and used analysis of variance (ANOVA) to examine the association between country of origin and mental health. The response rate was 76.1 % for the Hungarian and 63.4 % for the English course students. The mean age of our sample was 24.1 years (SD = 2.42). Only 15.3 % of students reported following dietary recommendations, but 75.0 % reported engaging in vigorous and regular physical exercise. The prevalence of tobacco smoking was 18.6 % and 13.8 % overconsumed alcoholic beverages. Hungarian and Iranian students reported lower mental well-being than Mediterranean, Israeli and Scandinavian students (F(4) = 18.943, p < 0.001, η(2) = 0.103). Results of the multiway ANOVA indicated that both country of origin and exercise showed a significant relationship with mental health: vigorous exercise was associated with better mental health status (F(1) = 5.505, p = 0.019). Medical students' mental health and health behaviour are associated with multiple factors. One of these is country of origin but exercise may also influence mental health. Health promotion programmes organised for medical students should take their country of origin into consideration and should include physical activity.

  20. Baseline Assessment of Campus-Wide General Health Status and Mental Health: Opportunity for Tailored Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Awareness Programming

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hawley, Lisa D.; MacDonald, Michael G.; Wallace, Erica H.; Smith, Julia; Wummel, Brian; Wren, Patricia A.

    2016-01-01

    Objective: A campus-wide assessment examined the physical and mental health status of a midsize midwestern public university. Participants: Two thousand and forty-nine students, faculty, and staff on a single college campus were assessed in March-April 2013. Methods: Participants completed an online survey with sections devoted to demographics,…

  1. Mental status questionnaire for organic brain syndrome, with a new visual counting test.

    PubMed

    Fishback, D B

    1977-04-01

    Ninety aged patients at the Philadelphia Geriatric Center were asked to give answers to a 35-item mental status questionnaire which included a new visual counting test. By this mean it was found that 20 of the 90 subjects were not mentally impaired, but 34 had mild dementia, 17 moderate dementia, and 19 servere dementia. These results proved to be well correlated with the clinical findings. The test records showed that as dementia develops, the first thing to be forgotten is the awareness of time, place and recognition (in that order). Then the ability to count disappears. As mental oblivion intervenes, the last thing the patient forgets is his/her own name. It was also noted that patients with mild senile dementia fared better when kept with a similar group than with patients who have moderate or severe dementia.

  2. [Psychosocial working conditions and mental health status of the German babyboomer generation].

    PubMed

    Tophoven, S; Tisch, A; Rauch, A; Burghardt, A

    2015-04-01

    The baby boomers are the first to be available to the German labour market up to the age of 67. A crucial premise for a long working life is good health. However, there is evidence that psychosocial working conditions are related to health. More and more employees report psychosocial stress at work. In addition, mental illness has become one of the main reasons for the entry into disability pension. Against this background this study considers the relationship between psychosocial work conditions and mental health exemplarily for two birth cohorts of the German baby boomers. For the analysis of the assumed relationships data of the lidA study "lidA - leben in der Arbeit - German Cohort Study on Work, Age and Health" is used (N=6 057). Mental health is assessed by the mental health scale of the SF-12. In addition, the items and the scales quantitative job requirements, work pace and support from colleagues from the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ) are used. As further control variables cohort affiliation, level of education, occupational status and partnership are considered. Multivariate analyses of the relations between quantitative job requirements, work pace and the experienced support from colleagues show significant relationship to mental health. The increasing frequency of the requirement to work quickly and increasing quantitative job demands are negatively associated to mental health. However, support of colleagues shows a positive relationship to mental health. These results are similarly observed for women and men. For the regarded group of the German babyboomers, employees at the threshold to higher working age, it is clearly shown that psychosocial working conditions are related to mental health. Since this group still has to work up to 18 years given a statutory retirement age of 67, psychosocial working conditions should rather be in the focus of occupational safety. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  3. Mental health status following severe sulfur mustard exposure: a long-term study of Iranian war survivors.

    PubMed

    Khateri, Shahriar; Soroush, Mohammadreza; Mokhber, Naghmeh; Sedighimoghaddam, Mohammadreza; Modirian, Ehsan; Mousavi, Batool; Mousavi, Seyed Javad; Hosseini, Maryam

    2017-06-01

    This study aimed to describe the mental health status of sulfur mustard-exposed survivors suffering from severe respiratory and ophthalmological problems. Out of 450 invited Iran-Iraq War survivors of sulfur mustard exposure with severe symptoms, 350 participated in this cross-sectional study. Mental health status was assessed using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition, criteria. Fisher exact test, Pearson chi-square test, and chi-square test were used to assess any relationship, and the independent-sample t test was employed to compare differences between the veterans with ocular and pulmonary injuries. There were 60.9% (n = 213) survivors who suffered from mental disorders. Among them, 39.7% (n = 139) were previously untreated and required the initiation of psychiatric treatment. The prevalence of anxiety and mood disorders among all survivors was 40.6% (n = 142) and 32.0% (n = 112), respectively. The most common anxiety and mood disorders were posttraumatic stress disorder (32.9%, n = 115) and major depressive disorder (22.3%, n = 78), respectively. Psychiatric disorders were more prevalent in cases with severe pulmonary chemical injury than in subjects with severe ophthalmologic chemical injury. Significant relationships were found between the types of psychiatric disorders and age, education, and occupation (P < .05). The psychiatric morbidity in the chemically injured populations was remarkable and significantly different between the populations. The prevalence of mental illness in these groups highlights the need for the appropriate provision of mental health services. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

  4. The effect of socioeconomic status and social inclusion on the mental health of Chinese migrants: A comparison between interprovincial and intra-provincial migrants.

    PubMed

    Yi, Yingying; Liang, Ying

    2017-07-01

    This article sought to explore the impacts of socioeconomic status and social inclusion on intra-provincial and interprovincial migrants' mental health by constructing the Bayesian structural equation model. A total of 14,584 migrants aged 15-59 years living in eight cities of China were selected. It was found that the impacts of socioeconomic status and social inclusion on mental health were converse for these two groups. And the manifest variables coefficients of socioeconomic status and social inclusion were also converse. Therefore, governments should make some policies to further improve the mental health of migrants, including strengthening the community cohesion, social atmosphere, and governmental support.

  5. To what extent may the association between immigrant status and mental illness be explained by socioeconomic factors?

    PubMed

    Tinghög, Petter; Hemmingsson, Tomas; Lundberg, Ingvar

    2007-12-01

    Immigrants in Sweden have a higher rate of mental illness than the native Swedes. This study investigated to what extent the association between immigrant status and mental illness can be explained by a different distribution of known risk factors for impaired mental health between groups of immigrants and persons born in Sweden. The study is based on data from the Swedish PART-study, designed to identify risk factors for, and social consequences of, mental illness. The study population consists of a random sample of 10,423 Swedish citizens, whereof 1,109 were immigrants. The data was collected in the year 2000. The immigrants were divided into three groups based on country of origin (Scandinavians born outside Sweden, Europeans born outside Scandinavia, non-Europeans). The occurrence of mental illness among immigrants and native Swedes were compared not adjusting and adjusting for indicators of socioeconomic advantage/disadvantage (education, income, labour market position, etc). Mental illness was approximated with the WHO (ten) wellbeing index scale and depressive symptoms were measured with the major depression inventory scale (MDI). Immigrants' excess risk for low subjective wellbeing was completely accounted for by adjustment for known risk factors in all the immigrant groups. However, social-economic disadvantages could not account for the non-European immigrants' higher prevalence of depression (MDI), although the increased relative risk found in univariate analyses was substantially reduced. The findings in this study suggest that the association between immigrant status and mental illness appears above all to be an effect of a higher prevalence of social and economic disadvantage.

  6. Child and Adolescent Mental Health Care in Iran: Current Status and Future Directions.

    PubMed

    Sharifi, Vandad; Mojtabai, Ramin; Shahrivar, Zahra; Alaghband-Rad, Javad; Zarafshan, Hadi; Wissow, Lawrence

    2016-11-01

    The need for mental health care among children and adolescents in Iran, as in other low and middle income countries (LAMIC) remains mostly unmet. In this paper, we sought to provide an overview of the extent of unmet need and mental health services in Iran. We also aimed to propose approaches to address this gap. We reviewed the published epidemiologic studies of child and adolescent mental and behavioral health problems in Iran. We also examined the current status of child mental health services and the gaps between current needs and available services based on published literature that included papers published in scientific journals, as well as governmental and other administrative reports. The contextual issues relevant to child mental health care were also explored, as well as the possibilities to introduce new or scale up promising services. Child and adolescent mental and behavioral health problems are highly prevalent in Iran. Different studies have estimated that 16.7% to 36.4% of children and adolescents suffer from one or more mental health problems. However, there is a serious scarcity of resources to meet this need. Available services are delivered by independent public organizations (e.g., Ministry of Health, Welfare Organization, and Ministry of Education) or private sector with inefficient communication and collaboration among them and no mandatory national mental health policy. Available specialized child and adolescent services are mostly confined to small inpatient units and university outpatient facilities in larger cities, and there is a scarce evidence for  the effectiveness of the available services. Expansion of primary care's role in timely detection and management of child and adolescent mental health problems, implementation of task-shifting and -sharing initiatives, as well as improved collaboration among responsible governmental and non-governmental sectors are some of the most promising future venues to improve mental health care for

  7. Evaluation of Smoking Status Identification Using Electronic Health Records and Open-Text Information in a Large Mental Health Case Register

    PubMed Central

    Wu, Chia-Yi; Chang, Chin-Kuo; Robson, Debbie; Jackson, Richard; Chen, Shaw-Ji; Hayes, Richard D.; Stewart, Robert

    2013-01-01

    Background High smoking prevalence is a major public health concern for people with mental disorders. Improved monitoring could be facilitated through electronic health record (EHR) databases. We evaluated whether EHR information held in structured fields might be usefully supplemented by open-text information. The prevalence and correlates of EHR-derived current smoking in people with severe mental illness were also investigated. Methods All cases had been referred to a secondary mental health service between 2008-2011 and received a diagnosis of schizophreniform or bipolar disorder. The study focused on those aged over 15 years who had received active care from the mental health service for at least a year (N=1,555). The ‘CRIS-IE-Smoking’ application used General Architecture for Text Engineering (GATE) natural language processing software to extract smoking status information from open-text fields. A combination of CRIS-IE-Smoking with data from structured fields was evaluated for coverage and the prevalence and demographic correlates of current smoking were analysed. Results Proportions of patients with recorded smoking status increased from 11.6% to 64.0% through supplementing structured fields with CRIS-IE-Smoking data. The prevalence of current smoking was 59.6% in these 995 cases for whom this information was available. After adjustment, younger age (below 65 years), male sex, and non-cohabiting status were associated with current smoking status. Conclusions A natural language processing application substantially improved routine EHR data on smoking status above structured fields alone and could thus be helpful in improving monitoring of this lifestyle behaviour. However, limited information on smoking status remained a challenge. PMID:24069288

  8. Absence of early epileptiform abnormalities predicts lack of seizures on continuous EEG.

    PubMed

    Shafi, Mouhsin M; Westover, M Brandon; Cole, Andrew J; Kilbride, Ronan D; Hoch, Daniel B; Cash, Sydney S

    2012-10-23

    To determine whether the absence of early epileptiform abnormalities predicts absence of later seizures on continuous EEG monitoring of hospitalized patients. We retrospectively reviewed 242 consecutive patients without a prior generalized convulsive seizure or active epilepsy who underwent continuous EEG monitoring lasting at least 18 hours for detection of nonconvulsive seizures or evaluation of unexplained altered mental status. The findings on the initial 30-minute screening EEG, subsequent continuous EEG recordings, and baseline clinical data were analyzed. We identified early EEG findings associated with absence of seizures on subsequent continuous EEG. Seizures were detected in 70 (29%) patients. A total of 52 patients had their first seizure in the initial 30 minutes of continuous EEG monitoring. Of the remaining 190 patients, 63 had epileptiform discharges on their initial EEG, 24 had triphasic waves, while 103 had no epileptiform abnormalities. Seizures were later detected in 22% (n = 14) of studies with epileptiform discharges on their initial EEG, vs 3% (n = 3) of the studies without epileptiform abnormalities on initial EEG (p < 0.001). In the 3 patients without epileptiform abnormalities on initial EEG but with subsequent seizures, the first epileptiform discharge or electrographic seizure occurred within the first 4 hours of recording. In patients without epileptiform abnormalities during the first 4 hours of recording, no seizures were subsequently detected. Therefore, EEG features early in the recording may indicate a low risk for seizures, and help determine whether extended monitoring is necessary.

  9. Absence of early epileptiform abnormalities predicts lack of seizures on continuous EEG

    PubMed Central

    Westover, M. Brandon; Cole, Andrew J.; Kilbride, Ronan D.; Hoch, Daniel B.; Cash, Sydney S.

    2012-01-01

    Objective: To determine whether the absence of early epileptiform abnormalities predicts absence of later seizures on continuous EEG monitoring of hospitalized patients. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 242 consecutive patients without a prior generalized convulsive seizure or active epilepsy who underwent continuous EEG monitoring lasting at least 18 hours for detection of nonconvulsive seizures or evaluation of unexplained altered mental status. The findings on the initial 30-minute screening EEG, subsequent continuous EEG recordings, and baseline clinical data were analyzed. We identified early EEG findings associated with absence of seizures on subsequent continuous EEG. Results: Seizures were detected in 70 (29%) patients. A total of 52 patients had their first seizure in the initial 30 minutes of continuous EEG monitoring. Of the remaining 190 patients, 63 had epileptiform discharges on their initial EEG, 24 had triphasic waves, while 103 had no epileptiform abnormalities. Seizures were later detected in 22% (n = 14) of studies with epileptiform discharges on their initial EEG, vs 3% (n = 3) of the studies without epileptiform abnormalities on initial EEG (p < 0.001). In the 3 patients without epileptiform abnormalities on initial EEG but with subsequent seizures, the first epileptiform discharge or electrographic seizure occurred within the first 4 hours of recording. Conclusions: In patients without epileptiform abnormalities during the first 4 hours of recording, no seizures were subsequently detected. Therefore, EEG features early in the recording may indicate a low risk for seizures, and help determine whether extended monitoring is necessary. PMID:23054233

  10. Employment status and mental health among persons with and without a disability: evidence from an Australian cohort study.

    PubMed

    Milner, A; LaMontagne, A D; Aitken, Z; Bentley, R; Kavanagh, A M

    2014-11-01

    Unemployment and economic inactivity are associated with worse mental health in the general population, but there is limited understanding of whether these relationships are different for those persons with mental or physical disabilities. The aim of this study was to assess whether there were differences in mental health by labour force status among persons with and without disabilities. Over eight annual waves of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, a total of 2379 people with disabilities and 11 417 people without disabilities were identified. Mental health using the Mental Component Summary (MCS) from the Short Form 36 was modelled as a function of labour force status using fixed-effects regression models to control for time invariant confounding. Differences between those with and without disabilities were assessed by including an interaction term in regression models. After finding evidence of effect modification, regression models were stratified by disability status. After adjustment, unemployment and economic inactivity were associated with a -1.85 (95% CI -2.96 to -0.73, p=0.001) and -2.66 (95% CI -3.46 to -1.86, p<0.001) reduction in scores of the MCS among those with a disability. For those without a disability, there were smaller declines associated with unemployment (-0.57, 95% CI -1.02 to -0.12, p=0.013) and economic inactivity (-0.34, 95% CI -0.64 to 0.05, p=0.022). These results suggest a greater reduction in mental health for those persons with disabilities who were unemployed or economically inactive than those who were employed. This highlights the value of employment for people with disabilities. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  11. Associations between sleep habits and mental health status and suicidality in a longitudinal survey of monozygotic twin adolescents.

    PubMed

    Matamura, Misato; Tochigi, Mamoru; Usami, Satoshi; Yonehara, Hiromi; Fukushima, Masako; Nishida, Atsushi; Togo, Fumiharu; Sasaki, Tsukasa

    2014-06-01

    Several epidemiological studies have indicated that there is a relationship between sleep habits, such as sleep duration, bedtime and bedtime regularity, and mental health status, including depression and anxiety in adolescents. However, it is still to be clarified whether the relationship is direct cause-and-effect or mediated by the influence of genetic and other traits, i.e. quasi-correlation. To examine this issue, we conducted a twin study using a total of 314 data for monozygotic twins from a longitudinal survey of sleep habits and mental health status conducted in a unified junior and senior high school (grades 7-12), located in Tokyo, Japan. Three-level hierarchical linear model analysis showed that both bedtime and sleep duration had significant associations with the Japanese version of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) score, suicidal thoughts and the experience of self-harm behaviours when genetic factors and shared environmental factors, which were completely shared between co-twins, were controlled for. These associations were statistically significant even after controlling for bedtime regularity, which was also associated significantly with the GHQ-12 score. These suggest that the associations between sleep habits and mental health status were still statistically significant after controlling for the influence of genetic and shared environmental factors of twins, and that there may be a direct cause-and-effect in the relationship in adolescents. Thus, late bedtime and short sleep duration could predict subsequent development of depression and anxiety, including suicidal or self-injury risk. This suggests that poor mental health status in adolescents might be improved by health education and intervention concerning sleep and lifestyle habits. © 2014 European Sleep Research Society.

  12. An Examination of the Impact of Racial and Ethnic Identity, Impostor Feelings, and Minority Status Stress on the Mental Health of Black College Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McClain, Shannon; Beasley, Samuel T.; Jones, Bianca; Awosogba, Olufunke; Jackson, Stacey; Cokley, Kevin

    2016-01-01

    This study examined ethnic identity, racial centrality, minority status stress, and impostor feelings as predictors of mental health in a sample of 218 Black college students. Ethnic identity was found to be a significant positive predictor of mental health, whereas minority status stress and impostor feelings were significant negative predictors.…

  13. Reconceptualizing mental disorders: From symptoms to organs.

    PubMed

    Bunge, Mario

    2017-06-01

    Most mental pathologies are diagnosed on the sole basis of the symptoms reported by patients, such as "I'm feeling low." The thrust of this paper is the proposal to reconceptualize mental disorders as dysfunctions of brain subsystems. This shift from symptom to organ would bring psychiatry in line with the rest of medicine, and is analogous to the change in status of venereal infections from skin pathologies, such as chancres, to bacterial infections. The proposal in question is part of the reconceptualization of mental processes as brain processes, in line with the materialist conception of the mind as neural. A practical advantage of this conceptual change is that it suggests approaching mental disorders as brain dysfunctions treatable by biological and chemical means, in addition to social measures, such as accommodating mental patients in ordinary hospitals rather than in isolated "madhouses" at the mercy of amateurs or even charlatans. An additional advantage of the "embodiment" of mental diseases is that it suggests reframing some new research projects, such as explaining why the common cold causes mental fogginess, why hypertension can cause irritability, and why nicotine dependence can be even stronger than cocaine addiction. In other words, the present proposal is to complete the so-called "mapping of the mind onto the brain" by including the abnormal mental processes, which used to be treated by shamans at a time when the mind was conceived of as an immaterial entity detachable from the body. © 2017 The Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

  14. Mental health status and its predictors among call center employees: A cross-sectional study.

    PubMed

    Oh, Hyunjin; Park, Heyeon; Boo, Sunjoo

    2017-06-01

    In this study, we assessed the mental health of Korean call center employees and investigated the potential predictors of their mental health status. A cross-sectional study using self-completing questionnaire was conducted for employees working for a credit card call center. A total of 306 call center employees completed the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, the Emotion Labor Scale, and the Korean Occupational Stress Scale. The results showed that more than half of the participants reported high levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. A multiple regression analysis indicated that the total scores on the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale were predicted by perceived health, job satisfaction, job demands, organizational injustice, and emotional dissonance suggesting that, in the interest of improving the mental health of call center employees, their job demands and emotional dissonance should be reduced and the work environment be improved. Consideration should be given to providing routine assessments of mental health, including depression, anxiety, and stress, and the corresponding need for the development of an intervention program and other work-related policies that would protect employees from the risk of poor mental health outcomes. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

  15. ADHD and mental health status in Brazilian school-age children.

    PubMed

    Arruda, Marco A; Querido, Cícero Nardini; Bigal, Marcelo E; Polanczyk, Guilherme V

    2015-01-01

    To assess the prevalence of ADHD, mental health status, and risk factors in a sample of Brazilian children. Target sample consisted of all children from 5 to 13 years registered in the public elementary school. Children with ADHD were compared with those without ADHD for sociodemographic, risk factors, and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) symptom dimensions. Multivariate models estimated determinants of ADHD diagnosis. Of the target sample, consents and complete information were obtained from 1,830 children (91.8%). The prevalence rate of ADHD was 5.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] = [4.2, 6.2]). In contrast to controls, children with ADHD presented higher levels of symptoms in the CBCL dimensions. In multivariate analyses, the diagnosis of ADHD was significantly influenced by maternal educational status (p = .019), income class (p = .012), and prenatal exposure to tobacco (p = .032). Prevalence and demographic features of ADHD in Brazil are similar to what has been reported worldwide. © 2012 SAGE Publications.

  16. Physical and mental health status and health behaviors in male breast cancer survivors: a national, population-based, case-control study.

    PubMed

    Andrykowski, Michael A

    2012-09-01

    Identify the current physical and mental health status and health behaviors of male breast cancer survivors. Using data from the national, population-based, 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey, 66 cases of male breast cancer were identified (mean age = 66.2 years, mean time since diagnosis = 12.0 years). Male breast cancer cases were matched with 198 male BRFSS respondents with no history of cancer (control group) on age, education, and minority status. The male breast cancer and control groups were compared on physical and mental health status and health behaviors, using t-test and logistic regression analyses. The male breast cancer group reported poorer physical and mental health than controls. Male breast cancer survivors were significantly (p < 0.05) more likely to be obese (Odds Ratio = 2.41) and reported more physical comorbidities (Effect Size = 0.45) and activity limitations (Odds Ratio = 3.17), poorer life satisfaction (Effect Size = 0.41) and general health (Effect Size = 0.40), and more days in the past month when mental health (Effect Size = 0.49), and physical health (Effect Size = 0.29) were not good. In contrast, the male breast cancer and control groups were similar with regard to current health behaviors, including tobacco and alcohol use, diet, exercise, and health care. The diagnosis and treatment of male breast cancer may be associated with clinically important and long-term deficits in physical and mental health status, deficits which may exceed those evidenced by long-term female breast cancer survivors. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  17. Health Status of Homeless and Marginally Housed Users of Mental Health Self-Help Agencies.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Segal, Steven P.; Gomory, Tomi; Silverman, Carol J.

    1998-01-01

    Investigates the health status of 310 homeless and marginally housed people to determine the usefulness of mental health self-help agencies (SHAs) in addressing their physical health needs. Findings indicated that frequencies of health problems among respondents were similar to those of other homeless or marginally housed groups and that the study…

  18. Detained and Committed Youth: Examining Differences in Achievement, Mental Health Needs, and Special Education Status

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Krezmien, Michael P.; Mulcahy, Candace A.; Leone, Peter E.

    2008-01-01

    Currently, there is limited research about the relationship between academic, mental health needs, and special education status among populations of incarcerated youth. Additionally, little is known about differences between special education and general education students, or about differences between detained and committed populations. This…

  19. Self-reported unemployment status and recession: An analysis on the Italian population with and without mental health problems

    PubMed Central

    Starace, Fabrizio; Mungai, Francesco; Sarti, Elena; Addabbo, Tindara

    2017-01-01

    Purpose During economic recession people with mental health problems have higher risk of losing their job. This paper analyses the issue by considering the Italian rates of unemployment amongst individuals with and without mental health problems in 2005 and 2013, that is prior and during the economic crisis. Methods We used data from the National surveys on “Health conditions and use of health services” carried out by the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) for the years 2005 and 2013. The surveys collected information on the health status and socioeconomic conditions of the Italian population. Self-reported unemployment status was analysed amongst individuals with and without reported mental health problems. In addition, descriptive statistics were performed in order to detect possible differences in the risk of unemployment within different regional contexts characterised by different socio-economic conditions. Results The recession determined increased disparities in unemployment rates between people with and without mental health problems. Regardless to the presence of mental health problems, young people were more likely to be unemployed. Among people who reported mental health problems, males were more likely to be unemployed than females. People with low education level were more likely to be unemployed, particularly during the recession and in presence of mental health problems. Changes in unemployment rates due to the crisis showed different patterns across different regions of the Country. Conclusions These analyses confirm that in periods of economic crisis people with mental health problems are at risk of experiencing exclusion from labour market. In addition, the impact is even worse within the group with low education and younger age. These findings emphasise the importance of specific interventions aimed at promoting labour market participation and reintegration for people with mental health problems. PMID:28376098

  20. Self-reported unemployment status and recession: An analysis on the Italian population with and without mental health problems.

    PubMed

    Starace, Fabrizio; Mungai, Francesco; Sarti, Elena; Addabbo, Tindara

    2017-01-01

    During economic recession people with mental health problems have higher risk of losing their job. This paper analyses the issue by considering the Italian rates of unemployment amongst individuals with and without mental health problems in 2005 and 2013, that is prior and during the economic crisis. We used data from the National surveys on "Health conditions and use of health services" carried out by the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) for the years 2005 and 2013. The surveys collected information on the health status and socioeconomic conditions of the Italian population. Self-reported unemployment status was analysed amongst individuals with and without reported mental health problems. In addition, descriptive statistics were performed in order to detect possible differences in the risk of unemployment within different regional contexts characterised by different socio-economic conditions. The recession determined increased disparities in unemployment rates between people with and without mental health problems. Regardless to the presence of mental health problems, young people were more likely to be unemployed. Among people who reported mental health problems, males were more likely to be unemployed than females. People with low education level were more likely to be unemployed, particularly during the recession and in presence of mental health problems. Changes in unemployment rates due to the crisis showed different patterns across different regions of the Country. These analyses confirm that in periods of economic crisis people with mental health problems are at risk of experiencing exclusion from labour market. In addition, the impact is even worse within the group with low education and younger age. These findings emphasise the importance of specific interventions aimed at promoting labour market participation and reintegration for people with mental health problems.

  1. Adolescent Presents With Altered Mental Status and Elevated Anion Gap After Suicide Attempt by Ethylene Glycol Ingestion.

    PubMed

    Schoen, Jessica C; Cain, Meghan R; Robinson, Jeffrey A; Schiltz, Brenda M; Mannenbach, Mark S

    2016-10-01

    We report the case of a 16-year-old healthy adolescent male who presented to the local emergency department with altered mental status. En route to a tertiary care facility, he began to decompensate and was found to be markedly acidotic. Further investigation revealed an elevated anion gap, and physical examination showed only abdominal pain and decreased level of consciousness. A broad differential diagnosis was considered at the time of the patient's presentation at the tertiary care center including ingestion of a volatile alcohol, sepsis, and an abdominal catastrophe. Although fomepizole and emergent dialysis were being initiated, laboratory tests confirmed ethylene glycol poisoning. This case demonstrates the importance of early recognition of potential ingestions in patients with altered mental status and supportive laboratory findings.

  2. Does Mental Status Impact Therapist and Patient Communication in Emergency Department Brief Interventions Addressing Alcohol Use?

    PubMed Central

    Borsari, Brian; Apodaca, Timothy R.; Yurasek, Ali; Monti, Peter M.

    2016-01-01

    Motivational interviewing (MI) is often incorporated into screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) interventions in critical care settings to address alcohol and other drug use. However, cognitive status has been linked to differential response to MI sessions in emergency department (ED) settings. The current study examined one possible explanation for this differential response: whether higher versus lower mental status impacts patient response to clinician statements during MI sessions conducted in an ED. Participants were 126 patients receiving an MI-based single-session alcohol brief intervention, and 13 therapists who provided treatment. Participants completed a mental status exam (MSE) as part of the screening process, and intervention sessions were audio-taped, and transcribed and coded using the Motivational Interviewing Skills Code (MISC 2.0; Miller, Moyers, Ernst, & Amrhein, 2003). The MISC 2.0 coded therapist behaviors that are related to the use of motivational interviewing, and patient language reflecting movement toward (change talk) or away from (sustain talk) changing personal alcohol use. Overall, patients responded in a similar manner to therapist MI behaviors regardless of high versus low level of mental functioning at the time of the intervention. Group differences emerged on patient response to only three specific therapist skills: giving information, open questions, and complex reflection. Thus, the differential effects of SBIRT in critical care settings do not appear to be a result of differences in the therapist and patient communication process. PMID:28017179

  3. Arsenite promotes centrosome abnormalities under a p53 compromised status induced by 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK)

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Liao, W.-T.; Center of Excellence for Environmental Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

    2010-02-15

    Epidemiological evidence indicated that residents, especially cigarette smokers, in arseniasis areas had significantly higher lung cancer risk than those living in non-arseniasis areas. Thus an interaction between arsenite and cigarette smoking in lung carcinogenesis was suspected. In the present study, we investigated the interactions of a tobacco-specific carcinogen 4- (methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (nicotine-derived nitrosamine ketone, NNK) and arsenite on lung cell transformation. BEAS-2B, an immortalized human lung epithelial cell line, was selected to test the centrosomal abnormalities and colony formation by NNK and arsenite. We found that NNK, alone, could enhance BEAS-2B cell growth at 1-5 muM. Under NNK exposure, arsenite wasmore » able to increase centrosomal abnormality as compared with NNK or arsenite treatment alone. NNK treatment could also reduce arsenite-induced G2/M cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, these cellular effects were found to be correlated with p53 dysfunction. Increased anchorage-independent growth (colony formation) of BEAS-2B cells cotreated with NNK and arsenite was also observed in soft agar. Our present investigation demonstrated that NNK could provide a p53 compromised status. Arsenite would act specifically on this p53 compromised status to induce centrosomal abnormality and colony formation. These findings provided strong evidence on the carcinogenic promotional role of arsenite under tobacco-specific carcinogen co-exposure.« less

  4. Peritraumatic Reaction Courses During War in Individuals With Serious Mental Illness: Gender, Mental Health Status, and Exposure.

    PubMed

    Gelkopf, Marc; Lapid Pickman, Liron; Grinapol, Shulamit; Werbeloff, Nomi; Carlson, Eve B; Greene, Talya

    2017-01-01

    We assessed in vivo symptom courses of early psychological responses during war and investigated the influence of exposure, gender, and a prior diagnosis of severe mental illness (SMI). Participants were 181 highly exposed individuals from the general population and community psychiatric rehabilitation centers. A 30-day twice-daily Internet-smartphone-based intensive assessment two weeks into the 2014 Israel-Gaza war estimated peritraumatic symptom clusters, sense of threat, negative emotions and cognitions, and siren exposure during two periods that varied in exposure level. Piecewise growth curve modeling procedures were performed. We found different courses for most variables, gender, and SMI status. Women were more reactive two weeks into the war but reduced their reactivity level at a faster pace than males, reaching lower symptom levels one month later. Women's courses were characterized by arousal, negative emotionality, sense of threat, and reactivity to siren exposure. No-SMI men had a stable course followed by a significant reduction in arousal, negative emotions, avoidance, and perceived threat during a "return to routine" lower-level intensity period of the war. Individuals with SMI had higher reactivity levels at study onset; but while women with SMI improved over time, men with SMI worsened. SMI reactivity was characterized by negative cognitions, intrusions, and avoidance. Early reactions during prolonged exposure to war are variable, dynamic, and affected by exposure context. Symptoms, emotions, and cognitions develop differentially over time and are affected by gender and mental health status. The identification of various early stress courses should inform primary intervention strategies.

  5. Maternal Custody Status and Living Arrangements of Children of Women with Severe Mental Illness

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sands, Roberta G.; Koppelman, Nancy; Solomon, Phyllis

    2004-01-01

    The authors report results of a pilot study on the custody status of 20 women with severe mental illnesses who were parents of a total of 76 children. The mothers had some of their children living with them and others dispersed among kinship and nonkinship arrangements. Qualitative findings illustrate how bewildered these women were about the…

  6. Negative illness perceptions associated with low mental and physical health status in general hospital outpatients in China.

    PubMed

    Wu, Heng; Zhao, Xudong; Fritzsche, Kurt; Salm, Florian; Leonhart, Rainer; Jing, Wei; Yang, Jianzhong; Schaefert, Rainer

    2014-01-01

    In western countries, negative illness perceptions are associated with poor health status and affect health outcomes in primary care populations. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between illness perception and mental and physical health status in general hospital outpatients in China. This multicentre, cross-sectional study analysed a total of 281 consecutive patients from four general hospital outpatient departments of internal medicine and traditional Chinese medicine in Beijing and Kunming. The patients answered questionnaires concerning illness perception (Brief-IPQ), somatic symptom severity (Patient Health Questionnaire-15), illness behaviour (Scale for the Assessment of Illness Behaviour), emotional distress (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) and health-related quality of life (Twelve-Item Short Form Health Survey). Negative illness perception, especially negative emotional reactions, perceived illness consequences, encumbering illness concerns, and strong illness identity were significantly associated with high emotional distress, impairing illness consequences, and a low mental and physical quality of life. Using a multiple linear regression model, five strongest correlates of negative illness perception were high anxiety, seeking diagnosis verification, low mental and physical quality of life and high somatic symptom severity. The variance explained by this model was 35%. Chinese general hospital outpatients showed associations between negative illness perceptions and poor mental and physical health status that were similar to those of primary care patients in western countries. The main difference was that no association with perceived illness control was found in Chinese patients. Chinese physicians should be sensitised to their patients' negative illness perceptions and should focus on helping patients cope with uncertainty and anxiety by providing an understandable illness model and increasing control beliefs.

  7. Mental Disorder, Psychological Distress, and Functional Status in Canadian Military Personnel.

    PubMed

    Sampasa-Kanyinga, Hugues; Zamorski, Mark A; Colman, Ian

    2018-01-01

    We examined the overlap between mood and anxiety disorders and psychological distress and their associations with functional status in Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel. Data on Regular Forces personnel ( N = 6700) were derived from the 2013 Canadian Forces Mental Health Survey, a nationally representative survey of the CAF personnel. Current psychological distress was assessed using the Kessler K10 scale. Past-month mood and anxiety disorders were assessed using the World Health Organization World Mental Health Composite Diagnostic Interview. The prevalence of psychological distress was the same as that of any past-month mood or anxiety disorder (7.1% for each). A total of 3.8% had both distress and past-month mood or anxiety disorder, 3.3% had past-month disorder without psychological distress, while another 3.3% had psychological distress in the absence of a past-month mood or anxiety disorder. After adjusting for age, sex, marital, education, income, language, element, rank, and alcohol use disorder, individuals with both psychological distress and past-month mood and anxiety disorders exhibited the highest levels of disability, days out of role, and work absenteeism relative to those with neither mental disorders nor psychological distress. Relative to individuals with both disorder and distress, those who endured distress in the absence of mental disorder exhibited lower, but meaningful, levels of disability compared with those with neither disorder nor distress. Disability is most severe among CAF personnel with both distress and past-month mood and anxiety disorders. Nevertheless, distress in the absence of disorder is prevalent and is associated with meaningful levels of disability.

  8. Gabapentin dose and the 30-day risk of altered mental status in older adults: A retrospective population-based study

    PubMed Central

    Dixon, Stephanie N.; Kuwornu, Paul John; Dev, Varun K.; Montero-Odasso, Manuel; Burneo, Jorge; Garg, Amit X.

    2018-01-01

    Gabapentin is an effective treatment for chronic neuropathic pain but may cause dizziness, drowsiness, and confusion in some older adults. The goal of this study was to assess the association between gabapentin dosing and adverse outcomes by obtaining estimates of the 30-day risk of hospitalization with altered mental status and mortality in older adults (mean age 76 years) in Ontario, Canada initiated on high dose (>600 mg/day; n = 34,159) compared to low dose (≤600 mg/day; n = 76,025) oral gabapentin in routine outpatient care. A population-based, retrospective cohort study assessing new gabapentin use between 2002 to 2014 was conducted. The primary outcome was 30-day hospitalization with an urgent head computed tomography (CT) scan in the absence of evidence of stroke (a proxy for altered mental status). The secondary outcome was 30-day all-cause mortality. The baseline characteristics measured in the two dose groups were similar. Initiation of a high versus low dose of gabapentin was associated with a higher risk of hospitalization with head CT scan (1.27% vs. 1.06%, absolute risk difference 0.21%, adjusted relative risk 1.29 [95% CI 1.14 to 1.46], number needed to treat 477) but not a statistically significant higher risk of mortality (1.25% vs. 1.16%, absolute risk difference of 0.09%, adjusted relative risk of 1.01 [95% CI 0.89 to 1.14]). Overall, the risk of being hospitalized with altered mental status after initiating gabapentin remains low, but may be reduced through the judicious use of gabapentin, use of the lowest dose to control pain, and vigilance for early signs of altered mental status. PMID:29538407

  9. Food Insecurity and Mental Health Status: A Global Analysis of 149 Countries.

    PubMed

    Jones, Andrew D

    2017-08-01

    This study sought to determine the association of individual-level food insecurity (FI) with mental health status across all global regions. Cross-sectional data were analyzed in 2016 from the 2014 Gallup World Poll, a series of globally implemented, nationally representative surveys. FI was assessed using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale Survey Module for Individuals, an eight-question psychometric scale reporting individuals' experiences of FI. Individual-level composite indices of mental health, the Negative Experience Index and Positive Experience Index (0-100 scale), were calculated based on responses to five questions of respondents' recent negative and positive experiences, respectively, associated with depression and mental distress. The prevalence of any FI ranged from 18.3% in East Asia to 76.1% in Sub-Saharan Africa. In global analyses (149 countries) using adjusted multiple regression analyses, FI was associated in a dose-response fashion with poorer scores on the mental health indices (coefficient [95% CI]: Negative Experience Index: mild FI, 10.4 [9.5, 11.2]; moderate FI, 17.7 [16.4, 19.0]; severe FI, 24.5 [22.7, 26.3]; Positive Experience Index: mild FI, -8.3 [-9.3, -7.4]; moderate FI, -12.6 [-13.8, -11.3]; severe FI, -16.2 [-17.9, -14.5]). Within-region analyses (11 regions) consistently demonstrated the same trends. FI is associated with poorer mental health and specific psychosocial stressors across global regions independent of SES. The numerous pathways via which FI may contribute to common mental disorders, and the broad social implications of FI linked to cultural norms and self-efficacy, may contribute to the cross-cultural consistency of the findings. Copyright © 2017 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Homicide and mental illness in New Zealand, 1970-2000.

    PubMed

    Simpson, Alexander I F; McKenna, Brian; Moskowitz, Andrew; Skipworth, Jeremy; Barry-Walsh, Justin

    2004-11-01

    Homicides by mentally ill persons have led to political concerns about deinstitutionalisation. To provide accurate information about the contribution of mental illness to homicide rates. Retrospective study of homicide in New Zealand from 1970 to 2000, using data from government sources. 'Mentally abnormal homicide'perpetrators were defined as those found unfitto stand trial, not guilty by reason of insanity, convicted and sentenced to psychiatric committal, or convicted of infanticide. Group and time trends were analysed. Mentally abnormal homicides constituted 8.7% of the 1498 homicides. The annual rate of such homicides was 1.3 per million population, static over the period. Total homicides increased by over 6% per year from 1970 to 1990, then declined from 1990 to 2000. The percentage of all homicides committed by the mentally abnormal group fell from 19.5% in 1970 to 5.0% in 2000. Ten percent of perpetrators had been admitted to hospital during the month before the offence; 28.6% had had no prior contact with mental health services. Victims were most commonly known to the perpetrator (74%). Deinstitutionalisation appears not to be associated with an increased risk of homicide by people who are mentally ill.

  11. Neurologic abnormalities in murderers.

    PubMed

    Blake, P Y; Pincus, J H; Buckner, C

    1995-09-01

    Thirty-one individuals awaiting trial or sentencing for murder or undergoing an appeal process requested a neurologic examination through legal counsel. We attempted in each instance to obtain EEG, MRI or CT, and neuropsychological testing. Neurologic examination revealed evidence of "frontal" dysfunction in 20 (64.5%). There were symptoms or some other evidence of temporal lobe abnormality in nine (29%). We made a specific neurologic diagnosis in 20 individuals (64.5%), including borderline or full mental retardation (9) and cerebral palsy (2), among others. Neuropsychological testing revealed abnormalities in all subjects tested. There were EEG abnormalities in eight of the 20 subjects tested, consisting mainly of bilateral sharp waves with slowing. There were MRI or CT abnormalities in nine of the 19 subjects tested, consisting primarily of atrophy and white matter changes. Psychiatric diagnoses included paranoid schizophrenia (8), dissociative disorder (4), and depression (9). Virtually all subjects had paranoid ideas and misunderstood social situations. There was a documented history of profound, protracted physical abuse in 26 (83.8%) and of sexual abuse in 10 (32.3%). It is likely that prolonged, severe physical abuse, paranoia, and neurologic brain dysfunction interact to form the matrix of violent behavior.

  12. Abnormality, rationality, and sanity.

    PubMed

    Hertwig, Ralph; Volz, Kirsten G

    2013-11-01

    A growing body of studies suggests that neurological and mental abnormalities foster conformity to norms of rationality that are widely endorsed in economics and psychology, whereas normality stands in the way of rationality thus defined. Here, we outline the main findings of these studies, discuss their implications for experimental design, and consider how 'sane' some benchmarks of rationality really are. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Proportionate Responses to Life Events Influence Clinicians' Judgments of Psychological Abnormality

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kim, Nancy S.; Paulus, Daniel J.; Gonzalez, Jeffrey S.; Khalife, Danielle

    2012-01-01

    Psychological abnormality is a fundamental concept in the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" ("DSM-IV-TR"; American Psychiatric Association, 2000) and in all clinical evaluations. How do practicing clinical psychologists use the context of life events to judge the abnormality of a person's current behaviors? The appropriate…

  14. An investigation of mental imagery in bipolar disorder: Exploring "the mind's eye".

    PubMed

    Di Simplicio, Martina; Renner, Fritz; Blackwell, Simon E; Mitchell, Heather; Stratford, Hannah J; Watson, Peter; Myers, Nick; Nobre, Anna C; Lau-Zhu, Alex; Holmes, Emily A

    2016-12-01

    Mental imagery abnormalities occur across psychopathologies and are hypothesized to drive emotional difficulties in bipolar disorder (BD). A comprehensive assessment of mental imagery in BD is lacking. We aimed to test whether (i) mental imagery abnormalities (abnormalities in cognitive stages and subjective domains) occur in BD relative to non-clinical controls; and (ii) to determine the specificity of any abnormalities in BD relative to depression and anxiety disorders. Participants included 54 subjects in the BD group (depressed/euthymic; n=27 in each subgroup), subjects with unipolar depression (n=26), subjects with anxiety disorders (n=25), and non-clinical controls (n=27) matched for age, gender, ethnicity, education, and premorbid IQ. Experimental tasks assessed cognitive (non-emotional) measures of mental imagery (cognitive stages). Questionnaires, experimental tasks, and a phenomenological interview assessed subjective domains including spontaneous imagery use, interpretation bias, and emotional mental imagery. (i) Compared to non-clinical controls, the BD combined group reported a greater impact of intrusive prospective imagery in daily life, more vivid and "real" negative images (prospective imagery task), and higher self-involvement (picture-word task). The BD combined group showed no clear abnormalities in cognitive stages of mental imagery. (ii) When depressed individuals with BD were compared to the depressed or anxious clinical control groups, no significant differences remained-across all groups, imagery differences were associated with affective lability and anxiety. Compared to non-clinical controls, BD is characterized by abnormalities in aspects of emotional mental imagery within the context of otherwise normal cognitive aspects. When matched for depression and anxiety, these abnormalities are not specific to BD-rather, imagery may reflect a transdiagnostic marker of emotional psychopathology. © 2016 Medical Research Council. Bipolar Disorders

  15. Problem drinking among at-risk college students: The examination of Greek involvement, freshman status, and history of mental health problems.

    PubMed

    Martinez, Haley S; Klanecky, Alicia K; McChargue, Dennis E

    2018-02-06

    Scarce research has examined the combined effect of mental health difficulties and demographic risk factors such as freshman status and Greek affiliation in understanding college problem drinking. The current study is interested in looking at the interaction among freshman status, Greek affiliation, and mental health difficulties. Undergraduate students (N = 413) from a private and public Midwestern university completed a large online survey battery between January 2009 and April 2013. Data from both schools were aggregated for the analyses. After accounting for gender, age, and school type, the three-way interaction indicated that the highest drinking levels were reported in freshman students who reported a history of mental health problems although were not involved in Greek life. Findings are discussed in the context of perceived social norms, as well as alcohol-related screenings and intervention opportunities on college campuses.

  16. A New Outlook on Mental Illnesses: Glial Involvement Beyond the Glue.

    PubMed

    Elsayed, Maha; Magistretti, Pierre J

    2015-01-01

    Mental illnesses have long been perceived as the exclusive consequence of abnormalities in neuronal functioning. Until recently, the role of glial cells in the pathophysiology of mental diseases has largely been overlooked. However recently, multiple lines of evidence suggest more diverse and significant functions of glia with behavior-altering effects. The newly ascribed roles of astrocytes, oligodendrocytes and microglia have led to their examination in brain pathology and mental illnesses. Indeed, abnormalities in glial function, structure and density have been observed in postmortem brain studies of subjects diagnosed with mental illnesses. In this review, we discuss the newly identified functions of glia and highlight the findings of glial abnormalities in psychiatric disorders. We discuss these preclinical and clinical findings implicating the involvement of glial cells in mental illnesses with the perspective that these cells may represent a new target for treatment.

  17. A New Outlook on Mental Illnesses: Glial Involvement Beyond the Glue

    PubMed Central

    Elsayed, Maha; Magistretti, Pierre J.

    2015-01-01

    Mental illnesses have long been perceived as the exclusive consequence of abnormalities in neuronal functioning. Until recently, the role of glial cells in the pathophysiology of mental diseases has largely been overlooked. However recently, multiple lines of evidence suggest more diverse and significant functions of glia with behavior-altering effects. The newly ascribed roles of astrocytes, oligodendrocytes and microglia have led to their examination in brain pathology and mental illnesses. Indeed, abnormalities in glial function, structure and density have been observed in postmortem brain studies of subjects diagnosed with mental illnesses. In this review, we discuss the newly identified functions of glia and highlight the findings of glial abnormalities in psychiatric disorders. We discuss these preclinical and clinical findings implicating the involvement of glial cells in mental illnesses with the perspective that these cells may represent a new target for treatment. PMID:26733803

  18. Self-reported discrimination and mental health status among African descendants, Mexican Americans, and other Latinos in the New Hampshire REACH 2010 Initiative: the added dimension of immigration.

    PubMed

    Gee, Gilbert C; Ryan, Andrew; Laflamme, David J; Holt, Jeanie

    2006-10-01

    We examined whether self-reported racial discrimination was associated with mental health status and whether this association varied with race/ethnicity or immigration status. We performed secondary analysis of a community intervention conducted in 2002 and 2003 for the New Hampshire Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health 2010 Initiative, surveying African descendants, Mexican Americans, and other Latinos. We assessed mental health status with the Mental Component Summary (MCS12) of the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 12, and measured discrimination with questions related to respondents' ability to achieve goals, discomfort/anger at treatment by others, and access to quality health care. Self-reported discrimination was associated with a lower MCS12 score. Additionally, the strength of the association between self-reported health care discrimination and lower MCS12 score was strongest for African descendants, then Mexican Americans, then other Latinos. These patterns may be explained by differences in how long a respondent has lived in the United States. Furthermore, the association of health care discrimination with lower MCS12 was weaker for recent immigrants. Discrimination may be an important predictor of poor mental health status among Black and Latino immigrants. Previous findings of decreasing mental health status as immigrants acculturate might partly be related to experiences with racial discrimination.

  19. Religiosity and decreased risk of substance use disorders: is the effect mediated by social support or mental health status?

    PubMed Central

    Harris, Katherine M.; Koenig, Harold G.; Han, Xiaotong; Sullivan, Greer; Mattox, Rhonda; Tang, Lingqi

    2009-01-01

    Objective The negative association between religiosity (religious beliefs and church attendance) and the likelihood of substance use disorders is well established, but the mechanism(s) remain poorly understood. We investigated whether this association was mediated by social support or mental health status. Method We utilized cross-sectional data from the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (n = 36,370). We first used logistic regression to regress any alcohol use in the past year on sociodemographic and religiosity variables. Then, among individuals who drank in the past year, we regressed past year alcohol abuse/dependence on sociodemographic and religiosity variables. To investigate whether social support mediated the association between religiosity and alcohol use and alcohol abuse/dependence we repeated the above models, adding the social support variables. To the extent that these added predictors modified the magnitude of the effect of the religiosity variables, we interpreted social support as a possible mediator. We also formally tested for mediation using path analysis. We investigated the possible mediating role of mental health status analogously. Parallel sets of analyses were conducted for any drug use, and drug abuse/dependence among those using any drugs as the dependent variables. Results The addition of social support and mental health status variables to logistic regression models had little effect on the magnitude of the religiosity coefficients in any of the models. While some of the tests of mediation were significant in the path analyses, the results were not always in the expected direction, and the magnitude of the effects was small. Conclusions The association between religiosity and decreased likelihood of a substance use disorder does not appear to be substantively mediated by either social support or mental health status. PMID:19714282

  20. Myxedema Coma Secondary to Central Hypothyroidism: A Rare but Real Cause of Altered Mental Status in Pediatrics.

    PubMed

    Thompson, Michael D; Henry, Rohan K

    2017-01-01

    Myxedema coma (MC), a medical emergency defined as severe hypothyroidism leading to altered mental status, is more common in older women with hypothyroidism. A 7-year-old Caucasian male with chromosome 1q deletion presented with altered mental status preceded by milestone regression. His presenting labs results were: thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) 0.501 μIU/ml and free thyroxine (T4) <0.5 ng/dl. His morning cortisol level was 8.1 μg/dl with repeat testing, while TSH was 1.119 μIU/ml and free T4 was 0.5 ng/dl. Low-dose cosyntropin test showed baseline and peak cortisol levels of 1.9 and 16 μg/dl, respectively. Aside from altered mental status, heart block was present in addition to hypothermia and hypercarbia. Diffuse cerebral cortical and corpus callosum atrophy were seen on MRI. An intravenous (i.v.) stress dose of hydrocortisone was administered for 24 h prior to an i.v. loading dose of levothyroxine. His activity level subsequently returned to baseline within 48 h after treatment had been initiated. Though MC is rare, occurring mainly with noncompliance in primary hypothyroidism, it may occur at the diagnosis of secondary hypothyroidism. Based on features like hypothermia, hypoventilation, and cardiovascular instability occurring in the setting of central hypothyroidism, it should be suspected and managed urgently in order to avert the associated high mortality resulting from treatment delays. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  1. An Examination of the Impact of Minority Status Stress and Impostor Feelings on the Mental Health of Diverse Ethnic Minority College Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cokley, Kevin; McClain, Shannon; Enciso, Alicia; Martinez, Mercedes

    2013-01-01

    This study examined differences in minority status stress, impostor feelings, and mental health in a sample of 240 ethnic minority college students. African Americans reported higher minority status stress than Asian Americans and Latino/a Americans, whereas Asian Americans reported higher impostor feelings. Minority status stress and impostor…

  2. Mental health status and factors that influence the course of Graves' disease and antithyroid treatments.

    PubMed

    Chen, D Y; Schneider, P F; Zhang, X S; He, Z M; Jing, J; Chen, T H

    2012-10-01

    Biological, psychological and social factors may interact with the mental health status of Graves' disease (GD) patients before and after antithyroid drug (ATD) treatment. Our aim was to quantify the impact of supportive and risk factors after recovery from GD which may enhance cure rates. 300 patients were recruited for a 6-year prospective cohort study. Before and after treatment, we assessed the impact of biopsychosocial factors on the success of ATD treatment and mental health using the Symptom Checklist 90, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, the Life Event Scale, Simplified Coping Styles and the Perceived Social Support Scale. The patients routinely received ATD at least over 18 months. End-point was defined as cured (at least 2 years without a relapse after the withdrawal of ATD), otherwise as not cured. Regression analysis explained 80.5% of the influences affecting mental health. The odds ratios (OR) revealed positive coping styles (OR: 2.90, 95% CI, 1.09-7.68), negative events (OR: 1.04, 95% CI, 1.01-1.07) and social support (OR: 5.10, 95% CI, 2.77-9.40) as protective factors, predicting a cure for GD patients. These variables explained 61.7% of the influences leading to a cure or no cure. Large thyroid volume was a risk factor, predicting failure (OR: 0.865, 95% CI, 0.83-0.90, P<0.000). Enhancing positive coping strategies and social support is important to improve mental health in GD patients, to avoid compromising work-related performance and endangering a patient's social status. © J. A. Barth Verlag in Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  3. Can HbA1c be Used to Screen for Glucose Abnormalities Among Adults with Severe Mental Illness?

    PubMed

    Romain, A J; Letendre, E; Akrass, Z; Avignon, A; Karelis, A D; Sultan, A; Abdel-Baki, A

    2017-04-01

    Aim: Prediabetes and type 2 diabetes are highly prevalent among individuals with serious mental illness and increased by antipsychotic medication. Although widely recommended, many obstacles prevent these patients from obtaining a proper screening for dysglycemia. Currently, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), fasting glucose, and 2-hour glucose levels from the oral glucose tolerance test are used for screening prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. The objective of this study was to investigate if HbA1c could be used as the only screening test among individuals with serious mental illness. Methods: Cross sectional study comparing the sensitivity of HbA1c, fasting glucose, and 2-h oral glucose tolerance test to detect dysglycemias in serious mental illness participants referred for metabolic complications. Results: A total of 84 participants (43 female; aged: 38.5±12.8 years; BMI: 35.0±6.8 kg/m²) was included. Regarding prediabetes, 44, 44 and 76% were identified by HbA1c, fasting glucose, and 2 h- oral glucose tolerance test respectively and for type 2 diabetes, 60, 53 and 66% were identified by HbA1c, fasting glucose and 2 h-oral glucose tolerance test. The overlap between the 3 markers was low (8% of participants for prediabetes and 26% for Type 2 diabetes). Sensitivity of HbA1c were moderate (range 40-62.5%), while its specificity was excellent (92-93%). Conclusion: The present study indicates a low agreement between HbA1c, fasting glucose and 2-h oral glucose tolerance test. It appears that these markers do not identify the same participants. Thus, HbA1c may not be used alone to detect all glucose abnormalities among individuals with serious mental illness. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  4. Altered mental status in older adults with histamine2-receptor antagonists: a population-based study.

    PubMed

    Tawadrous, Davy; Dixon, Stephanie; Shariff, Salimah Z; Fleet, Jamie; Gandhi, Sonja; Jain, Arsh K; Weir, Matthew A; Gomes, Tara; Garg, Amit X

    2014-10-01

    Standard doses of histamine2-receptor antagonists (H2RAs) may induce altered mental status in older adults, especially in those with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Population-based cohort study of older adults who started a new H2RA between 2002 and 2011 was conducted. Ninety percent received the current standard H2RA dose in routine care. There was no significant difference in 27 baseline patient characteristics. The primary outcome was hospitalization with an urgent head computed tomography (CT) scan (proxy for altered mental status), and the secondary outcome was all-cause mortality also within 30days of a new H2RA prescription. Standard vs. low H2RA dose was associated with a higher risk of hospitalization with an urgent head CT scan (0.98% vs. 0.74%, absolute risk difference 0.24% [95% CI 0.11% to 0.36%], relative risk 1.33 [95% CI 1.12 to 1.58]). This risk was not modified by the presence of CKD (interaction P value=0.71). Standard vs. low H2RA dose was associated with a higher risk of mortality (1.07% vs.0.74%; absolute risk difference 0.34% [95% CI 0.20% to 0.46%], relative risk 1.46 [95% CI 1.23 to 1.73]). Compared to a lower dose, initiation of the current standard dose of H2RA in older adults is associated with a small absolute increase in the 30-day risk of altered mental status (using neuroimaging as a proxy), even in the absence of CKD. This risk may be avoided by initiating older adults on low doses of H2RAs for gastroesophogeal reflux disease, and increasing dosing as necessary for symptom control. Copyright © 2014 European Federation of Internal Medicine. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Mental status in patients with chronic bacterial prostatitis

    PubMed Central

    Banyra, Oleg; Ivanenko, Olha; Nikitin, Oleg

    2013-01-01

    Introduction Chronic prostatitis is a widespread urological disease with a lengthy course and a propensity to frequent recurrences. Adequate response to anti–inflammatory therapy is lacking in a high percentage of patients, which causes them to seek medical advice from different doctors. Thus, the physicians are challenged to look for other reasons causing the pathological symptoms. Material and methods We have reviewed the patients with treatment–resistant chronic bacterial prostatitis (CBP) from the perspective of psychosomatic medicine. For the evaluation of primary mental status and treatment control we used standard approved questionnaires. All 337 CBP patients initially underwent therapy aimed at pathogen eradication. If psychopathological symptoms were evident and dominated over urological ones, the patients were referred to psychiatric evaluation and treatment. Results The frequency of concomitant psychosomatic disorders (PSD) in patients with CBP was 28.2% and neurotic disorders – 26.4%. Adequate multimodal anti–inflammatory therapy followed by a few sessions of psychotherapy decreased the manifestations of PSD in 30.5%, neurotic disorders in 51.7%, and premature ejaculation in 60.5% of patients with CBP. The addition of pharmacotherapy to psychotherapy is effective in treatment–resistant cases. However, after multimodal treatment, 31.5% of pts. with PSD and 13.5% of pts. with neurotic disorders still remain treatment–resistant and required in–depth long–term psychiatric care. Conclusions A significant portion of CBP patients were diagnosed with neurotic, psychosomatic, and/or depressive disorders. Antibacterial and anti–inflammatory therapy, when followed by appropriate psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy, significantly decrease the manifestations of mental disorders in CBP patients. PMID:24579003

  6. The association between dental, general, and mental health status among underserved and vulnerable populations served at health centers in the US.

    PubMed

    Nguyen, Vy H; Lin, Sue C; Cappelli, David P; Nair, Suma

    2018-12-01

    Vulnerable populations in underserved communities are disproportionately at high risk for multiple medical, dental, and behavioral health conditions. This study aims to: a) examine the occurrence of acute dental needs and b) investigate the association of acute dental needs and self-rated general and mental health status among the adult dentate health center population. This cross-sectional study analyzed data on adult patients (n = 5,035) from the 2014 Health Center Patient Survey, a nationally representative survey of health center patients. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the association of acute dental needs and a) self-rated general health status and b) mental health status. Approximately, two thirds of adult dentate heath center patients reported having an acute dental need. After adjusting for confounding factors, not having or having had health insurance that pays for dental care, general health status of fair or poor, and ever having a mental illness were associated with higher odds of having an acute dental need. The results highlight the role of health centers in addressing oral health disparities among vulnerable populations and the importance of a team-based multidisciplinary approach to ensuring the integration and coordination of oral health services within a comprehensive primary care delivery system. © 2017 American Association of Public Health Dentistry.

  7. Contextual Influences on Children's Mental Health and School Performance: The Moderating Effects of Family Immigrant Status

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Georgiades, Katholiki; Boyle, Michael H.; Duku, Eric

    2007-01-01

    Data from a nationally representative sample of 13,470 children aged 4-11 years were used to study contextual influences on children's mental health and school performance, the moderating effects of family immigrant status and underlying family processes that might explain these relationships. Despite greater socioeconomic disadvantage, children…

  8. Smoking, mental illness and socioeconomic disadvantage: analysis of the Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background High rates of smoking and lower rates of smoking cessation are known to be associated with common mental disorders such as anxiety and depression, and with individual and community measures of socioeconomic status. It is not known to what extent mental illness and socioeconomic status might be jointly associated with smoking behaviour. We set out to examine the relationship between mental illness, measures of socioeconomic disadvantage and both current smoking and smoking cessation rates. Methods We used data from the 2007 Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing to examine the relationship between mental illness, socioeconomic status and both current smoking and smoking cessation. We used cross-classified tables and logistic regression to examine the relationship between psychosocial and sociodemographic predictors and current smoking. We also used proportional hazards regression to examine the relationship between the factors and smoking cessation. Results Both mental illness and socioeconomic status were independently associated with current smoking and with lower likelihood of smoking cessation, with gradients in smoking by mental health status being observed within levels of socioeconomic indicators and vice versa. Having a mental illness in the past 12 months was the most prevalent factor strongly associated with smoking, affecting 20.0% of the population, associated with increased current smoking (OR 2.43; 95% CI: 1.97-3.01) and reduced likelihood of smoking cessation (HR: 0.77; 95% CI: 0.65-0.91). Conclusions The association between mental illness and smoking is not explained by the association between mental illness and socioeconomic status. There are strong socioeconomic and psychosocial gradients in both current smoking and smoking cessation. Incorporating knowledge of the other adverse factors in smokers’ lives may increase the penetration of tobacco control interventions in population groups that have historically

  9. Prevalence of war-related mental health conditions and association with displacement status in postwar Jaffna District, Sri Lanka.

    PubMed

    Husain, Farah; Anderson, Mark; Lopes Cardozo, Barbara; Becknell, Kristin; Blanton, Curtis; Araki, Diane; Vithana, Eeshara Kottegoda

    2011-08-03

    Nearly 2.7 million individuals worldwide are internally displaced (seeking refuge in secure areas of their own country) annually by armed conflict. Although the psychological impact of war has been well documented, less is known about the mental health symptoms of forced displacement among internally displaced persons. To estimate the prevalence of the most common war-related mental health conditions, symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression, and to assess the association between displacement status and these conditions in postwar Jaffna District, Sri Lanka. Between July and September 2009, a cross-sectional multistage cluster sample survey was conducted among 1517 Jaffna District households including 2 internally displaced persons camps. The response rate was 92% (1448 respondents, 1409 eligible respondents). Two percent of participants (n = 80) were currently displaced, 29.5% (n = 539) were recently resettled, and 68.5% (n = 790) were long-term residents. Bivariable analyses followed by multivariable logistic regression models were performed to determine the association between displacement status and mental health. Symptom criteria of PTSD, anxiety, and depression as measured by the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25. The overall prevalences of symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, and depression were 7.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.1%-9.7%), 32.6% (95% CI, 28.5%-36.9%), and 22.2% (95% CI, 18.2%-26.5%), respectively. Currently displaced participants were more likely to report symptoms of PTSD (odds ratio [OR], 2.71; 95% CI, 1.28-5.73), anxiety (OR, 2.91; 95% CI, 1.89-4.48), and depression (OR, 4.55; 95% CI, 2.47-8.39) compared with long-term residents. Recently resettled residents were more likely to report symptoms of PTSD (OR, 1.96; 95% CI, 1.11-3.47) compared with long-term residents. However, displacement was no longer associated with mental health symptoms after controlling for trauma exposure

  10. Does childhood schooling affect old age memory or mental status? Using state schooling laws as natural experiments.

    PubMed

    Glymour, M M; Kawachi, I; Jencks, C S; Berkman, L F

    2008-06-01

    The association between schooling and old age cognitive outcomes such as memory disorders is well documented but, because of the threat of reverse causation, controversy persists over whether education affects old age cognition. Changes in state compulsory schooling laws (CSL) are treated as natural experiments (instruments) for estimating the effect of education on memory and mental status among the elderly. Changes in CSL predict changes in average years of schooling completed by children who are affected by the new laws. These educational differences are presumably independent of innate individual characteristics such as IQ. CSL-induced changes in education were used to obtain instrumental variable (IV) estimates of education's effect on memory (n = 10,694) and mental status (n = 9751) for white, non-Hispanic US-born Health and Retirement Survey participants born between 1900 and 1947 who did not attend college. After adjustment for sex, birth year, state of birth and state characteristics, IV estimates of education's effect on memory were large and statistically significant. IV estimates for mental status had very wide confidence intervals, so it was not possible to draw meaningful conclusions about the effect of education on this outcome. Increases in mandatory schooling lead to improvements in performance on memory tests many decades after school completion. These analyses condition on individual states, so differences in memory outcomes associated with CSL changes cannot be attributed to differences between states. Although unmeasured state characteristics that changed contemporaneously with CSL might account for these results, unobserved genetic variation is unlikely to do so.

  11. Does childhood schooling affect old age memory or mental status? Using state schooling laws as natural experiments

    PubMed Central

    Glymour, M M; Kawachi, I; Jencks, C S; Berkman, L F

    2009-01-01

    Background The association between schooling and old age cognitive outcomes such as memory disorders is well documented but, because of the threat of reverse causation, controversy persists over whether education affects old age cognition. Changes in state compulsory schooling laws (CSL) are treated as natural experiments (instruments) for estimating the effect of education on memory and mental status among the elderly. Changes in CSL predict changes in average years of schooling completed by children who are affected by the new laws. These educational differences are presumably independent of innate individual characteristics such as IQ. Methods CSL-induced changes in education were used to obtain instrumental variable (IV) estimates of education’s effect on memory (n = 10 694) and mental status (n = 9751) for white, non-Hispanic US-born Health and Retirement Survey participants born between 1900 and 1947 who did not attend college. Results After adjustment for sex, birth year, state of birth and state characteristics, IV estimates of education’s effect on memory were large and statistically significant. IV estimates for mental status had very wide confidence intervals, so it was not possible to draw meaningful conclusions about the effect of education on this outcome. Conclusions Increases in mandatory schooling lead to improvements in performance on memory tests many decades after school completion. These analyses condition on individual states, so differences in memory outcomes associated with CSL changes cannot be attributed to differences between states. Although unmeasured state characteristics that changed contemporaneously with CSL might account for these results, unobserved genetic variation is unlikely to do so. PMID:18477752

  12. Spirituality in Indian University Students and its Associations with Socioeconomic Status, Religious Background, Social Support, and Mental Health.

    PubMed

    Deb, Sibnath; McGirr, Kevin; Sun, Jiandong

    2016-10-01

    The present study aimed to understand spirituality and its relationships with socioeconomic status (SES), religious background, social support, and mental health among Indian university students. It was hypothesized that (1) female university students will be more spiritual than male university students, (2) four domains of spirituality will differ significantly across socioeconomic and religious background of the university students in addition to social support, and (3) there will be a positive relationship between spirituality and mental health of university students, irrespective of gender. A group of 475 postgraduate students aged 20-27 years, 241 males and 234 females, from various disciplines of Pondicherry University, India, participated in the study. Students' background was collected using a structured questionnaire. Overall spirituality and its four dimensions were measured using the Spirituality Attitude Inventory, while mental health status was estimated based on scores of the psychological subscale of the WHO Quality of Life Questionnaire. Female students were significantly more spiritual than male students, particularly in spiritual practice and sense of purpose/connection. Hindu religion and lower family income were associated with lower spirituality. Higher spirituality was associated with congenial family environment and more support from teachers and classmates. There was a strong association between overall spirituality and two spirituality domains (spiritual belief and sense of purpose/connection) with better mental health. Findings suggest an opportunity for open dialogue on spirituality for university students as part of their mental health and support services that fosters a positive mind set and enhancement of resilience.

  13. Parental Socioeconomic Status as a Predictor of Physical and Mental Health Outcomes in Children - Literature Review.

    PubMed

    Vukojević, Mladenka; Zovko, Ana; Talić, Ivana; Tanović, Merima; Rešić, Biserka; Vrdoljak, Ivana; Splavski, Bruno

    2017-12-01

    Parental socioeconomic status is a multidimensional concept of special importance for the growth, development, health outcomes and education of children. Its definition generally refers to the amount of parents' income, their employment status and level of education. Hence, lack of economic resources and poverty of parents affect all aspects of the child's life, health outcomes and education, as well as his/her social inclusion. Accordingly, the consequences of a reduced parental socioeconomic status leave long-term effects on their children. Therefore, in order to create interventional programs for children of parents with low income and lower socioeconomic status, as well as with lower level of education, it is important to address the direct aspects of poverty. This review contributes to the evidence indicating that the parental socioeconomic status is highly influential in determining the child's physical and mental health and future outcomes including his/her academic achievements and education, as well as the parameters of his/her physical abilities, cognitive function and fundamental neurobiology affecting brain development.

  14. After abduction: exploring access to reintegration programs and mental health status among young female abductees in Northern Uganda

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Reintegration programs are commonly offered to former combatants and abductees to acquire civilian status and support services to reintegrate into post-conflict society. Among a group of young female abductees in northern Uganda, this study examined access to post-abduction reintegration programming and tested for between group differences in mental health status among young women who had accessed reintegration programming compared to those who self-reintegrated. Methods This cross-sectional study analysed interviews from 129 young women who had previously been abducted by the Lords Resistance Army (LRA). Data was collected between June 2011-January 2012. Interviews collected information on abduction-related experiences including age and year of abduction, manner of departure, and reintegration status. Participants were coded as ‘reintegrated’ if they reported ≥1 of the following reintegration programs: traditional cleansing ceremony, received an amnesty certificate, reinsertion package, or had gone to a reception centre. A t-test was used to measure mean differences in depression and anxiety measured by the Acholi Psychosocial Assessment Instrument (APAI) to determine if abductees who participated in a reintegration program had different mental status from those who self-reintegrated. Results From 129 young abductees, 56 (43.4%) had participated in a reintegration program. Participants had been abducted between 1988–2010 for an average length of one year, the median age of abduction was 13 years (IQR:11–14) with escaping (76.6%), being released (15.6%), and rescued (7.0%) being the most common manner of departure from the LRA. Traditional cleansing ceremonies (67.8%) were the most commonly accessed support followed by receiving amnesty (37.5%), going to a reception centre (28.6%) or receiving a reinsertion package (12.5%). Between group comparisons indicated that the mental health status of abductees who accessed ≥1 reintegration program

  15. Predicting self-rated mental and physical health: the contributions of subjective socioeconomic status and personal relative deprivation

    PubMed Central

    Callan, Mitchell J.; Kim, Hyunji; Matthews, William J.

    2015-01-01

    Lower subjective socioeconomic status (SSS) and higher personal relative deprivation (PRD) relate to poorer health. Both constructs concern people's perceived relative social position, but they differ in their emphasis on the reference groups people use to determine their comparative disadvantage (national population vs. similar others) and the importance of resentment that may arise from such adverse comparisons. We investigated the relative utility of SSS and PRD as predictors of self-rated physical and mental health (e.g., self-rated health, stress, health complaints). Across six studies, self-rated physical and mental health were on the whole better predicted by measures of PRD than by SSS while controlling for objective socioeconomic status (SES), with SSS rarely contributing unique variance over and above PRD and SES. Studies 4–6 discount the possibility that the superiority of PRD over SSS in predicting health is due to psychometric differences (e.g., reliability) or response biases between the measures. PMID:26441786

  16. Nutritional status in mentally disabled children and adolescents: A study from Western Turkey.

    PubMed

    Hakime Nogay, Nalan

    2013-04-01

    To assess the nutritional status of mentally disabled children in Turkey on the basis of anthropometric indicators and dietary intake. The sample of the study consisted of 77 mentally disabled children with ages between 10 and 18 years. The body mass index and body fat ratios of the children were calculated by measuring their body weight, height, and the skinfold thickness of their triceps and subscapular. Their three-day nutrition consumption was recorded in order to determine their nutrient intake. When the body weights of the children were evaluated according to their ages, 14.3% of the children were found to be thin. The shortness rate among the participants was 28.6%. The shortness ratio was found to increase with age and girls had a higher inclination for shortness than boys. The ratios of those with ≤5(th) percentile upper middle arm circumference were 32.7% in the 10-13 age group, and 36.0% in the 14-18 age group. The folic acid and calcium intakes of girls in the 10-13 age group, and the calcium intakes of boys in the 10-13 age group were under the suggested values. In the 14-18 age group the vit C and calcium intakes of girls and the calcium intakes of boys were under the recommended values. The prevalence of malnutrition is high among mentally disabled children. In order to raise their quality of life, mentally disabled children must be provided with sufficient nutritional support.

  17. Influence of weight status on physical and mental health in Moroccan perimenopausal women

    PubMed Central

    Oudghiri, Dia Eddine; Ruiz-Cabello, Pilar; Camiletti-Moirón, Daniel; Fernández, María Del Mar; Aranda, Pilar; Aparicio, Virginia Ariadna

    2016-01-01

    Introduction There is a lack of information about fitness and other health indicators in women from countries such as Morocco. This study aims to explore the association of weight status with physical and mental health in Moroccan perimenopausal women. Methods 151 women (45-65 years) from the North of Morocco were analyzed by standardized field-based fitness tests to assess cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, flexibility, agility and balance. Quality of life was assessed by means of the Short-Form-36 Health Survey. Resting heart rate, blood pressure and plasma fasting glucose, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides were also measured. Results Blood pressure (P=0.001), plasma triglycerides (P=0.041) and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (P<0.001) increased as weight status increased. Levels of cardiorespiratory fitness, upper-body flexibility (both, P<0.001), static balance (P<0.05) and dynamic balance (P<0.01) decreased as weight status increased. Pairwise comparisons showed differences mainly between normal-weight and overweight vs. obese groups. No differences between groups were observed on quality of life. Conclusion Cardiovascular and lipid profile and fitness, important indicators of cardiovascular disease risk, worsened as weight status increased, whereas quality of life appears to be independent of weight status. Exercise and nutritional programs focus on weight management may be advisable in this under studied population. PMID:27303571

  18. Employment Status and Mental Health: Mediating Roles of Social Support and Coping Strategies.

    PubMed

    Perreault, Michel; Touré, El Hadj; Perreault, Nicole; Caron, Jean

    2017-09-01

    Although it has been established that unemployment and underemployment increase distress and depression, the psychological mechanisms involved are not very clear. This study examines the roles of social support and coping strategies as mediators of the association between employment status and mental health, as well as gender and age differences as moderators. Residents from the epidemiological catchment area of south-west Montreal responded to a randomized household survey for adults in 2009. A follow-up was conducted based on participants' employment status 2 and 4 years later. ANOVAs tests were computed with SPSS to evaluate group differences, and structural equation modeling was performed with AMOS to test mediation effects. At baseline, among participants between 18 and 64 years old (n = 2325), 14.3 % were unemployed/not studying, 14.4 % worked part-time, and 56.5 % worked full-time. Employment status was found to significantly affect depression among those under 45 years old (chi-square = 23.4, p < 0.001). Results showed a negative association of full-time employment with depression, which was fully mediated by social support, less coping with drugs/medication, and less distress. A negative association with full-time employment was also noted with distress, which was partially mediated by increased social support, coping with alcohol, and less coping with drugs/medication. The total indirect effect suggests that full-time employees generally have more resources and do not tend to use avoidance strategies like coping with drugs/medication, resulting in less distress (β = -0.05; p < 0.01) and depression (β = -0.028; p < 0.01). Results suggest that optimal impact on mental health could be attained when increasing employment, namely full-time employment, in communities.

  19. Poor mental health status and aggression are associated with poor driving behavior among male traffic offenders

    PubMed Central

    Abdoli, Nasrin; Farnia, Vahid; Delavar, Ali; Esmaeili, Alirez; Dortaj, Fariborz; Farrokhi, Noorali; Karami, Majid; Shakeri, Jalal; Holsboer-Trachsler, Edith; Brand, Serge

    2015-01-01

    Background In Iran, traffic accidents and deaths from traffic accidents are among the highest in the world, and generally driver behavior rather than either technical failures or environmental conditions are responsible for traffic accidents. In the present study, we explored the extent to which aggressive traits, health status, and sociodemographic variables explain driving behavior among Iranian male traffic offenders. Method A total of 443 male driving offenders (mean age: M =31.40 years, standard deviation =9.56) from Kermanshah (Iran) took part in the study. Participants completed a questionnaire booklet covering sociodemographic variables, traits of aggression, health status, and driving behavior. Results Poor health status, such as symptoms of depression, anxiety, insomnia, and social dysfunction, and also higher levels of trait aggression explained poor driving behavior. Multiple regressions indicated that poor health status, but not aggression, independently predicted poor driving behavior. Conclusion Results suggest that health status concerns are associated with poor driving behavior. Prevention and intervention might therefore focus on drivers reporting poor mental health status. PMID:26316753

  20. Does disability status modify the association between psychosocial job quality and mental health? A longitudinal fixed-effects analysis.

    PubMed

    Milner, A; Krnjacki, L; Butterworth, P; Kavanagh, A; LaMontagne, Anthony D

    2015-11-01

    People with disabilities have difficulties in obtaining work. However, evidence suggests that those with disabilities derive substantial mental health benefits from employment. This paper assesses how the relationship between work and mental health is influenced by psychosocial job quality for people working with a disability. The study design was a longitudinal cohort with 13 annual waves of data collection, yielding a sample of 122,883 observations from 21,848 people. Fixed-effects within-person regression was used to control for time invariant confounding. The Mental Component Summary (MCS) of the Short Form 36 (SF-36) measure was used as the primary outcome measure. The main exposure was a six-category measure of psychosocial job quality and employment status (including 'not in the labour force' [NILF] and unemployment). Disability status ('no waves of disability reported' and 'all contributed waves with reported disability') was assessed as an effect modifier. We also conducted a secondary analysis on respondents contributing both disability and non-disability waves. For those with no disability, the greatest difference in mental health (compared to optimal employment) occurs when people have the poorest quality jobs (-2.12, 95% CI -2.48, -1.75, p < 0.001). The relative difference in mental health was less in relation to NILF and unemployment (-0.39 and -0.66 respectively). For those with consistent disability, the difference in mental health when employed in an optimal job was similar between the poorest quality jobs (-2.25, 95% CI -3.84, -0.65, p = 0.006), NILF (-2.84, 95% CI -4.49, -1.20, p = 0.001) or unemployment (-2.56, 95% CI -4.32, -0.80, p = 0.004). These results were confirmed by the secondary analysis. Efforts to improve psychosocial job quality may have significant mental health benefits for people with disabilities. This will contribute to the economic viability of disability employment insurance schemes in Australia and other

  1. Iodine nutrition status and prevalence of abnormal TSH levels in schoolchildren aged 6-7 years in the autonomous community of the Basque Country.

    PubMed

    Arrizabalaga, Juan José; Jalón, Mercedes; Espada, Mercedes; Cañas, Mercedes; Arena, José María; Vila, Lluís

    2018-05-01

    An epidemiological study conducted between 1988 and 1992 showed iodine deficiency and endemic goiter in the schoolchildren of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. 1) To ascertain the iodine nutrition status of schoolchildren aged 6-7 years, and 2) to estimate the prevalence of abnormal TSH levels in capillary blood. The study was conducted on 497 schoolchildren selected by random sampling. Median urinary iodine concentration (mUIC) was used to assess iodine nutritional status, and the reference interval derived from the study population was used to estimate the prevalence of abnormal TSH levels. The mUIC (P 25 -P 75 ) was 140 (82-217) μg/L. A higher value was found in those who used iodized salt at home than in those who did not (146 [85-222] versus 126 μg/L [73-198], P<0.05). It was also higher in those who consumed 2 or more daily servings of milk and yogurt than in those taking less than 2 servings (146 [87-225] versus 110 μg/L [66-160], P<0.0001). Abnormal TSH levels were found in 2% of children. There was no correlation between TSH levels in capillary blood and urinary iodine concentrations (R=0.082; P=0.076). Schoolchildren aged 6-7 years of the autonomous community of the Basque Country have an adequate iodine nutrition status. Use of iodized salt at home and daily consumption of milk and yogurt were associated to the highest UICs. Copyright © 2018 SEEN y SED. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  2. Quantitative analysis of chromosomal CGH in human breast tumors associates copy number abnormalities with p53 status and patient survival

    PubMed Central

    Jain, Ajay N.; Chin, Koei; Børresen-Dale, Anne-Lise; Erikstein, Bjorn K.; Lonning, Per Eystein; Kaaresen, Rolf; Gray, Joe W.

    2001-01-01

    We present a general method for rigorously identifying correlations between variations in large-scale molecular profiles and outcomes and apply it to chromosomal comparative genomic hybridization data from a set of 52 breast tumors. We identify two loci where copy number abnormalities are correlated with poor survival outcome (gain at 8q24 and loss at 9q13). We also identify a relationship between abnormalities at two loci and the mutational status of p53. Gain at 8q24 and loss at 5q15-5q21 are linked with mutant p53. The 9q and 5q losses suggest the possibility of gene products involved in breast cancer progression. The analytical techniques are general and also are applicable to the analysis of array-based expression data. PMID:11438741

  3. Mental resilience, perceived immune functioning, and health.

    PubMed

    Van Schrojenstein Lantman, Marith; Mackus, Marlou; Otten, Leila S; de Kruijff, Deborah; van de Loo, Aurora Jae; Kraneveld, Aletta D; Garssen, Johan; Verster, Joris C

    2017-01-01

    Mental resilience can be seen as a trait that enables an individual to recover from stress and to face the next stressor with optimism. People with resilient traits are considered to have a better mental and physical health. However, there are limited data available assessing the relationship between resilient individuals and their perspective of their health and immune status. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the relationship between mental resilience, perceived health, and perceived immune status. A total of 779 participants recruited at Utrecht University completed a questionnaire consisting of demographic characteristics, the brief resilience scale for the assessment of mental resilience, the immune function questionnaire (IFQ), and questions regarding their perceived health and immune status. When correcting for gender, age, height, weight, smoker status, amount of cigarettes smoked per week, alcohol consumption status, amount of drinks consumed per week, drug use, and frequency of past year drug use, mental resilience was significantly correlated with perceived health ( r =0.233, p =0.0001), perceived immune functioning ( r =0.124, p =0.002), and IFQ score ( r =-0.185, p =0.0001). A significant, albeit modest, relationship was found between mental resilience and perceived immune functioning and health.

  4. Altered Mental Status: Current Evidence-based Recommendations for Prehospital Care.

    PubMed

    Sanello, Ashley; Gausche-Hill, Marianne; Mulkerin, William; Sporer, Karl A; Brown, John F; Koenig, Kristi L; Rudnick, Eric M; Salvucci, Angelo A; Gilbert, Gregory H

    2018-05-01

    In the United States emergency medical services (EMS) protocols vary widely across jurisdictions. We sought to develop evidence-based recommendations for the prehospital evaluation and treatment of a patient with an acute change in mental status and to compare these recommendations against the current protocols used by the 33 EMS agencies in the State of California. We performed a literature review of the current evidence in the prehospital treatment of a patient with altered mental status (AMS) and augmented this review with guidelines from various national and international societies to create our evidence-based recommendations. We then compared the AMS protocols of each of the 33 EMS agencies for consistency with these recommendations. The specific protocol components that we analyzed were patient assessment, point-of-care tests, supplemental oxygen, use of standardized scoring, evaluating for causes of AMS, blood glucose evaluation, toxicological treatment, and pediatric evaluation and management. Protocols across 33 EMS agencies in California varied widely. All protocols call for a blood glucose check, 21 (64%) suggest treating adults at <60mg/dL, and half allow for the use of dextrose 10%. All the protocols recommend naloxone for signs of opioid overdose, but only 13 (39%) give specific parameters. Half the agencies (52%) recommend considering other toxicological causes of AMS, often by using the mnemonic AEIOU TIPS. Eight (24%) recommend a 12-lead electrocardiogram; others simply suggest cardiac monitoring. Fourteen (42%) advise supplemental oxygen as needed; only seven (21%) give specific parameters. In terms of considering various etiologies of AMS, 25 (76%) give instructions to consider trauma, 20 (61%) to consider stroke, and 18 (55%) to consider seizure. Twenty-three (70%) of the agencies have separate pediatric AMS protocols; others include pediatric considerations within the adult protocol. Protocols for patients with AMS vary widely across the State

  5. Altered Mental Status: Current Evidence-based Recommendations for Prehospital Care

    PubMed Central

    Sanello, Ashley; Mulkerin, William; Sporer, Karl A.; Brown, John F.; Koenig, Kristi L.; Rudnick, Eric M.; Salvucci, Angelo A.; Gilbert, Gregory H.

    2018-01-01

    Introduction In the United States emergency medical services (EMS) protocols vary widely across jurisdictions. We sought to develop evidence-based recommendations for the prehospital evaluation and treatment of a patient with an acute change in mental status and to compare these recommendations against the current protocols used by the 33 EMS agencies in the State of California. Methods We performed a literature review of the current evidence in the prehospital treatment of a patient with altered mental status (AMS) and augmented this review with guidelines from various national and international societies to create our evidence-based recommendations. We then compared the AMS protocols of each of the 33 EMS agencies for consistency with these recommendations. The specific protocol components that we analyzed were patient assessment, point-of-care tests, supplemental oxygen, use of standardized scoring, evaluating for causes of AMS, blood glucose evaluation, toxicological treatment, and pediatric evaluation and management. Results Protocols across 33 EMS agencies in California varied widely. All protocols call for a blood glucose check, 21 (64%) suggest treating adults at <60mg/dL, and half allow for the use of dextrose 10%. All the protocols recommend naloxone for signs of opioid overdose, but only 13 (39%) give specific parameters. Half the agencies (52%) recommend considering other toxicological causes of AMS, often by using the mnemonic AEIOU TIPS. Eight (24%) recommend a 12-lead electrocardiogram; others simply suggest cardiac monitoring. Fourteen (42%) advise supplemental oxygen as needed; only seven (21%) give specific parameters. In terms of considering various etiologies of AMS, 25 (76%) give instructions to consider trauma, 20 (61%) to consider stroke, and 18 (55%) to consider seizure. Twenty-three (70%) of the agencies have separate pediatric AMS protocols; others include pediatric considerations within the adult protocol. Conclusion Protocols for

  6. The Assignment of Moral Status: Age-Related Differences in the Use of Three Mental Capacity Criteria

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Olthof, Tjeert; Rieffe, Carolien; Terwogt, Mark Meerum; Lalay-Cederburg, Cindy; Reijntjes, Albert; Hagenaar, Janneke

    2008-01-01

    This study examined children's and young adults' use of three mental capacity criteria for treating an entity as one to which moral subjects have moral obligations, that is, as having moral status. In line with philosophical theorizing, these criteria were the capacity to (1) perceive; (2) suffer; and (3) think. In this study, 116 respondents aged…

  7. A cross-sectional study of pain sensitivity, disease-activity assessment, mental health, and fibromyalgia status in rheumatoid arthritis.

    PubMed

    Joharatnam, Nalinie; McWilliams, Daniel F; Wilson, Deborah; Wheeler, Maggie; Pande, Ira; Walsh, David A

    2015-01-20

    Pain remains the most important problem for people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Active inflammatory disease contributes to pain, but pain due to non-inflammatory mechanisms can confound the assessment of disease activity. We hypothesize that augmented pain processing, fibromyalgic features, poorer mental health, and patient-reported 28-joint disease activity score (DAS28) components are associated in RA. In total, 50 people with stable, long-standing RA recruited from a rheumatology outpatient clinic were assessed for pain-pressure thresholds (PPTs) at three separate sites (knee, tibia, and sternum), DAS28, fibromyalgia, and mental health status. Multivariable analysis was performed to assess the association between PPT and DAS28 components, DAS28-P (the proportion of DAS28 derived from the patient-reported components of visual analogue score and tender joint count), or fibromyalgia status. More-sensitive PPTs at sites over or distant from joints were each associated with greater reported pain, higher patient-reported DAS28 components, and poorer mental health. A high proportion of participants (48%) satisfied classification criteria for fibromyalgia, and fibromyalgia classification or characteristics were each associated with more sensitive PPTs, higher patient-reported DAS28 components, and poorer mental health. Widespread sensitivity to pressure-induced pain, a high prevalence of fibromyalgic features, higher patient-reported DAS28 components, and poorer mental health are all linked in established RA. The increased sensitivity at nonjoint sites (sternum and anterior tibia), as well as over joints, indicates that central mechanisms may contribute to pain sensitivity in RA. The contribution of patient-reported components to high DAS28 should inform decisions on disease-modifying or pain-management approaches in the treatment of RA when inflammation may be well controlled.

  8. Nurses and physiotherapists' experience in mobilising postoperative orthopaedic patients with altered mental status: A phenomenological study.

    PubMed

    Decoyna, Jovie Ann Alawas; McLiesh, Paul; Salamon, Yvette Michelle

    2018-05-01

    A major goal of care for orthopaedic surgical patients is the achievement of their pre-morbid functional level or at least an improvement of their functional ability. However, patients with altered mental status can significantly impact this and other outcomes and influence the delivery of care. Patient mobilisation is a role shared by both nurses and physiotherapists. To enhance the understanding of nurses and physiotherapists' experience in mobilising postoperative orthopaedic patients with altered mental status. Three nurses and three physiotherapists were recruited using purposive sampling. Data was collected through interviews and analysed using Burnard's 14 stages of thematic content analysis. Four main categories emerged from the study: altruism, interprofessional specialist practice, patient dynamics and challenges. Nurses and physiotherapists' experience have more similarities than differences under the four categories. Nurses and physiotherapists experience numerous challenges from both patient and resources related factors such as environment, staffing and time limitations; safety risks to patient and staff; and communication barriers due to patient's altered mental state. While tensions and variations in priorities of care delivery exist between the two groups, interdisciplinary collaboration of both professional groups was clearly evident and enabled optimisation of mobilisation goals for this patient population and revealed more similarities than differences in their experience. Patient and staff safety takes precedence over mobilisation and safety risks in this patient group can be mitigated by adequate resources, competence, and teamwork. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Childhood socioeconomic status and serotonin transporter gene polymorphism enhance cardiovascular reactivity to mental stress.

    PubMed

    Williams, Redford B; Marchuk, Douglas A; Siegler, Ilene C; Barefoot, John C; Helms, Michael J; Brummett, Beverly H; Surwit, Richard S; Lane, James D; Kuhn, Cynthia M; Gadde, Kishore M; Ashley-Koch, Allison; Svenson, Ingrid K; Schanberg, Saul M

    2008-01-01

    To test the hypothesis that low socioeconomic status (SES) and the 5HTTLPR L allele are associated with increased cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) to stress in a larger sample and that SES and 5HTTLPR genotypes interact to enhance CVR to stress. CVR to mental stress has been proposed as one mechanism linking stress to the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. The more transcriptionally efficient long (L) allele of a polymorphism of the serotonin transporter gene promoter (5HTTLPR) has been found associated with increased risk of myocardial infarction. We found the long allele associated with larger CVR to mental stress in a preliminary study of 54 normal volunteers. Subjects included 165 normal community volunteers stratified for race, gender, and SES, who underwent mental stress testing. Childhood SES as indexed by Father's Education Level was associated with larger systolic blood pressure (SBP) (p < .05) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (p = .01) responses to mental stress. The L allele was associated with larger SBP (p = .04), DBP (p < .0001), and heart rate (p = .04) responses to mental stress compared with the short (S) allele. Subjects with the SS genotype and high Father's Education exhibited smaller SBP (5.2 mm Hg) and DBP (2.9 mm Hg) responses than subjects with LL genotype and low Father's Education (SBP = 13.3 mm Hg, p = .002; DBP = 9.7 mm Hg, p < .0001). Both the 5HTTLPR long allele and low SES, particularly during childhood, are associated with increased CVR to mental stress, which could account, at least in part, for the increased cardiovascular disease risk associated with these characteristics. If confirmed in further research, these characteristics could be used to identify persons who might benefit from preventive interventions.

  10. Harassment and Mental Distress Among Adolescent Female Students by Sexual Identity and BMI or Perceived Weight Status.

    PubMed

    Johns, Michelle Marie; Lowry, Richard; Demissie, Zewditu; Robin, Leah

    2017-08-01

    Sexual minority girls (lesbian/bisexual) and girls with overweight/obesity experience high rates of discrimination and mental distress. This study explored whether BMI or perceived weight status might compound sexual minority girls' risk for harassment and mental distress. Data on female students from the national 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (n = 7,006) were analyzed. Logistic regression was used to examine differences in bullying, harassment, and mental distress across sexual identity/BMI groups: heterosexual/normal-weight, heterosexual/overweight, sexual minority/normal-weight, and sexual minority/overweight. Procedures were repeated with four analogous groups created from sexual identity and perceived weight. Across sexual identity/BMI groups, being overweight increased heterosexual females' odds of being bullied or experiencing suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Regardless of weight status, sexual minority females had greater odds for each outcome than heterosexual females. Sexual minority females who perceived themselves as overweight had greater odds of suicidality than all other sexual minority/perceived weight groups. Double jeopardy may exist for sexual minority female students who perceive themselves as overweight. Professional development with school staff on how to create a positive climate for sexual minorities and those with overweight/obesity and addressing positive identity and body image within school-based suicide prevention efforts may be important to the well-being of adolescent girls. © 2017 The Obesity Society.

  11. A Survey on Mental Health Status of Adult Population Aged 15 and above in the Province of Gilan, Iran.

    PubMed

    Noorbala, Ahmad Ali; Bagheri Yazdi, Seyed Abbas; Faghihzadeh, Soghrat; Kamali, Koorosh; Faghihzadeh, Elham; Hajebi, Ahmad; Akhondzadeh, Shahin; Shakiba, Alia; Baftahchi, Shirin; Skandari, Bijan

    2017-11-01

    The main objective of this study was to determine the mental health status of population aged 15 and over in the province of Gilan in 2015. The statistical population of this cross-sectional field survey consisted of residents of urban and rural areas of Fars in Iran. An estimated sample size of 1200 people was chosen using systematic random cluster sampling. The access was provided by the contribution of Geographical Post Office of Rasht, Fouman, and Hashtpar cities. The General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) was used as the screening tool for mental disorders. The analysis of data in the current study was carried out using the SPSS-18 software. Using GHQ traditional scoring method, the results showed that 18% of the studied population (19.3% of the females and 16.6% of the males) were considered as likely cases. The prevalence rate of mental disorders was 18.7% for urban and 17.7% for rural areas. Prevalence rates of somatization and anxiety were higher than social dysfunction and depression and women revealed higher prevalence for these disorders compared with men. It was also shown that the prevalence rate significantly increased with age and was higher in women, people aged 65 and above, urban residents, widowed or divorced, illiterate, and unemployed people. The results of this study showed that about a fifth of the people in the province are suspected to have mental disorders. Comparing the results of the current survey with those of the study conducted in 1999 suggests that the prevalence of mental disorders is on the decrease in this province (from 25.2% in 1999 to 18% in 2015). Therefore, it seems vital that the officials take action in order to improve and maintain mental health status of the people who are at risk.

  12. Behavior problems in adolescence and subsequent mental health in early adulthood: results from the World Trade Center Health Registry Cohort.

    PubMed

    Gargano, Lisa M; Locke, Sean; Li, Jiehui; Farfel, Mark R

    2018-06-15

    The present study examined the association between 9/11-related adolescent behavioral problems on mental health outcomes in early adulthood. Data from enrollees of the World Trade Center Health Registry, who completed at least one adolescent (2006-2007 or 2011-2012) and adult survey (2011-2012 or 2015-2016), were analyzed. Adolescent behavioral difficulties were assessed using the adolescent-reported Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Adult mental health outcomes included binge drinking, smoking status history, 9/11-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and the self-reported number of physician mental health diagnoses. Multivariable regression was used to estimate associations of SDQ scores with mental health outcomes. Of the 297 enrollees, 16.8% (n = 50) had abnormal/borderline SDQ scores as an adolescent. Binge drinking was not associated with adolescent SDQ scores. Enrollees with abnormal/borderline SDQ scores as an adolescent were more likely to be a consistent smoker (odds ratio (OR): 5.6, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.2-25.2), have probable PTSD (OR: 3.5, 95% CI: 1.3-9.8), depression (OR: 6.2, 95% CI: 2.7-13.9), and to have two or more self-reported physician-diagnosed mental health conditions as an adult (OR 5.6, 95% CI: 2.0-12.5). The findings of this study underscore the need to intervene early with children exposed to traumatic events so as to avert later adolescent and adult problem behaviors.

  13. Dietary intake, nutritional status and mental wellbeing of homeless adults in Reading, UK.

    PubMed

    Fallaize, Rosalind; Seale, Josephine V; Mortin, Charlotte; Armstrong, Lisha; Lovegrove, Julie A

    2017-11-01

    Malnutrition has been reported in the homeless, yet the specific nutritional issues faced by each homeless community are unclear. This is in part due to nutrient intake often being compared with dietary reference values as opposed to a comparative housed population. In addition, the complex interplay between nutrient intake, reward mediated behaviour and mental illness is frequently overlooked. This study aimed to compare the dietary intake, nutritional status and mental wellbeing of homeless and housed adults. Homeless (n 75) and matched housed (n 75) adults were recruited from Reading (UK). Nutrient intake was determined using the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition Norfolk FFQ. The Patient Health Questionnaire: Somatic Anxiety Depressive Symptoms (PHQ-SADS) assessed for signs of mental illness. Demographic, behavioural and physiological information was collected using closed-ended questions and anthropometric measurements. Overall, dietary intake was poorer in homeless adults who reported higher intakes of salt (8·0 v. 6·4 g, P=0·017), SFA (14·6 v. 13·0 %, P=0·002) and alcohol (5·3 v. 1·9 %, P<0·001) and lower intakes of fibre (13·4 v. 16·3 g, P<0·001), vitamin C (79 v. 109 mg, P<0·001) and fruit (96 v. 260 g, P<0·001) than housed. Smoking, substance misuse and PHQ-SADS scores were also higher in the homeless (P<0·001). Within the homeless population, street homeless (n 24) had lower SFA (13·7 v.15·0 %, P=0·010), Ca (858 v. 1032 mg, P=0·027) and milk intakes (295 v. 449 g, P=0·001) than hostel residents (n 51), which may reflect the issues with food storage. This study highlights the disparity between nutritional status in homeless and housed populations and the need for dietary intervention in the homeless community.

  14. Nutritional status of mentally retarded children in north-west Spain. I. Anthropometric indicators.

    PubMed

    Sánchez-Lastres, J; Eirís-Puñal, J; Otero-Cepeda, J L; Pavón-Belinchón, P; Castro-Gago, M

    2003-06-01

    To evaluate the nutritional status of mentally retarded children in the region of Galicia in north-west Spain, on the basis of anthropometric variables. The following variables were determined in a sample of 128 mentally retarded children (81 M, 47 F): birthweight, bodyweight, height/length, head circumference, mid-arm circumference, mid-arm muscle circumference, triceps skinfold thickness, subscapular skinfold thickness, arm area, arm muscle area, arm fat area, arm lean-to-fat ratio, Shukla's nutrition index and Quetelet's body mass index (BMI). A preliminary statistical analysis indicated that most information content could be maintained considering only eight of these variables. A factor analysis of the resulting 8 x 128 (variables by subjects) data matrix was performed, identifying two factors (FA1 and FA2) that together explained 82% of total variance. Taking these factors as indicators of nutritional status, the data were analysed for possible effects of age, gender, socioeconomic and family environment, intelligence quotient (IQ), presence/absence of cerebral palsy, quality of diet, appetite and antiepileptic use. The analysis suggested that most subjects were in the normal nutrition range, but about 33% showed either borderline or definite malnutrition. Mean score on FA2 showed a significant negative correlation with age. Children with cerebral palsy had lower mean scores on both factors, and scores on both factors varied with IQ. Children with definite malnutrition had a significantly lower IQ than those in the normal nutrition range. Mean score on both factors varied with appetite and quality of diet. The mean FAI score of children from inland-rural areas was significantly lower than that of children from coastal or urban areas. Mean FA1 score increased with increasing age of the parents. The prevalence of obesity was 13% when obesity was defined on the basis of Shukla's nutrition index, and 19% when defined on the basis of FA1 score. Malnutrition as

  15. The importance of family factors and generation status: mental health service use among Latino and Asian Americans.

    PubMed

    Chang, Janet; Natsuaki, Misaki N; Chen, Chih-Nan

    2013-07-01

    The present study utilized data from the National Latino and Asian American Study to examine ethnic and generational differences in family cultural conflict and family cohesion and how the effects of such family conflict and cohesion on lifetime service use vary by generation status for Latino Americans (n = 2,554) and Asian Americans (n = 2,095). Findings revealed that first-generation Asian Americans reported greater family cultural conflict than their Latino counterparts, but third-generation Latino Americans had higher family conflict than their Asian American counterparts. First-generation Latino and Asian Americans had the highest levels of family cohesion. Results from logistic regression analyses indicated that Latino Americans who reported higher family cultural conflict and lower family cohesion were more likely to use mental health services. For Asian Americans, family cultural conflict, but not family cohesion, was associated with service use. Relative to third-generation Asian Americans, second-generation Asian Americans with higher family cultural conflict were more likely to use mental health services. Given that cohesive familial bonds appear to discourage service use on the part of Latino Americans irrespective of generation status, further research is needed to ascertain the extent to which this tendency stems from greater reliance on family support as opposed to the stigma associated with mental health treatment. Mental health providers and treatment programs need to address the role of family cultural conflict in the lives of Asian Americans, particularly second generation, and Latino Americans across generations, because conflictual family ties may motivate help-seeking behaviors and reveal substantial underlying distress. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

  16. Mental Health Consultation Among Ontario's Immigrant Populations.

    PubMed

    Islam, Farah; Khanlou, Nazilla; Macpherson, Alison; Tamim, Hala

    2017-11-16

    To determine the prevalence rates and characteristics of past-year mental health consultation for Ontario's adult (18 + years old) immigrant populations. The Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) 2012 was used to calculate the prevalence rates of past-year mental health consultation by service provider type. Characteristics associated with mental health consultation were determined by carrying out multivariable logistic regression analysis on merged CCHS 2008-2012 data. Adult immigrant populations in Ontario (n = 3995) had lower estimated prevalence rates of past-year mental health consultation across all service provider types compared to Canadian-born populations (n = 14,644). Amongst those who reported past-year mental health consultation, 57.89% of Ontario immigrants contacted their primary care physician, which was significantly higher than the proportion who consulted their family doctor from Canadian-born populations (45.31%). The factors of gender, age, racial/ethnic background, education level, working status, food insecurity status, self-perceived health status, smoking status, alcohol drinking status, years since immigration, and age at time of immigration were significantly associated with past-year mental health consultation for immigrant populations. Ontario's adult immigrant populations most commonly consult their family doctor for mental health care. Potential exists for expanding the mental health care role of primary care physicians as well as efforts to increase accessibility of specialized mental health services. Integrated, coordinated care where primary care physicians, specialized mental health professionals, social workers, and community educators, etc. working together in a sort of "one-stop-shop" may be the most effective way to mitigate gaps in the mental health care system. In order to effectively tailor mental health policy, programming, and promotion to suit the needs of immigrant populations initiatives that focus on

  17. Holy Psychopathology Batman: The Pedagogical Use of Comic Books in the Teaching of Abnormal Psychology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rahman, Reece O.; Zeglin, Robert J.

    2014-01-01

    Many undergraduate psychology students eventually choose a career providing clinical mental health services. A background in abnormal psychology (psychopathology) is helpful and requisite in these graduate academic and future professional venues. The creativity needed to adequately teach the complex material covered in most abnormal psychology…

  18. Effects of mental rotation on acalculia: differences in the direction of mental rotation account for the differing characteristics of acalculia induced by right and left hemispheric brain injury.

    PubMed

    Asada, Tomohiko; Takayama, Yoshihiro; Oita, Jiro; Fukuyama, Hidenao

    2014-04-01

    We observed a 59-year-old right-handed man with an infarction in his right-middle cerebral artery that included the parietal lobe, who abnormally manipulated mental images in the horizontal direction, resulting in calculation disturbances. Three years later, the patient suffered an infarction in the left parietal lobe and displayed abnormalities during the creation of mental images; i.e., he rotated them in the vertical direction, which again resulted in calculation disturbances. These mental imagery disturbances might indicate that a common acalculia mechanism exists between the right and left hemispheres.

  19. Socioeconomic Status and the Physical and Mental Health of Arab and Chaldean Americans in Michigan.

    PubMed

    Samari, Goleen; McNall, Miles; Lee, KyungSook; Perlstadt, Harry; Nawyn, Stephanie

    2018-06-05

    Research that explains health of Arab and Chaldean Americans relative to the health of non-Arab White Americans is limited but steadily increasing. This study considers whether socioeconomic status moderates the relationship between race/ethnicity and physical and mental health. Data come from a state representative sample of Arab and Chaldean Americans-the 2013 Michigan Behavioral Risk Factor Survey and the 2013 Michigan Arab/Chaldean Behavioral Risk Factor Survey (N = 12,837 adults with 536 Arab/Chaldean Americans). Structural equation models examine whether socioeconomic status, operationalized as educational attainment, moderates the relationship between Arab/Chaldean identity and health, and whether physical activity, access to healthcare, and depression mediate the relationship between educational attainment and health. Results indicate that while Arab/Chaldean Americans have poor health relative to non-Arab White Americans, these differences are largely explained by educational differences. Depression, access to healthcare, and physical activity mediate the relationship between socioeconomic status and health of Arab/Chaldean Americans.

  20. International Student Mental Health

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Prieto-Welch, Susan L.

    2016-01-01

    This chapter describes the mental health status of international students in institutions of higher education, unique challenges these students face and their impact on mental health, and suggestions for ways to address these challenges.

  1. What's Your "Street Race"? Leveraging Multidimensional Measures of Race and Intersectionality for Examining Physical and Mental Health Status Among Latinxs.

    PubMed

    López, Nancy; Vargas, Edward D; Juarez, Melina; Cacari-Stone, Lisa; Bettez, Sonia

    2018-01-01

    Using the 2015 Latino National Health and Immigration Survey (N= 1,197) we examine the relationship between physical and mental health status and three multidimensional measures of race: 1) "street race," or how you believe other "Americans" perceive your race at the level of the street; 2) socially assigned race or what we call "ascribed race," which refers to how you believe others usually classify your race in the U.S.; and 3) "self-perceived race," or how you usually self-classify your race on questionnaires. We engage in intersectional inquiry by combining street race and gender. We find that only self-perceived race correlates with physical health and that street race is associated with mental health. We also find that men reporting their street race as Latinx 1 or Arab were associated with higher odds of reporting worse mental health outcomes. One surprising finding was that, for physical health, men reporting their street race as Latinx were associated with higher odds of reporting optimal physical health. Among women, those reporting their street race as Mexican were associated with lower odds of reporting optimal physical health when compared to all other women; for mental health status, however, we found no differences among women. We argue that "street race" is a promising multidimensional measure of race for exploring inequality among Latinxs.

  2. Postpartum mental health of immigrant mothers by region of origin, time since immigration, and refugee status: a population-based study.

    PubMed

    Vigod, Simone N; Bagadia, Ashlesha J; Hussain-Shamsy, Neesha; Fung, Kinwah; Sultana, Anjum; Dennis, Cindy-Lee E

    2017-06-01

    Immigrant women are at high risk for postpartum mental disorders. The purpose of this study was to understand how rates of postpartum mental health contact differ among immigrant women by region of origin, time since immigration, and refugee status. We conducted a population-based cohort study of immigrant mothers in Ontario, Canada, with children born from 2008 to 2012 (N = 123,231). We compared risk for mental health contact (outpatient, emergency department, inpatient hospitalization) in the first postpartum year by region of origin, time since immigration, and refugee status, generating adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Immigrants from North Africa and the Middle East were more likely to have outpatient mental health contact than a referent group of immigrants from North America or Europe (aOR 1.07, 95% CI 1.01-1.14); those from East Asia and the Pacific, Southern Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa were less likely (0.64, 0.61-0.68; 0.78, 0.74-0.83; 0.88, 0.81-0.94). Refugees were more likely to have contact than non-refugees (1.10, 1.04-1.15); those in Canada <5 years were less likely than longer-term immigrants (0.83, 0.79-0.87). Refugees were more likely to have an emergency department visit (1.81, 1.50-2.17) and a psychiatric hospitalization than non-refugees (1.78, 1.31-2.42). These findings have implications for targeted postpartum mental health service delivery targeting certain immigrant groups and particularly refugees.

  3. The Influence of Antismoking Television Advertisements on Cessation by Race/Ethnicity, Socioeconomic Status, and Mental Health Status

    PubMed Central

    Nonnemaker, James M.; Allen, Jane A.; Davis, Kevin C.; Kamyab, Kian; Duke, Jennifer C.; Farrelly, Matthew C.

    2014-01-01

    Disparities in tobacco use and smoking cessation by race/ethnicity, education, income, and mental health status remain despite recent successes in reducing tobacco use. It is unclear to what extent media campaigns promote cessation within these population groups. This study aims to (1) assess whether exposure to antitobacco advertising is associated with making a quit attempt within a number of population subgroups, and (2) determine whether advertisement type differentialy affects cessation behavior across subgroups. We used data from the New York Adult Tobacco Survey (NY-ATS), a cross-sectional, random-digit-dial telephone survey of adults aged 18 or older in New York State conducted quarterly from 2003 through 2011 (N = 53,706). The sample for this study consists of 9,408 current smokers from the total NY-ATS sample. Regression methods were used to examine the effect of New York State’s antismoking advertising, overall and by advertisement type (graphic and/or emotional), on making a quit attempt in the past 12 months. Exposure to antismoking advertising was measured in two ways: gross rating points (a measure of potential exposure) and self-reported confirmed recall of advertisements. This study yields three important findings. First, antismoking advertising promotes quit attempts among racial/ethnic minority smokers and smokers of lower education and income. Second, advertising effectiveness is attributable in part to advertisements with strong graphic imagery or negative emotion. Third, smokers with poor mental health do not appear to benefit from exposure to antismoking advertising of any type. This study contributes to the evidence about how cessation media campaigns can be used most effectively to increase quit attempts within vulnerable subgroups. In particular, it suggests that a general campaign can promote cessation among a range of sociodemographic groups. More research is needed to understand what message strategies might work for those with

  4. The influence of antismoking television advertisements on cessation by race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and mental health status.

    PubMed

    Nonnemaker, James M; Allen, Jane A; Davis, Kevin C; Kamyab, Kian; Duke, Jennifer C; Farrelly, Matthew C

    2014-01-01

    Disparities in tobacco use and smoking cessation by race/ethnicity, education, income, and mental health status remain despite recent successes in reducing tobacco use. It is unclear to what extent media campaigns promote cessation within these population groups. This study aims to (1) assess whether exposure to antitobacco advertising is associated with making a quit attempt within a number of population subgroups, and (2) determine whether advertisement type differentialy affects cessation behavior across subgroups. We used data from the New York Adult Tobacco Survey (NY-ATS), a cross-sectional, random-digit-dial telephone survey of adults aged 18 or older in New York State conducted quarterly from 2003 through 2011 (N = 53,706). The sample for this study consists of 9,408 current smokers from the total NY-ATS sample. Regression methods were used to examine the effect of New York State's antismoking advertising, overall and by advertisement type (graphic and/or emotional), on making a quit attempt in the past 12 months. Exposure to antismoking advertising was measured in two ways: gross rating points (a measure of potential exposure) and self-reported confirmed recall of advertisements. This study yields three important findings. First, antismoking advertising promotes quit attempts among racial/ethnic minority smokers and smokers of lower education and income. Second, advertising effectiveness is attributable in part to advertisements with strong graphic imagery or negative emotion. Third, smokers with poor mental health do not appear to benefit from exposure to antismoking advertising of any type. This study contributes to the evidence about how cessation media campaigns can be used most effectively to increase quit attempts within vulnerable subgroups. In particular, it suggests that a general campaign can promote cessation among a range of sociodemographic groups. More research is needed to understand what message strategies might work for those with poor

  5. Neurological impairments and sleep-wake behaviour among the mentally retarded.

    PubMed

    Lindblom, N; Heiskala, H; Kaski, M; Leinonen, L; Nevanlinna, A; Iivanainen, M; Laakso, M L

    2001-12-01

    The objective of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between the sleep-wake behaviour and neurological impairments among mentally retarded people. The sleep-wake behaviour of 293 mentally retarded subjects living in a rehabilitation center was studied by a standardized observation protocol carried out by trained staff members. The protocol consisted of brief check-ups of the subjects' sleep-wake status at 20-min intervals for five randomly chosen 24-h periods during 4 months. From the raw data five sleep-wake behaviour variables were formed. The data concerning the subject characteristics (age, body mass index (BMI), gender, degree of mental retardation, presence of locomotor disability, that of epilepsy, blindness or deafness and the usage of psychotropic medications) were collected from the medical records. Two main findings emerged: (1) severe locomotor disability, blindness and active epilepsy were found to be independent predictors of increased daytime sleep and increased number of wake-sleep transitions and (2) the subjects with a combination of two or all three of these impairments had a significantly more fragmented and abnormally distributed sleep than those with none or milder forms of these impairments. Age, BMI, degree of mental retardation and the studied medications played a minor role in the sleep disturbances of the study population. Finally, deafness was not found to be associated with any of the measured sleep-wake variables.

  6. Student Attitudes Toward Mental Illness

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hare-Mustin, Rachel T.; Garvine, Richard

    1974-01-01

    Inquiry into the initial attitudes toward mental illness of students taking an abnormal psychology class indicates students' concerns and preconceptions and provides a basis for shaping the course to respond to student needs. (JH)

  7. Normal or abnormal? 'Normative uncertainty' in psychiatric practice.

    PubMed

    Bassett, Andrew M; Baker, Charley

    2015-06-01

    The 'multicultural clinical interaction' presents itself as a dilemma for the mental health practitioner. Literature describes two problematic areas where this issues emerges--how to make an adequate distinction between religious rituals and the rituals that may be symptomatic of 'obsessive compulsive disorder' (OCD), and how to differentiate 'normative' religious or spiritual beliefs, behaviours, and experiences from 'psychotic' illnesses. When it comes to understanding service user's 'idioms of distress', beliefs about how culture influences behaviour can create considerable confusion and 'normative uncertainty' for mental health practitioners. In the absence of clear diagnostic and assessment criteria on distinguishing between 'culture' and 'psychopathology', practitioners have had to rely on their own intuition and seek out possible 'strategies' or 'procedures' from a contradictory and cross-disciplinary evidence base. Decontextualisation of service users' experiences may result in the pathologisation of culturally 'normative' phenomenon, 'category fallacy' errors, and poor health care experiences and outcomes for service users.This paper situates this dilemma within a wider debate that has concerned both the biomedical and social sciences, namely, the unresolved question of 'normality' or 'abnormality'. Indeed, issues that arise from dilemmas surrounding the question of 'culture' or 'psychopathology' are intimately tied to wider cultural ideas about what is considered 'normal'. The disciplines of psychiatry, psychology, and medical anthropology have struggled to establish workable criteria against which to judge behaviour as 'normal', 'abnormal', or 'pathological'. Three models for understanding mental 'abnormality' are evident in 'transcultural psychiatry' (what is now commonly known as 'cultural psychiatry'), and these models have corresponded closely to the interpretive models used by anthropologists attempting to make sense of the apparent diversity of

  8. Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia Presenting as Focal Neurologic Findings and Deteriorating Mental Status.

    PubMed

    Dolan, Matthew; Ngaruiya, Christine

    2017-01-01

    Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a rare but particularly malignant form of acute leukemia that is characterized by a rapid progression to fatal hemorrhage. Survival rates of patients with APL have increased with the introduction of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), but early deaths caused by hemorrhage still persist. A man with undiagnosed APL presenting with focal neurologic findings and deteriorating altered mental status caused by an intracranial hemorrhage is discussed. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: It is important to consider APL when diagnosing etiologies for intracranial hemorrhage. In addition to standard care, early administration of ATRA is recommended upon clinical suspicion of the disease. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Health status, mental health and air quality: evidence from pensioners in Europe.

    PubMed

    Giovanis, Eleftherios; Ozdamar, Oznur

    2018-05-01

    Environmental quality is an important determinant of individuals' well-being and one of the main concerns of the governments is the improvement on air quality and the protection of public health. This is especially the case of sensitive demographic groups, such as the old aged people. However, the question this study attempts to answer is how do individuals value the effects on the environment. The study explores the effects of old and early public pension schemes, as well as the impact of air pollution on health status of retired citizens. The empirical analysis relies on detailed micro-level data derived from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). As proxies for health, we use the general health status and the Eurod mental health indicator. We examine two air pollutants: the sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ) and ground-level ozone (O 3 ). Next, we calculate the marginal willingness-to-pay (MWTP) which shows how much the people are willing to pay for improvement in air quality. We apply various quantitative techniques and approaches, including the fixed effects ordinary least squares (OLS) and the fixed effects instrumental variables (IV) approach. The last approach is applied to reduce the endogeneity problem coming from possible reverse causality between the air pollution, pensions and the health outcomes. For robustness check, we apply also a structural equation modelling (SEM) which is proper when the outcomes are latent variables. Based on our favoured IV estimates and the health status, we find that the MWTP values for one unit decrease in SO 2 and O 3 are respectively €221 and €88 per year. The respective MWTP values using the Eurod measure are €155 and €68. Overall, improvement of health status implies reduction in health expenditures, and in previous literature, ageing has been traditionally considered the most important determinant. However, this study shows that health lifestyle and socio-economic status, such as education and

  10. Area-Level Socioeconomic Status and Incidence of Abnormal Glucose Metabolism

    PubMed Central

    Williams, Emily D.; Magliano, Dianna J.; Zimmet, Paul Z.; Kavanagh, Anne M.; Stevenson, Christopher E.; Oldenburg, Brian F.; Shaw, Jonathan E.

    2012-01-01

    OBJECTIVE To examine the role of area-level socioeconomic status (SES) on the development of abnormal glucose metabolism (AGM) using national, population-based data. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle (AusDiab) study is a national, population-based, longitudinal study of adults aged ≥25 years. A sample of 4,572 people provided complete baseline (1999 to 2000) and 5-year follow-up (2004 to 2005) data relevant for these analyses. Incident AGM was assessed using fasting plasma glucose and 2-h plasma glucose from oral glucose tolerance tests, and demographic, socioeconomic, and behavioral data were collected by interview and questionnaire. Area SES was defined using the Index of Relative Socioeconomic Disadvantage. Generalized linear mixed models were used to examine the relationship between area SES and incident AGM, with adjustment for covariates and correction for cluster design effects. RESULTS Area SES predicted the development of AGM, after adjustment for age, sex, and individual SES. People living in areas with the most disadvantage were significantly more likely to develop AGM, compared with those living in the least deprived areas (odds ratio 1.53; 95% CI 1.07–2.18). Health behaviors (in particular, physical activity) and central adiposity appeared to partially mediate this relationship. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that characteristics of the physical, social, and economic aspects of local areas influence diabetes risk. Future research should focus on identifying the aspects of local environment that are associated with diabetes risk and how they might be modified. PMID:22619081

  11. Altered mental status in a U.S. Army Special Forces Soldier.

    PubMed

    Brandon, Jonathan; Hill, Guyon J

    2011-01-01

    Special Operations medical provider must be familiar with the differential diagnosis for a patient with altered mental status since it includes multiple life-threatening illnesses. Potential diagnoses include meningitis, encephalitis, malaria and many others. While preparing to evacuate to definitive care from an austere location, they must also be prepared to initiate empiric therapy that is specific to the patient and the area of operations. We present a case of a U.S. Army Special Forces Soldier that developed limbic encephalitis of presumed Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) origin. We will review the key differential diagnoses for this presentation with a focus on infectious etiologies. We will also summarize current diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. Our recommendation is to initiate oral acyclovir when IV acyclovir is not available and this diagnosis cannot be excluded. 2011.

  12. Higher Adherence to the Australian Dietary Guidelines Is Associated with Better Mental Health Status among Australian Adult First-Time Mothers.

    PubMed

    Huddy, Rebecca Lee; Torres, Susan Jane; Milte, Catherine Margaret; McNaughton, Sarah A; Teychenne, Megan; Campbell, Karen Jane

    2016-09-01

    Mental health disorders are a leading cause of disability worldwide, including in first-time mothers. Understanding the associations between diet and depressive symptoms could assist in improving mental health status in this group. Our aim was to determine the association between diet quality, fruit, vegetable, and fish consumption and depressive symptoms in first-time mothers aged 19 to 45 years. We analyzed cross-sectional, baseline data (3 months postpartum) from the Melbourne InFANT (Infant Feeding, Activity, and Nutrition Trial) Extend Program. Participants were first-time Australian mothers aged 19 to 45 years from the Geelong and Melbourne regions of Victoria, Australia (n=457). A self-administered, 137-item food frequency questionnaire assessed dietary intake over the past year. Adherence to the 2013 Australian Dietary Guidelines was assessed using the Dietary Guideline Index as a measure of diet quality. Depressive symptoms were determined using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Relationships between diet quality, fruit, vegetable, and fish intake and depressive symptoms were investigated using linear regression adjusted for relevant covariates (age, smoking status, sleep quality, education, physical activity status, and body mass index). Better diet quality, as indicated by a higher score on the Dietary Guideline Index, was associated with lower depressive symptoms after adjusting for relevant covariates (β=-.034; 95% CI -.056 to -0.012). There were no other associations between dietary intake and depressive symptoms. Adherence to the Australian Dietary Guidelines was associated with better mental health status among first-time mothers. Further research, including longitudinal and intervention studies, are required to determine causality between dietary intake and depressive symptoms, which might help inform future public health nutrition programs for this target group. Copyright © 2016 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published

  13. Relationship of weight status with mental and physical health in female fibromyalgia patients.

    PubMed

    Aparicio, Virginia A; Ortega, Francisco B; Carbonell-Baeza, Ana; Camiletti, Daniel; Ruiz, Jonatan R; Delgado-Fernández, Manuel

    2011-01-01

    To analyze the association of weight status with anxiety, depression, quality of life and physical fitness in fibromyalgia (FM) patients. The sample comprised 175 Spanish female FM patients (51.2 ± 7 years). We assessed quality of life by means of the Short-Form-36 Health Survey (SF36) and anxiety and depression by means of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). We used standardized fieldbased fitness tests to assess cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, flexibility, agility, and static and dynamic balance. BMI was calculated and categorized using the international criteria. 33% of the sample was normal-weight, 35% overweight and 33% obese. HADS-anxiety and HADS-depression levels increased across the weight status categories. Obese patients had higher anxiety and depression levels compared to normal-weight patients (p < 0.05) whereas no differences were observed between overweight and obese patients. Physical functioning, bodily pain, general health (all p < 0.01) and mental health (p < 0.05) subscales from the SF36 were worse across the weight status categories. Likewise, levels of cardiorespiratory fitness, dynamic balance/motor agility (both p < 0.05) and upper-body flexibility (p < 0.001) decreased as the weight status increased. Pairwise comparisons showed significant differences mainly between the normal-weight versus obese groups. Obese female FM patients displayed higher levels of anxiety and depression and worse quality of life, cardiorespiratory fitness, dynamic balance/motor agility and upper-body flexibility than their normal-weight peers. Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  14. Chromosomal abnormalities in a psychiatric population

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lewis, K.E.; Lubetsky, M.J.; Wenger, S.L.

    Over a 3.5 year period of time, 345 patients hospitalized for psychiatric problems were evaluated cytogenetically. The patient population included 76% males and 94% children with a mean age of 12 years. The criteria for testing was an undiagnosed etiology for mental retardation and/or autism. Cytogenetic studies identified 11, or 3%, with abnormal karyotypes, including 4 fragile X positive individuals (2 males, 2 females), and 8 with chromosomal aneuploidy, rearrangements, or deletions. While individuals with chromosomal abnormalities do not demonstrate specific behavioral, psychiatric, or developmental problems relative to other psychiatric patients, our results demonstrate the need for an increased awarenessmore » to order chromosomal analysis and fragile X testing in those individuals who have combinations of behavioral/psychiatric, learning, communication, or cognitive disturbance. 5 refs., 1 fig., 2 tabs.« less

  15. Socioeconomic status and child mental health: the role of parental emotional well-being and parenting practices.

    PubMed

    Bøe, Tormod; Sivertsen, Børge; Heiervang, Einar; Goodman, Robert; Lundervold, Astri J; Hysing, Mari

    2014-01-01

    This study examined the role of parental emotional well-being and parenting practices as mediators of the association between familial socioeconomic status (SES) and child mental health problems. The sample included 2,043 5th-7th graders (50.7 % female) participating in the second wave of the Bergen Child Study. Children completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, parents reported family economy and education level, emotional well-being (measured with the Everyday Feelings Questionnaire), and the use of negative disciplinary and affirmative parenting practices (measured using the Family Life Questionnaire). Path analyses were conducted to examine the associations between SES and externalizing and internalizing problems. Results supported a model where family economy was associated with externalizing problems through parental emotional well-being and parenting practices, whereas maternal education level was associated with externalizing problems through negative discipline. The direct association between paternal education level and externalizing problems was not mediated by parenting. For internalizing problems, we found both direct associations with family economy and indirect associations with family economy through parental emotional well-being and parenting. The results suggest that parental emotional well-being and parenting practices are two potential mechanisms through which low socioeconomic status is associated with child mental health problems.

  16. Mental Health Service Delivery Systems and Perceived Qualifications of Mental Health Service Providers in School Settings

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dixon, Decia Nicole

    2009-01-01

    Latest research on the mental health status of children indicates that schools are key providers of mental health services (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2003). The push for school mental health services has only increased as stakeholders have begun to recognize the significance of sound mental health as an essential part of…

  17. Nonconvulsive status epilepticus disguising as hepatic encephalopathy.

    PubMed

    Jo, Yong Min; Lee, Sung Wook; Han, Sang Young; Baek, Yang Hyun; Ahn, Ji Hye; Choi, Won Jong; Lee, Ji Young; Kim, Sang Ho; Yoon, Byeol A

    2015-04-28

    Nonconvulsive status epilepticus has become an important issue in modern neurology and epileptology. This is based on difficulty in definitively elucidating the condition and its various clinical phenomena and on our inadequate insight into the intrinsic pathophysiological processes. Despite nonconvulsive status epilepticus being a situation that requires immediate treatment, this disorder may not be appreciated as the cause of mental status impairment. Although the pathophysiology of nonconvulsive status epilepticus remains unknown, this disorder is thought to lead to neuronal damage, so its identification and treatment are important. Nonconvulsive status epilepticus should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients with liver cirrhosis presenting an altered mental status. We report a case of a 52-year-old male with liver cirrhosis presenting an altered mental status. He was initially diagnosed with hepatic encephalopathy but ultimately diagnosed with nonconvulsive status epilepticus by electroencephalogram.

  18. Resveratrol Treatment after Status Epilepticus Restrains Neurodegeneration and Abnormal Neurogenesis with Suppression of Oxidative Stress and Inflammation.

    PubMed

    Mishra, Vikas; Shuai, Bing; Kodali, Maheedhar; Shetty, Geetha A; Hattiangady, Bharathi; Rao, Xiaolan; Shetty, Ashok K

    2015-12-07

    Antiepileptic drug therapy, though beneficial for restraining seizures, cannot thwart status epilepticus (SE) induced neurodegeneration or down-stream detrimental changes. We investigated the efficacy of resveratrol (RESV) for preventing SE-induced neurodegeneration, abnormal neurogenesis, oxidative stress and inflammation in the hippocampus. We induced SE in young rats and treated with either vehicle or RESV, commencing an hour after SE induction and continuing every hour for three-hours on SE day and twice daily thereafter for 3 days. Seizures were terminated in both groups two-hours after SE with a diazepam injection. In contrast to the vehicle-treated group, the hippocampus of animals receiving RESV during and after SE presented no loss of glutamatergic neurons in hippocampal cell layers, diminished loss of inhibitory interneurons expressing parvalbumin, somatostatin and neuropeptide Y in the dentate gyrus, reduced aberrant neurogenesis with preservation of reelin + interneurons, lowered concentration of oxidative stress byproduct malondialdehyde and pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-alpha, normalized expression of oxidative stress responsive genes and diminished numbers of activated microglia. Thus, 4 days of RESV treatment after SE is efficacious for thwarting glutamatergic neuron degeneration, alleviating interneuron loss and abnormal neurogenesis, and suppressing oxidative stress and inflammation. These results have implications for restraining SE-induced chronic temporal lobe epilepsy.

  19. [A preliminary evaluation of mental status and an investigation of occupational health knowledge demand in operating and maintenance personnel in wind power plants].

    PubMed

    Hu, S Q; Zhang, Q; Zhu, X H; Sun, K; Chen, S Z; Liu, A G; Luo, G L; Huang, W

    2016-10-20

    Objective: To investigate the mental status, level of occupational health knowledge, health behaviors, and occupational health knowledge demand in operating and maintenance personnel in wind power plants, and to provide a basis for formulating protective measures of occupational health for operating and maintenance personnel in wind power plants. Methods: A cluster sampling was performed in regionally representative wind power plants in the wind power industry from May 2014 to June 2015, and the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90) and a self-made evaluation questionnaire were used to investigate the general status, mental health, and occupational health knowledge demand in 160 operating and maintenance workers. Results: Of all respondents, 26.9% had mental health issues. The awareness rate of infectious disease knowledge and preventive measures was 11.9%. Of all workers, 96.5% wanted to know the occupational hazard factors in the workplace, and 96.3% wanted to get the knowledge of the prevention of related diseases. Conclusion: Mental health issues in operating and maintenance personnel in wind power plants cannot be neglected and there is a high demand for occupational health services and related knowledge. Comprehensive intervention measures for health promotion in the workplace should be adopted to improve working environment, enhance individual mental health education, increase the level of occupational health management, and protect the health of workers.

  20. Impact of Relationship Status and Quality (Family Type) on the Mental Health of Mothers and Their Children: A 10-Year Longitudinal Study.

    PubMed

    Hannighofer, Jasmin; Foran, Heather; Hahlweg, Kurt; Zimmermann, Tanja

    2017-01-01

    Mothers and children of single or unstable relationships have higher rates of mental health problems than those in stable two-parent families. Despite results that mothers and children of conflictual two-parent families also show impairments, most studies do not consider relationship quality. Therefore, the present study combines relationship status and relationship quality to a "family type." The present study compares German mothers and children of two-parent families with high relationship quality to those from two-parent families with a low quality, single mothers, and unstable families. Data of n  = 249 families from a 10-year follow-up longitudinal study show that mothers with a high relationship quality show the highest levels of mental health whereas all other groups show at least a 3.2 times higher probability of mental health symptoms. Children of mothers in unstable relationships show a 8.2 times higher probability to emotional or behavioral problems than children of mothers with high relationship quality. Therefore, not only relationship status but also relationship quality should be combined and this "family type" should be considered in future research.

  1. Gender & Economic Status Matter in Mental Health of Adolescents?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sharma, Namita; Dua, Radha

    2011-01-01

    Mental health is the ability to adjust oneself satisfactorily to the various strains of life. Mental health and Education are closely related to each other. Sound mental is prerequisite for the learner. In this era of severe competition to excel or to be on the top is pressurizing today's adolescents to the utmost. Besides a number of factors like…

  2. Ophthalmologic abnormalities in Mowat-Wilson syndrome and a mutation in ZEB2.

    PubMed

    Ariss, Michelle; Natan, Kristina; Friedman, Neil; Traboulsi, Elias I

    2012-09-01

    Mowat-Wilson syndrome is a genetic disorder characterized by a distinct facial appearance, moderate-to-severe mental retardation, microcephaly, agenesis of the corpus callosum, Hirschsprung disease, congenital heart disease, and genital anomalies. Ophthalmological abnormalities have been rarely described in patients with this condition which is caused by mutations in the ZEB2 gene. We report a 9-year-old female with this syndrome who has severe ocular abnormalities including bilateral microphthalmia, cataract, and retinal aplasia.

  3. Activity as a predictor of mental well-being among older adults.

    PubMed

    Lampinen, P; Heikkinen, R-L; Kauppinen, M; Heikkinen, E

    2006-09-01

    This eight-year follow-up study examines the roles of physical and leisure activity as predictors of mental well-being among older adults born in 1904-1923. As part of the Evergreen project, 1224 (80%) persons aged 65-84 years were interviewed at baseline (1988), and 663 (90%) persons in the follow-up (1996). Mental well-being factors including depressive symptoms, anxiety, loneliness, self-rated mental vigour and meaning in life were constructed using factor analysis. The predictors of mental well-being included physical and leisure activity, mobility status and number of chronic illnesses. We used a path analysis model to examine the predictors of mental well-being. At baseline, low number of chronic illnesses, better mobility status and leisure activity were associated with mental well-being. Baseline mental well-being, better mobility status and younger age predicted mental well-being in the follow-up. Explanatory power of the path analysis model for the mental well-being factor at baseline was 19% and 35% in the follow-up. These findings suggest that mental well-being in later life is associated with activity, better health and mobility status, which should become targets for preventive measures.

  4. Concurrent validity of Spanish-language versions of the Mini-Mental State Examination, Mental Status Questionnaire, Information-Memory-Concentration test, and Orientation-Memory-Concentration test: Alzheimer's disease patients and nondemented elderly comparison subjects.

    PubMed

    Taussig, I M; Mack, W J; Henderson, V W

    1996-07-01

    One-hundred fifty-eight elderly Spanish-speaking U.S. residents (81 patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and 77 subjects without dementia) were tested with Spanish-language versions of four brief cognitive assessment instruments: the Mini-Mental State Examination (S-MMSE), the Mental Status Questionnaire (S-MSQ), the Information-Memory-Concentration test (S-IMC), and the Orientation-Memory-Concentration test (S-OMC). Within-group performances were highly correlated for all four instruments. All tests distinguished between the demented and nondemented groups, but best discrimination was achieved with the S-IMC, which correctly classified 98% of subjects. This version was also the best predictor of functional disability, as measured by impairments in instrumental activities of daily living. Within the normal comparison group, neither gender nor a subject's monolingual/bilingual status affected test performance. These four Spanish-language cognitive screening tasks may aid in the evaluation of dementia among Spanish-speaking patients.

  5. Body weight, self-perception and mental health outcomes among adolescents.

    PubMed

    Ali, Mir M; Fang, Hai; Rizzo, John A

    2010-06-01

    The prevalence of childhood obesity in the United States has increased three-fold over the last thirty years. During the same period, the prevalence of depressive symptoms in children also rose significantly. Previous literature suggests an association between actual body weight and mental health, but there is little evidence on self-perception of weight and mental health status. To examine the relationship between actual body weight, self-perception of body weight and mental health outcomes among adolescents. Using data for a nationally-representative sample of adolescents in the United States, we ascertain the effect of body weight status on depressive symptoms by estimating endogeneity-corrected models including school-level fixed effects to account for bi-directionality and unobserved confounders. Actual body weight status was calculated using interviewer-measured height and weight. We also used a measure of self-perceived weight status to compare how actual versus self-perceived weight status affects mental health. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem (RSE) Scale, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale, and a dichotomous version of self-reported indicator for depression were utilized as mental health indicators. Potential mediators between mental health and weight status such as levels of physical activity, participation in risky health behaviors and parental characteristics were also controlled for in the analysis. The analytical sample consisted of 13,454 adolescents aged 11 to 18. After accounting for a wide array of relevant characteristics, we did not find a direct and significant association between actual weight status and mental health outcomes. Instead, our analysis revealed a strongly negative and significant relationship between self-perceived weight status and mental health. The negative relationship between self-perceived weight and depressive symptoms was more pronounced among females. The RSE scale was particularly correlated with body

  6. Indicators of Mental Health in Various Iranian Populations

    PubMed Central

    Mohamadi, Khosro; Ahmadi, Khodabakhsh; Fathi Ashtiani, Ali; Azad Fallah, Parviz; Ebadi, Abbas; Yahaghi, Emad

    2014-01-01

    Background: Promoting mental health and preventing mental disorders are of the main concerns for every country. Achieving these goals requires effective indexes for evaluating mental health. Therefore, to develop mental health enhancement programs in Iran, there is a need to measure the state of mental health in Iran. Objectives: This study aimed to select a set of mental health indicators that can be used to monitor the status of mental health in Iran. Materials and Methods: This research work used Q-methodology which combines both quantitative and qualitative research methods for establishment of mental health indicators in Iran. In this study, 30 participants were chosen by purposive sampling from different types of professionals in the field of mental health. Results: Twenty seven mental health indicators were obtained from the Q-methodology. The most important indicators obtained in this study are as follows: annual prevalence of mental disorders, suicide rates, number of mental health professionals, mental health expenditures and suicide related deaths. Conclusions: This study provides mental health indices for measuring mental health status in Iran. These mental health indices can be used to measure progress in the reform policies and community mental health services. PMID:24719740

  7. Community mental health care worldwide: current status and further developments

    PubMed Central

    Thornicroft, Graham; Deb, Tanya; Henderson, Claire

    2016-01-01

    This paper aims to give an overview of the key issues facing those who are in a position to influence the planning and provision of mental health systems, and who need to address questions of which staff, services and sectors to invest in, and for which patients. The paper considers in turn: a) definitions of community mental health care; b) a conceptual framework to use when evaluating the need for hospital and community mental health care; c) the potential for wider platforms, outside the health service, for mental health improvement, including schools and the workplace; d) data on how far community mental health services have been developed across different regions of the world; e) the need to develop in more detail models of community mental health services for low‐ and middle‐income countries which are directly based upon evidence for those countries; f) how to incorporate mental health practice within integrated models to identify and treat people with comorbid long‐term conditions; g) possible adverse effects of deinstitutionalization. We then present a series of ten recommendations for the future strengthening of health systems to support and treat people with mental illness. PMID:27717265

  8. Improving Mental Health in Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rossen, Eric; Cowan, Katherine C.

    2015-01-01

    Students do not leave their mental health at the front door when they come to school. From wellness to serious illness, a student's mental health status is integral to how they think, feel, interact, behave, and learn. Decades of research and experience have laid a solid foundation and framework for effectively providing mental health…

  9. Mental and behavioural disorders in the ICD-11: concepts, methodologies, and current status.

    PubMed

    Gaebel, Wolfgang; Zielasek, Jürgen; Reed, Geoffrey M

    2017-04-30

    This review provides an overview of the concepts, methods and current status of the development of the Eleventh Revision of the Mental and Behavioural Disorders chapter of the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-11) by the World Health Organization (WHO). Given the global use of the current version (ICD-10) for a wide range of applications in clinical practice and health statistics, a major aim of the development process for ICD-11 has been to increase the utility of the classification system. Expert working groups with responsibility for specific disorder groupings first suggested a set of revised diagnostic guidelines. Then surveys were performed to obtain suggestions for revisions from practicing health professionals. A completely revised structure for the classification of mental and behavioural disorders was developed and major revisions were suggested, for example, for schizophrenia and other primary psychotic disorders, substance use disorders, affective disorders and personality disorders. A new category of "gaming disorder" has been proposed and conditions related to sexual health and gender identity will be classified separately from mental disorders. An ICD-11 beta draft is freely available on the internet and public comments are invited. Field studies of the revised diagnostic guidelines are in process to obtain additional information about necessary improvements. A tabulated crosswalk from previous ICD-10 to then ICD-11 criteria will be necessary to ascertain the continuity of diagnoses for epidemiological and other statistical purposes. The final version of ICD-11 is currently scheduled for release by the World Health Assembly in 2018.

  10. Mental health, quality of life, and nutritional status of adolescents in Dhaka, Bangladesh: comparison between an urban slum and a non-slum area.

    PubMed

    Izutsu, Takashi; Tsutsumi, Atsuro; Islam, Akramul Md; Kato, Seika; Wakai, Susumu; Kurita, Hiroshi

    2006-09-01

    This study aims to clarify the quality of life (QOL), mental health, and nutritional status of adolescents in Dhaka city, Bangladesh by comparing non-slum areas and slums, and to find the factors associated with their mental health problems. A sample of 187 boys and 137 girls from non-slum areas, and 157 boys and 121 girls from slums, between 11-18 years old were interviewed with a questionnaire consisting of a Bangla translation of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment Instrument (WHOQOL-BREF), Self Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ), Youth Self-Report (YSR) and other questions. The height and weight of the respondents were measured. All significant differences in demographic characteristics, anthropometric measures, and WHOQOL-BREF were found to reflect worse conditions in slum than in non-slum areas. Contrarily, all differences in SRQ and YSR were worse in non-slum areas for both genders, except that the "conduct problems" score for YSR was worse for slum boys. Mental states were mainly associated with school enrollment and working status. Worse physical environment and QOL were found in slums, along with gender and area specific mental health difficulties. The results suggest gender specific needs and a requirement for area sensitive countermeasures.

  11. The Autism Mental Status Exam: Sensitivity and Specificity Using DSM-5 Criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder in Verbally Fluent Adults

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grodberg, David; Weinger, Paige M.; Halpern, Danielle; Parides, Michael; Kolevzon, Alexander; Buxbaum, Joseph D.

    2014-01-01

    The phenotypic heterogeneity of adults suspected of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) requires a standardized diagnostic approach that is feasible in all clinical settings. The autism mental status exam (AMSE) is an eight-item observational assessment that structures the observation and documentation of social, communicative and behavioral signs and…

  12. What’s Your “Street Race”? Leveraging Multidimensional Measures of Race and Intersectionality for Examining Physical and Mental Health Status Among Latinxs

    PubMed Central

    López, Nancy; Vargas, Edward D.; Juarez, Melina; Cacari-Stone, Lisa; Bettez, Sonia

    2017-01-01

    Using the 2015 Latino National Health and Immigration Survey (N= 1,197) we examine the relationship between physical and mental health status and three multidimensional measures of race: 1) “street race,” or how you believe other “Americans” perceive your race at the level of the street; 2) socially assigned race or what we call “ascribed race,” which refers to how you believe others usually classify your race in the U.S.; and 3) “self-perceived race,” or how you usually self-classify your race on questionnaires. We engage in intersectional inquiry by combining street race and gender. We find that only self-perceived race correlates with physical health and that street race is associated with mental health. We also find that men reporting their street race as Latinx1 or Arab were associated with higher odds of reporting worse mental health outcomes. One surprising finding was that, for physical health, men reporting their street race as Latinx were associated with higher odds of reporting optimal physical health. Among women, those reporting their street race as Mexican were associated with lower odds of reporting optimal physical health when compared to all other women; for mental health status, however, we found no differences among women. We argue that “street race” is a promising multidimensional measure of race for exploring inequality among Latinxs. PMID:29423428

  13. Insurance status, use of mental health services, and unmet need for mental health care in the United States

    PubMed Central

    Walker, Elizabeth Reisinger; Cummings, Janet R.; Hockenberry, Jason M.; Druss, Benjamin G.

    2015-01-01

    Objective The purpose of this study was to provide updated national estimates and correlates of service use, unmet need, and barriers to mental health treatment among adults with mental disorders. Method The sample included 36,647 adults aged 18–64 years (9723 with any mental illness and 2608 with serious mental illness) from the 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Logistic regression models were used to examine predictors of mental health treatment and perceived unmet need. Results Substantial numbers of adults with mental illness did not receive treatment (any mental illness: 62%; serious mental illness: 41%) and perceived an unmet need for treatment (any mental illness: 21%; serious mental illness: 41%). Having health insurance was a strong correlate of mental health treatment use (any mental illness: private insurance: AOR=1.63 (95% CI=1.29–2.06), Medicaid: AOR=2.66, (95% CI=2.04–3.46); serious mental illness: private insurance: AOR=1.65 (95% CI=1.12–2.45), Medicaid: AOR=3.37 (95% CI=2.02–5.61)) and of reduced perceived unmet need (any mental illness: private insurance: AOR=.78 (95% CI:.65–.95), Medicaid: AOR=.70 (95% CI=.54–.92)). Among adults with any mental illness and perceived unmet need, 72% reported at least one structural barrier and 47% reported at least one attitudinal barrier. Compared to respondents with insurance, uninsured individuals reported significantly more structural barriers and fewer attitudinal barriers. Conclusions Low rates of treatment and high unmet need persist among adults with mental illness. Strategies to reduce both structural barriers, such as cost and insurance coverage, and attitudinal barriers are needed. PMID:25726980

  14. Mental Health and Coping Patterns in Jewish Gay Men in Israel: The Role of Dual Identity Conflict, Religious Identity, and Partnership Status.

    PubMed

    Zeidner, Moshe; Zevulun, Attara

    2018-01-01

    This study examined the effects of dual-identity conflict, religious identity (religious/spiritual vs. sexual), and partnership status on the coping strategies and mental health of gay Jewish men in modern Israeli society. Participants were 73 religious and 71 secular gay men recruited via e-mail, social networking sites, and online resources targeting sexual minority men. Participants were assessed via measures of identity conflict, mental health, and coping strategies. Jewish gay men who reported more severe identity conflict also reported using less problem-focused and avoidance coping and more emotion-focused coping strategies and reported poorer mental health than their less identity-conflicted counterparts. Furthermore, gay men who self-identified as religious reported poorer mental health as well as less problem-focused coping and more emotion-focused coping compared to secular men. Religious gay men in romantic relationships reported lower intensities of dual-identity conflict and better mental health compared to their nonpartnered counterparts.

  15. Stability of Early Identified Aggressive Victim Status in Elementary School and Associations with Later Mental Health Problems and Functional Impairments

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Burk, Linnea R.; Armstrong, Jeffrey M.; Park, Jong-Hyo; Zahn-Waxler, Carolyn; Klein, Marjorie H.; Essex, Marilyn J.

    2011-01-01

    Aggressive victims--children who are both perpetrators and victims of peer aggression--experience greater concurrent mental health problems and impairments than children who are only aggressive or only victimized. The stability of early identified aggressive victim status has not been evaluated due to the fact that most studies of aggressor/victim…

  16. Nicotinic receptor abnormalities in the cerebellar cortex in autism.

    PubMed

    Lee, M; Martin-Ruiz, C; Graham, A; Court, J; Jaros, E; Perry, R; Iversen, P; Bauman, M; Perry, E

    2002-07-01

    Autism is a common developmental disorder associated with structural and inferred neurochemical abnormalities of the brain. Cerebellar abnormalities frequently have been identified, based on neuroimaging or neuropathology. Recently, the cholinergic neurotransmitter system has been implicated on the basis of nicotinic receptor loss in the cerebral cortex. Cerebellar cholinergic activities were therefore investigated in autopsy tissue from a series of autistic individuals. The presynaptic cholinergic enzyme, choline acetyltransferase, together with nicotinic and muscarinic receptor subtypes were compared in the cerebellum from age-matched mentally retarded autistic (eight), normal control (10) and non-autistic mentally retarded individuals (11). The nicotinic receptor binding the agonist epibatidine (the high affinity receptor subtype, consisting primarily of alpha3 and alpha4, together with beta2 receptor subunits) was significantly reduced by 40-50% in the granule cell, Purkinje and molecular layers in the autistic compared with the normal group (P < 0.05). There was an opposite increase (3-fold) in the nicotinic receptor binding alpha-bungarotoxin (to the alpha7 subunit) which reached significance in the granule cell layer (P < 0.05). These receptor changes were paralleled by a significant reduction (P < 0.05) and non-significant increase, respectively, of alpha4 and alpha7 receptor subunit immunoreactivity measured using western blotting. Immunohistochemically loss of alpha(4 )reactivity was apparent from Purkinje and the other cell layers, with increased alpha7 reactivity in the granule cell layer. There were no significant changes in choline acetyltransferase activity, or in muscarinic M1 and M2 receptor subtypes in autism. In the non-autistic mentally retarded group, the only significant abnormality was a reduction in epibatidine binding in the granule cell and Purkinje layers. In two autistic cases examined histologically, Purkinje cell loss was observed in

  17. Influencing factors of mental health of medical students in China.

    PubMed

    Yang, Fan; Meng, Heng; Chen, Hui; Xu, Xin-hao; Liu, Zhuo; Luo, Ai; Feng, Zhan-chun

    2014-06-01

    This study investigated the mental health status of medical students in China, and analyzed the influencing factors in order to provide evidence for mental health education for medical students. A stratified cluster sampling method was used to recruit medical students from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China. The questionnaire survey on general information and Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90) were used for investigation and analysis. The results showed among the 1137 valid questionnaires, 278 (24.45%) participants had SCL-90 score ≥ 160. The top three mental problems of medical students were obsessive-compulsive disorder, interpersonal sensitivity and depression in terms of the factor score ≥ 2.5 and the number of participants who reflected on the diseases. The third-year medical students had the worst mental health status, and fifth-year medical students had the best mental health status. Students from rural area had more psychological problems than those from urban area; furthermore, students with high professional satisfaction, those who were the single child of the family, non-poor students, and those whose parents had high education level had better mental health status. It was concluded that the mental health of medical students is not optimistic in China. Medical students have some mental health problems of different degrees. Factors that influence the mental health of medical students include academic pressure, professional satisfaction level and family environment.

  18. College students' responses to mental health status updates on Facebook.

    PubMed

    Egan, Katie G; Koff, Rosalind N; Moreno, Megan A

    2013-01-01

    Facebook is widely used by the college population, and previous research has shown that mental health references on Facebook are common. Focus groups of college students were held to determine their views of mental health references seen in their peers' Facebook profiles. Students' views of mental health references varied from being serious calls for help, to being jokes or attention-seeking behavior. Responses to mental health references depended on the participants' offline relationship with the poster. Students would contact close friends through a phone call or in-person conversation, but would not approach acquaintances. The prevalence of mental health references on Facebook, and the awareness of these references by college students, may present opportunities for future peer intervention efforts.

  19. Influence maternal background has on children's mental health.

    PubMed

    Arroyo-Borrell, Elena; Renart, Gemma; Saurina, Carme; Saez, Marc

    2017-04-18

    In this paper, we aim to discern how a mother's health and her socioeconomic determinants may influence her children's mental health. In addition to this, we also evaluate the influence of other household characteristics and whether or not the economic downturn has heightened the effect a parent's social gradient has on their children's mental health. We use samples comprised of 4-14-year-old minors from the 2006 Spanish National Health Survey (SNHS), undertaken prior to the crisis, and the 2011 SNHS, carried out during the crisis. The participating children's mental health is assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Mixed models are used to evaluate the influence a mother's health and her socioeconomic status may have on her children's mental health. We also add interactions to observe the effect specific socioeconomic determinants may have had during the economic downturn. The risk of a child suffering from mental health disorders increases when their mother has mental health problems. Socioeconomic determinants also play a role, as a low socioeconomic status (SES) increases the risk of a child exhibiting behavioural problems, being hyperactive or antisocial, whereas when a mother has attained a high level of education, this significantly reduces the probability of a child having mental health problems. 'Homemaker' is the activity status most positively related to children's mental health. The findings show that the Spanish economic downturn has not significantly changed children's mental health problems and the negative effects of low maternal SES are no greater than they were before the crisis. The main difference in 2011, with respect to 2006, is that the risk of children suffering from mental health problems is higher when their parents are (long or short-term) unemployed. In conclusion, both a mother's health and her socioeconomic status, as well as other household characteristics, are found to be related to her children's mental

  20. Employment as a Social Determinant of Health: A Review of Longitudinal Studies Exploring the Relationship between Employment Status and Mental Health

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hergenrather, Kenneth C.; Zeglin, Robert J.; McGuire-Kuletz, Maureen; Rhodes, Scott D.

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: To explore employment as a social determinant of health through examining the relationship between employment status and mental health. Method: The authors conducted a systematic review of 48 longitudinal studies conducted in Australia, Canada, Croatia, Germany, Ireland, Israel, the Netherlands, Norway, United Kingdom, and United States…

  1. A Survey on Mental Health Status of Adult Population Aged 15 and above in the Province of Qom, Iran.

    PubMed

    Noorbala, Ahmad Ali; Bagheri Yazdi, Seyed Abbas; Faghihzadeh, Soghrat; Kamali, Koorosh; Faghihzadeh, Elham; Hajebi, Ahmad; Akhondzadeh, Shahin; Noroozinejad, Gholamhosein; Bagheri, Majid

    2017-11-01

    This research aims to determine the mental health status of population aged 15 and over in the province of Qom in 2015. The statistical population of this cross-sectional field survey consisted of residents of urban and rural areas of Qom in Iran. An estimated sample size of 600 people was chosen using systematic random cluster sampling. The access was provided by the contribution of Geographical Post Office of Qom city. The General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) was used as the screening tool for mental disorders. Data analysis in the current study was carried out using the SPSS-18 computer software. Using GHQ traditional scoring method, 16.2% of the subjects were shown to be at risk of mental disorders (19.7% of females and 12.6% of males). Urban areas (17%) were more at risk of mental disorders compared with rural residents (6.5%). Anxiety and somatization symptoms were more frequent than depression and social dysfunction among respondents. The obtained data revealed that the prevalence of mental disorders increased with age. Such disorders were more common in females, age group of 65 and above, people living in rural areas, divorced and widowed, illiterate, retired and unemployed individuals compared with the other groups. The results of this study showed that a sixth of the people in the province were suspected to have mental disorders. Therefore, it is mandatory for the provincial public health authorities to take the needed steps to ensure that necessary requirements encompassing prevention and promotion of mental health are implemented. .

  2. Proband Mental Health Difficulties and Parental Stress Predict Mental Health in Toddlers at High-Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorders.

    PubMed

    Crea, Katherine; Dissanayake, Cheryl; Hudry, Kristelle

    2016-10-01

    Family-related predictors of mental health problems were investigated among 30 toddlers at familial high-risk for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and 28 controls followed from age 2- to 3-years. Parents completed the self-report Depression Anxiety Stress Scales and the parent-report Behavior Assessment System for Children. High-risk toddlers were assessed for ASD at 3-years. Parent stress and proband mental health difficulties predicted concurrent toddler mental health difficulties at 2-years, but only baseline proband internalising problems continued to predict toddler internalising problems at 3-years; high-risk status did not confer additional risk. Baseline toddler mental health difficulties robustly predicted later difficulties, while high-risk status and diagnostic outcome conferred no additional risk. A family systems perspective may be useful for understanding toddler mental health difficulties.

  3. Obesity and mental health.

    PubMed

    Talen, Mary R; Mann, Misty M

    2009-06-01

    Mental health factors contribute to the onset and maintenance of overweight and obese status in children, adolescents, and adults. Binge eating disorder (BED), body image, self-esteem, mood disorders, and social and family factors affect individuals in different ways and contribute to weight gain and failure in weight loss management. Assessment of these mental health factors and treatment by 1 of several mental health treatment models may not only improve self-worth but also weight loss and maintenance.

  4. Reentry challenges facing women with mental health problems.

    PubMed

    Visher, Christy A; Bakken, Nicholas W

    2014-01-01

    Women entering the correctional system represent a population at high risk for mental health and the body of research on the mental health needs of women offenders is growing. These mental health problems pose challenges for women at every stage of the criminal justice process, from arrest to incarceration to community reentry and reintegration. In this article, we examined mental health status among a sample of 142 women leaving confinement and the role that mental health problems played in shaping their reentry outcomes using data collected between 2002 and 2005 in Houston, Texas. In the year after leaving prison, women with mental health problems reported poorer health, more hospitalizations, more suicidal thoughts, greater difficulties securing housing and employment, more involvement in criminal behavior, and less financial support from family than women with no indication of mental health problems. However, mental health status did not increase the likelihood of substance use relapse or reincarceration. The article concludes with a discussion of recommendations for improved policy and practice.

  5. The Effects of White Noise on Agitated Behaviors, Mental Status, and Activities of Daily Living in Older Adults With Dementia.

    PubMed

    Lin, Li-Wei; Weng, Shu-Chuan; Wu, Hua-Shan; Tsai, Lu-Jen; Lin, Ya-Ling; Yeh, Shu-Hui

    2018-02-01

    The aging of society is a global trend, and care of older adults with dementia is an urgent challenge. As dementia progresses, patients exhibit negative emotions, memory disorders, sleep disorders, and agitated behavior. Agitated behavior is one of the most difficult problems for family caregivers and healthcare providers to handle when caring for older adults with dementia. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of white noise in improving agitated behavior, mental status, and activities of daily living in older adults with dementia. An experimental research design was used to study elderly participants two times (pretest and posttest). Six dementia care centers in central and southern Taiwan were targeted to recruit participants. There were 63 participants: 28 were in the experimental group, and 35 were in the comparison group. Experimental group participants received 20 minutes of white noise consisting of ocean, rain, wind, and running water sounds between 4 and 5 P.M. daily over a period of 4 weeks. The comparison group received routine care. Questionnaires were completed, and observations of agitated behaviors were collected before and after the intervention. Agitated behavior in the experimental group improved significantly between pretest and posttest. Furthermore, posttest scores on the Mini-Mental Status Examination and Barthel Index were slightly better for this group than at pretest. However, the experimental group registered no significant difference in mental status or activities of daily living at posttest. For the comparison group, agitated behavior was unchanged between pretest and posttest. The results of this study support white noise as a simple, convenient, and noninvasive intervention that improves agitated behavior in older adults with dementia. These results may provide a reference for related healthcare providers, educators, and administrators who care for older adults with dementia.

  6. Workplace satisfaction in a mental health service for older adults: an analysis of the effects of setting and professional status.

    PubMed

    McCrae, Niall; Prior, Sue; Silverman, Marisa; Banerjee, Sube

    2007-02-01

    Research in mental health services for working-age adults has repeatedly shown that work is found more satisfying, if more stressful, by community practitioners than by hospital-based staff. This study examined whether similar differences exist in services for older adults and how this might be influenced by the high proportion of nonprofessionally qualified workers in inpatient settings for mentally infirm older people. The Work Environment Scale was given to all practitioners in a mental health service for older adults in a single London borough. Adjusting for the effect of professional status, community practitioners rated involvement, task orientation, and supervision more positively than institutional staff, but gave less favorable ratings for work pressure and physical comfort. Nurses rated peer cohesion, supervision, autonomy, and innovation more positively than nursing assistants, after controlling for type of setting. Multivariate modeling confirmed that type of setting and professional group were both associated with workplace satisfaction, accounting for 24% and 13% of the variance, respectively. The study highlights aspects of the work environment of mental health staff working with older adults that might benefit from attention.

  7. Health of Psychiatry Residents: Nutritional Status, Physical Activity, and Mental Health.

    PubMed

    Melo, Matias Carvalho Aguiar; de Bruin, Veralice Meireles Sales; das Chagas Medeiros, Francisco; Santana, José Abraão Pinheiro; Lima, Alexandre Bastos; De Francesco Daher, Elizabeth

    2016-02-01

    This study aims to analyze mental health, nutritional status, and physical activity in psychiatry residents. Sixty-two residents were invited and 59 participated (95.2% response). Depressive, anxious, and social phobic symptoms; alcohol use; and nicotine dependence were measured. Body mass index and lifestyle were also evaluated. Almost half of psychiatry residents were overweight or obese, and 61% reported a sedentary lifestyle. Furthermore, 33.9% of residents had high scores for anxiety; 30.5% for social phobia; and 19% for depression. In addition, 81.4% reported alcohol use, and 22% had harmful alcohol use. High scores for anxiety were associated with lower attention and worse relationship with preceptors, and high scores of depressive symptoms were related to a worse relationship with patients and preceptors. Anxiety was associated with depressive symptoms (p < 0.001) and social phobia (p = 0.006). The findings of this study highlight high rates of overweight/obesity, physical inactivity, and depressive and anxiety symptoms in psychiatric residents.

  8. Mental health status of unmarried youth living in single parent families: a case study from India.

    PubMed

    Sinha, Atreyee; Ram, Faujdar

    2018-02-16

    In South Asian countries like India, family system lays a strong foundation in societies and therefore, the context and consequences of single parent family structures are markedly different from that of the West. In these societies single parenthood is mainly an outcome of untimely death of any one of the parents. This study tried to examine the influence of parents' survival status on the mental health of youth in India. "Youth in India: situation and Needs (2006-2007)" survey data was used in the present study. We compared two groups of unmarried young population aged 15-24 y (n = 28 637): one having both parents alive and another having only one parent alive. Bivariate and multivariate techniques were applied to analyze the data. Results revealed that around 11% of the unmarried youth belonged to single parent families. Findings underscored a significant association between parent's survival and mental health of youth; respondents from single parent families were more likely to report metal health problems Moreover, effects of parents' survival were significant on females' mental health rather than males'. Policies must focus on reducing stress of young people growing up in single parent families through enhanced educational and employment opportunities.

  9. Development of a battery status monitor

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zimmerman, R. I.

    1974-01-01

    A prototype battery status monitor system has been developed. The functions of the system are: (1) to provide the energy status of the battery, (2) to measure and transmit basic battery parameters, (3) to process these measurements required to determine abnormal functioning of the battery, and (4) to transmit warning signals of the abnormal condition along with a go/no go signal. The system was developed for use with the space shuttle.

  10. Kimberley Indigenous mental health: An examination of metabolic syndrome risk factors.

    PubMed

    Stanley, Susanne H; Laugharne, Jonathan D E; Chapman, Murray; Balaratnasingam, Sivasankaran

    2016-10-01

    There is an increased risk of physical health comorbidities in people with a mental illness. This paper examines the metabolic syndrome parameters for the general population, indigenous Australians and people with a mental illness, and compares them to a sample of predominantly indigenous adults with mental health problems. A longitudinal (24 month) audit of patient medical records was conducted between February 2011 and March 2013. The Kimberley Mental Health and Drug Service in Broome, Western Australia. Largely indigenous adults with a mental illness. Sample numbers increased from 56 at baseline (80% indigenous) to 136 at 18 months (70% indigenous). Waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting lipids, and fasting blood glucose. Preliminary assessment of the data indicates a high percentage of abnormalities at baseline and at the 18 month period on all four parameters, yet not all patients were assessed on a regular basis. Abnormalities in metabolic profiles consistent with the non-Indigenous mental health population were found. There are considerable challenges to implementing regular monitoring of physical and metabolic profiles of indigenous people in rural and remote communities. © 2015 National Rural Health Alliance Inc.

  11. A Review of Mental Health and Mental Health Care Disparities Research: 2011-2014.

    PubMed

    Cook, Benjamin Lê; Hou, Sherry Shu-Yeu; Lee-Tauler, Su Yeon; Progovac, Ana Maria; Samson, Frank; Sanchez, Maria Jose

    2018-06-01

    Racial/ethnic minorities in the United States are more likely than Whites to have severe and persistent mental disorders and less likely to access mental health care. This comprehensive review evaluates studies of mental health and mental health care disparities funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to provide a benchmark for the 2015 NIMH revised strategic plan. A total of 615 articles were categorized into five pathways underlying mental health care and three pathways underlying mental health disparities. Identified studies demonstrate that socioeconomic mechanisms and demographic moderators of disparities in mental health status and treatment are well described, as are treatment options that support diverse patient needs. In contrast, there is a need for studies that focus on community- and policy-level predictors of mental health care disparities, link discrimination- and trauma-induced neurobiological pathways to disparities in mental illness, assess the cost effectiveness of disparities reduction programs, and scale up culturally adapted interventions.

  12. Epidemiology of mental health problems in female students: a questionnaire survey.

    PubMed

    Mokhtari, Mehdi; Dehghan, Somayeh Farhang; Asghari, Mehdi; Ghasembaklo, Uonees; Mohamadyari, Ghasem; Azadmanesh, Seyed Ali; Akbari, Elmira

    2013-06-01

    Mental health as a state of well-being can be affected by gender. The present work aims to examine the mental health status in female students and recognize its affecting factors. A cross-sectional study on female students of Payame-Noor University in West Azerbaijan, Iran, was conducted among 1632 students. Data collection tools were the demographic data and the General Health Questionnaires (GHQ-28). The results show that 51.5% of the population under study were healthy and 48.5% have had mental disorders. Based on the social effects on the mental health of students, the correlations between age (p=0.15), location (p=0.29) and parental education (p=0.34) with general health status were assessed and there were no significant differences between them. However, birth order (p<0.002), marital status (p<0.001) and family income (p<0.000) had significant differences with regard to mental health status. This study indicates that 43.6% of students are suspected to have mental and physical disorders, and the most effective factor is the socioeconomic condition. The strong correlation between birth order, marital status, and family income and mental health disorders suggests the necessity to pay more attention to all these issues in all at-risk students. Copyright © 2013 Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Predictors and course of vocational status, income, and quality of life in people with severe mental illness: a naturalistic study.

    PubMed

    Nordt, Carlos; Müller, Brigitte; Rössler, Wulf; Lauber, Christoph

    2007-10-01

    Due to high unemployment rates, people with mental illness are at risk of poverty and are deprived of the social and psychological functions of work, such as the provision of social support, structuring of time, and self-esteem, with a negative effect on their perceived quality of life (QoL). Two distinct processes are held responsible for the low work force participation of people with mental illness: 'Social underachievement' and 'social decline'. Social underachievement signifies that, due to early illness onset, the educational attainment of people with mental illness is low and entry to the labor market fails. Social decline, on the other hand, describes the loss of competitive employment after illness onset, followed by prolonged periods of unemployment and difficulties to re-enter the labor market. This study examines how social underachievement and decline are reflected in the course of vocational status, income, and QoL of people with severe mental illness in the years after a psychiatric admission in a naturalistic longitudinal design. A total of 176 participants diagnosed with schizophrenia or affective disorders were interviewed during an index hospitalization in two large psychiatric hospitals in Zurich. Follow-up interviews were conducted 12 and 30 months after. Random coefficient models (multilevel models) were used to examine simultaneously the predictors and course of the variables of interest. A low number of psychiatric hospitalizations, a higher educational degree, a diagnosis of schizophrenia, and years of work experience predicted a higher vocational status. Vocational status decreased in first-admission participants with prolonged hospitalizations during the follow-up period. Income did not change over time and was positively influenced by a higher age of illness onset, competitive employment, higher education, and not having had a longer hospitalization recently. Subjective QoL significantly improved and was rated higher by people with any

  14. Marital Status and Occupational Success Among Mental Health Professionals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marx, John H.; Spray, S. Lee

    1970-01-01

    Concludes that personal relations, professional experiences and occupational success form a network of relationships which integrate the occupational and nonoccupational roles of highly specialized practitioners. Part of a Study of Careers in the Mental Health Field, supported by National Institute of Mental Health Grant MH-09192 and directed by…

  15. Development of Mental Health Indicators in Korea

    PubMed Central

    Han, Hyeree; Ahn, Dong Hyun; Song, Jinhee; Hwang, Tae Yeon

    2012-01-01

    Objective Promoting mental health and preventing mental health problems are important tasks for international organizations and nations. Such goals entail the establishment of active information networks and effective systems and indicators to assess the mental health of populations. This being said, there is a need in Korea develop ways to measure the state of mental health in Korea. Methods This paper reviews the mental health indicator development policies and practices of seven organizations, countries, and regions: WHO, OECD, EU, United States, Australia, UK, and Scotland. Using Delphi method, we conducted two surveys of mental health indicators for experts in the field of mental health. The survey questionnaire included 5 domains: mental health status, mental health factor, mental health system, mental health service, and quality of mental health services. We considered 124 potential mental health indicators out of more than 600 from indicators of international organizations and foreign countries. Results We obtained the top 30 mental health indicators from the surveys. Among them, 10 indicators belong to the mental health system. The most important five mental health indicators are suicide rate, rate of increase in mental disorder treatment, burden caused by mental disorders, adequacy of identifying problems of mental health projects and deriving solutions, and annual prevalence of mental disorders. Conclusion Our study provides information about the process for indicator development and the use of survey results to measure the mental health status of the Korean population. The aim of mental health indicator development is to improve the mental health system by better grasping the current situation. We suggest these mental health indicators can monitor progress in efforts to implement reform policies, provide community services, and involve users, families and other stakeholders in mental health promotion, prevention, care and rehabilitation. PMID:23251193

  16. Is fibromyalgia-related oxidative stress implicated in the decline of physical and mental health status?

    PubMed

    La Rubia, Mercedes; Rus, Alma; Molina, Francisco; Del Moral, M Luisa

    2013-01-01

    Fibromyalgia (FM) is a form of non-articular rheumatism characterised by chronic widespread musculoskeletal aching. Although some works have investigated the possible role of oxidative stress in the pathophysiology of FM, none has analysed a significant number of oxidative markers in the same patients. Consequently, we have performed an exhaustive study of the oxidative/antioxidative status in FM patients and healthy controls, as well as the relationship with FM clinical parameters. In 45 female patients and 25 age-matched controls, we investigated the oxidative (lipid and protein peroxidation, and oxidative DNA damage) and antioxidative status (total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and antioxidant enzyme activities and compounds). Functional capacity and musculoskeletal pain were assessed by Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), respectively. The physical (PCS-12) and mental (MCS-12) health status was evaluated by SF-12. A significant increase in oxidative DNA damage and protein carbonyl content was found in FM patients vs. controls, as well as in antioxidant compounds such as copper and ceruloplasmin. Patients had diminished levels of TAC and zinc. Enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and catalase were lower in FM patients. Significant correlations were observed in patients between oxidative DNA damage and MCS-12, and zinc and PCS-12. These findings reveal an imbalance between oxidants and antioxidants in FM patients. The lower antioxidant enzyme activities may lead to oxidative stress through the oxidation of DNA and proteins, which may affect the health status of FM patients.

  17. Risk factors for early cytologic abnormalities after loop electrosurgical excision procedure.

    PubMed

    Dietrich, Charles S; Yancey, Michael K; Miyazawa, Kunio; Williams, David L; Farley, John

    2002-02-01

    To evaluate risk factors for early cytologic abnormalities and recurrent cervical dysplasia after loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP). A retrospective analysis was performed of all pathology records for LEEPs performed at our institution from January 1996 through July 1998. Follow-up cytology from 2 through 12 months after LEEP was reviewed. Patients with abnormal cytology were referred for further colposcopic evaluation. Statistical analysis using chi2 test for trend, proportional hazards model test, Fisher exact tests, and life table analysis were performed to identify risk factors for early cytologic abnormalities after LEEP and to determine relative risk of recurrent dysplasia. A total of 298 women underwent LEEP during the study period, and 29% of these had cytologic abnormalities after LEEP. Grade of dysplasia, ectocervical marginal status, endocervical marginal status, and glandular involvement with dysplasia were not found to be independent risk factors for early cytologic abnormalities. However, when risk factors were analyzed cumulatively, the abnormal cytology rate increased from 24% with no risk factors to 67% with three risk factors present (P =.037). Of patients with abnormal cytology after LEEP, 40% developed subsequent dysplasia, and the mean time to diagnosis was approximately 6 months. The relative risk of subsequent dysplasia ranged from a 20% increase to twice the risk if post-LEEP cytology was low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion or high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion, respectively. Based on these results, consideration should be given for early colposcopic examination of patients who have evidence of marginal involvement or endocervical glandular involvement with dysplasia. These patients are at increased risk for abnormal cytology and recurrent dysplasia. This initial visit should occur at 6 months, as the mean time to recurrence of dysplasia was 6.5 months.

  18. Mental health trajectories from childhood to young adulthood affect the educational and employment status of young adults: results from the TRAILS study.

    PubMed

    Veldman, Karin; Reijneveld, Sijmen A; Ortiz, Josue Almansa; Verhulst, Frank C; Bültmann, Ute

    2015-06-01

    Young adults at work without basic educational level (BEL), and young adults in Neither Employment, Education nor Training (NEET) are at high risk of adverse employment outcomes. Evidence lacks on the impact of mental health problems during childhood, adolescence and young adulthood on employment outcomes of young adults. Therefore, the aims of this study were to (1) identify trajectories of mental health problems from childhood to young adulthood and (2) investigate the relation between these trajectories and the educational or employment status of young adults. Data were used from the Tracking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS), a Dutch prospective cohort study with 9-year follow-up. Trajectories of mental health problems measured at ages 11, 13.5, 16 and 19 years were identified in 1711 young adults with latent class growth models. Young adults with high-stable trajectories of total problems, from childhood to young adulthood, were more likely to work without BEL or be in NEET at age 19, than to be at school or to work with BEL (28.0% vs 16.0%, p=0.01). The same was found for externalising problems (35.3% vs 23.2%, p=0.02). For internalising and attention problems, no statistically significant differences were found. Young adults with high-stable trajectories of mental health problems from age 11 to 19, were at risk of adverse employment outcomes. Interventions reducing mental health problems in childhood may improve the educational or employment status of young adults and their chances for successfully entering the labour market. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  19. Self-perceived health status, gender, and work status.

    PubMed

    Pino-Domínguez, Lara; Navarro-Gil, Patricia; González-Vélez, Abel E; Prieto-Flores, Maria-Eugenia; Ayala, Alba; Rojo-Pérez, Fermina; Fernández-Mayoralas, Gloria; Martínez-Martín, Pablo; Forjaz, Maria João

    2016-01-01

    This study analyzes the relationship between gender and self-perceived health status in Spanish retirees and housewives from a sample of 1,106 community-dwelling older adults. A multivariate linear regression model was used in which self-perceived health status was measured by the EQ-5D visual analogue scale and gender according to work status (retired men and women and housewives). Retired males reported a significantly better health status than housewives. Self-perceived health status was closely associated with physical, mental, and functional health and leisure activities. Finally, being a woman with complete dedication to domestic work is associated with a worse state of self-perceived health.

  20. The mental health status of ethnocultural minorities in Ontario and their mental health care.

    PubMed

    Grace, Sherry L; Tan, Yongyao; Cribbie, Robert A; Nguyen, Han; Ritvo, Paul; Irvine, Jane

    2016-02-26

    Mental disorders are a leading cause of disability and early mortality. The objective of this study was to describe and compare psychosocial indicators and mental health service use among ethnoculturally-diverse Ontarians. This is a cross-sectional analysis of the Ontario Health Study pilot investigation. Residents were mailed an invitation to one of 3 assessment centres (urban, rural and northern sites) from March 2009 to July 2010. Participants had an interview with a nurse and completed a questionnaire on a touchscreen kiosk. The questionnaire included sociodemographic items, and scales assessing symptoms of depressive symptoms (CES-D) and anxiety (GAD-7), social support (Lubben Social Network Scale), stressful life events, and mental health service use. Eight thousand two hundred thirty-five residents participated, among whom 6652 (82.4 %) self-reported their ethnocultural background as White, 225 (2.8 %) as South Asian, 222 (2.8 %) East Asian, 214 (2.7 %) Southeast Asian, 197 (2.4 %) Black, and 28 (0.3 %) as Aboriginal. Based on their sociodemographic characteristics, participants from these ethnocultural minority groups were matched to White participants. Black participants reported significantly greater stressful life events than White participants (p = .04), particularly death (p < .05), divorce (p = .002) and financial difficulties (p < .001). East Asian participants reported significantly less social support than their White counterparts (p < .001), and this was not confounded by measurement variance. Mental health service use was significantly lower in all ethnocultural minorities except Aboriginals, when compared to White participants (p = .001). There is a high burden of psychosocial distress in several preponderant ethnocultural minorities in Ontario; many of whom are not accessing available mental health services.

  1. Characteristics of elderly fall patients with baseline mental status: high-risk features for intracranial injury.

    PubMed

    Hamden, Khalief; Agresti, Darin; Jeanmonod, Rebecca; Woods, Dexter; Reiter, Mark; Jeanmonod, Donald

    2014-08-01

    Falls are a major cause of morbidity in the elderly. We describe the low-acuity elderly fall population and study which historical and clinical features predict traumatic intracranial injuries (ICIs). This is a prospective observational study of patients at least 65 years old presenting with fall to a tertiary care facility. Patients were eligible if they were at baseline mental status and were not triaged to the trauma bay. At presentation, a data form was completed by treating physicians regarding mechanism and position of fall, history of head strike, headache, loss of consciousness (LOC), and signs of head trauma. Radiographic imaging was obtained at the discretion of treating physicians. Medical records were subsequently reviewed to determine imaging results. All patients were called in follow-up at 30 days to determine outcome in those not imaged. The study was institutional review board approved. A total of 799 patients were enrolled; 79.5% of patients underwent imaging. Twenty-seven had ICIs (3.4%). Fourteen had subdural hematoma, 7 had subarachnoid hemorrhage, 3 had cerebral contusion, and 3 had a combination of injuries. Logistic regression demonstrated 2 study variables that were associated with ICIs: LOC (odds ratio, 2.8; confidence interval, 1.2-6.3) and signs of head trauma (odds ratio, 13.2; confidence interval, 2.7-64.1). History of head strike, mechanism and position, headache, and anticoagulant and antiplatelet use were not associated with ICIs. Elderly fall patients who are at their baseline mental status have a low incidence of ICIs. The best predictors of ICIs are physical findings of trauma to the head and history of LOC. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Validation of a Chinese version of the stress overload scale-short and its use as a screening tool for mental health status.

    PubMed

    Duan, Wenjie; Mu, Wenlong

    2018-02-01

    Although stress emerges when environmental demands exceed personal resources, existing measurement methods for stress focus only on one aspect. The newly-developed Short Stress Overload Scale (SOS-S) assesses the extent of stress by assessing both event load (i.e., environmental demands) and personal vulnerability (i.e., personal resources). The present study was designed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of Stress Overload Scale-Short (SOS-SC), and further examine its roles in screening mental health status. A total of 1364 participants were recruited from communities and colleges for scale validation. Reliabilities were good throughout the subsamples (ω > 0.80). Confirmatory factor analysis indicated the acceptable goodness-of-fit for the two-factor correlated model (Sample 1: 560 community residents). Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis confirmed measurement invariance across community residents (Sample 1) and college students (Sample 2 and Sample 3). Criterion validity and convergent validity were established (Sample 2: 554 college students). Latent moderated structural equations demonstrated that the relationship between SOS-SC and depression is moderated by social support (Sample 2), further validating the SOS-SC. In addition, the SOS-SC effectively screened individuals in a population at different levels of mental health status (i.e., "at risk" vs. "at low risk" for depression symptoms and/or wellbeing). The SOS-SC exhibits acceptable psychometric properties in the Chinese context. That said, the two aspects of stress can be differentiated by the Chinese context, therefore, the SOS-SC can be used to measure stress and screen mental health status among the Chinese population, and monitor and evaluate health-promoting interventions.

  3. Vitamin D Status, Bone Mineral Density and Mental Health in Young Australian Women: The Safe-D Study.

    PubMed

    Callegari, Emma T; Reavley, Nicola; Garland, Suzanne M; Gorelik, Alexandra; Wark, John D

    2015-11-17

    Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with both poor bone health and mental ill-health. More recently, a number of studies have found individuals with depressive symptoms tend to have reduced bone mineral density. To explore the interrelationships between vitamin D status, bone mineral density and mental-ill health we are assessing a range of clinical, behavioural and lifestyle factors in young women (Part A of the Safe-D study). Part A of the Safe-D study is a cross-sectional study aiming to recruit 468 young females aged 16-25 years living in Victoria, Australia, through Facebook advertising. Participants are required to complete an extensive, online questionnaire, wear an ultra-violet dosimeter for 14 consecutive days and attend a study site visit. Outcome measures include areal bone mineral measures at the lumbar spine, total hip and whole body, as well as soft tissue composition using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. Trabecular and cortical volumetric bone density at the tibia is measured using peripheral quantitative computed tomography. Other tests include serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, serum biochemistry and a range of health markers. Details of mood disorder/s and depressive and anxiety symptoms are obtained by self-report. Cutaneous melanin density is measured by spectrophotometry. The findings of this cross-sectional study will have implications for health promotion in young women and for clinical care of those with vitamin D deficiency and/or mental ill-health. Optimising both vitamin D status and mental health may protect against poor bone health and fractures in later life. Significance for public healthVitamin D deficiency, depression and osteoporosis are all major public health issues. Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with both reduced bone mineral density and depressive symptoms. Moreover, cohort studies have found that subjects with depression have lower bone mineral density when compared to healthy controls. Early adulthood is a critical

  4. Sleep duration's association with diet, physical activity, mental status, and weight among Korean high school students.

    PubMed

    Lee, Jounghee

    2017-01-01

    Sleep deprivation is a critical public health problem, especially in Korean adolescents. This study aimed to identify the association between sleep duration and dietary behaviors, physical activity, mental status, and nutritional status among high school students in South Korea. Based on the data collected from the 2014 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey, 31,407 high school students who met the inclusion criteria were selected and the association between sleep duration and selected health risk factors was identified using multivariable logistic regression models. The average daily sleep duration was 5.7 hours, and the mean BMI was 21.3 kg/m2. Participants with shorter durations of sleep (<7 hours versus >=7 hours of sleep) were more likely to feel sad or hopeless (adjusted OR, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.00-1.18), have suicidal ideation (adjusted OR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.01-1.27), and feel much or very much stressed (adjusted OR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.66-2.00). Moreover, shorter sleep was associated with less frequent muscle-strengthening exercises, >=3 times per week (adjusted OR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.78-0.94), and more frequent cracker consumption, >=3 times per week (adjusted OR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.13-1.35). High school students in South Korea suffer from extreme sleep deprivation; only 16% of the students were found to have >=7 hours of sleep during weekdays. Sleep education should be provided to students to improve their physical and mental health.

  5. Mental and Behavioral Symptoms of Person's with Asperger's Syndrome: Relationships with Social Isolation and Handicaps

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tani, Masayuki; Kanai, Chieko; Ota, Haruhisa; Yamada, Takashi; Watanabe, Hiromi; Yokoi, Hideki; Takayama, Yuko; Ono, Taisei; Hashimoto, Ryuichiro; Kato, Nobumasa; Iwanami, Akira

    2012-01-01

    People with Asperger's syndrome (AS) experience mental comorbidities, and behavioral symptoms that can deepen social isolation and handicaps. We compared the frequency of mental and behavioral symptoms, motor abnormality, and life history between adults with AS and those with no mental disorders but with disturbance of social functions and…

  6. High Frequency of Neuroimaging Abnormalities Among Pediatric Patients With Sepsis Who Undergo Neuroimaging.

    PubMed

    Sandquist, Mary K; Clee, Mark S; Patel, Smruti K; Howard, Kelli A; Yunger, Toni; Nagaraj, Usha D; Jones, Blaise V; Fei, Lin; Vadivelu, Sudhakar; Wong, Hector R

    2017-07-01

    This study was intended to describe and correlate the neuroimaging findings in pediatric patients after sepsis. Retrospective chart review. Single tertiary care PICU. Patients admitted to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center with a discharge diagnosis of sepsis or septic shock between 2004 and 2013 were crossmatched with patients who underwent neuroimaging during the same time period. All neuroimaging studies that occurred during or subsequent to a septic event were reviewed, and all new imaging findings were recorded and classified. As many patients experienced multiple septic events and/or had multiple neuroimaging studies after sepsis, our statistical analysis utilized the most recent or "final" imaging study available for each patient so that only brain imaging findings that persisted were included. A total of 389 children with sepsis and 1,705 concurrent or subsequent neuroimaging studies were included in the study. Median age at first septic event was 3.4 years (interquartile range, 0.7-11.5). Median time from first sepsis event to final neuroimaging was 157 days (interquartile range, 10-1,054). The most common indications for final imaging were follow-up (21%), altered mental status (18%), and fever/concern for infection (15%). Sixty-three percentage (n = 243) of final imaging studies demonstrated abnormal findings, the most common of which were volume loss (39%) and MRI signal and/or CT attenuation abnormalities (21%). On multivariable logistic regression, highest Pediatric Risk of Mortality score and presence of oncologic diagnosis/organ transplantation were independently associated with any abnormal final neuroimaging study findings (odds ratio, 1.032; p = 0.048 and odds ratio, 1.632; p = 0.041), although early timing of neuroimaging demonstrated a negative association (odds ratio, 0.606; p = 0.039). The most common abnormal finding of volume loss was independently associated with highest Pediatric Risk of Mortality score (odds ratio, 1.037; p

  7. Disentangling immigrant status in mental health: psychological protective and risk factors among Latino and Asian American immigrants.

    PubMed

    Leong, Frederick; Park, Yong S; Kalibatseva, Zornitsa

    2013-01-01

    This study aimed to disentangle the psychological mechanisms underlying immigrant status by testing a model of psychological protective and risk factors to predict the mental health prevalence rates among Latino and Asian American immigrants based on secondary analysis of the National Latino and Asian American Study. The first research question examined differences on the set of protective and risk factors between immigrants and their U.S.-born counterparts and found that immigrants reported higher levels of ethnic identity, family cohesion, native language proficiency, and limited English proficiency than their U.S.-born counterparts. The second research question examined the effect of the protective and risk factors on prevalence rates of depressive, anxiety, and substance-related disorders and found that social networking served as a protective factor. Discrimination, acculturative stress, and family conflict were risk factors on the mental health for both ethnic groups. Clinical implications and directions for future research are provided. © 2013 American Orthopsychiatric Association.

  8. Contribution of job strain, job status and marital status to laboratory and ambulatory blood pressure in patients with mild hypertension.

    PubMed

    Blumenthal, J A; Thyrum, E T; Siegel, W C

    1995-02-01

    The effects of job strain, occupational status, and marital status on blood pressure were evaluated in 99 men and women with mild hypertension. Blood pressure was measured during daily life at home and at work over 15 h of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. On a separate day, blood pressure was measured in the laboratory during mental stress testing. As expected, during daily life, blood pressure was higher at work than at home. High job strain was associated with elevated systolic blood pressure among women, but not men. However, both men and women with high status occupations had significantly higher blood pressures during daily life and during laboratory mental stress testing. This was especially true for men, in that men with high job status had higher systolic blood pressures than low job status men. Marital status also was an important moderating variable, particularly for women, with married women having higher ambulatory blood pressures than single women. During mental stress testing, married persons had higher systolic blood pressures than unmarried individuals. These data suggest that occupational status and marital status may contribute even more than job strain to variations in blood pressure during daily life and laboratory testing.

  9. Level of functioning, perceived work ability, and work status among psychiatric patients with major mental disorders.

    PubMed

    Karpov, B; Joffe, G; Aaltonen, K; Suvisaari, J; Baryshnikov, I; Näätänen, P; Koivisto, M; Melartin, T; Oksanen, J; Suominen, K; Heikkinen, M; Isometsä, E

    2017-07-01

    Major mental disorders are highly disabling conditions that result in substantial socioeconomic burden. Subjective and objective measures of functioning or ability to work, their concordance, or risk factors for them may differ between disorders. Self-reported level of functioning, perceived work ability, and current work status were evaluated among psychiatric care patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (SSA, n=113), bipolar disorder (BD, n=99), or depressive disorder (DD, n=188) within the Helsinki University Psychiatric Consortium Study. Correlates of functional impairment, subjective work disability, and occupational status were investigated using regression analysis. DD patients reported the highest and SSA patients the lowest perceived functional impairment. Depressive symptoms in all diagnostic groups and anxiety in SSA and BD groups were significantly associated with disability. Only 5.3% of SSA patients versus 29.3% or 33.0% of BD or DD patients, respectively, were currently working. About half of all patients reported subjective work disability. Objective work status and perceived disability correlated strongly among BD and DD patients, but not among SSA patients. Work status was associated with number of hospitalizations, and perceived work disability with current depressive symptoms. Psychiatric care patients commonly end up outside the labour force. However, while among patients with mood disorders objective and subjective indicators of ability to work are largely concordant, among those with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder they are commonly contradictory. Among all groups, perceived functional impairment and work disability are coloured by current depressive symptoms, but objective work status reflects illness course, particularly preceding psychiatric hospitalizations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  10. Changes in Risk Perception of the Health Effects of Radiation and Mental Health Status: The Fukushima Health Management Survey.

    PubMed

    Suzuki, Yuriko; Takebayashi, Yoshitake; Yasumura, Seiji; Murakami, Michio; Harigane, Mayumi; Yabe, Hirooki; Ohira, Tetsuya; Ohtsuru, Akira; Nakajima, Satomi; Maeda, Masaharu

    2018-06-10

    After the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, numerous evacuees reported poor mental health status and high-risk perceptions of the health effects of radiation. However, the temporal associations between these variables have not yet been examined. Using data from the Fukushima Health Survey, we examined changes in risk perception of the health effects of radiation over time and assessed the effects of mental health on such changes using logistic regression analysis. Risk perception for delayed effect pertains a brief on health effect in later life (delayed effect), whereas that of genetic effect pertains a brief on health effect of future children and grandchildren (genetic effect). We found that many participants showed consistently high or low-risk perceptions over all three study years (2011⁻2013) (for delayed effect: 59% and 41% of participants were in the low and high-risk perception groups, respectively; for genetic effect: 47% and 53%, respectively). Stronger traumatic reactions (≥50 on the PTSD Checklist⁻Specific) significantly affected the odds of being in the high-risk perception group for the delayed and genetic effects, with the associations being strongest soon after the disaster: The adjusted ORs (95%CIs) were 2.05 (1.82⁻2.31), 1.86 (1.61⁻2.15), and 1.88 (1.62⁻2.17) for the delayed effect in 2011, 2012, and 2013, respectively, and 2.18 (1.92⁻2.48), 2.05 (1.75⁻2.40), and 1.82 (1.55⁻2.15) for the genetic effect. As initial mental health status had the strongest impact on later risk perceptions of radiation, it should be considered in early response and communication efforts.

  11. Abnormal cortical sources of resting state electroencephalographic rhythms in single treatment-naïve HIV individuals: A statistical z-score index.

    PubMed

    Babiloni, Claudio; Pennica, Alfredo; Del Percio, Claudio; Noce, Giuseppe; Cordone, Susanna; Muratori, Chiara; Ferracuti, Stefano; Donato, Nicole; Di Campli, Francesco; Gianserra, Laura; Teti, Elisabetta; Aceti, Antonio; Soricelli, Andrea; Viscione, Magdalena; Limatola, Cristina; Andreoni, Massimo; Onorati, Paolo

    2016-03-01

    This study tested a simple statistical procedure to recognize single treatment-naïve HIV individuals having abnormal cortical sources of resting state delta (<4 Hz) and alpha (8-13 Hz) electroencephalographic (EEG) rhythms with reference to a control group of sex-, age-, and education-matched healthy individuals. Compared to the HIV individuals with a statistically normal EEG marker, those with abnormal values were expected to show worse cognitive status. Resting state eyes-closed EEG data were recorded in 82 treatment-naïve HIV (39.8 ys.±1.2 standard error mean, SE) and 59 age-matched cognitively healthy subjects (39 ys.±2.2 SE). Low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) estimated delta and alpha sources in frontal, central, temporal, parietal, and occipital cortical regions. Ratio of the activity of parietal delta and high-frequency alpha sources (EEG marker) showed the maximum difference between the healthy and the treatment-naïve HIV group. Z-score of the EEG marker was statistically abnormal in 47.6% of treatment-naïve HIV individuals with reference to the healthy group (p<0.05). Compared to the HIV individuals with a statistically normal EEG marker, those with abnormal values exhibited lower mini mental state evaluation (MMSE) score, higher CD4 count, and lower viral load (p<0.05). This statistical procedure permitted for the first time to identify single treatment-naïve HIV individuals having abnormal EEG activity. This procedure might enrich the detection and monitoring of effects of HIV on brain function in single treatment-naïve HIV individuals. Copyright © 2015 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Epidemiological survey of mental health in adolescent school children of Gujarat, India.

    PubMed

    Nair, Sandhya; Ganjiwale, Jaishree; Kharod, Nikhil; Varma, Jagdish; Nimbalkar, Somashekhar Marutirao

    2017-01-01

    Mental health problems in adolescents are inadequately researched in low-resource settings. We aimed in this study to assess the prevalence of mental health problems and correlates in school children aged 13-17 years and compare differences between urban and rural schools in Anand District, Gujarat. A cross-sectional study was conducted in five Gujarati medium higher secondary schools in Anand, Gujarat. Six hundred and ninety-three students with equal distribution of boys and girls belonging to 9th to 12th grades were included in the study. Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was used to assess the mental health status of the students, and total difficulties scoring was used to categorise participants into normal (0-15) and high (borderline (16-19) and abnormal (20-40)). Socio-demographic data and Teenage Screening Questionnaire-Trivandrum (TSQ) were used to assess associated medical and psychosocial factors. Clearance was obtained from the institutional ethics committee before conducting the study. 15% participants had a high SDQ score. Girls had more emotional problems, while the rest of the mental health problems were more prevalent in boys. Rural children were found to have more mental health issues. Having an eye problem, scoring <50% in last annual examinations, failure in examinations, difficulties in studying at home and difficulties in relationships were associated with high SDQ score. Keeping physically fit and having friends were associated with normal SDQ score. Logistic regression model revealed that age, receiving punishment in form of more homework and difficulty discussing friends with parents increased odds of high SDQ score, while having friends and after-school entertainment like watching movies decreased odds of high SDQ score. At least one in eight adolescents in this study was at risk of mental health problems. SDQ self-report questionnaire and TSQ survey may be used as a screening modality to identify at-risk students.

  13. The psychosocial impact of an abnormal cervical smear result.

    PubMed

    Drolet, Mélanie; Brisson, Marc; Maunsell, Elizabeth; Franco, Eduardo L; Coutlée, François; Ferenczy, Alex; Fisher, William; Mansi, James A

    2012-10-01

    Data on the impact of abnormal cervical smear results on health-related quality of life (HrQoL) are scarce. We aimed to (i) prospectively assess the HrQoL of women who were informed of an abnormal smear result; (ii) identify predictors of greater negative psychosocial impact of an abnormal result; and (iii) prospectively estimate the quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) lost following an abnormal result. Between 08/2006 and 08/2008, 492 women with an abnormal result and 460 women with a normal result, frequency matched for age and clinic, were recruited across Canada. HrQoL was measured at recruitment and 4 and 12 weeks later with the EuroQol, Short Form-12, short Spielberg State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and HPV Impact Profile. Three blocks of potential predictors of higher psychosocial impact were tested by hierarchical modeling: (i) socio-demographics; (ii) sexual activity; and (iii) smear result severity, communication, and understanding. Receiving an abnormal result significantly increased anxiety (STAI mean difference between both groups = 8.3). Initial anxiety decreased over time for the majority of women. However, 35% of women had clinically meaningful anxiety at 12 weeks (i.e. STAI scores ≥0.5 standard deviation of the controls). These women reported a lower socio-economic level, did not completely understand the information about their result and perceived themselves at higher risk of cancer. QALY lost following an abnormal result were between 0.007 and 0.009. Receiving an abnormal smear has a statistically significant and clinically meaningful negative impact on mental health. However, this negative impact subsides after 12 weeks for the majority of women. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  14. The impact of mental health on labour market outcomes in China.

    PubMed

    Lu, Chunling; Frank, Richard G; Liu, Yuanli; Shen, Jian

    2009-09-01

    Mental illnesses account for 20% of the total burden of disease in China. Yet, health policy in China has not devoted much attention to mental health problems and their impact on Chinese society. The objective of this paper is to investigate the impact of mental health status on labour market outcomes, such as employment and income, and provide evidence about some of the economic consequences of mental illnesses. Using the China Health Surveillance Baseline 2001 Survey and an instrumental variables estimation approach, we address possible reverse causation between work and mental health. To estimate the impact of self-reported mental health status, we use the two-part model, the first part estimating a logit equation for the probability of being employed and the second-part estimating an ordinary least squares (OLS) model on the log of individual income condition on being employed. We use a list of symptoms of mental disorders to constitute a measure of mental health status. Our identification strategy relies on instruments that measure average mental health status by zip code other than the observed individual to implement an instrumental variables model. Both men and women suffer a significant reduction in the employment rate and annual income if the average mental health deteriorates at a population level. The mental health index has a positive and significant effect on the likelihood of being employed. Our findings are consistent with what has been found in industrialised countries. This is the first empirical study that reveals that poor mental health status can be disruptive of labour market activities in China. A rapid rise of mental and behavioural problems in population reflects the transition to a market economy and indicates pressing problems that have gone unrecognised and unaddressed. The negative economic consequences in labour market outcomes suggest a potential gain from preventing and curing the mental disorder. Our study about the impact of mental

  15. 32 CFR 726.7 - Status of pay account.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 5 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Status of pay account. 726.7 Section 726.7... MENTALLY INCOMPETENT MEMBERS OF THE NAVAL SERVICE § 726.7 Status of pay account. Upon notification by the... mentally incapable of managing his financial affairs, DFAS-CL(CGA) will suspend the member's pay...

  16. Interrelationships of adult attachment orientations, health status and worrying among fibromyalgia patients.

    PubMed

    Oliveira, Paula; Costa, Maria Emilía

    2009-11-01

    This study examined associations between adult attachment dimensions, perceived health status and worrying (coping strategy with chronic pain), and explored whether worrying mediated observed relationships between attachment dimensions and health outcomes within a sample of 128 Portuguese female fibromyalgia patients. Physical health status was inversely correlated with dependence and worrying; mental health status was positively correlated with trust, and inversely related to attachment-related ambivalence, dependence and worrying. Finally, worrying mediated relationships between dependence and both physical and mental health status; moreover, worrying partially mediated the relationship between ambivalence and mental health status. Implications of the findings are discussed.

  17. Current status of yoga in mental health services.

    PubMed

    Varambally, Shivarama; Gangadhar, B N

    2016-06-01

    Yoga (derived from 'yuj' which means to yoke together or unite) has been used for millennia as a tool for self-improvement, with the ultimate goal of uniting the individual consciousness with the universal. The physical elements of yoga, although seen as necessary in the path to achieve the goal, they were not considered as the endpoint for a practitioner. Sage Patanjali, who codified the practices into an eight-limbed model (Ashtanga yoga) in the Patanjali Yoga Sutras, makes it clear that the target of yoga is primarily the mind. However, in the modern world, yoga practices have become immensely popular as aids to improve health. Yoga-based practices are being extensively used as therapeutic ingredients, alone or as adjuncts to other therapies in a variety of disorders, both physical and mental. There is now strong evidence to suggest that yoga-based interventions are beneficial in several lifestyle disorders. Recent research has also shown significant benefits in mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, and psychosis. This paper discusses the place of yoga as one of the therapeutic strategies in the holistic approach to mental disorders, and the challenges inherent to research in this area.

  18. Subjective Social Status, Mental and Psychosocial Health, and Birth Weight Differences in Mexican-American and Mexican Immigrant Women.

    PubMed

    Fleuriet, K Jill; Sunil, T S

    2015-12-01

    Recent Mexican immigrant women on average have an unexpectedly low incidence of low birth weight (LBW). Birth weights decline and LBW incidence increases in post-immigrant generations. This pilot project tested the hypothesis that subjective social status (SSS) of pregnant women predicts variation in birth weight between Mexican immigrant and Mexican-American women. 300 low-income pregnant Mexican immigrant and Mexican-American women in South Texas were surveyed for SSS, depression, pregnancy-related anxiety, perceived social stress and self-esteem and subsequent birth weight. No significant difference in SSS levels between pregnant Mexican immigrant and Mexican-American women were found. However, SSS better predicted variation in birth weight across both groups than mental and psychosocial health variables. Results suggest distinct relationships among SSS, mental and psychosocial health that could impact birth weight. They underscore the relevance of a multilevel, biopsychosocial analytical framework to studying LBW.

  19. A wearable neuro-feedback system with EEG-based mental status monitoring and transcranial electrical stimulation.

    PubMed

    Roh, Taehwan; Song, Kiseok; Cho, Hyunwoo; Shin, Dongjoo; Yoo, Hoi-Jun

    2014-12-01

    A wearable neuro-feedback system is proposed with a low-power neuro-feedback SoC (NFS), which supports mental status monitoring with encephalography (EEG) and transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) for neuro-modulation. Self-configured independent component analysis (ICA) is implemented to accelerate source separation at low power. Moreover, an embedded support vector machine (SVM) enables online source classification, configuring the ICA accelerator adaptively depending on the types of the decomposed components. Owing to the hardwired accelerating functions, the NFS dissipates only 4.45 mW to yield 16 independent components. For non-invasive neuro-modulation, tES stimulation up to 2 mA is implemented on the SoC. The NFS is fabricated in 130-nm CMOS technology.

  20. Mental health promotion and the prevention of mental disorders in South Africa.

    PubMed

    Petersen, I; Bhana, A; Swartz, L

    2012-11-01

    The need for greater attention to mental health promotion and the prevention of mental disorders in South Africa is highlighted by the cycle of poverty and mental ill-health, the potential for social gains, the question of affordability of treatment in the face of the increasing burden of mental disorders, and the limitations of existing treatment methods. This article, which provides a desk review of the current status of mental health promotion and prevention of mental disorders in South Africa, suggests that South Africa has a number of policies that bode well for promoting mental health from infancy through to old age. There is, however, a need for programmatic interventions to promote resilience in vulnerable populations. Of note, is the need for programmes to address maternal depression and strengthen attachment and psychosocial stimulation during infancy, strengthen families, promote health enhancing school environments, and address intimate partner violence and build health enhancing social capital. Given the multifaceted nature of risk and protective influences, the need for a multi-sectoral plan of action is highlighted.

  1. A Volunteer Program for Abnormal Psychology Students: Eighteen Years and Still Going Strong.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Scogin, Forrest; Rickard, Henry C.

    1987-01-01

    A volunteer experience in abnormal psychology is described. The program has been operating for 18 years, and student reactions have been quite positive. The program augments the traditional course offerings and provides reciprocal service for the University of Alabama and mental health facilities. Guidelines for implementing a volunteer program…

  2. Enhanced conversion of induced neuronal cells (iN cells) from human fibroblasts: utility in uncovering cellular deficits in mental illness-associated chromosomal abnormalities

    PubMed Central

    Passeri, Eleonora; Wilson, Ashley M.; Primerano, Amedeo; Kondo, Mari A.; Sengupta, Srona; Srivastava, Rupali; Koga, Minori; Obie, Cassandra; Zandi, Peter P.; Goes, Fernando S.; Valle, David; Rapoport, Judith L.; Sawa, Akira; Kano, Shin-ichi; Ishizuka, Koko

    2016-01-01

    The novel technology of induced neuronal cells (iN cells) is promising for translational neuroscience, as it allows the conversion of human fibroblasts into cells with postmitotic neuronal traits. However, a major technical barrier is the low conversion rate. To overcome this problem, we optimized the conversion media. Using our improved formulation, we studied how major mental illness-associated chromosomal abnormalities may impact the characteristics of iN cells. We demonstrated that our new iN cell culture protocol enabled us to obtain more precise measurement of neuronal cellular phenotypes than previous iN cell methods. Thus, this iN cell culture provides a platform to efficiently obtain possible cellular phenotypes caused by genetic differences, which can be more thoroughly studied in research using other human cell models such as induced pluripotent stem cells. PMID:26260244

  3. How Abnormal Is the Behaviour of Captive, Zoo-Living Chimpanzees?

    PubMed Central

    Birkett, Lucy P.; Newton-Fisher, Nicholas E.

    2011-01-01

    Background Many captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) show a variety of serious behavioural abnormalities, some of which have been considered as possible signs of compromised mental health. The provision of environmental enrichments aimed at reducing the performance of abnormal behaviours is increasing the norm, with the housing of individuals in (semi-)natural social groups thought to be the most successful of these. Only a few quantitative studies of abnormal behaviour have been conducted, however, particularly for the captive population held in zoological collections. Consequently, a clear picture of the level of abnormal behaviour in zoo-living chimpanzees is lacking. Methods We present preliminary findings from a detailed observational study of the behaviour of 40 socially-housed zoo-living chimpanzees from six collections in the United States of America and the United Kingdom. We determined the prevalence, diversity, frequency, and duration of abnormal behaviour from 1200 hours of continuous behavioural data collected by focal animal sampling. Results, Conclusion and Significance Our overall finding was that abnormal behaviour was present in all sampled individuals across six independent groups of zoo-living chimpanzees, despite the differences between these groups in size, composition, housing, etc. We found substantial variation between individuals in the frequency and duration of abnormal behaviour, but all individuals engaged in at least some abnormal behaviour and variation across individuals could not be explained by sex, age, rearing history or background (defined as prior housing conditions). Our data support a conclusion that, while most behaviour of zoo-living chimpanzees is ‘normal’ in that it is typical of their wild counterparts, abnormal behaviour is endemic in this population despite enrichment efforts. We suggest there is an urgent need to understand how the chimpanzee mind copes with captivity, an issue with both scientific and welfare

  4. How abnormal is the behaviour of captive, zoo-living chimpanzees?

    PubMed

    Birkett, Lucy P; Newton-Fisher, Nicholas E

    2011-01-01

    Many captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) show a variety of serious behavioural abnormalities, some of which have been considered as possible signs of compromised mental health. The provision of environmental enrichments aimed at reducing the performance of abnormal behaviours is increasing the norm, with the housing of individuals in (semi-)natural social groups thought to be the most successful of these. Only a few quantitative studies of abnormal behaviour have been conducted, however, particularly for the captive population held in zoological collections. Consequently, a clear picture of the level of abnormal behaviour in zoo-living chimpanzees is lacking. We present preliminary findings from a detailed observational study of the behaviour of 40 socially-housed zoo-living chimpanzees from six collections in the United States of America and the United Kingdom. We determined the prevalence, diversity, frequency, and duration of abnormal behaviour from 1200 hours of continuous behavioural data collected by focal animal sampling. Our overall finding was that abnormal behaviour was present in all sampled individuals across six independent groups of zoo-living chimpanzees, despite the differences between these groups in size, composition, housing, etc. We found substantial variation between individuals in the frequency and duration of abnormal behaviour, but all individuals engaged in at least some abnormal behaviour and variation across individuals could not be explained by sex, age, rearing history or background (defined as prior housing conditions). Our data support a conclusion that, while most behaviour of zoo-living chimpanzees is 'normal' in that it is typical of their wild counterparts, abnormal behaviour is endemic in this population despite enrichment efforts. We suggest there is an urgent need to understand how the chimpanzee mind copes with captivity, an issue with both scientific and welfare implications.

  5. Dysphagia and nutritional status in multiple sclerosis.

    PubMed

    Thomas, F J; Wiles, C M

    1999-08-01

    In this observational study of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) admitted to a regional neurology centre we assessed the frequency of dysphagia (objectively defined), dysphagia related symptoms, bulbar signs and nutritional status. We studied 79 consecutive admissions with MS (24 at diagnostic admission and 55 more advanced cases admitted for treatment and/or rehabilitation): normative swallowing data were from 181 healthy controls. Swallowing symptoms and signs were semi-quantitatively measured and compared to healthy controls. Dysphagia was defined by a quantitative water test. Disability was determined by Kurtzke's Expanded Disability Status Scale and Barthel's index. Nutritional status was assessed by body mass index, estimated percentage body fat from skin fold thickness measurements at four sites, a global evaluation of nutrition, the presence of pressure sores and the pressure sore risk using the Waterlow score. Patients with MS were more likely to complain of abnormal swallowing, of coughing when eating, and of food 'going down the wrong way' than healthy controls (P < 0.005). These significantly associated symptoms had high specificity but relatively low sensitivity. 43% of patients had abnormal swallowing, almost half of whom did not complain of it: abnormal swallowing was associated with several factors including abnormal brainstem/cerebellar function, disability, vital capacity, and depression score. Those with abnormal swallowing had higher Waterlow scores (P < 0.001), but, overall, abnormal swallowing was not associated with a difference in nutritional indices or incidence of pressure sores. In summary, abnormal swallowing is common in MS although often not complained of. It is associated with disordered brainstem/cerebellar function, overall disability, depressed mood and low vital capacity. It was not associated with major nutritional failure or pressure sores in this study.

  6. [Nutritional status in patients with recurrent glioblastoma].

    PubMed

    Gokcek, D; Tran, J-D; Gonzalez-Aguilar, A; Alentorn, A; Liou, A; Delattre, J-Y; Idbaih, A

    2013-11-01

    Nutritional status is a major clinical parameter in multiple cancers. Indeed, nutritional status is a prognostic factor and a predictor of response and toxicity to treatments in breast and lung cancers for instance. To our knowledge, in patients suffering from malignant primary brain tumors, nutritional status has been poorly investigated. Nutritional status of 26 glioblastoma patients relapsing after a first line of treatment was studied. The body mass index (BMI), the prognostic inflammatory and nutritional index (PINI) and the instant nutritional score (INS) were assessed. The BMI was abnormal in 12 patients, two were malnourished while 10 were overweight. The BMI was not correlated to age of patients. Overweight status did not impact patient survival but it was associated with reduced performance status. The PINI was abnormal in three patients. Finally, the INS was abnormal in 24 patients, noted 2 (n=22) or 4 (n=4). Our results were not in favor of systematic nutritional support in patients with recurrent glioblastoma after a first line of treatment. Being overweight does not influence prognosis but may influence performance status. Steroid therapy and chemotherapy (inducing sodium and water retention and lymphopenia) weaken the relevance of BMI and INS for nutritional assessment in patients with recurrent glioblastoma. Further studies using additional nutritional tests in larger, independent and prospective cohorts of patients are warranted to obtain more details. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  7. Preparing for a public sector mental health reform in New Mexico: the experience of agencies serving adults with serious mental illness.

    PubMed

    Semansky, Rafael M; Hodgkin, Dominic; Willging, Cathleen E

    2012-06-01

    In 2005, New Mexico began a comprehensive reform of state-funded mental health care. This paper reports on differences in characteristics, infrastructure, financial status, and services across mental health agencies. We administered a telephone survey to senior leadership to assess agency status prior to and during the first year of reform. Non-profit/public agencies were more likely than others to report reductions or no changes in administrative staff. CMHCs were more likely to report a decline in their financial situation. Findings demonstrated that CMHCs, non-profit/public agencies and rural agencies were more likely to offer critical services to adults with serious mental illness.

  8. [Mental health status of young children (clinico-epidemiological study)].

    PubMed

    Kozlovskaia, G V; Skoblo, G V

    1989-01-01

    The work is based upon a combined prospective investigation into an urban children population aged 0 to 4 years by a group of psychiatrists, neurologists, psychologists and an expert in neurophysiology. The age group under investigation showed a high incidence of mental disorders (10% on average). The authors have singled out some major lines of clinical research into the mental disorders and micropsychiatry including a number of practical issues of improving special therapeutic-preventive assistance to children population.

  9. The influence of acculturation on mental health and specialized mental healthcare for non-western migrants.

    PubMed

    Nap, Annelies; van Loon, Annelies; Peen, Jaap; van Schaik, Digna Jf; Beekman, Aartjan Tf; Dekker, Jack Jm

    2015-09-01

    The level of acculturation of migrants varies and is associated with variations in mental health. However, this association is complex and may differ among migrant groups. The aim of this study is to explore the association between acculturation, mental health and treatment effect. In a longitudinal cohort study of patients treated in specialized mental health facilities, different dimensions of acculturation (skills, social integration, traditions, norms/values and feelings of loss) were explored for Moroccan, Turkish and Surinamese migrants in the Netherlands. Furthermore, the associations between acculturation status and symptom levels, quality of life, care needs and effects of mental health treatment were examined. Data were analyzed with analysis of covariance, correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis. Acculturation status differed among migrant groups. Turkish migrants showed most original culture maintenance (traditions, norms/values), Surinamese migrants showed most participation in Dutch society (skills, social integration), while Moroccan migrants were situated in between. Higher cultural adaptation was associated with less need for care, lower symptom levels and a higher quality of life. Participation significantly predicted lower symptom levels (p < .001) and higher quality of life (p < .001) 6 months after the start of treatment. This study confirms that acculturation status is associated with symptom levels, quality of life and perceived need for care of migrants. Moreover, participation in Dutch society appears to be a favorable factor for treatment effect. It is of importance for professionals in clinical practice to be attentive to this. © The Author(s) 2014.

  10. Severe Impairments of Social Interaction and Associated Abnormalities in Children: Epidemiology and Classification.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wing, Lorna; Gould, Judith

    1979-01-01

    The prevalence of severe impairments of social interaction, language abnormalities, and repetitive stereotyped behaviors was investigated in a group of 132 children under 15 years old, consisting of a socially impaired group (more than half of whom were severely retarded) and a comparison group of sociable severely mentally retarded. Author/DLS)

  11. Health status of illicit stimulant drug users in rural Ohio.

    PubMed

    Falck, Russel S; Wang, Jichuan; Carlson, Robert G

    2007-11-01

    The SF-8 health survey was used to assess the physical and mental health status of a community sample of not-in-treatment, illicit stimulant drug-using adults (n = 249) living in rural Ohio. Physical health status scores indicative of poor health were present in 30.5% of the sample. Poor physical health was associated with older age (OR = 1.06; 95% C.I. = 1.02-1.11), chronic disease (OR = 2.24, 95% C.I. = 1.14-4.40), and frequent opioid use (OR = 3.14, 95% C.I. = 1.16-8.50). Poor mental health status scores were present in 63.9% of the sample. Men were less likely (OR = 0.25, 95% C.I. = 0.11-0.53), and Whites more likely (OR = 3.97, 95% C.I. = 1.56-10.13), to have poor mental health scores. Frequency and type of drug use had no measurable effect on mental health status. Physical and mental health problems are likely to be pervasive among nonmedical drug users in rural areas.

  12. A Brief History of the Development of Abnormal Psychology: A Training Guide. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Phelps, William R.

    Presented for practitioners is a history of the development of abnormal psychology. Areas covered include the following: Early medical concepts, ideas carried over from literature, early treatment of the mentally ill, development of the psychological viewpoint, Freud's psychoanalytic theory, Jung's analytic theory, the individual psychology of…

  13. Reduced Cortical Thickness in Mental Retardation

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Chao; Wang, Jiaojian; Zhang, Yun; Yu, Chunshui; Jiang, Tianzi

    2011-01-01

    Mental retardation is a developmental disorder associated with impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in adaptive behaviors. Many studies have addressed white matter abnormalities in patients with mental retardation, while the changes of the cerebral cortex have been studied to a lesser extent. Quantitative analysis of cortical integrity using cortical thickness measurement may provide new insights into the gray matter pathology. In this study, cortical thickness was compared between 13 patients with mental retardation and 26 demographically matched healthy controls. We found that patients with mental retardation had significantly reduced cortical thickness in multiple brain regions compared with healthy controls. These regions include the bilateral lingual gyrus, the bilateral fusiform gyrus, the bilateral parahippocampal gyrus, the bilateral temporal pole, the left inferior temporal gyrus, the right lateral orbitofrontal cortex and the right precentral gyrus. The observed cortical thickness reductions might be the anatomical substrates for the impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in adaptive behaviors in patients with mental retardation. Cortical thickness measurement might provide a sensitive prospective surrogate marker for clinical trials of neuroprotective medications. PMID:22216343

  14. Places, people and mental health: a multilevel analysis of economic inactivity.

    PubMed

    Fone, David; Dunstan, Frank; Williams, Gareth; Lloyd, Keith; Palmer, Stephen

    2007-02-01

    This paper investigates multilevel associations between the common mental disorders of anxiety, depression and economic inactivity measured at the level of the individual and the UK 2001 census ward. The data set comes from the Caerphilly Health & Social Needs study, in which a representative survey of adults aged 18-74 years was carried out to collect a wide range of information which included mental health status (using the Mental Health Inventory (MHI-5) scale of the Short Form-36 health status questionnaire), and socio-economic status (including employment status, social class, household income, housing tenure and property value). Ward level economic inactivity was measured using non-means tested benefits data from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) on long-term Incapacity Benefit and Severe Disablement Allowance. Estimates from multilevel linear regression models of 10,653 individuals nested within 36 census wards showed that individual mental health status was significantly associated with ward-level economic inactivity, after adjusting for individual-level variables, with a moderate effect size of -0.668 (standard error=0.258). There was a significant cross-level interaction between ward-level and individual economic inactivity from permanent sickness or disability, such that the effect of permanent sickness or disability on mental health was significantly greater for people living in wards with high levels of economic inactivity. This supports the hypothesis that living in a deprived neighbourhood has the most negative health effects on poorer individuals and is further evidence for a substantive effect of the place where you live on mental health.

  15. The comparison of socioeconomic status, perceived social support and mental status in women of reproductive age experiencing and not experiencing domestic violence in Iran.

    PubMed

    Vameghi, Roshanak; Amir Ali Akbari, Sedigheh; Alavi Majd, Hamid; Sajedi, Firoozeh; Sajjadi, Homeira

    2018-01-01

    Given the significant health effects of domestic violence against women, the present study was conducted in 2016, in Tehran, Iran in order to compare the socioeconomic status, perceived social support and mental status in women of reproductive age experiencing and not experiencing domestic violence. This descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was conducted on 500 women. The data collection tools used included questionnaires: demographic information, Socioeconomic, Beck's Depression, Spielberger's Anxiety, Cohen's Perceived Stress, Sarason's Perceived Social Support and WHO's Domestic Violence Inventory. The results showed that 43.2% of women said they had experienced at least one case of domestic violence, among which 16.4%, 15% and 36.6% of women had experienced physical, sexual and emotional-verbal types of violence, respectively. The mean age (p less than 0.001) and educational level (p=0/018) of violated women and their spouses (p less than 0.001) were lower than those of non-violated women. Furthermore, violated women experienced lower socioeconomic status (p less than 0.05), higher perceived stress (p less than 0.008), higher depression (p less than 0.001), and higher overt anxiety (0.002. They also perceived lower levels of social support (p less than 0.001). The issue of domestic violence was rather prevalent in the participants of the present study, particularly the younger, less educated and more socioeconomically deprived communities and families.

  16. Understanding determinants of socioeconomic inequality in mental health in Iran's capital, Tehran: a concentration index decomposition approach.

    PubMed

    Morasae, Esmaeil Khedmati; Forouzan, Ameneh Setareh; Majdzadeh, Reza; Asadi-Lari, Mohsen; Noorbala, Ahmad Ali; Hosseinpoor, Ahmad Reza

    2012-03-26

    Mental health is of special importance regarding socioeconomic inequalities in health. On the one hand, mental health status mediates the relationship between economic inequality and health; on the other hand, mental health as an "end state" is affected by social factors and socioeconomic inequality. In spite of this, in examining socioeconomic inequalities in health, mental health has attracted less attention than physical health. As a first attempt in Iran, the objectives of this paper were to measure socioeconomic inequality in mental health, and then to untangle and quantify the contributions of potential determinants of mental health to the measured socioeconomic inequality. In a cross-sectional observational study, mental health data were taken from an Urban Health Equity Assessment and Response Tool (Urban HEART) survey, conducted on 22 300 Tehran households in 2007 and covering people aged 15 and above. Principal component analysis was used to measure the economic status of households. As a measure of socioeconomic inequality, a concentration index of mental health was applied and decomposed into its determinants. The overall concentration index of mental health in Tehran was -0.0673 (95% CI = -0.070 - -0.057). Decomposition of the concentration index revealed that economic status made the largest contribution (44.7%) to socioeconomic inequality in mental health. Educational status (13.4%), age group (13.1%), district of residence (12.5%) and employment status (6.5%) also proved further important contributors to the inequality. Socioeconomic inequalities exist in mental health status in Iran's capital, Tehran. Since the root of this avoidable inequality is in sectors outside the health system, a holistic mental health policy approach which includes social and economic determinants should be adopted to redress the inequitable distribution of mental health.

  17. Understanding determinants of socioeconomic inequality in mental health in Iran's capital, Tehran: a concentration index decomposition approach

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background Mental health is of special importance regarding socioeconomic inequalities in health. On the one hand, mental health status mediates the relationship between economic inequality and health; on the other hand, mental health as an "end state" is affected by social factors and socioeconomic inequality. In spite of this, in examining socioeconomic inequalities in health, mental health has attracted less attention than physical health. As a first attempt in Iran, the objectives of this paper were to measure socioeconomic inequality in mental health, and then to untangle and quantify the contributions of potential determinants of mental health to the measured socioeconomic inequality. Methods In a cross-sectional observational study, mental health data were taken from an Urban Health Equity Assessment and Response Tool (Urban HEART) survey, conducted on 22 300 Tehran households in 2007 and covering people aged 15 and above. Principal component analysis was used to measure the economic status of households. As a measure of socioeconomic inequality, a concentration index of mental health was applied and decomposed into its determinants. Results The overall concentration index of mental health in Tehran was -0.0673 (95% CI = -0.070 - -0.057). Decomposition of the concentration index revealed that economic status made the largest contribution (44.7%) to socioeconomic inequality in mental health. Educational status (13.4%), age group (13.1%), district of residence (12.5%) and employment status (6.5%) also proved further important contributors to the inequality. Conclusions Socioeconomic inequalities exist in mental health status in Iran's capital, Tehran. Since the root of this avoidable inequality is in sectors outside the health system, a holistic mental health policy approach which includes social and economic determinants should be adopted to redress the inequitable distribution of mental health. PMID:22449237

  18. Relationship between mental health disorders and unemployment status in Australian adults.

    PubMed

    Comino, Elizabeth J; Harris, Elizabeth; Chey, Tien; Manicavasagar, Vijaya; Penrose Wall, Jonine; Powell Davies, Gawaine; Harris, Mark F

    2003-04-01

    To compare the prevalence of anxiety and affective disorders among employed and unemployed patients and to compare the type of treatment received between the two groups for these disorders. A secondary analysis of the 1997 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing of Adults cross-sectional study was undertaken. Unemployed adults were more likely to have symptoms of anxiety (OR = 3.09, 95% CI = 2.80-3.41) or an affective disorder (OR = 2.11, 95% CI = 1.95-2.27) or anxiety and/or affective disorders (OR = 2.53, 95% CI = 2.37-2.69). Unemployed participants with symptoms were less likely to have seen a general practitioner for treatment but when they did they received similar care to employed participants. These results confirm studies reported elsewhere that the prevalence of symptoms of anxiety and/or affective disorders is higher for unemployed people. The data provide further evidence that people with an anxiety and/or affective disorder who are unemployed are not seeking medical treatment. However, unlike previous research undertaken by our group, these results indicate that symptomatic adults who seek help receive comparable treatment in general practice irrespective of their employment status.

  19. Physical exercise in adults and mental health status findings from the Netherlands mental health survey and incidence study (NEMESIS).

    PubMed

    Ten Have, Margreet; de Graaf, Ron; Monshouwer, Karin

    2011-11-01

    To establish associations between physical exercise during leisure time and prevalence, incidence and course of mental disorders. Data were derived from the Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study, a 3-wave cohort study in a representative sample (N=7,076) of Dutch adults. Mental disorders were assessed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Physical activity was established by the number of hours per week people spent on taking physical exercise. Physical exercise was negatively associated with presence and first-onset of mood and anxiety disorders after adjustment for confounders. Evidence for a dose-response relationship between exercise levels and mental health was not found. Among those with mental disorder at baseline, exercise participants were more likely to recover from their illness (OR=1.47) compared to their counterparts who did not take exercise. Physical exercise is beneficial to mental health, but it remains uncertain whether this association truly reflects a causal effect of exercise. 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. The dream in midlife women: its impact on mental health.

    PubMed

    Drebing, C E; Gooden, W E; Drebing, S M; Van de Kemp, H; Malony, H N

    1995-01-01

    The current study examines the Dream in midlife women and its impact on mental health functioning. Ninety midlife women filled out a questionnaire examining Dream Status, Dream Success, Dream Content, and Dream Support, as well as mental health factors of depression, anxiety, and purpose-in-life. Neither early nor current Dream Status was not found to be significantly related to mental health factors. Partial support was found for the hypothesis that Dream Success is related to mental health factors. Early Dream Content related to career and current Dream Content related to both marriage/intimacy and career are related to positive performance on mental health factors. Dream Support is positively related both to Dream Success and to mental health factors while resistance to the Dream is not. The results are discussed in light of gender differences in the developmental function and impact of the Dream.

  1. Mental Health and Its Associated Variables Among International Students at a Japanese University: With Special Reference to Their Financial Status.

    PubMed

    Kono, Kumi; Eskandarieh, Sharareh; Obayashi, Yoshihide; Arai, Asuna; Tamashiro, Hiko

    2015-12-01

    We attempted to identify the risk factors that may affect mental health status of the international students and we conducted the survey using a self-administered questionnaire. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. The students were divided into two groups; (1) those who received scholarships and (2) those who didn't since we thought the division represented practical patterns of their financial status. The associations of socio-demographic characteristics with depressive symptoms were examined. Of the 726 students, 480 (66.1%) responded and 207 (43.1%) had depressive symptoms. The logistic regression analysis indicated that quality of sleep, amount of exercise, and housing conditions--but not financial status--were statistically associated with the risk of developing depressive symptoms. Although the inversion of the cause and effect is yet to be ascertained, the students who are unsatisfied with their housing conditions, quality of sleep and less exercise need more attention.

  2. The Ratio between Positive and Negative Affect and Flourishing Mental Health across Adulthood

    PubMed Central

    Diehl, Manfred; Hay, Elizabeth L.; Berg, Kathleen M.

    2011-01-01

    Using data from a 30-day diary study with 239 adults (81 young, 81 middle-aged, and 77 older adults) this study examined whether a specific ratio between positive and negative affect distinguished individuals with different mental health status and especially flourishing from non-flourishing individuals. In addition, the study addressed whether there were age differences in the positivity ratio when daily affect data were used, and whether the proposed critical positivity ratio of 2.9 discriminated equally well between individuals with different mental health status across the adult lifespan. Findings showed that the ratio of positive to negative affect differed across adulthood such that age was associated with an increasing preponderance of positive to negative affect. The positivity ratio was also associated with mental health status in the hypothesized direction; higher positivity ratios were associated with better mental health. Finally, although the data supported the notion of a positivity ratio of 2.9 as a “critical value” in young adulthood, this value did not equally well discriminate the mental health status of middle-aged and older adults. PMID:21562989

  3. Association between personal basic information, sleep quality, mental disorders and erectile function: a cross-sectional study among 334 Chinese outpatients.

    PubMed

    Cheng, Q S; Liu, T; Huang, H B; Peng, Y F; Jiang, S C; Mei, X B

    2017-04-01

    Male erectile dysfunction (ED) may cause anxiety and depression, while mental disorders and sleep disturbances may also be closely related to ED. However, the exact nature of their relationship remains unclear, and whether personal basic background data affect erectile function is unknown. We conducted a cross-sectional study among Chinese outpatients with ED from January 2012 to December 2014. All the men answered a questionnaire collecting information about mental health status, sleep disturbances and personal data, underwent a physical examination and had a blood sample drawn. Sleep disturbances were assessed on the basis of a 19-item version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, which includes questions on sleep patterns during the past month. Among the 462 patients, 128 patients with alcohol abuse, diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, psychiatric drugs, neurologic injury or abnormal hormones were excluded from the study; 86.27% and 68.66% of the patients suffered from anxiety and depression respectively. Sleep quality and anxiety symptoms significantly affected erectile function, whereas personal income and education level had no significant effects. Our study suggested that it is necessary to pay attention to the psychological status of patients with ED, especially anxiety disorder. Sleep quality may be an important factor affecting erectile function according to the personal data. © 2016 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

  4. A study of the risk of mental retardation among children of pregnant women who have attempted suicide by means of a drug overdose.

    PubMed

    Petik, Dora; Czeizel, Barbara; Banhidy, Ferenc; Czeizel, Andrew E

    2012-01-01

    The aim of the study was to estimate the effect on the fetal development of high doses of prescription drugs taken as a suicide attempt during pregnancy. Pregnant women were identified among self-poisoned females in the toxicological inpatient clinic in Budapest between 1960 and 1993. Congenital abnormalities, intrauterine development based on birth weight and post-conceptional age, mental retardation, cognitive-behavioral status were compared in exposed children born to mothers who had attempted suicide by means of a drug overdose during pregnancy with their siblings, born either before or after the affected pregnancy, as sib controls. Of a total of 1 044 pregnant women, 74 used the combination of amobarbital, glutethimide and promethazine (Tardyl®, one of the most popular drugs for treatment of insomnia in Hungary) for suicide attempt. Of these 74 women, 27 delivered live-born babies. The mean dose of Tardyl® used for suicide attempts was 24 times the usually prescribed clinical dose. The rate of congenital abnormalities and intrauterine retardation was not higher in exposed children than in their sib controls. However, of the 27 exposed children, eight (29.6%) were mentally retarded (X²₁=79.7, p= Sig) while mental retardation did not occur among 46 sib controls. These exposed children were born to mothers who attempted suicide with Tardyl® between the 14th and 20th post-conceptional weeks. The components of Tardyl® used separately for a suicide attempt during pregnancy were not associated with a higher risk of mental retardation. Therefore the high doses of Tardyl® associated with the high risk for mental retardation may be due to the interaction of its three drug components. The findings of the study showed that the high doses of a drug containing three components may be associated with a significantly increased risk for mental retardation without any structural defects, whereas each of these three component drugs taken alone was not associated with

  5. Food Insecurity and Common Mental Disorders among Ethiopian Youth: Structural Equation Modeling.

    PubMed

    Jebena, Mulusew G; Lindstrom, David; Belachew, Tefera; Hadley, Craig; Lachat, Carl; Verstraeten, Roos; De Cock, Nathalie; Kolsteren, Patrick

    2016-01-01

    Although the consequences of food insecurity on physical health and nutritional status of youth living have been reported, its effect on their mental health remains less investigated in developing countries. The aim of this study was to examine the pathways through which food insecurity is associated with poor mental health status among youth living in Ethiopia. We used data from Jimma Longitudinal Family Survey of Youth (JLFSY) collected in 2009/10. A total of 1,521 youth were included in the analysis. We measured food insecurity using a 5-items scale and common mental disorders using the 20-item Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20). Structural and generalized equation modeling using maximum likelihood estimation method was used to analyze the data. The prevalence of common mental disorders was 30.8% (95% CI: 28.6, 33.2). Food insecurity was independently associated with common mental disorders (β = 0.323, P<0.05). Most (91.8%) of the effect of food insecurity on common mental disorders was direct and only 8.2% of their relationship was partially mediated by physical health. In addition, poor self-rated health (β = 0.285, P<0.05), high socioeconomic status (β = -0.076, P<0.05), parental education (β = 0.183, P<0.05), living in urban area (β = 0.139, P<0.05), and female-headed household (β = 0.192, P<0.05) were associated with common mental disorders. Food insecurity is directly associated with common mental disorders among youth in Ethiopia. Interventions that aim to improve mental health status of youth should consider strategies to improve access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food.

  6. Food Insecurity and Common Mental Disorders among Ethiopian Youth: Structural Equation Modeling

    PubMed Central

    Lindstrom, David; Belachew, Tefera; Hadley, Craig; Lachat, Carl; Verstraeten, Roos; De Cock, Nathalie; Kolsteren, Patrick

    2016-01-01

    Background Although the consequences of food insecurity on physical health and nutritional status of youth living have been reported, its effect on their mental health remains less investigated in developing countries. The aim of this study was to examine the pathways through which food insecurity is associated with poor mental health status among youth living in Ethiopia. Methods We used data from Jimma Longitudinal Family Survey of Youth (JLFSY) collected in 2009/10. A total of 1,521 youth were included in the analysis. We measured food insecurity using a 5-items scale and common mental disorders using the 20-item Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20). Structural and generalized equation modeling using maximum likelihood estimation method was used to analyze the data. Results The prevalence of common mental disorders was 30.8% (95% CI: 28.6, 33.2). Food insecurity was independently associated with common mental disorders (β = 0.323, P<0.05). Most (91.8%) of the effect of food insecurity on common mental disorders was direct and only 8.2% of their relationship was partially mediated by physical health. In addition, poor self-rated health (β = 0.285, P<0.05), high socioeconomic status (β = -0.076, P<0.05), parental education (β = 0.183, P<0.05), living in urban area (β = 0.139, P<0.05), and female-headed household (β = 0.192, P<0.05) were associated with common mental disorders. Conclusions Food insecurity is directly associated with common mental disorders among youth in Ethiopia. Interventions that aim to improve mental health status of youth should consider strategies to improve access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food. PMID:27846283

  7. Vietnam as a Case Example of School-Based Mental Health Services in Low and Middle Income Countries: Efficacy and Effects of Risk Status

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dang, Hoang-Minh; Weiss, Bahr; Nguyen, Cao Minh; Tran, Nam; Pollack, Amie

    2017-01-01

    The purposes of this study were to (a) assess the efficacy of a universal classroom-based mental health and social skills program for primary school students in Vietnam, and (b) given the universal nature of the intervention, assess outcomes as a function of risk status (high versus low). RECAP-VN is a semi-structured program that provides…

  8. Social status determinants of control in individuals' accounts of their mental illness.

    PubMed

    Maher, Erin J; Kroska, Amy

    2002-09-01

    We examine the determinants of patients' accounts of their own mental illness. In particular, we examine the factors that affect the likelihood of attributing one's own mental illness to controllable factors rather than non-controllable factors. Our quantitative measure of attributional control is derived from the coding of in-depth interviews with people with severe mental illness seeking treatment for the first time (N = 144). We find that those who occupy positions of social disadvantage (particularly African-American males and those who receive public assistance) are less likely to attribute their illness to controllable sources, suggesting that personal mental illness attributions are systematically related to a person's social location. We outline the significance of these findings for research on the psychological consequences of mental illness attributions.

  9. Stigmatization of mental illness among Nigerian schoolchildren.

    PubMed

    Ronzoni, Pablo; Dogra, Nisha; Omigbodun, Olayinka; Bella, Tolulope; Atitola, Olayinka

    2010-09-01

    Despite the fact that about 10% of children experience mental health problems, they tend to hold negative views about mental illness. The objective of this study was to investigate the views of Nigerian schoolchildren towards individuals with mental illness or mental health problems. A cross-sectional design was used. Junior and senior secondary schoolchildren from rural and urban southwest Nigeria were asked: 'What sorts of words or phrases might you use to describe someone who experiences mental health problems?' The responses were tabulated, grouped and interpreted by qualitative thematic analysis. Of 164 students, 132 (80.5%) responded to the question. Six major themes emerged from the answers. The most popular descriptions were 'derogatory terms' (33%). This was followed by 'abnormal appearance and behaviour' (29.6%); 'don't know' answers (13.6%); 'physical illness and disability' (13.6%); 'negative emotional states' (6.8%); and 'language and communication difficulties' (3.4%). The results suggest that, similar to findings elsewhere, stigmatization of mental illness is highly prevalent among Nigerian children. This may be underpinned by lack of knowledge regarding mental health problems and/or fuelled by the media. Educational interventions and encouraging contact with mentally ill persons could play a role in reducing stigma among schoolchildren.

  10. The Lay Concept of Childhood Mental Disorder

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Giummarra, Melita J.; Haslam, Nick

    2005-01-01

    The structure of lay people's concepts of childhood mental disorder was investigated in a questionnaire study and examined for convergence with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV). Eighty-four undergraduates who had no formal education in abnormal psychology rated 54 conditions--36 DSM-IV childhood disorders and 18 non-disorders--on…

  11. Mental health trajectories and related factors among perinatal women.

    PubMed

    Lin, Pei-Chao; Hung, Chich-Hsiu

    2015-06-01

    To investigate Taiwanese women's mental health trajectories from the third trimester of pregnancy to four weeks postpartum and the correlations of these trajectories with perceived social support and demographic characteristics. Previous studies have reported differences between prenatal and postpartum mental health status. A repeated design study was conducted in a medical hospital in Southern Taiwan. One-hundred and ninety-four Taiwanese women completed the Chinese Health Questionnaire and Social Support Scale at the 36th prenatal week and first and fourth week postpartum. Three linear mental health trajectories for perinatal women were identified. Consistently poor perinatal mental health was reported by 16·0% of the participants. Less social support was associated with lower prenatal mental health scores. Younger age was a risk factor for consistently poor perinatal health. Vaginal delivery was associated with improved mental health after childbirth. Mental health was worse in the third trimester of pregnancy than postpartum. Less social support was associated with lower prenatal mental health scores, and this association was similarly distributed between women with consistently poor and improved mental health after birth. Health care providers should assess women's mental health status and provide timely interventions during the perinatal period. Social support should be provided for pregnant women, especially younger women or those with lower perceived social support. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. Assessment of the mental health status of a one year cohort attending a two Sexual Assault Referral Centres in England.

    PubMed

    Brooker, Charlie; Tocque, Karen; Paul, Sheila

    2018-02-01

    A one year audit was undertaken of the mental health (MH) status of adult attendees to the Thames Valley Sexual Assault Centres (SARC). There were 301 relevant referrals over the twelve month period of whom 126 (42%) either fully or partially completed the mental health assessments. 38% (n = 66) of the population did not consent to the research. Participation in the study was felt inappropriate by the case clinician in the rest of the cases. To summarise the findings: 36% were moderately or severely depressed; 30% experienced moderate to severe anxiety; 28% were drinking at hazardous/harmful levels; and 12% had a drug problem that was moderate to severe. Self harm affected 45% of the sample with the greater majority cutting themselves and self-harming before the age of 17. Admission to a psychiatric in-patient unit was not uncommon and 19% had been admitted an average of three times each. The figure of 19% admitted to a psychiatric hospital is 90 times higher than for the general female population. 42% of the total sample were being prescribed medication for their mental health problem. The paper concludes that: there should be agreement nationally on the use of a standardised set of mental health outcome measures which are used in all assessments; there should be a move towards the commissioning of expert psychological support that is offered in a SARC and the pathways for specialist mental health care out of the SARCs. Finally, forensic physicians and general practitioners needs a greater awareness of the mental health sequalae of sexual assault and they then need to make prompt referrals to the appropriate services. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.

  13. Mental workload prediction based on attentional resource allocation and information processing.

    PubMed

    Xiao, Xu; Wanyan, Xiaoru; Zhuang, Damin

    2015-01-01

    Mental workload is an important component in complex human-machine systems. The limited applicability of empirical workload measures produces the need for workload modeling and prediction methods. In the present study, a mental workload prediction model is built on the basis of attentional resource allocation and information processing to ensure pilots' accuracy and speed in understanding large amounts of flight information on the cockpit display interface. Validation with an empirical study of an abnormal attitude recovery task showed that this model's prediction of mental workload highly correlated with experimental results. This mental workload prediction model provides a new tool for optimizing human factors interface design and reducing human errors.

  14. Immigration, citizenship, and the mental health of adolescents

    PubMed Central

    Fenelon, Andrew; Boudreaux, Michel

    2018-01-01

    Purpose To examine the reported mental health outcomes of adolescent foreign-born non-citizens and adolescent foreign-born U.S. citizens compared to adolescent U.S.-born citizens. Methods Using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in the National Health Interview Survey, we compared mental health status of U.S.-born adolescent citizens to foreign-born citizens and non-citizens in the years 2010–2015, and examined how differences in emotional difficulty changed based on time spent in the U.S. Results Results suggest that non-citizen adolescents experience better mental health outcomes than U.S.-born citizens. However, the mental health status of foreign-born citizens is indistinguishable from that of the U.S.-born, after accounting for basic socio-demographic characteristics. The prevalence of emotional difficulty experienced by immigrant adolescents increased with a family’s duration in the U.S. Conclusion Our findings are consistent with a broader health advantage for the foreign-born, but we present new evidence that the mental health advantage of foreign-born adolescents exists only for non-citizens. PMID:29723297

  15. Socioeconomic Inequalities in Mental Health of Adult Population: Serbian National Health Survey.

    PubMed

    Santric-Milicevic, Milena; Jankovic, Janko; Trajkovic, Goran; Terzic-Supic, Zorica; Babic, Uros; Petrovic, Marija

    2016-01-01

    The global burden of mental disorders is rising. In Serbia, anxiety is the leading cause of disability-adjusted life years. Serbia has no mental health survey at the population level. The information on prevalence of mental disorders and related socioeconomic inequalities are valuable for mental care improvement. To explore the prevalence of mental health disorders and socioeconomic inequalities in mental health of adult Serbian population, and to explore whether age years and employment status interact with mental health in urban and rural settlements. Cross-sectional study. This study is an additional analysis of Serbian Health Survey 2006 that was carried out with standardized household questionnaires at the representative sample of 7673 randomly selected households - 15563 adults. The response rate was 93%. A multivariate logistic regression modeling highlighted the predictors of the 5 item Mental Health Inventory (MHI-5), and of chronic anxiety or depression within eight independent variables (age, gender, type of settlement, marital status and self-perceived health, education, employment status and Wealth Index). The significance level in descriptive statistics, chi square analysis and bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions was set at p<0.05. Chronic anxiety or depression was seen in 4.9% of the respondents, and poor MHI-5 in 47% of respondents. Low education (Odds Ratios 1.32; 95% confidence intervals=1.16-1.51), unemployment (1.36; 1.18-1.56), single status (1.34; 1.23-1.45), and Wealth Index middle class (1.20; 1.08-1.32) or poor (1.33; 1.21-1.47) were significantly related with poor MHI-5. Unemployed persons in urban settlements had higher odds for poormMHI-5 than unemployed in rural areas (0.73; 0.59-0.89). Single (1.50; 1.26-1.78), unemployed (1.39; 1.07-1.80) and inactive respondents (1.42; 1.10-1.83) had a higher odds of chronic anxiety or depression than married individuals, or those with partner, and employed persons. Those with perceived

  16. Primary Psychiatric Disorder Masking the Diagnosis of Neuropsychiatric Lupus in a Patient with Altered Mental Status: A Case Report.

    PubMed

    Perez, Osman; Dave, Kairavee; Almanzar, Aimee; Prodhan, Tajul; Concepion, Livasky

    2017-10-23

    Neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE) has a wide variety of neurologic and psychiatric features. NPSLE symptoms and the psychotic features of primary psychiatric disorders often overlap with each other. These psychotic features often mask and delay the diagnosis of NPSLE. We present the case of a 59-year-old female previously diagnosed with bipolar disorder and generalized anxiety disorder presenting with altered mental status (AMS), subsequently diagnosed with neuropsychiatric lupus. Initially, medication overdose was suspected as an empty bottle of trazodone was found beside her. Obtaining an appropriate history was difficult due to the patient's altered mental status and absence of family members at bedside. The patient was found to have an elevated gamma gap, and further workup was pursued. Subsequently, positive antinuclear antibody (ANA) and anti-double stranded DNA antibody (anti-dsDNA) was detected. During the hospitalization, she was found to meet the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Lumbar puncture with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis revealed lymphocytic pleocytosis, elevated protein with no bacteria and likely a non-infectious process. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) spectroscopy of the brain revealed a reversal of normal Hunter's angle, with elevated choline-to-creatine ratio within the white matter, and a lactate peak, which may be present in neuropsychiatric lupus. The patient was diagnosed with SLE with neuropsychiatric manifestations. Consequently, a kidney biopsy was obtained showing Class IV diffuse proliferative glomerulonephritis with fibrillary component likely related to lupus nephritis. The patient was started on treatment for neuropsychiatric lupus, which includes treatment for lupus nephritis with high dose pulse methylprednisolone. The anti-dsDNA titers decreased from 81 to 15 IU/ml and the patient displayed a gradual improvement

  17. Primary Psychiatric Disorder Masking the Diagnosis of Neuropsychiatric Lupus in a Patient with Altered Mental Status: A Case Report

    PubMed Central

    Perez, Osman; Dave, Kairavee; Prodhan, Tajul; Concepion, Livasky

    2017-01-01

    Neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE) has a wide variety of neurologic and psychiatric features. NPSLE symptoms and the psychotic features of primary psychiatric disorders often overlap with each other. These psychotic features often mask and delay the diagnosis of NPSLE. We present the case of a 59-year-old female previously diagnosed with bipolar disorder and generalized anxiety disorder presenting with altered mental status (AMS), subsequently diagnosed with neuropsychiatric lupus. Initially, medication overdose was suspected as an empty bottle of trazodone was found beside her. Obtaining an appropriate history was difficult due to the patient’s altered mental status and absence of family members at bedside. The patient was found to have an elevated gamma gap, and further workup was pursued. Subsequently, positive antinuclear antibody (ANA) and anti-double stranded DNA antibody (anti-dsDNA) was detected. During the hospitalization, she was found to meet the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Lumbar puncture with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis revealed lymphocytic pleocytosis, elevated protein with no bacteria and likely a non-infectious process. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) spectroscopy of the brain revealed a reversal of normal Hunter's angle, with elevated choline-to-creatine ratio within the white matter, and a lactate peak, which may be present in neuropsychiatric lupus. The patient was diagnosed with SLE with neuropsychiatric manifestations. Consequently, a kidney biopsy was obtained showing Class IV diffuse proliferative glomerulonephritis with fibrillary component likely related to lupus nephritis. The patient was started on treatment for neuropsychiatric lupus, which includes treatment for lupus nephritis with high dose pulse methylprednisolone. The anti-dsDNA titers decreased from 81 to 15 IU/ml and the patient displayed a gradual

  18. Decomposing of Socioeconomic Inequality in Mental Health: A Cross-Sectional Study into Female-Headed Households.

    PubMed

    Veisani, Yousef; Delpisheh, Ali

    2015-01-01

    Connection between socioeconomic statuses and mental health has been reported already. Accordingly, mental health asymmetrically is distributed in society; therefore, people with disadvantaged condition suffer from inconsistent burden of mental disorders. In this study, we aimed to understand the determinants of socioeconomic inequality of mental health in the female-headed households and decomposed contributions of socioeconomic determinants in mental health. In this cross-sectional study, 787 female-headed households were enrolled using systematic random sampling in 2014. Data were taken from the household assets survey and a self-administered 28 item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) as a screening tool for detection of possible cases of mental disorders. Inequality was measured by concentration index (CI) and as decomposing contribution in inequality. All analyses were performed by standard statistical software Stata 11.2. The overall CI for mental health in the female-headed households was -0.049 (95% CI: -0.072, 0.025). The highly positive contributors for inequality in mental health in the female-headed households were age (34%) and poor household economic status (22%). Socioeconomic inequalities exist in mental health into female-headed households and mental health problems more prevalent in women with lower socioeconomic status.

  19. The comparison of socioeconomic status, perceived social support and mental status in women of reproductive age experiencing and not experiencing domestic violence in Iran

    PubMed Central

    Vameghi, Roshanak; Amir Ali Akbari, Sedigheh; Alavi Majd, Hamid; Sajedi, Firoozeh; Sajjadi, Homeira

    2018-01-01

    Abstract: Background: Given the significant health effects of domestic violence against women, the present study was conducted in 2016, in Tehran, Iran in order to compare the socioeconomic status, perceived social support and mental status in women of reproductive age experiencing and not experiencing domestic violence. Methods: This descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was conducted on 500 women. The data collection tools used included questionnaires: demographic information, Socioeconomic, Beck’s Depression, Spielberger’s Anxiety, Cohen’s Perceived Stress, Sarason’s Perceived Social Support and WHO’s Domestic Violence Inventory. Results: The results showed that 43.2% of women said they had experienced at least one case of domestic violence, among which 16.4%, 15% and 36.6% of women had experienced physical, sexual and emotional-verbal types of violence, respectively. The mean age (p less than 0.001) and educational level (p=0/018) of violated women and their spouses (p less than 0.001) were lower than those of non-violated women. Furthermore, violated women experienced lower socioeconomic status (p less than 0.05), higher perceived stress (p less than 0.008), higher depression (p less than 0.001), and higher overt anxiety (0.002. They also perceived lower levels of social support (p less than 0.001). Conclusions: The issue of domestic violence was rather prevalent in the participants of the present study, particularly the younger, less educated and more socioeconomically deprived communities and families. PMID:29376514

  20. Epidemiological study of mental morbidity in an urban slum community in India for the development of a community mental health programme.

    PubMed

    Silvanus, V; Subramanian, P

    2012-03-01

    A crossectional field study was carried out in an urban slum in order to assess the prevalence and nature of mental morbidity and identify stressors in the community. A face to face interview was conducted with the help of a questionnaire. The interview consisted of three sections as follows: Data identifying the informant by age, sex, marital status, education, occupation, age at marriage, number of members, children and monthly income. General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) 5- item version used as a screening instrument to assess the present mental health status of the informant and data of past illnesses in self or family and questions framed to elicit perceptions regarding mental illness, alcoholism, their causation and treatment. The subjects who scored above 2 ie 3,4,and 5 in the GHQ were requested to follow up at the Mental Health OPD and subjected to a standardized psychiatric interview by a Psychiatrist. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual Third Revised (DSM 3 R) criteria were used for diagnosis. After the interview and examination, the appropriate treatment was instituted. A total of 443 individuals were screened. The overall prevalence rate of mental illness in the community was 61 per thousand. It is estimated that the case rate ranges from 38 to 84 per thousand within 95% confidence limits. The overall severity ranged from mild to severe morbidity. The prevalence of severe mental morbidity which includes psychosis, depressive illness, mental retardation was 22.5 per thousand. Neurosis (63.31%) especially Major Depression and Adjustment disorder, Psychosis (10.00%), Somatization disorder (6.66%) and Psychiatric symptoms secondary to physical illness were the major groups of illness. Women were found to have more mental health problems than men. The morbidity pattern also differs significantly with the gender. Neurosis was seen more among the female subjects. There was a significant association of mental health problems with low educational status

  1. Caretaker mental health and family environment factors are associated with adolescent psychiatric problems in a Vietnamese sample.

    PubMed

    Stratton, Kelcey Jane; Edwards, Alexis Christine; Overstreet, Cassie; Richardson, Lisa; Tran, Trinh Luong; Trung, Lam Tu; Tam, Nguyen Thanh; Tuan, Tran; Buoi, La Thi; Ha, Tran Thu; Thach, Tran Duc; Amstadter, Ananda Beth

    2014-12-15

    Little is known about risk factors for adolescent mental health in Vietnam. The present study investigated the relationship between caretaker mental health and adolescent mental health in a cross-sectional Vietnamese sample. Primary caretakers completed measures of their own mental distress and general health status using the Self-Reporting Questionnaire-20 (SRQ-20) as well as reports of adolescent mental health using the parent version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Multivariate regression models were used to examine the relationships between the caretaker and adolescent health variables. The demographic factors of age, sex, ethnicity, religious affiliation, and household wealth status demonstrated significant relationships with SDQ subscale scores. Caretaker mental health was positively associated with adolescent mental health, and this association remained significant even after accounting for other relevant demographic variables and caretaker general health status. Understanding correlates of adolescent mental health difficulties may help identify youth and families at risk for developing psychiatric problems and inform mental health interventions in Vietnam. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

  2. Legal Marriage, Unequal Recognition, and Mental Health among Same-Sex Couples.

    PubMed

    LeBlanc, Allen J; Frost, David M; Bowen, Kayla

    2018-04-01

    The authors examined whether the perception of unequal relationship recognition, a novel, couple-level minority stressor, has negative consequences for mental health among same-sex couples. Data came from a dyadic study of 100 ( N = 200) same-sex couples in the U.S. Being in a legal marriage was associated with lower perceived unequal recognition and better mental health; being in a registered domestic partnership or civil union - not also legally married - was associated with greater perceived unequal recognition and worse mental health. Actor Partner Interdependence Models tested associations between legal relationship status, unequal relationship recognition, and mental health (nonspecific psychological distress, depressive symptomatology, and problematic drinking), net controls (age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, and income). Unequal recognition was consistently associated with worse mental health, independent of legal relationship status. Legal changes affecting relationship recognition should not be seen as simple remedies for addressing the mental health effects of institutionalized discrimination.

  3. Lifetime exposure to family violence: implications for the health status of older African American women.

    PubMed

    Paranjape, Anuradha; Sprauve-Holmes, Nancy E; Gaughan, John; Kaslow, Nadine J

    2009-02-01

    Family violence among older women encompasses intimate partner violence (IPV) and elder maltreatment, both linked to poor health status. Little is known about the association between family violence and the health status of older innercity African American women. One hundred fifty-eight African American women, aged >/=50, were interviewed in the ambulatory clinics of a large public hospital. Lifetime family violence exposure as an adult was measured by the Family Violence against Older Women (FVOW) scale; physical and mental health status were measured by the physical and mental component summary scores of the Short Form 8 scale. Mean participant age was 61.5 years (SD 7.1). Participants with FVOW scores in the top quartile were considered to have high lifetime family violence exposure. Participants with higher family violence exposure and those younger, unemployed, or disabled reported worse physical and mental health status. Lower income and not having Medicare were associated with worse physical and mental health status, respectively. Using stepwise linear regression techniques, only employment status and high family violence exposure were associated with worse physical (F = 7.16, p = 0.0011) and mental health (f = 7.09, p = 0.0012) status. Women with high FVOW scores reported physical and mental component summary scores that were 4.18 and 4.6 points lower, respectively, than those of women with lower FVOW scores. Among older, innercity, African American women, lack of employment and high levels of family violence exposure as an adult are associated with worse physical and mental health status. Clinicians caring for older African American women need to be cognizant of the role both current and prior violence exposure may play in their patients' current health status.

  4. Mental health literacy as a mediator in use of mental health services among older korean adults.

    PubMed

    Kim, Young Sun; Rhee, T Greg; Lee, Hee Yun; Park, Byung Hyun; Sharratt, Monica L

    2017-02-01

    Existing literature suggests that mental health literacy is positively associated with mental health services utilization. Despite an aging population that faces significant mental health concerns in Korea, the role of mental health literacy on mental health services utilization is not known among older adults in Korea. This study aimed to (1) identify whether mental health literacy mediates the association between population characteristics and mental health services utilization and (2) identify an optimal path model for mental health services utilization among Korean older adults. Using a cross-sectional survey with a quota sampling strategy, we collected and analyzed responses from 596 community-dwelling individuals ages 65 years and older. We used structural equation modeling (SEM) to estimate the effect of mental health literacy as a mediator. When controlling for other relevant covariates in the optimal path model, mental health literacy mediated the relationships between three socio-demographic factors (education, general literacy, and health status) and mental health services utilization. The model fit index shows that the SEM fits very well (CFI = 0.92, NFI = 0.90, RMSEA = 0.07). Efforts to improve mental health literacy through community-based education programs may need to particularly target Korean older adults with the relevant socio-demographic characteristics to enhance their utilization of appropriate mental health services.

  5. Assessing the Relationship Between Mental Distress and Tobacco Use in Post-Katrina and Rita Louisiana.

    PubMed

    Mukherjee, Snigdha; Canterberry, Melanie; Yore, Jennifer B; Ledford, Edward Cannon; Carton, Thomas W

    2017-08-24

    The relationship between mental health status and smoking is complicated and often confounded by bi-directionality, yet most research on this relationship assumes exogeneity. The goal of this article is to implement an instrumental variable approach to (1) test the exogeneity assumption and (2) report on the association between mental health status and smoking post-disaster. This analysis utilizes the 2006 and 2007 Louisiana Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey to examine the link between mental distress and smoking in areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Residence in a hurricane-affected parish (county) was used as an instrumental variable for mental distress. Just over 22% of the sample resided in a hurricane-affected parish. Residents of hurricane-affected parishes were significantly more likely to report occasional and frequent mental distress. Residence in a hurricane-affected parish was not significantly associated with smoking status. With residence established as a salient instrumental variable for mental distress, the exogeneity assumption was tested and confirmed in this sample. A dose-response relationship existed between mental distress and smoking, with smoking prevalence increasing directly (and non-linearly) with mental distress. In this sample, the relationship between mental distress and smoking status was exogenous and followed a dose-response relationship, suggesting that the disasters did not result in an uptake of smoking initiation, but that the higher amounts of mental distress may lead to increased use among smokers. The findings suggest that tobacco control programs should devise unique strategies to address mentally distressed populations.

  6. Cardiac Abnormalities in Primary Hyperoxaluria

    PubMed Central

    Mookadam, Farouk; Smith, Travis; Jiamsripong, Panupong; Moustafa, Sherif E; Monico, Carla G.; Lieske, John C.; Milliner, Dawn S.

    2018-01-01

    Background In patients with primary hyperoxaluria (PH), oxalate overproduction can result in recurrent urolithiasis and nephrocalcinosis, which in some cases results in a progressive decline in renal function, oxalate retention, and systemic oxalosis involving bone, retina, arterial media, peripheral nerves, skin, and heart. Oxalosis involving the myocardium or conduction system can potentially lead to heart failure and fatal arrhythmias. Methods and Results A retrospective review of our institution’s database was conducted for all patients with a confirmed diagnosis of PH between 1/1948 and 1/2006 (n=103). Electrocardiogram (ECG) and echocardiography were used to identify cardiac abnormalities. Ninety-three patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria, 58% were male. Mean follow-up was 11.9 (median 8.8) years. In 38 patients who received an ECG or echocardiography, 31 were found to have any cardiac abnormalities. Cardiac findings correlated with decline in renal function. Conclusions Our data suggests that physicians caring for patients with PH should pay close attention to cardiac status, especially if renal function is impaired. PMID:20921818

  7. Violence in adulthood and mental health: gender and immigrant status.

    PubMed

    Alvarez-del Arco, Debora; del Amo, Julia; Garcia-Pina, Rocio; Garcia-Fulgueiras, Ana Maria; Rodriguez-Arenas, M Angeles; Ibañez-Rojo, Vicente; Díaz-del Peral, Domingo; Jarrin, Inma; Fernandez-Liria, Alberto; Zunzunegui, Maria Victoria; Garcia-Ortuzar, Visitación; Mazarrasa, Lucia; Llacer, Alicia

    2013-07-01

    The aim of this study was to describe perceived abuse in adult Spanish and Ecuadorian women and men and to assess its association with mental health. A population-based survey was conducted in Spain in 2006. Data were taken from a probabilistic sample allowing for an equal number of men and women, Spaniards and Ecuadorians. Mental disorder was measured with the General Health Questionnaire-28. The nine questions on exposure to physical, sexual, and psychological abuse during the previous year were self-administered. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the association between exposure to abuse and poor mental health, adjusting for potential confounders. The sample was composed of 1,059 individuals aged 18 to 54, 104 of whom reported physical, psychological, or sexual abuse. Some 6% refused to answer the questions on abuse. Overall, reported abuse ranged from 13% in Ecuadorian women to 5% in Spanish men. Psychological abuse was the most frequent. Half the abused women, both Spanish and Ecuadorian, reported intimate partner violence (IPV), as did 22% of abused men. Poor mental health was found in 61% of abused Spanish women (adjusted Odds Ratio [ORa] = 5.1; 95% CI: 1.8-14.4), and 62% abused Ecuadorian women (ORa = 4; 95% CI: 2-7.9), in 36% of abused Spanish men (ORa = 3; 95% CI: 0.9-10.7) and in 30% abused Ecuadorian men (ORa = 2.8; 95% CI: 1-7.7). Interpersonal violence is frequent in relations with the partner, the family, and outside the family, and it seriously affects the mental health. Ecuadorian women stand out as the most vulnerable group.

  8. Mental health status of North Korean refugees in South Korea and risk and protective factors: a 10-year review of the literature

    PubMed Central

    Lee, Yeeun; Lee, Minji; Park, Subin

    2017-01-01

    ABSTRACT Background: North Korean refugees (NKRs) are often exposed to traumatic events in North Korea and during their defection. Furthermore, they face sociocultural barriers in adapting to the new society to which they have defected. Objective: To integrate previous findings on this mentally vulnerable population, we systematically reviewed articles on the mental health of NKRs in South Korea. Method: We searched for empirical studies conducted in the last 10 years in six online databases (international journals: Embase, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science; Korean journals: DBPIA, KMbase) through June 2017. Only quantitative studies using new empirical data on the mental health of NKRs were included. We summarized the 56 studies ultimately selected in terms of NKRs’ mental health status and three domains of associated factors: pre- and post-settlement factors and personal factors. Results: NKRs had a high prevalence and severity of psychiatric symptoms, particularly post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. We identified nine risk factors consistently found in previous studies, including traumatic experience, longer stay periods in third country, forced repatriation, acculturative stress, low income, older age, poor physical health, and female and male sex, as well as four protective factors, including educational level in North Korea, social support, family relationship quality, and resilience. Conclusions: We suggest that future studies focus on the causal interactions between different risk and protective factors and mental health outcomes among NKRs from a longitudinal perspective. Furthermore, comprehensive policies for NKRs’ psychological adaptation are needed, particularly the development of evidence-based mental health interventions. PMID:29038687

  9. Mental health status of North Korean refugees in South Korea and risk and protective factors: a 10-year review of the literature.

    PubMed

    Lee, Yeeun; Lee, Minji; Park, Subin

    2017-01-01

    Background : North Korean refugees (NKRs) are often exposed to traumatic events in North Korea and during their defection. Furthermore, they face sociocultural barriers in adapting to the new society to which they have defected. Objective : To integrate previous findings on this mentally vulnerable population, we systematically reviewed articles on the mental health of NKRs in South Korea. Method : We searched for empirical studies conducted in the last 10 years in six online databases (international journals: Embase, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science; Korean journals: DBPIA, KMbase) through June 2017. Only quantitative studies using new empirical data on the mental health of NKRs were included. We summarized the 56 studies ultimately selected in terms of NKRs' mental health status and three domains of associated factors: pre- and post-settlement factors and personal factors. Results : NKRs had a high prevalence and severity of psychiatric symptoms, particularly post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. We identified nine risk factors consistently found in previous studies, including traumatic experience, longer stay periods in third country, forced repatriation, acculturative stress, low income, older age, poor physical health, and female and male sex, as well as four protective factors, including educational level in North Korea, social support, family relationship quality, and resilience. Conclusions : We suggest that future studies focus on the causal interactions between different risk and protective factors and mental health outcomes among NKRs from a longitudinal perspective. Furthermore, comprehensive policies for NKRs' psychological adaptation are needed, particularly the development of evidence-based mental health interventions.

  10. Micronuclei and erythrocytic abnormalities frequencies of freshwater fishes: Establishing a baseline for health status

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sousa, Debora Batista Pinheiro; Torres, Audalio Rebelo; Oliveira, Suelen Rosana Sampaio; Castro, Jonatas da Silva; Neta, Raimunda Nonata Fortes Carvalho

    2017-11-01

    Majority papers shows that micronucleus test and erythrocyte abnormalities are excellent tools such as tools for monitor fish health and the level of impact in aquatic ecosystems. Nevertheless, still do not know the baseline for those changes in freshwater fishes communities in the Brazilian Northeastern river. In this study, we show the level of basis of two species of freshwater fishes (Colossoma macropomum -tambaqui and Oreochromis niloticus - tilápia) with the aim of establish levels of background these species. The animals were collected from Ambude river in the protected area and blood collected from all fish for analysis. Erythrocyte indices—mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC)—were calculated. Blood samples from all fish were examined for micronuclear changes after Giemsa staining. Micronuclei were found in fish from from Ambude River. The baseline values determined for tambaqui was (micronuclei= 0.0071±0.0026; MCV=0.0073±0.0037; MCHV=0.0071±0.0024) and tilapia (micronuclei= 0.0061±0.0026; MCV=0.0037±0.0017; MCHV=0.056±0.0036). We belive that, we propose using the genotoxic approach for estimating fish health status as the technique allows examination in locus of live fish without the need for animal euthanasia. Besides, baseline level can be to establish levels of background and patterns to pathological and physiological research of these species in future biomonitoring programs.

  11. The Use of Genomic Microarrays to Study Chromosomal Abnormalities in Mental Retardation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mao, Rong; Pevsner, Jonathan

    2005-01-01

    Mental retardation affects 2 to 3% of the US population. It is defined by broad criteria, including significantly subaverage intelligence, onset by age 18, and impaired function in a group of adaptive skills. A myriad of genetic and environmental causes have been described, but for approximately half of individuals diagnosed with mental…

  12. Refugees, the asylum system and mental healthcare in Ireland

    PubMed Central

    O’Connell, Molly; Duffy, Richard

    2016-01-01

    The number of people seeking refugee status in Ireland is increasing year on year and the burden of mental illness experienced by refugees and asylum seekers is high. The College of Psychiatrists of Ireland has recommended the establishment of a number of specialist refugee mental health teams. In this paper we discuss the Irish asylum system, the Irish evidence regarding mental illness in this population, and current health service policy regarding refugee mental health. We propose a model of specialist refugee mental healthcare delivery. PMID:29093895

  13. Troubling 'insight': power and possibilities in mental health care.

    PubMed

    Hamilton, B; Roper, C

    2006-08-01

    This paper critiques the conventional concept of 'insight' within the mental status assessment, seeking to unseat its taken-for-granted definition and the status it has acquired in research and practice. Drawing on social theory, consumer perspective and interdisciplinary research, the paper focuses on the impact of 'thin' biomedical understandings of insight, in disqualifying and demoralizing persons subjected to assessment and at the same time creating punitive scrutineers out of well-intentioned practitioners. Nurses and their mental health colleagues are encouraged to reconsider their reliance on the concept of insight. We entertain the alternative idea that insight is a quality of perception that mental health practitioners can cultivate, to more deeply understand their work, culture and the self.

  14. [Representations of insanity, mental illness and depression in general population in France].

    PubMed

    Roelandt, J-L; Caria, A; Defromont, L; Vandeborre, A; Daumerie, N

    2010-01-01

    The aim of this study was to describe the representations of insane, mentally ill and depressive persons, in a representative sample from the French General Population. Data were derived from the multicentric survey "Mental Health in the General Population: images and realities", carried out in 47 French public sites between 1999 and 2003. A face-to-face questionnaire was used to interview a representative sample of French metropolitan subjects, aged 18 and over, non-institutionalized and homeless. These subjects were recruited using quota sampling for age, sex, socioprofessional and education levels, according to data from the 1999 national French population census. Representations of insane, mentally ill and depressive persons were explored by a specific questionnaire with open and semi-open questions. Psychiatric diagnoses were identified using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). A national database was then constituted by pooling data from all sites, weighted for age, sex, level of education, socioprofessional level and work status to be representative of the French general population. Of the 36,000 individuals included in this study, over 75% associated the words "insane" and "mentally ill" with violent and dangerous behaviours and the term "depressive" with sadness, isolation and suicide. Young people, those with higher education and higher income level more frequently associated dangerous behaviours with mental illness rather than with insanity. The study shows that the general population draws a clear line between the representation of insane and mentally ill on one hand, and depressive on the other hand. Insane and mentally people are described as abnormal, irresponsible, unconscious, socially excluded, far from being curable, and to be cured against their will by psychotropic drugs and psychiatric hospitalisation. Whereas the depressive is perceived as a more familiar character, suffering, curable, who can be cured with psychotropic

  15. The Mental Health Status of Single-Parent Community College Students in California.

    PubMed

    Shenoy, Divya P; Lee, Christine; Trieu, Sang Leng

    2016-01-01

    Single-parenting students face unique challenges that may adversely affect their mental health, which have not been explored in community college settings. The authors conducted secondary analysis of Spring 2013 data from the American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment to examine difficulties facing single-parent community college students and the association between single parenting and negative mental health (depression, self-injury, suicide attempt). Participants were 6,832 California community college students, of whom 309 were single parents. Demographic and mental health data were characterized using univariate descriptive analyses. Bivariate analyses determined whether single parents differed from other students regarding negative mental health or traumatic/difficult events. Finances, family, and relationship difficulties disproportionally affected single parents, who reported nearly twice as many suicide attempts as their counterparts (5.3% vs. 2.7%; p < .0001). Single-parenting students face a higher prevalence of mental health stressors than other community college students.

  16. Mental health literacy in family caregivers: A comparative analysis.

    PubMed

    Mehrotra, Kanika; Nautiyal, Snigdha; Raguram, Ahalya

    2018-01-01

    The present study was undertaken to examine the current level of mental health literacy in family caregivers and to compare the changes over a 23-year period between 1993 and 2016. The current sample consisted of 60 family caregivers of patients with major mental illness from the in-patient and out-patient departments of NIMHANS, assessed on the Orientation towards Mental Illness Scale (OMI). This was compared with data of 80 family caregivers from previous study done in 1993. Family caregivers in the current study showed a significant positive trend on comparison with the previous study. However, area of abnormal behaviour shows a worsening of negative attitudes. Hopelessness and hypo-functioning, relating to the factor of after-effects of mental illness show no significant difference. While knowledge about mental illnesses can be improved by providing information, this does not automatically translate to integration of the mentally ill in society. Current initiatives need to be matched with specific and sustained efforts to reduce stigma associated with mental illness which have persisted unchanged. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. The relation of education and cognitive activity to mini-mental state in old age: the role of functional fitness status.

    PubMed

    Ihle, Andreas; Gouveia, Élvio R; Gouveia, Bruna R; Freitas, Duarte L; Jurema, Jefferson; Ornelas, Rui T; Antunes, António M; Muniz, Bárbara R; Kliegel, Matthias

    2018-06-01

    It remains unclear so far whether the role of cognitive reserve for cognitive functioning in old age may differ between individuals with low, compared to those with high functional fitness status. Therefore, the present study set out to investigate the relation of education and cognitive leisure activity as key markers of cognitive reserve to mini-mental state in old age (as an indicator of the extent of cognitive impairment) and its interplay with functional fitness status in a large sample of older adults. We assessed MMSE in 701 older adults ( M  = 70.4 years, SD = 6.9, range: 60-91). We measured functional fitness status using the Senior Fitness Test battery and interviewed individuals on their education and cognitive leisure activity. Results showed that better functional fitness status, longer education, and greater engagement in cognitive leisure activity were significantly related to higher MMSE scores. Moderation analyses showed that the relations of education and cognitive leisure activity to MMSE scores were significantly larger in individuals with low, compared to those with high functional fitness status. In conclusion, cognitive functioning in old age may more strongly depend on cognitive reserve accumulated during the life course in older adults with low, compared to those with high functional fitness status. These findings may be explained by cross-domain compensation effects in vulnerable individuals and may (at least partly) account for the large variability in cognitive reserve-cognition relations debated in the literature.

  18. Psychosocial Mechanisms Linking the Social Environment to Mental Health in African Americans.

    PubMed

    Mama, Scherezade K; Li, Yisheng; Basen-Engquist, Karen; Lee, Rebecca E; Thompson, Deborah; Wetter, David W; Nguyen, Nga T; Reitzel, Lorraine R; McNeill, Lorna H

    2016-01-01

    Resource-poor social environments predict poor health, but the mechanisms and processes linking the social environment to psychological health and well-being remain unclear. This study explored psychosocial mediators of the association between the social environment and mental health in African American adults. African American men and women (n = 1467) completed questionnaires on the social environment, psychosocial factors (stress, depressive symptoms, and racial discrimination), and mental health. Multiple-mediator models were used to assess direct and indirect effects of the social environment on mental health. Low social status in the community (p < .001) and U.S. (p < .001) and low social support (p < .001) were associated with poor mental health. Psychosocial factors significantly jointly mediated the relationship between the social environment and mental health in multiple-mediator models. Low social status and social support were associated with greater perceived stress, depressive symptoms, and perceived racial discrimination, which were associated with poor mental health. Results suggest the relationship between the social environment and mental health is mediated by psychosocial factors and revealed potential mechanisms through which social status and social support influence the mental health of African American men and women. Findings from this study provide insight into the differential effects of stress, depression and discrimination on mental health. Ecological approaches that aim to improve the social environment and psychosocial mediators may enhance health-related quality of life and reduce health disparities in African Americans.

  19. Psychosocial Mechanisms Linking the Social Environment to Mental Health in African Americans

    PubMed Central

    Basen-Engquist, Karen; Lee, Rebecca E.; Thompson, Deborah; Wetter, David W.; Reitzel, Lorraine R.

    2016-01-01

    Resource-poor social environments predict poor health, but the mechanisms and processes linking the social environment to psychological health and well-being remain unclear. This study explored psychosocial mediators of the association between the social environment and mental health in African American adults. African American men and women (n = 1467) completed questionnaires on the social environment, psychosocial factors (stress, depressive symptoms, and racial discrimination), and mental health. Multiple-mediator models were used to assess direct and indirect effects of the social environment on mental health. Low social status in the community (p < .001) and U.S. (p < .001) and low social support (p < .001) were associated with poor mental health. Psychosocial factors significantly jointly mediated the relationship between the social environment and mental health in multiple-mediator models. Low social status and social support were associated with greater perceived stress, depressive symptoms, and perceived racial discrimination, which were associated with poor mental health. Results suggest the relationship between the social environment and mental health is mediated by psychosocial factors and revealed potential mechanisms through which social status and social support influence the mental health of African American men and women. Findings from this study provide insight into the differential effects of stress, depression and discrimination on mental health. Ecological approaches that aim to improve the social environment and psychosocial mediators may enhance health-related quality of life and reduce health disparities in African Americans. PMID:27119366

  20. Comparing Mental Health of US Children of Immigrants and Non-Immigrants in 4 Racial/Ethnic Groups

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kim, JaHun; Nicodimos, Semret; Kushner, Siri E.; Rhew, Isaac C.; McCauley, Elizabeth; Vander Stoep, Ann

    2018-01-01

    Background: To compare the mental health status of children of immigrant (COI) and non-immigrant (NI) parents and to determine whether differences in mental health status between COI and NI vary across 4 racial/ethnic groups. Methods: We conducted universal mental health screening of 2374 sixth graders in an urban public school district. To…

  1. Impact of socio-economic status in meeting the needs of people with mental illness; human rights perspective.

    PubMed

    Vijayalakshmi, Poreddi; Ramachandra; Reddemma, Konduru; Math, Suresh Bada

    2014-04-01

    The present descriptive study investigated the impact of socio-economic status in meeting the human rights needs among randomly selected recovered psychiatric patients (n = 100) at a tertiary care center. Data was collected through face to face interview, using structured Needs Assessment Questionnaire. The findings revealed that the participants from below poverty line were deprived of physical needs such as 'electricity facilities' (χ (2) = 6.821, p < .009) 'safe drinking water' (χ (2) = 13.506, p < .004) and purchasing medications (χ (2) = 9.958, p < .019). Conversely, participants from above poverty line were dissatisfied in emotional needs dimension i.e. 'commenting on physical appearance (χ (2) = 8.337, p < .040), afraid of family members (χ (2) = 17.809, p < .000). Thus, there is an urgent need to implement mental illness awareness campaigns and government should take active steps for providing employment, disability pension, free housing, free treatment and free transportation service for people with mental illness to attend hospital or rehabilitation centres.

  2. Glucose abnormalities in Asian patients with chronic hepatitis C.

    PubMed

    Bo, Qingyan; Orsenigo, Roberto; Wang, Junyi; Griffel, Louis; Brass, Clifford

    2015-01-01

    Many studies have demonstrated a potential association between type 2 diabetes (T2D) and hepatitis C virus infection in Western countries, while similar evidence is limited in Asia. We compared the prevalence of glucose abnormalities (impaired fasting glucose [IFG] and T2D) and their risk factors between Asian and non-Asian chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients, and evaluated whether glucose abnormalities impacted the viral responses to peginterferon plus ribavirin treatment (current standard of care in most Asian countries). This study retrospectively analyzed data of 1,887 CHC patients from three Phase II/III studies with alisporivir (DEB025) as treatment for CHC. The chi-square test was used to compare the prevalence of IFG/T2D between Asian and non-Asian CHC patients, and logistic regression was used to adjust for sex, age, and cirrhosis status. Risk factors for IFG/T2D were evaluated using univariate and multivariate analysis. Our results indicated that the prevalence of IFG/T2D was high in both Asian and non-Asian CHC patients (23.0% vs 20.9%), and no significant difference was found between these two populations (adjusted odds ratio: 1.3, 95% confidence interval: 0.97, 1.7; P=0.08). Age, sex, and cirrhosis status were risk factors for IFG/T2D in both populations, while body mass index was positively associated with IFG/T2D in non-Asian but not in Asian participants. No significant differences in sustained virological response rates were seen between patients with normal fasting glucose and patients with IFG/T2D for both populations. These results demonstrate that the prevalence of glucose abnormalities in Asian CHC patients was similar to that in non-Asians, and glucose abnormalities had no impact on viral response to peginterferon plus ribavirin.

  3. Glucose abnormalities in Asian patients with chronic hepatitis C

    PubMed Central

    Bo, Qingyan; Orsenigo, Roberto; Wang, Junyi; Griffel, Louis; Brass, Clifford

    2015-01-01

    Many studies have demonstrated a potential association between type 2 diabetes (T2D) and hepatitis C virus infection in Western countries, while similar evidence is limited in Asia. We compared the prevalence of glucose abnormalities (impaired fasting glucose [IFG] and T2D) and their risk factors between Asian and non-Asian chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients, and evaluated whether glucose abnormalities impacted the viral responses to peginterferon plus ribavirin treatment (current standard of care in most Asian countries). This study retrospectively analyzed data of 1,887 CHC patients from three Phase II/III studies with alisporivir (DEB025) as treatment for CHC. The chi-square test was used to compare the prevalence of IFG/T2D between Asian and non-Asian CHC patients, and logistic regression was used to adjust for sex, age, and cirrhosis status. Risk factors for IFG/T2D were evaluated using univariate and multivariate analysis. Our results indicated that the prevalence of IFG/T2D was high in both Asian and non-Asian CHC patients (23.0% vs 20.9%), and no significant difference was found between these two populations (adjusted odds ratio: 1.3, 95% confidence interval: 0.97, 1.7; P=0.08). Age, sex, and cirrhosis status were risk factors for IFG/T2D in both populations, while body mass index was positively associated with IFG/T2D in non-Asian but not in Asian participants. No significant differences in sustained virological response rates were seen between patients with normal fasting glucose and patients with IFG/T2D for both populations. These results demonstrate that the prevalence of glucose abnormalities in Asian CHC patients was similar to that in non-Asians, and glucose abnormalities had no impact on viral response to peginterferon plus ribavirin. PMID:26609222

  4. Are premorbid abnormal personality traits associated with behavioural and psychological symptoms in dementia?

    PubMed

    Prior, Jack; Abraham, Rajesh; Nicholas, Helen; Chan, Tom; Vanvlymen, Jeremy; Lovestone, Simon; Boothby, Harry

    2016-09-01

    The study aims to investigate associations between behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) and abnormal premorbid personality traits. Data were obtained from 217 patients with a diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's disease. Behavioural and psychological symptoms of late-onset dementia were assessed with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory. Premorbid personality traits were assessed using the Standardised Assessment of Personality. Abnormal premorbid personality traits were categorised with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fourth edition and International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems-10 diagnostic criteria for personality disorders. Abnormal premorbid personality traits were associated with increased behavioural and psychological symptoms in dementia. Cluster A (solitary/paranoid) premorbid personality traits were associated with anxiety, depression and hallucinations. Cluster C (anxious/dependent) traits were associated with a syndrome of depression. The presence of Clusters A (solitary/paranoid) and C (anxious/dependent) abnormal premorbid personality traits seems to affect the expression of certain behavioural and psychological symptoms in dementia, depression in particular. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  5. Caregiver alcohol use and mental health among children orphaned by HIV/AIDS in South Africa.

    PubMed

    Jardin, Charles; Marais, Lochner; Bakhshaie, Jafar; Skinner, Donald; Neighbors, Clayton; Zvolensky, Michael; Sharp, Carla

    2017-03-01

    Research in the developed world suggests that parental alcohol use negatively impacts child mental health. However, little research has examined these relations among children in the developing world and no studies to date have done so in the context of AIDS-orphanhood. Therefore, the present study tested the interactive effect of AIDS-orphan status with caregiver alcohol use on child mental health. The sample included 742 children (51.2% female; M age   = 9.18; age range: 7-11 years; 29.8 AIDS-orphans; 36.8% orphaned by causes other than AIDS; 33.4% non-orphaned) recruited from Mangaung in the Free State Province of South Africa. Child mental health was assessed via child self-report, caregiver, and teacher reports; and caregiver alcohol use via self-report. Path analyses, via structural equation modeling, revealed significant direct effects for AIDS-orphan status on caregiver-reported child mental health; and for caregiver alcohol-use problems on teacher-reported child mental health. However, the interaction effect of AIDS-orphan status with caregiver alcohol use did not reach significance on all three reports of child mental health problems. These results suggest that orphan status and caregiver alcohol use may independently relate to mental health problems in children and that the effects of both should be considered in the context of the mental health needs of children in AIDS-affected countries.

  6. Demographic, Mental Health, Behavioral, and Psychosocial Factors Associated with Cigarette Smoking Status Among Young Men Who Have Sex with Men: The P18 Cohort Study.

    PubMed

    D'Avanzo, Paul A; Halkitis, Perry N; Yu, Kalvin; Kapadia, Farzana

    2016-10-01

    Young sexual minority men smoke at higher rates relative to heterosexual peers. The purpose of this study was to examine correlates of smoking in a sample of young gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) who might differ from more general and age-diverse samples of sexual minority individuals and, thus, inform tailored approaches to addressing tobacco use within this population. Data on smoking status were examined in relation to demographics, mental health, substance use behavior, and psychosocial factors. Using multinomial logistic regression, factors were identified that differentiate current and former smokers from never smokers. In bivariate analysis, smoking status was related to demographic, mental health, substance use, and psychosocial factors. Most significantly, smoking status was associated with school enrollment status, current alcohol and marijuana use, and symptoms of depression. Multivariate modeling revealed that, compared to being a never smoker, the odds of current or former smoking were highest among those currently using either alcohol or marijuana. The odds of both current and former smoking were also higher among those reporting greater levels of gay community affinity. Finally, the odds of being a former smoker were higher for those reporting internalized antihomosexual prejudice. This study identifies several factors related to smoking status in a diverse sample of young sexual minority males. These findings should encourage investigations of smoking disparities among younger MSM to look beyond common smoking risk factors in an attempt to understand etiologies that may be unique to this group. Such findings may indicate multiple points of potential intervention aimed at decreasing cigarette smoking within this vulnerable population.

  7. The Organization of Mental Health Services in Cuba.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Camayd-Freixas, Yohel; Uriarte, Miren

    1980-01-01

    Reviews the status and organization of the Cuban mental health system. Focuses on the deliberate and systematic interdependence of mental health, public health, and socio-political structures; inpatient treatment modes and rehabilitation programs; use of social networks to support discharged patients; community-based care; and primary to tertiary…

  8. [The effect of age, gender and socioeconomic status on the use of services for psychological distress symptoms in the general medical sector: Results from the ESA research program on mental health and aging].

    PubMed

    Préville, Michel; Gontijo-Guerra, Samantha; Mechakra-Tahiri, Samia-Djemaâ; Vasiliadis, Helen-Maria; Lamoureux-Lamarche, Catherine; Berbiche, Djamal

    2014-01-01

    The objective of this study was, first, to document the psychometric characteristics of a measure of the older adults' socioeconomic status and, secondly, to test the effect of the socioeconomic status on the association between the older adults perceived need to improve their mental health and their use of services in the general medical sector for psychological distress symptoms taking into account the effect of age and gender. Data used in this study come from the ESA study (Enquête sur la santé des ainés) on mental health and aging, conducted in 2005-2008 using a probabilistic sample (n=2811) of the older adult population aged 65 years and over living at home in Quebec. Our results showed that a measurement model of the older adults' socioeconomic status including an individual-level (SES_I) and an area/contextual-level dimension of socioeconomic deprivation (SES_C) was plausible. The reliability of the SES index used in the ESA research program was .92. Our results showed that women (b=-.43) and older people (b=-.16) were more at risk to have a disadvantaged socioeconomic status. However, our results did not show evidence of a significant association between the older adults' socioeconomic status, their perception of a need to improve their mental health and the use of medical services for psychological distress symptoms in the general medical sector in the older adult population in Quebec. Our results do not support the idea suggested in other studies that socioeconomic status has an effect on the older adults use of services for psychological distress symptoms in the general medical sector and suggest that in a context where medical health services are provided under a public insurance programme context, the socioeconomic status does not influence access to services in the general medical sector in the older adult population.

  9. Mental health status of runaway adolescents.

    PubMed

    Khurana, Sarbjeet; Sharma, N; Jena, Shivananda; Saha, R; Ingle, G K

    2004-05-01

    There are 47.22 million homeless and runaway adolescents roaming on the streets of our country (Voluntary Health Association of India - VHAI) of which one lakh are in Delhi.1 Very little is known about them, their needs or their experiences. (1). To assess the psychological problems amongst the runaway adolescent boys. (2). To determine possible risk factors. This study was cross-sectional in design and done at a child observation home for boys in Delhi. All runaway boys aged 10 to 16 years of age were included in the study. The study was conducted from 15th June to 15th July 2001. A comprehensive schedule consisting of five parts, viz identification data, hopelessness scale for children by Kazdin, Beck depression inventory, Psychological survey questionnaire and RUTTER-B2 scale were used to assess various mental health problems. 20.7% of children were found to have high hopelessness and 8% of children had depression. 2% of children revealed that they had attempted suicide at any point of time in life. Among children with high hopelessness, 3.2% had ever attempted suicide. 8.3% of the depressed children gave history of suicidal attempts. 38% of children gave history of physical abuse, 14.6% of sexual abuse and a large number reported substance abuse. 69.33% were found to have behavioral problems (i.e. scored above the recommended cut off score of 9). 81% of children had antisocial behavior, 7.8% were neurotic and 10.5% remained undifferentiated. Runaway adolescents suffer from a wide array of mental health problems and there is a need for a broad based psychosocial intervention programme.

  10. Impact of different approaches of primary care mental health on the prevalence of mental disorders.

    PubMed

    Moscovici, Leonardo; de Azevedo-Marques, Joao Mazzoncini; Bolsoni, Lívia Maria; Rodrigues-Junior, Antonio Luiz; Zuardi, Antonio Waldo

    2018-05-01

    AimTo compare the impact of three different approaches to primary care mental health on the prevalence of mental disorders. Millions of people suffer from mental disorders. As entry point into the health service, primary healthcare plays an important role in providing mental health prevention and treatment. Random sample of households in three different areas of the city of Ribeirão Preto (state of São Paulo, Brazil) were selected, and 20 trained medical students conducted interviews using a mental health screening instrument, the Mini-Screening of Mental Disorders, and a socio-demographic datasheet. Primary care mental health was provided in each area through a specific approach. The influence of the area of residence and the socio-demographic variables on the prevalence of mental disorder was explored and analyzed by univariate binary logistic regression and then by a multiple logistic regression model.FindingsA total of 1545 subjects were interviewed. Comparison between the three areas showed a significantly higher number of people with mental disorders in the area covered by the primary care team that did not have physicians with specific primary care mental health training, even when this association was adjusted for the influence of age, education, and socio-economic status.Our results suggest that residing in areas with family physicians with mental health training is associated with a lower prevalence of mental disorders.

  11. Mental status of the elderly receiving home health services and the associated stress of home helpers.

    PubMed

    Nagatomo, I; Takigawa, M

    1998-01-01

    One hundred and ninety elderly people receiving home health service were investigated. The intellectual levels, depressive state evaluated by the Cornell scale for depression in dementia (CSDD) scale, abnormal behaviors evaluated by the dementia behavior disturbance (DBD) scale, and activities of daily living (ADL) were examined. These assessments were performed by 72 skilled home helpers who also assessed the severity of their own level of stress using the Burnout scale. The intellectual level and mood-related signs, based on the CSDD scale, of the elderly living with families or with a spouse were diminished significantly as compared to the elderly living alone. The elderly living with families also performed worse on all ADL categories except for visual acuity as compared to the elderly living with a spouse or living alone. There was no significant correlation between the Burnout scale score and age or frequency of working as a home helper. These results suggest that elderly people living with families as compared to the elderly living with a spouse or living alone have greater mental health needs as well as more profound physical limitations.

  12. The nurse response to abnormal vital sign recording in the emergency department.

    PubMed

    Johnson, Kimberly D; Mueller, Lindsey; Winkelman, Chris

    2017-01-01

    To examine what occurs after a recorded observation of at least one abnormal vital sign in the emergency department. The aims were to determine how often abnormal vital signs were recorded, what interventions were documented, and what factors were associated with documented follow-up for abnormal vital signs. Monitoring quality of care, and preventing or intervening before harm occurs to patients are central to nurses' roles. Abnormal vital signs have been associated with poor patient outcomes and require follow-up after the observation of abnormal readings to prevent patient harm related to a deteriorating status. This documentation is important to quality and safety of care. Observational, retrospective chart review. Modified Early Warning Score was calculated for all recorded vital signs for 195 charts. Comparisons were made between groups: (1) no abnormal vital signs, (2) abnormal vital sign present, but normal Modified Early Warning Score and (3) critically abnormal Modified Early Warning Score. About 62·1% of charts had an abnormal vital sign documented. Critically abnormal values were present in 14·9%. No documentation was present in 44·6% of abnormal cases. When interventions were documented, it was usually to notify the physician. The timing within the emergency department visit when the abnormalities were observed and the degree of abnormality had significant relationships to the presence of documentation. It is doubtful that nurses do not recognise abnormalities because more severely abnormal vital signs were more likely to have documented follow-up. Perhaps the interruptive nature of the emergency department or the prioritised actions of the nurse impacted documentation within this study. Further research is required to determine why follow-up is not being documented. To ensure safety and quality of patient care, accurate documentation of responses to abnormal vital signs is required. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  13. Legal abortion for mental health indications.

    PubMed

    Cook, R J; Ortega-Ortiz, A; Romans, S; Ross, L E

    2006-11-01

    Where legal systems allow therapeutic abortion to preserve women's mental health, practitioners often lack access to mental health professionals for making critical diagnoses or prognoses that pregnancy or childcare endangers patients' mental health. Practitioners themselves must then make clinical assessments of the impact on their patients of continued pregnancy or childcare. The law requires only that practitioners make assessments in good faith, and by credible criteria. Mental disorder includes psychological distress or mental suffering due to unwanted pregnancy and responsibility for childcare, or, for instance, anticipated serious fetal impairment. Account should be taken of factors that make patients vulnerable to distress, such as personal or family mental health history, factors that may precipitate mental distress, such as loss of personal relationships, and factors that may maintain distress, such as poor education and marginal social status. Some characteristics of patients may operate as both precipitating and maintaining factors, such as poverty and lack of social support.

  14. Neighbourhood characteristics and mental disorders in three Chinese cities: multilevel models from the World Mental Health Surveys.

    PubMed

    Chiavegatto Filho, Alexandre Dias Porto; Sampson, Laura; Martins, Silvia S; Yu, Shui; Huang, Yueqin; He, Yanling; Lee, Sing; Hu, Chiyi; Zaslavsky, Alan; Kessler, Ronald C; Galea, Sandro

    2017-10-11

    The rapid growth of urban areas in China in the past few decades has introduced profound changes in family structure and income distribution that could plausibly affect mental health. Although multilevel studies of the influence of area-level socioeconomic factors on mental health have become more common in other parts of the world, a study of this sort has not been carried out in Chinese cities. Our objectives were to examine the associations of two key neighbourhood-level variables-median income and percentage of married individuals living in the neighbourhood-with mental disorders net of individual-level income and marital status in three Chinese cities. Household interviews in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, PRC, as part of the cross-sectional World Mental Health Surveys. 4072 men and women aged 18-88 years. Lifetime and past-year internalising and externalising mental disorders. Each one-point increase in neighbourhood-level percentage of married residents was associated with a 1% lower odds of lifetime (p=0.024) and 2% lower odds of past-year (p=0.008) individual-level externalising disorder, net of individual-level marital status. When split into tertiles, individuals living in neighbourhoods in the top tertile of percentage of married residents had 54% lower odds of a past-year externalising disorder (OR=0.46, 95% CI: 0.24 to 0.87) compared with those in the bottom tertile. Neighbourhood-level marital status was not statistically associated with either lifetime or past-year internalising disorders. Neighbourhood-level income was not statistically associated with odds of either internalising or externalising disorders. The proportion of married residents in respondents' neighbourhoods was significantly inversely associated with having externalising mental disorders in this sample of Chinese cities. Possible mechanisms for this finding are discussed and related to social causation, social selection and social control theories. Future work should examine

  15. Effects of calorie restriction plus fish oil supplementation on abnormal metabolic characteristics and the iron status of middle-aged obese women.

    PubMed

    Utami, Fasty Arum; Lee, Hsiu-Chuan; Su, Chien-Tien; Guo, Yu-Ru; Tung, Yu-Tang; Huang, Shih-Yi

    2018-02-21

    The increasing prevalence of obesity and sedentary lifestyles has led to a higher incidence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) worldwide as well as in Taiwan. Middle-aged women are at a greater risk of MetS, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease than men because they have more subcutaneous fat and larger waist circumferences compared with men with equal visceral fat levels. In this study, we investigated the effects of calorie restriction (CR) and fish oil supplementation (CRF) on middle-aged Taiwanese women with MetS. An open-label, parallel-arm, controlled trial was conducted for 12 weeks. A total of 75 eligible participants were randomly assigned to the CR or CRF group. Both the dietary intervention groups were further divided into two age groups: ≤45 and >45 years. Changes in MetS severity, inflammatory status, iron status, and red blood cell fatty acid profile were evaluated. A total of 71 participants completed the trial. Both dietary interventions significantly ameliorated MetS and improved the participants' inflammatory status. CR significantly increased the total iron-binding capacity (TIBC) whereas CRF increased hepcidin levels in women aged >45 years. Furthermore, CRF significantly increased the n-6/n-3 and arachidonic acid/docosahexaenoic acid ratios. Both interventions improved the anthropometric and MetS characteristics, including body weight, blood glucose and triglyceride levels, and the score of the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance and quantitative insulin sensitivity check index. In conclusion, the 12-week dietary interventions improved the abnormal metabolic status of middle-aged obese women. CRF was demonstrated to be more effective in ameliorating postprandial glucose level and TIBC in women aged >45 years than in those aged ≤45 years.

  16. The Longitudinal Stability and Dynamics of Group Membership in the Dual-Factor Model of Mental Health: Psychosocial Predictors of Mental Health

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kelly, Ryan M.; Hills, Kimberly J.; Huebner, E. Scott; McQuillin, Samuel D.

    2012-01-01

    This study examined the longitudinal stability and dynamics of group membership within the Greenspoon and Sakflofske's dual-factor model of mental health. This expanded model incorporates information about subjective well-being (SWB), in addition to psychopathological symptoms, to better identify the mental health status and current functioning of…

  17. [Correlation of psychoemotional status and adaptation to complete dentures].

    PubMed

    Barkan, I Yu; Stafeev, A A; Repin, V S

    2015-01-01

    Patients with full adentia are characterized by the formation of specific psycho-emotional status. Rational psychotherapeutic support of these patients largely determines the efficiency of dental prosthetic treatment. At the same time, the definition of mental and emotional status is not included in the diagnostic examination protocol. Considering the above the purpose of the study was to evaluate mental and emotional status of patients receiving complete dentures. Prosthetic rehabilitation of 30 patients with complete teeth loss was performed and clinical evaluation and evaluation of mental and emotional status were carried out before and after treatment. Patients with negative experiences of prosthetics showed a higher level of personal and situational anxiety. There was correlation of adaptation to removable dentures and the patient's personality traits. It is determined that emotional instability during treatment tends to decrease affecting the timing of adaptation to complete dentures. It is noted that patients with repeated prosthetics have earlier recovery of coordination ability of the masticatory muscles.

  18. Two Scales for Measuring International Health Status.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Larson, James S.

    1991-01-01

    Two scales for measuring international health status are proposed as alternatives to the current measure--infant mortality rate. Health Status 1 is an interval scale combining infant mortality and literacy rate. Health Status 2 comprises these statistics, plus death rate for persons 65 years and older, and mental hospital admissions. (SLD)

  19. Lifetime Exposure to Family Violence: Implications for the Health Status of Older African American Women

    PubMed Central

    Sprauve-Holmes, Nancy E; Gaughan, John; Kaslow, Nadine J.

    2009-01-01

    Abstract Background Family violence among older women encompasses intimate partner violence (IPV) and elder maltreatment, both linked to poor health status. Little is known about the association between family violence and the health status of older innercity African American women. Methods One hundred fifty-eight African American women, aged ≥50, were interviewed in the ambulatory clinics of a large public hospital. Lifetime family violence exposure as an adult was measured by the Family Violence against Older Women (FVOW) scale; physical and mental health status were measured by the physical and mental component summary scores of the Short Form 8® scale. Results Mean participant age was 61.5 years (SD 7.1). Participants with FVOW scores in the top quartile were considered to have high lifetime family violence exposure. Participants with higher family violence exposure and those younger, unemployed, or disabled reported worse physical and mental health status. Lower income and not having Medicare were associated with worse physical and mental health status, respectively. Using stepwise linear regression techniques, only employment status and high family violence exposure were associated with worse physical (F = 7.16, p = 0.0011) and mental health (f = 7.09, p = 0.0012) status. Women with high FVOW scores reported physical and mental component summary scores that were 4.18 and 4.6 points lower, respectively, than those of women with lower FVOW scores. Conclusions Among older, innercity, African American women, lack of employment and high levels of family violence exposure as an adult are associated with worse physical and mental health status. Clinicians caring for older African American women need to be cognizant of the role both current and prior violence exposure may play in their patients' current health status. PMID:19183088

  20. Unemployment and mental health in a favorable labor market.

    PubMed

    Houssemand, Claude; Meyers, Raymond

    2011-10-01

    Labour market variables may moderate the link between unemployment and mental health, as has been found in numerous research papers. The aim of this study was to test, in the context of a very favorable labor market, (1) the detrimental effect of unemployment on mental health and (2) the predictive validity of mental health on further employment status. The population of the study comprised 384 newly registered unemployed persons. Mental health was assessed through four variables: self-esteem, psychological distress, perceived stress, and depressive symptoms. The results did not confirm previous studies. Using analyses of variance for repeated measures and linear regression, a negative change of mental health was not found after 6 and 12 months' unemployment, and the four measurements of mental health at registration did not predict employment status 6 and 12 months later. Results are discussed in terms of moderating variables that capture Luxembourg labor market specificities. This research was supported by the Luxembourg National Research Fund in the framework of the VIVRE Program; grant no. FNR/02/05/07. We would like to thank Mary Devine for the linguistic revision of the text.

  1. Influence of Peer-Based Needle Exchange Programs on Mental Health Status in People Who Inject Drugs: A Nationwide New Zealand Study.

    PubMed

    Hay, Bianca; Henderson, Charles; Maltby, John; Canales, Juan J

    2016-01-01

    Alleviating the personal and social burden associated with substance use disorders requires the implementation of a comprehensive strategy, including outreach, education, community interventions, psychiatric treatment, and access to needle exchange programs (NEP), where peer support may be available. Given that substantial research underscores the potential benefits of peer support in psychiatric interventions, we aimed to conduct a national survey to examine key domains of mental health status in people who inject drugs (PWID) in New Zealand. PWID were recruited from 24 pharmacies and 16 dedicated peer-based needle exchanges (PBNEs) across the country. We focused on two mental health outcomes: (1) affective dysregulation, across the three emotional domains of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, due to its role in the maintenance of continued drug use, and (2) positive cognition and effective health- and drug-related information exchange with the provider, using the Satisfaction with Life Scale and an ad hoc questionnaire, respectively, in view of their association with improved mental health outcomes. We hypothesized that access to peer support would be associated with mental health benefits for PWIDs. Remarkably, the results of a multistep regression analysis revealed that irrespective of sex, age, ethnicity, main drug used, length of drug use, and frequency of visits to the NEP, the exclusive or preferential use of PBNEs predicted significantly lower depression and anxiety scores, greater satisfaction with life, and increased health-related information exchange with the service provider. These findings demonstrate for the first time an association between access to peer support at PBNEs and positive indices of mental health, lending strong support to the effective integration of such peer-delivered NEP services into the network of mental health services for PWID worldwide.

  2. Influence of Peer-Based Needle Exchange Programs on Mental Health Status in People Who Inject Drugs: A Nationwide New Zealand Study

    PubMed Central

    Hay, Bianca; Henderson, Charles; Maltby, John; Canales, Juan J.

    2017-01-01

    Alleviating the personal and social burden associated with substance use disorders requires the implementation of a comprehensive strategy, including outreach, education, community interventions, psychiatric treatment, and access to needle exchange programs (NEP), where peer support may be available. Given that substantial research underscores the potential benefits of peer support in psychiatric interventions, we aimed to conduct a national survey to examine key domains of mental health status in people who inject drugs (PWID) in New Zealand. PWID were recruited from 24 pharmacies and 16 dedicated peer-based needle exchanges (PBNEs) across the country. We focused on two mental health outcomes: (1) affective dysregulation, across the three emotional domains of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, due to its role in the maintenance of continued drug use, and (2) positive cognition and effective health- and drug-related information exchange with the provider, using the Satisfaction with Life Scale and an ad hoc questionnaire, respectively, in view of their association with improved mental health outcomes. We hypothesized that access to peer support would be associated with mental health benefits for PWIDs. Remarkably, the results of a multistep regression analysis revealed that irrespective of sex, age, ethnicity, main drug used, length of drug use, and frequency of visits to the NEP, the exclusive or preferential use of PBNEs predicted significantly lower depression and anxiety scores, greater satisfaction with life, and increased health-related information exchange with the service provider. These findings demonstrate for the first time an association between access to peer support at PBNEs and positive indices of mental health, lending strong support to the effective integration of such peer-delivered NEP services into the network of mental health services for PWID worldwide. PMID:28149282

  3. The Effect of Religious Belief on the Mental Health Status and Suicide Probability of Women Exposed to Violence.

    PubMed

    Güngörmüş, Zeynep; Tanrıverdi, Derya; Gündoğan, Tuğba

    2015-10-01

    It is known that violence against women is an important health problem both in the world and in Turkey (World Health Organization 2005; General Directorate on the Status of Women 2008). Religion is an important factor in preventing suicide and mental disorders by increasing one's ability to cope with events, channeling his/her perspective on life and the future toward a more positive path satisfying people about topics such as the need to be safe, the need for meaning and the reason for creation (Altuntop 2005). Hence, the objective of our study was to determine the effects of religious belief on the mental health status and suicide probabilities of women exposed to violence in Turkey. The study used a descriptive design. The study sample consisted of 135 women who have suffered violence who were consecutively admitted to the Department of Emergency of a State Hospital due to exposed to violence. They entered the study based on their acceptance to the questionnaire. The belief levels of women are based on their own statements and they are all Muslims. The data were collected using a questionnaire form, the Suicide Probability Scale and Brief Symptom Inventory. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 18.0. Statistical analyses were used percentage calculation, chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis test. In conclusion, a negative relationship was determined between the religious belief levels of women exposed to violence in Turkey and their moods and suicide probabilities. Hence, nurses who can stay alone with women for long periods of time can provide advancement in the determination and prevention of suicides decreasing depression via specific methods and overcoming hopelessness.

  4. Racial Disparities in Mental Health Outcomes after Psychiatric Hospital Discharge among Individuals with Severe Mental Illness

    PubMed Central

    Eack, Shaun M.; Newhill, Christina E.

    2012-01-01

    Racial disparities in mental health outcomes have been widely documented in noninstitutionalized community psychiatric samples, but few studies have specifically examined the effects of race among individuals with the most severe mental illnesses. A sample of 925 individuals hospitalized for severe mental illness was followed for a year after hospital discharge to examine the presence of disparities in mental health outcomes between African American and white individuals diagnosed with a severe psychiatric condition. Results from a series of individual growth curve models indicated that African American individuals with severe mental illness experienced significantly less improvement in global functioning, activation, and anergia symptoms and were less likely to return to work in the year following hospitalization. Racial disparities persisted after adjustment for sociodemographic and diagnostic confounders and were largely consistent across gender, socioeconomic status, and psychiatric diagnosis. Implications for social work research and practice with minorities with severe mental illness are discussed. PMID:24049433

  5. The ergonomic evaluation of eye movement and mental workload in aircraft pilots.

    PubMed

    Itoh, Y; Hayashi, Y; Tsukui, I; Saito, S

    1990-06-01

    This paper presents an experiment which examines characteristics of pilots' scanning behaviour when using integrated CRT displays, and the changes in characteristics when pilots face abnormal situations. The subjects were five experienced pilots. They performed two modes of flight tasks, under normal and abnormal situations, in flight simulators with standard settings. The flight simulators were for a Boeing 747-300 (B747), which made use of electromechanical displays, and for a Boeing 767 (B767), equipped with integrated CRT displays. The results showed that the B767 pilots tended to gaze at the attitude director indicator which was displayed in the integrated CRT display. It was assumed that 'gaze-type scanning' might be one of the characteristics of pilots' scanning behaviour in cockpits which use the integrated display. By employing subjective ratings and heart rate variability to measure mental workload, no differences in mental workload between the B767 pilots and the B747 pilots were observed. However, in abnormal situations, the changes in scanning pattern for B767 pilots were found to be smaller than those of the B747 pilots. It is concluded that the application of integrated displays helps pilots to obtain sufficient information more easily than electromechanical displays do, even under abnormal situations.

  6. The need for a behavioural science focus in research on mental health and mental disorders.

    PubMed

    Wittchen, Hans-Ulrich; Knappe, Susanne; Andersson, Gerhard; Araya, Ricardo; Banos Rivera, Rosa M; Barkham, Michael; Bech, Per; Beckers, Tom; Berger, Thomas; Berking, Matthias; Berrocal, Carmen; Botella, Christina; Carlbring, Per; Chouinard, Guy; Colom, Francesc; Csillag, Claudio; Cujipers, Pim; David, Daniel; Emmelkamp, Paul M G; Essau, Cecilia A; Fava, Giovanni A; Goschke, Thomas; Hermans, Dirk; Hofmann, Stefan G; Lutz, Wolfgang; Muris, Peter; Ollendick, Thomas H; Raes, Filip; Rief, Winfried; Riper, Heleen; Tossani, Eliana; van der Oord, Saskia; Vervliet, Bram; Haro, Josep M; Schumann, Gunter

    2014-01-01

    Psychology as a science offers an enormous diversity of theories, principles, and methodological approaches to understand mental health, abnormal functions and behaviours and mental disorders. A selected overview of the scope, current topics as well as strength and gaps in Psychological Science may help to depict the advances needed to inform future research agendas specifically on mental health and mental disorders. From an integrative psychological perspective, most maladaptive health behaviours and mental disorders can be conceptualized as the result of developmental dysfunctions of psychological functions and processes as well as neurobiological and genetic processes that interact with the environment. The paper presents and discusses an integrative translational model, linking basic and experimental research with clinical research as well as population-based prospective-longitudinal studies. This model provides a conceptual framework to identify how individual vulnerabilities interact with environment over time, and promote critical behaviours that might act as proximal risk factors for ill-health and mental disorders. Within the models framework, such improved knowledge is also expected to better delineate targeted preventive and therapeutic interventions that prevent further escalation in early stages before the full disorder and further complications thereof develop. In contrast to conventional "personalized medicine" that typically targets individual (genetic) variation of patients who already have developed a disease to improve medical treatment, the proposed framework model, linked to a concerted funding programme of the "Science of Behaviour Change", carries the promise of improved diagnosis, treatment and prevention of health-risk behaviour constellations as well as mental disorders. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  7. Becoming an Approved Mental Health Professional: an analysis of the factors that influence individuals to become Approved Mental Health Professionals.

    PubMed

    Watson, David

    2016-08-01

    In England and Wales, the Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) has final responsibility for applying under the Mental Health Act 1983 to admit an individual compulsorily and convey them to psychiatric hospital. The AMHP role is challenging and legally accountable and unique to the UK context. To analyse the motivation of individuals to become AMHPs, and identify factors which may affect motivation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 AMHPs from local authorities across Southern England. Ten participants were social workers, one was qualified as both a nurse and social worker, and one was a mental health nurse. Participants identify career progression and professional development as significant as well as the status and independence of the role and enhanced job security. Social work participants value the Mental Health Act assessment as a contained piece of work, with a high degree of professional discretion. AMHPs are motivated by an increase in professional status and job security, but also exercising independent judgment and authority in a time-limited intervention is emotionally and professionally rewarding.

  8. Observing Bullying at School: The Mental Health Implications of Witness Status

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rivers, Ian; Poteat, V. Paul; Noret, Nathalie; Ashurst, Nigel

    2009-01-01

    This study explores the impact of bullying on the mental health of students who witness it. A representative sample of 2,002 students aged 12 to 16 years attending 14 schools in the United Kingdom were surveyed using a questionnaire that included measures of bullying at school, substance abuse, and mental health risk. The results suggest that…

  9. Gamma abnormalities during perception of illusory figures in autism.

    PubMed

    Brown, Caroline; Gruber, Thomas; Boucher, Jill; Rippon, Gina; Brock, Jon

    2005-06-01

    This experiment was designed to test the hypothesis that perceptual abnormalities in autism might be associated with alteration of induced gamma activity patterns overlying visual cortical regions. EEG was recorded from six adolescents with autism and eight controls matched on chronological age, and verbal and nonverbal mental age, whilst identifying the presence or absence of an illusory Kanizsa shape. Although there were no reaction time or accuracy differences between the groups there were significant task-related differences in cortical activity. Control participants showed typical gamma-band activity over parietal regions at around 350 msec post onset of shape trials, similar to gamma patterns found in previous studies with non-impaired adults. In contrast, autistic participants showed overall increased activity, including an early 100 msec gamma peak and a late induced peak, 50 to 70 msec earlier than that shown by the control group. We interpret the abnormal gamma activity to reflect decreased "signal to noise" due to decreased inhibitory processing. In this experiment we did not establish a link between altered perception and abnormal gamma, as the autistic participants' behaviour did not differ from the controls. Future work should be designed to replicate this phenomenon and establish the perceptual consequences of altered gamma activity.

  10. Current concepts of metabolic abnormalities in HIV patients: focus on lipodystrophy.

    PubMed

    Kolter, Donald P

    2003-12-01

    HIV infection is associated with a number of metabolic abnormalities, including lipodystrophy, a difficult-to-define disorder whose characteristics include hyperlipidemia, insulin resistance, and fat redistribution. Current data suggest that lipodystrophy is caused by multiple factors. Dual-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor therapy combined with protease inhibitor therapy has been shown to increase the risk of metabolic abnormalities, but susceptibility independent of drug effects has also been shown. While many of the treatments for the broad range of signs and symptoms of lipodystrophy bring about improvements in patient status, none have been demonstrated to bring about a return to baseline levels.

  11. Home Environment, Social Status, and Mental Test Performance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bradley, Robert H.; And Others

    1977-01-01

    The ability of an environmental process measure and socioeconomic status (SES) measures to predict Stanford-Binet IQ at 3 years of age was compared in a separate analysis by sex and race. The environmental process measure predicted IQ as well as a combination of process and status measures, and was superior to SES measures alone. (Author/CP)

  12. Taking an intersectional approach to define latent classes of socioeconomic status, ethnicity and migration status for psychiatric epidemiological research.

    PubMed

    Goodwin, L; Gazard, B; Aschan, L; MacCrimmon, S; Hotopf, M; Hatch, S L

    2017-04-09

    Inequalities in mental health are well documented using individual social statuses such as socioeconomic status (SES), ethnicity and migration status. However, few studies have taken an intersectional approach to investigate inequalities in mental health using latent class analysis (LCA). This study will examine the association between multiple indicator classes of social identity with common mental disorder (CMD). Data on CMD symptoms were assessed in a diverse inner London sample of 1052 participants in the second wave of the South East London Community Health study. LCA was used to define classes of social identity using multiple indicators of SES, ethnicity and migration status. Adjusted associations between CMD and both individual indicators and multiple indicators of social identity are presented. LCA identified six groups that were differentiated by varying levels of privilege and disadvantage based on multiple SES indicators. This intersectional approach highlighted nuanced differences in odds of CMD, with the economically inactive group with multiple levels of disadvantage most likely to have a CMD. Adding ethnicity and migration status further differentiated between groups. The migrant, economically inactive and White British, economically inactive classes both had increased odds of CMD. This is the first study to examine the intersections of SES, ethnicity and migration status with CMD using LCA. Results showed that both the migrant, economically inactive and the White British, economically inactive classes had a similarly high prevalence of CMD. Findings suggest that LCA is a useful methodology for investigating health inequalities by intersectional identities.

  13. A family affair: brain abnormalities in siblings of patients with schizophrenia.

    PubMed

    Moran, Marcel E; Hulshoff Pol, Hilleke; Gogtay, Nitin

    2013-11-01

    Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder that has a strong genetic basis. Converging evidence suggests that schizophrenia is a progressive neurodevelopmental disorder, with earlier onset cases resulting in more profound brain abnormalities. Siblings of patients with schizophrenia provide an invaluable resource for differentiating between trait and state markers, thus highlighting possible endophenotypes for ongoing research. However, findings from sibling studies have not been systematically put together in a coherent story across the broader age span. We review here the cortical grey matter abnormalities in siblings of patients with schizophrenia from childhood to adulthood, by reviewing sibling studies from both childhood-onset schizophrenia, and the more common adult-onset schizophrenia. When reviewed together, studies suggest that siblings of patients with schizophrenia display significant brain abnormalities that highlight both similarities and differences between the adult and childhood populations, with shared developmental risk patterns, and segregating trajectories. Based on current research it appears that the cortical grey matter abnormalities in siblings are likely to be an age-dependent endophenotype, which normalize by the typical age of onset of schizophrenia unless there has been more genetic or symptom burdening. With increased genetic burdening (e.g. discordant twins of patients) the grey matter abnormalities in (twin) siblings are progressive in adulthood. This synthesis of the literature clarifies the importance of brain plasticity in the pathophysiology of the illness, indicating that probands may lack protective factors critical for healthy development.

  14. A family affair: brain abnormalities in siblings of patients with schizophrenia

    PubMed Central

    Hulshoff Pol, Hilleke; Gogtay, Nitin

    2013-01-01

    Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder that has a strong genetic basis. Converging evidence suggests that schizophrenia is a progressive neurodevelopmental disorder, with earlier onset cases resulting in more profound brain abnormalities. Siblings of patients with schizophrenia provide an invaluable resource for differentiating between trait and state markers, thus highlighting possible endophenotypes for ongoing research. However, findings from sibling studies have not been systematically put together in a coherent story across the broader age span. We review here the cortical grey matter abnormalities in siblings of patients with schizophrenia from childhood to adulthood, by reviewing sibling studies from both childhood-onset schizophrenia, and the more common adult-onset schizophrenia. When reviewed together, studies suggest that siblings of patients with schizophrenia display significant brain abnormalities that highlight both similarities and differences between the adult and childhood populations, with shared developmental risk patterns, and segregating trajectories. Based on current research it appears that the cortical grey matter abnormalities in siblings are likely to be an age-dependent endophenotype, which normalize by the typical age of onset of schizophrenia unless there has been more genetic or symptom burdening. With increased genetic burdening (e.g. discordant twins of patients) the grey matter abnormalities in (twin) siblings are progressive in adulthood. This synthesis of the literature clarifies the importance of brain plasticity in the pathophysiology of the illness, indicating that probands may lack protective factors critical for healthy development. PMID:23698280

  15. Employment status and mental health care use in times of economic contraction: a repeated cross-sectional study in Europe, using a three-level model.

    PubMed

    Buffel, Veerle; van de Straat, Vera; Bracke, Piet

    2015-03-11

    Framed within the recent economic crisis, in this study we investigate the medical mental health care use of the unemployed compared with that of the employed in Europe, and whether the relationship between employment status and mental health care use varies across macro-economic conditions. We examine whether the macro-economic context and changes therein are related to mental health care use, via their impact on mental health, or more directly, irrespective of mental health. We use data from three waves of the Eurobarometer (2002, 2005/2006, and 2010), which has a repeated cross-sectional and cross-national design. Linear and logistic multilevel regression analyses are performed with mental health, contacting a general practitioner, and contacting a psychiatrist for mental health problems as dependent variables. The multilevel design has three levels (the individual, the period-country, and the country), which allows us to estimate both longitudinal and cross-sectional macro-effects. The macro-economic context and changes therein are assessed using national unemployment rates and growth rates in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The mean unemployment rate is negatively related to mental health, although for women, this effect only applies to the employed. Among women, no relationship is found between changes in the macro-economic context and mental health. The unemployment rate, and changes in both the unemployment rate and the real GDP growth rate, are associated with men's care use, regardless of their mental health, whereas this does not hold for women. In countries with an increase in the unemployment rate, both unemployed and employed men tend to medicalize their problems more by contacting a general practitioner, irrespective of their mental health, while the likelihood of contacting a psychiatrist is lower among employed men. Our findings stress the importance of taking the macro-economic context and changes therein into account when studying the mental health

  16. [Inactivity, obesity and mental health in the Spanish population from 4 to 15 years of age].

    PubMed

    Rodríguez-Hernández, Arturo; Cruz-Sánchez, Ernesto de la; Feu, Sebastián; Martínez-Santos, Raúl

    2011-08-01

    An active lifestyle and a good weight status are two major health determinants from a public health perspective. To evaluate the degree of association between physical activity, weight status and the emotional and mental health of Spanish schoolchildren. Mental health status was assessed through the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), also leisure time physical activity and body mass index (BMI) in a total of 6 803 children from 4 to 15 years participating in the Spanish National Health Survey 2006. The degree of association between. these variables was estimated by a multinomial logistic regression analysis. Among sedentary schoolchildren are more common mental health problems (OR 2.10), emotional problems (OR 1.84), conduct problems (OR 1.53), problems with peers (OR 2.35) and social relationship difficulties (OR 1.36). Obesity is associated with poor general mental health (OR 1.58), and obese schoolchildren show more often emotional problems (OR 1.52) and problems with peers (OR 2.43). In the Spanish schoolchildren, a healthy BMI is associated with increased mental well-being, although an active lifestyle is the best indicator of a good mental health status.

  17. Workplace bullying and psychotropic drug use: the mediating role of physical and mental health status

    PubMed Central

    Niedhammer, Isabelle; David, Simone; Degioanni, Stéphanie; Drummond, Anne; Philip, Pierre

    2011-01-01

    Objectives The association between workplace bullying and psychotropic drug use is not well established. This study was aimed at exploring the association between workplace bullying, and its characteristics, and psychotropic drug use, and studying the mediating role of physical and mental health. Methods The study population consisted of a random sample of 3132 men and 4562 women of the working population in the South-East of France. Workplace bullying, evaluated using the validated instrument elaborated by Leymann, and psychotropic drug use, as well as covariates, were measured using a self-administered questionnaire. Covariates included age, marital status, presence of children, education, occupation, working hours, night work, physico-chemical exposures at work, self-reported health, and depressive symptoms. Statistical analysis was performed using logistic regression analysis, and was carried out separately for men and women. Results Workplace bullying was strongly associated with psychotropic drug use. Past exposure to bullying increased the risk for this use. The more frequent and the longer the exposure to bullying, the stronger the association with psychotropic drug use. Observing bullying on someone else at the workplace was associated with psychotropic drug use. Adjustment for covariates did not modify the results. Additional adjustment for self-reported health and depressive symptoms reduced the magnitude of the associations, especially for men. Conclusion The association between bullying and psychotropic drug use was found to be significant and strong, and was partially mediated by physical and mental health. PMID:21177264

  18. Workplace bullying and psychotropic drug use: the mediating role of physical and mental health status.

    PubMed

    Niedhammer, Isabelle; David, Simone; Degioanni, Stéphanie; Drummond, Anne; Philip, Pierre; Acquarone, D; Aicardi, F; André-Mazeaud, P; Arsento, M; Astier, R; Baille, H; Bajon-Thery, F; Barre, E; Basire, C; Battu, J L; Baudry, S; Beatini, C; Beaud'huin, N; Becker, C; Bellezza, D; Beque, C; Bernstein, O; Beyssier, C; Blanc-Cascio, F; Blanchet, N; Blondel, C; Boisselot, R; Bordes-Dupuy, G; Borrelly, N; Bouhnik, D; Boulanger, M F; Boulard, J; Bourreau, P; Bourret, D; Boustière, A M; Breton, C; Bugeon, G; Buono-Michel, M; Canonne, J F; Capella, D; Cavin-Rey, M; Cervoni, C; Charreton, D; Charrier, D; Chauvin, M A; Chazal, B; Cougnot, C; Cuvelier, G; Dalivoust, G; Daumas, R; Debaille, A; De Bretteville, L; Delaforge, G; Delchambre, A; Domeny, L; Donati, Y; Ducord-Chapelet, J; Duran, C; Durand-Bruguerolle, D; Fabre, D; Faivre, A; Falleri, R; Ferrando, G; Ferrari-Galano, J; Flutet, M; Fouché, J P; Fournier, F; Freyder, E; Galy, M; Garcia, A; Gazazian, G; Gérard, C; Girard, F; Giuge, M; Goyer, C; Gravier, C; Guyomard, A; Hacquin, M C; Halimi, E; Ibagnes, T; Icart, P; Jacquin, M C; Jaubert, B; Joret, J P; Julien, J P; Kacel, M; Kesmedjian, E; Lacroix, P; Lafon-Borelli, M; Lallai, S; Laudicina, J; Leclercq, X; Ledieu, S; Leroy, J; Leroyer, L; Loesche, F; Londi, D; Longueville, J M; Lotte, M C; Louvain, S; Lozé, M; Maculet-Simon, M; Magallon, G; Marcelot, V; Mareel, M C; Martin, P; Masse, A M; Méric, M; Milliet, C; Mokhtari, R; Monville, A M; Muller, B; Obadia, G; Pelser, M; Peres, L; Perez, E; Peyron, M; Peyronnin, F; Postel, S; Presseq, P; Pyronnet, E; Quinsat, C; Raulot-Lapointe, H; Rigaud, P; Robert, F; Robert, O; Roger, K; Roussel, A; Roux, J P; Rubini-Remigy, D; Sabaté, N; Saccomano-Pertus, C; Salengro, B; Salengro-Trouillez, P; Samsom, E; Sendra-Gille, L; Seyrig, C; Stoll, G; Tarpinian, N; Tavernier, M; Tempesta, S; Terracol, H; Torresani, F; Triglia, M F; Vandomme, V; Vieillard, F; Vilmot, K; Vital, N

    2011-03-01

    The association between workplace bullying and psychotropic drug use is not well established. This study was aimed at exploring the association between workplace bullying, and its characteristics, and psychotropic drug use and studying the mediating role of physical and mental health. The study population consisted of a random sample of 3132 men and 4562 women of the working population in the south-east of France. Workplace bullying, evaluated using the validated instrument elaborated by Leymann, and psychotropic drug use, as well as covariates, were measured using a self-administered questionnaire. Covariates included age, marital status, presence of children, education, occupation, working hours, night work, physico-chemical exposures at work, self-reported health, and depressive symptoms. Statistical analysis was performed using logistic regression analysis and was carried out separately for men and women. Workplace bullying was strongly associated with psychotropic drug use. Past exposure to bullying increased the risk for this use. The more frequent and the longer the exposure to bullying, the stronger the association with psychotropic drug use. Observing bullying on someone else at the workplace was associated with psychotropic drug use. Adjustment for covariates did not modify the results. Additional adjustment for self-reported health and depressive symptoms reduced the magnitude of the associations, especially for men. The association between bullying and psychotropic drug use was found to be significant and strong and was partially mediated by physical and mental health.

  19. A 4q35.2 subtelomeric deletion identified in a screen of patients with co-morbid psychiatric illness and mental retardation

    PubMed Central

    Pickard, Ben S; Hollox, Edward J; Malloy, M Pat; Porteous, David J; Blackwood, Douglas HR; Armour, John AL; Muir, Walter J

    2004-01-01

    Background Cryptic structural abnormalities within the subtelomeric regions of chromosomes have been the focus of much recent research because of their discovery in a percentage of people with mental retardation (UK terminology: learning disability). These studies focused on subjects (largely children) with various severities of intellectual impairment with or without additional physical clinical features such as dysmorphisms. However it is well established that prevalence of schizophrenia is around three times greater in those with mild mental retardation. The rates of bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder have also been reported as increased in people with mental retardation. We describe here a screen for telomeric abnormalities in a cohort of 69 patients in which mental retardation co-exists with severe psychiatric illness. Methods We have applied two techniques, subtelomeric fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) and multiplex amplifiable probe hybridisation (MAPH) to detect abnormalities in the patient group. Results A subtelomeric deletion was discovered involving loss of 4q in a patient with co-morbid schizoaffective disorder and mental retardation. Conclusion The precise region of loss has been defined allowing us to identify genes that may contribute to the clinical phenotype through hemizygosity. Interestingly, the region of 4q loss exactly matches that linked to bipolar affective disorder in a large multiply affected Australian kindred. PMID:15310400

  20. Wealth Inequality and Mental Disability Among the Chinese Population: A Population Based Study.

    PubMed

    Wang, Zhenjie; Du, Wei; Pang, Lihua; Zhang, Lei; Chen, Gong; Zheng, Xiaoying

    2015-10-19

    In the study described herein, we investigated and explored the association between wealth inequality and the risk of mental disability in the Chinese population. We used nationally represented, population-based data from the second China National Sample Survey on Disability, conducted in 2006. A total of 1,724,398 study subjects between the ages of 15 and 64, including 10,095 subjects with mental disability only, were used for the analysis. Wealth status was estimated by a wealth index that was derived from a principal component analysis of 10 household assets and four other variables related to wealth. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for mental disability for each category, with the lowest quintile category as the referent. Confounding variables under consideration were age, gender, residence area, marital status, ethnicity, education, current employment status, household size, house type, homeownership and living arrangement. The distribution of various types and severities of mental disability differed significantly by wealth index category in the present population. Wealth index category had a positive association with mild mental disability (p for trend <0.01), but had a negative association with extremely severe mental disability (p for trend <0.01). Moreover, wealth index category had a significant, inverse association with mental disability when all severities of mental disability were taken into consideration. This study's results suggest that wealth is a significant factor in the distribution of mental disability and it might have different influences on various types and severities of mental disability.

  1. Wealth Inequality and Mental Disability Among the Chinese Population: A Population Based Study

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Zhenjie; Du, Wei; Pang, Lihua; Zhang, Lei; Chen, Gong; Zheng, Xiaoying

    2015-01-01

    In the study described herein, we investigated and explored the association between wealth inequality and the risk of mental disability in the Chinese population. We used nationally represented, population-based data from the second China National Sample Survey on Disability, conducted in 2006. A total of 1,724,398 study subjects between the ages of 15 and 64, including 10,095 subjects with mental disability only, were used for the analysis. Wealth status was estimated by a wealth index that was derived from a principal component analysis of 10 household assets and four other variables related to wealth. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for mental disability for each category, with the lowest quintile category as the referent. Confounding variables under consideration were age, gender, residence area, marital status, ethnicity, education, current employment status, household size, house type, homeownership and living arrangement. The distribution of various types and severities of mental disability differed significantly by wealth index category in the present population. Wealth index category had a positive association with mild mental disability (p for trend <0.01), but had a negative association with extremely severe mental disability (p for trend <0.01). Moreover, wealth index category had a significant, inverse association with mental disability when all severities of mental disability were taken into consideration. This study’s results suggest that wealth is a significant factor in the distribution of mental disability and it might have different influences on various types and severities of mental disability. PMID:26492258

  2. [A systematic review of working hours and mental health burden].

    PubMed

    Fujino, Yoshihisa; Horie, Seichi; Hoshuyama, Tsutomu; Tsutsui, Takao; Tanaka, Yayoi

    2006-07-01

    There is growing concern over the possible increase in mental health problems among Japanese workers. This trend is generally regarded as a reflection of Japan's prolonged economic depression and changes in working environment. In fact, claims for compensation for industrial accidents related to mental health diseases have been rapidly increasing in recent years. Working hours, personal-relationships, support from supervisors/co-workers, job demand, job control, and payment are known to affect workers mental health. In 2004, the Government announced a guideline to combat overwork and mental health problems at work places. This guideline articulates that long overtime working is a major indicator, and workers who work over 100 h overtime in a month should be encouraged to see an occupational physician. This guideline takes into account the practicalities of occupational health at work places and the empiric knowledge that long working hours might associate with workers mental health status. It may be reasonable to assume that long working hours affect workers health status both psychologically and physiologically, interacting with a variety of occupational factors, particularly job stress. However, the association between working hours and workers mental health status has not been fully clarified. The present article aimed to provide a systematic review of the association between working hours and mental health problems. The authors conducted a systematic review of the published literature on the association between working hours and mental health problems using PubMed. Of 131 abstracts and citations reviewed, 17 studies met the predefined criteria. Ten of these are longitudinal studies, and the others are cross-sectional studies. Seven of the 17 studies report statistically significant associations between working hours and mental health problems, while the others report no association. In addition, comparison among these studies is difficult because a variety of

  3. Lung volumes and emphysema in smokers with interstitial lung abnormalities.

    PubMed

    Washko, George R; Hunninghake, Gary M; Fernandez, Isis E; Nishino, Mizuki; Okajima, Yuka; Yamashiro, Tsuneo; Ross, James C; Estépar, Raúl San José; Lynch, David A; Brehm, John M; Andriole, Katherine P; Diaz, Alejandro A; Khorasani, Ramin; D'Aco, Katherine; Sciurba, Frank C; Silverman, Edwin K; Hatabu, Hiroto; Rosas, Ivan O

    2011-03-10

    Cigarette smoking is associated with emphysema and radiographic interstitial lung abnormalities. The degree to which interstitial lung abnormalities are associated with reduced total lung capacity and the extent of emphysema is not known. We looked for interstitial lung abnormalities in 2416 (96%) of 2508 high-resolution computed tomographic (HRCT) scans of the lung obtained from a cohort of smokers. We used linear and logistic regression to evaluate the associations between interstitial lung abnormalities and HRCT measurements of total lung capacity and emphysema. Interstitial lung abnormalities were present in 194 (8%) of the 2416 HRCT scans evaluated. In statistical models adjusting for relevant covariates, interstitial lung abnormalities were associated with reduced total lung capacity (-0.444 liters; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.596 to -0.292; P<0.001) and a lower percentage of emphysema defined by lung-attenuation thresholds of -950 Hounsfield units (-3%; 95% CI, -4 to -2; P<0.001) and -910 Hounsfield units (-10%; 95% CI, -12 to -8; P<0.001). As compared with participants without interstitial lung abnormalities, those with abnormalities were more likely to have a restrictive lung deficit (total lung capacity <80% of the predicted value; odds ratio, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.4 to 3.7; P<0.001) and were less likely to meet the diagnostic criteria for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (odds ratio, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.37 to 0.76; P<0.001). The effect of interstitial lung abnormalities on total lung capacity and emphysema was dependent on COPD status (P<0.02 for the interactions). Interstitial lung abnormalities were positively associated with both greater exposure to tobacco smoke and current smoking. In smokers, interstitial lung abnormalities--which were present on about 1 of every 12 HRCT scans--were associated with reduced total lung capacity and a lesser amount of emphysema. (Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Parker B. Francis Foundation

  4. Developmental abnormalities and age-related neurodegeneration in a mouse model of Down syndrome

    PubMed Central

    Holtzman, David M.; Santucci, Daniela; Kilbridge, Joshua; Chua-Couzens, Jane; Fontana, David J.; Daniels, Scott E.; Johnson, Randolph M.; Chen, Karen; Sun, Yuling; Carlson, Elaine; Alleva, Enrico; Epstein, Charles J.; Mobley, William C.

    1996-01-01

    To study the pathogenesis of central nervous system abnormalities in Down syndrome (DS), we have analyzed a new genetic model of DS, the partial trisomy 16 (Ts65Dn) mouse. Ts65Dn mice have an extra copy of the distal aspect of mouse chromosome 16, a segment homologous to human chromosome 21 that contains much of the genetic material responsible for the DS phenotype. Ts65Dn mice show developmental delay during the postnatal period as well as abnormal behaviors in both young and adult animals that may be analogous to mental retardation. Though the Ts65Dn brain is normal on gross examination, there is age-related degeneration of septohippocampal cholinergic neurons and astrocytic hypertrophy, markers of the Alzheimer disease pathology that is present in elderly DS individuals. These findings suggest that Ts65Dn mice may be used to study certain developmental and degenerative abnormalities in the DS brain. PMID:8917591

  5. Mental health functioning (SF-36) and intentions to retire early among ageing municipal employees: the Helsinki Health Study.

    PubMed

    Harkonmäki, Karoliina; Lahelma, Eero; Martikainen, Pekka; Rahkonen, Ossi; Silventoinen, Karri

    2006-01-01

    To examine the associations of mental health functioning with intentions to retire early among ageing municipal employees. Cross-sectional survey data (n = 7,765) from the Helsinki Health Study in 2000, 2001, and 2002 were used. Intentions to retire early were sought with a question: "Have you considered retiring before normal retirement age?" The dependent variable was divided into three categories: 1 = no intentions to retire early; 2 = weak intentions; 3 = strong intentions. Mental health functioning was measured by the Short Form 36 (SF-36) mental component summary (MCS). Other variables included age, sex, physical health functioning (SF-36), limiting longstanding illness, socioeconomic status, and spouse's employment status. Multinomial regression analysis was used to examine the association of mental health functioning with intentions to retire early. Employees with the poorest mental health functioning were much more likely to report strong intentions to retire early (OR 6.09, 95% CI 4.97-7.47) than those with the best mental health functioning. Adjustments for physical health, socioeconomic status, and spouse's employment status did not substantially affect this association. The findings highlight the importance of mental health for intentions to retire early. Strategies aimed at keeping people at work for longer should emphasize the importance of mental well-being and the prevention of poor mental health. More evidence is needed on why mental problems among ageing baby-boomer employees are giving rise to increasing social consequences, although the overall prevalence of mental problems has not increased.

  6. Characteristics and rates of mental health problems among Indian and White adolescents in two English cities.

    PubMed

    Dogra, Nisha; Svirydzenka, Nadzeya; Dugard, Pat; Singh, Swaran P; Vostanis, Panos

    2013-07-01

    Sampling techniques for national surveys have constrained the statistical power in estimating prevalence rates of child mental health problems in minority ethnic groups. To establish the prevalence rates of mental health problems in ethnic Indian adolescents in England and compare these with matched White adolescents living in the same areas. A cross-sectional survey with oversampling of Indian adolescents aged 13-15 years of age. The sample size was 2900 (71% response rate) with 1087 (37%) Indian and 414 (14%) White adolescents. Ethnically Indian adolescents had lower rates of all types of mental health problems (5% v. 13% and 21% v. 30% for abnormal Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire scores, respectively) and substance misuse (18% v. 57%, 5% v.15% and 6% v. 9% for regular alcohol, smoking and drug use, respectively), with the exception of eating disorders, compared with their White counterparts. The odds of an abnormal score on the mental health questionnaires were worse for White compared with Indian children irrespective of sociodemographic variables. Factors relating to how Indian adolescents are parented or their social support networks may be influencing their mental health and may warrant further investigation.

  7. Epilepsy is associated with ventricular alterations following convulsive status epilepticus in children.

    PubMed

    Ali, Wail; Bubolz, Beth A; Nguyen, Linh; Castro, Danny; Coss-Bu, Jorge; Quach, Michael M; Kennedy, Curtis E; Anderson, Anne E; Lai, Yi-Chen

    2017-12-01

    Convulsive status epilepticus can exert profound cardiovascular effects in adults including ventricular depolarization-repolarization abnormalities. Whether status epilepticus adversely affects ventricular electrical properties in children is less understood. Therefore, we sought to characterize ventricular alterations and the associated clinical factors in children following convulsive status epilepticus. We conducted a 2-year retrospective, case-control study. Children between 1 month and 21 years of age were included if they were admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit with primary diagnosis of convulsive status epilepticus and had 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) within 24 hours of admission. Children with heart disease, ion channelopathy, or on vasoactive medications were excluded. Age-matched control subjects had no history of seizures or epilepsy. The primary outcome was ventricular abnormalities represented by ST segment changes, abnormal T wave, QRS axis deviation, and corrected QT (QTc) interval prolongation. The secondary outcomes included QT/RR relationship, beat-to-beat QTc interval variability, ECG interval measurement between groups, and clinical factors associated with ECG abnormalities. Of 317 eligible children, 59 met the inclusion criteria. History of epilepsy was present in 31 children (epileptic) and absent in 28 children (non-epileptic). Compared with the control subjects (n = 31), the status epilepticus groups were more likely to have an abnormal ECG with overall odds ratio of 3.8 and 7.0 for the non-epileptic and the epileptic groups respectively. Simple linear regression analysis demonstrated that children with epilepsy exhibited impaired dependence and adaptation of the QT interval on heart rate. Beat-to-beat QTc interval variability, a marker of ventricular repolarization instability, was increased in children with epilepsy. Convulsive status epilepticus can adversely affect ventricular electrical properties and stability in children

  8. Using Social Media to Explore the Consequences of Domestic Violence on Mental Health.

    PubMed

    Liu, Mingming; Xue, Jia; Zhao, Nan; Wang, Xuefei; Jiao, Dongdong; Zhu, Tingshao

    2018-02-01

    A great deal of research has focused on the negative consequences of domestic violence (DV) on mental health. However, current studies cannot provide direct and reliable evidence on the impacts of DV on mental health in a short term as it is not feasible to measure mental health shortly before and after an unpredictable event like DV. This study aims to explore the short-term outcomes of DV on individuals' mental health. We collected a sample of 232 victims (77% female) and 232 nonvictims (gender and location matched with 232 victims) on Sina Weibo. In both the victim and nonvictim groups, we measured their mental health status during the 4 weeks before the first DV incident and during the 4 weeks after the DV incident. We used our proposed Online Ecological Recognition (OER) system, which is based on several predictive models to identify individuals' mental health statuses. Mental health statuses were measured based on individuals' Weibo profiles and messages, which included "Depression," "Suicide Probability," and "Satisfaction With Life." The results showed that mental health in the victim group was impacted by DV while individuals in the nonvictim group were not. Furthermore, the victim group demonstrated an increase in depression symptoms, higher suicide risks, and decreased life satisfaction after their DV experience. In addition, the effect of DV on individuals' mental health could appear in the conditions of child abuse, intimate partner violence, and exposure to DV. These findings inform that DV significantly impacts individuals' mental health over the short term, as in 4 weeks. Our proposed new data collection and analyses approach, OER, has implications for employing "big data" from social networks to identify individuals' mental health.

  9. An unusual case of altered mental status in a young woman

    PubMed Central

    Challapalli Sri, Rama Mohana Rao; Chipinapi, Thejo; Bharadwaj, Shishira; Kissell, Kerri Ann

    2011-01-01

    Context: We describe a case of paraneoplastic neurologic syndrome, namely N-Methyl-D-Aspartic acid receptor antibody associated limbic encephalitis, a rare cause of altered mental status in the young. Case Report: A 28 year old Caucasian female nurse presented with acute onset difficulty with word finding and increasing confusion and agitation. She also had visual hallucinations, transient episodes of unresponsiveness, and lingual dyskinesias. Workup including blood, imaging and regular cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) studies was unremarkable. She subsequently developed complex partial seizures. Computerized Tomography scan of chest/abdomen/pelvis revealed a dermoid cyst of the left ovary and CSF N-Methyl-D-Aspartic acid receptor antibody returned positive confirming the diagnosis of paraneoplastic NMDA receptor antibody associated limbic encephalitis. She was treated with methylprednisolone therapy along with plasmapheresis and a left salpingo-opherectomy was performed. The patient showed significant improvement with respect to her cognitive function and had no more seizures. Conclusion: N-Methyl-D-Aspartic acid receptor antibody associated limbic encephalitis is a rare paraneoplastic neurologic syndrome with symptoms including psychiatric manifestations, seizures, language disturbances and autonomic instability. It develops due to antibody induced decrease in N-Methyl-D-Aspartic acid receptors. There is a significant association with ovarian teratoma in >50% female cases. Treatment includes resection of tumor, glucocorticoids, plasmapheresis and Intravenous Immunoglobulin therapy. PMID:22361499

  10. Nutrition and Mental Development. Research Report No. 5.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wagner, Muriel G.

    This study investigated (1) the nutritional status of urban American disadvantaged children, (2) the relationship of nutritional status to mental growth and development, (3) the relationship of physical maturation to the development of perceptual-motor factors of intelligence, and (4) if found, the effects of undernutrition on intellectual…

  11. South Asian populations in Canada: migration and mental health

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background South Asian populations are the largest visible minority group in Canada; however, there is very little information on the mental health of these populations. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence rates and characteristics of mental health outcomes for South Asian first-generation immigrant and second-generation Canadian-born populations. Methods The Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) 2011 was used to calculate the estimated prevalence rates of the following mental health outcomes: mood disorders, anxiety disorders, fair-poor self-perceived mental health status, and extremely stressful life stress. The characteristics associated with these four mental health outcomes were determined through multivariate logistic regression analysis of merged CCHS 2007–2011 data. Results South Asian Canadian-born (3.5%, 95% CI 3.4-3.6%) and South Asian immigrant populations (3.5%, 95% CI 3.5-3.5%) did not vary significantly in estimated prevalence rates of mood disorders. However, South Asian immigrants experienced higher estimated prevalence rates of diagnosed anxiety disorders (3.4%, 95% CI 3.4-3.5 vs. 1.1%, 95% CI 1.1-1.1%) and self-reported extremely stressful life stress (2.6%, 95% CI 2.6-2.7% vs. 2.4%, 95% CI 2.3-2.4%) compared to their Canadian-born counterparts. Lastly, South Asian Canadian-born populations had a higher estimated prevalence rate of poor-fair self-perceived mental health status (4.4%, 95% CI 4.3-4.5%) compared to their immigrant counterparts (3.4%, 95% CI 3.3-3.4%). Different profiles of mental health determinants emerged for South Asian Canadian-born and immigrant populations. Female gender, having no children under the age of 12 in the household, food insecurity, poor-fair self-rated health status, being a current smoker, immigrating to Canada before adulthood, and taking the CCHS survey in either English or French was associated with greater risk of negative mental health outcomes for South Asian immigrant

  12. South Asian populations in Canada: migration and mental health.

    PubMed

    Islam, Farah; Khanlou, Nazilla; Tamim, Hala

    2014-05-26

    South Asian populations are the largest visible minority group in Canada; however, there is very little information on the mental health of these populations. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence rates and characteristics of mental health outcomes for South Asian first-generation immigrant and second-generation Canadian-born populations. The Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) 2011 was used to calculate the estimated prevalence rates of the following mental health outcomes: mood disorders, anxiety disorders, fair-poor self-perceived mental health status, and extremely stressful life stress. The characteristics associated with these four mental health outcomes were determined through multivariate logistic regression analysis of merged CCHS 2007-2011 data. South Asian Canadian-born (3.5%, 95% CI 3.4-3.6%) and South Asian immigrant populations (3.5%, 95% CI 3.5-3.5%) did not vary significantly in estimated prevalence rates of mood disorders. However, South Asian immigrants experienced higher estimated prevalence rates of diagnosed anxiety disorders (3.4%, 95% CI 3.4-3.5 vs. 1.1%, 95% CI 1.1-1.1%) and self-reported extremely stressful life stress (2.6%, 95% CI 2.6-2.7% vs. 2.4%, 95% CI 2.3-2.4%) compared to their Canadian-born counterparts. Lastly, South Asian Canadian-born populations had a higher estimated prevalence rate of poor-fair self-perceived mental health status (4.4%, 95% CI 4.3-4.5%) compared to their immigrant counterparts (3.4%, 95% CI 3.3-3.4%). Different profiles of mental health determinants emerged for South Asian Canadian-born and immigrant populations. Female gender, having no children under the age of 12 in the household, food insecurity, poor-fair self-rated health status, being a current smoker, immigrating to Canada before adulthood, and taking the CCHS survey in either English or French was associated with greater risk of negative mental health outcomes for South Asian immigrant populations, while not being currently

  13. Individual and Partner Risk Factors Associated with Abnormal Cervical Cytology among Women in HIV-discordant Relationships

    PubMed Central

    Soh, Jason; Rositch, Anne F.; Koutsky, Laura; Guthrie, Brandon L.; Choi, Robert Y.; Bosire, Rose K.; Gatuguta, Ann; Smith, Jennifer S.; Kiarie, James; Lohman-Payne, Barbara; Farquhar, Carey

    2014-01-01

    Individual and sexual partner characteristics may increase risk of abnormal cervical cytology among women in HIV-discordant relationships. Papanicolaou smears were obtained in a prospective cohort of Kenyan HIV-discordant couples. Of 441 women, 283 (64%) were HIV-infected and 158 (36%) were HIV-uninfected with HIV-infected partners. Overall, 79 (18%) had low-grade and 25 (6%) high-grade cervical abnormalities. Lack of male circumcision, male HSV-2 seropositivity and lower couple socioeconomic status were associated with cervical abnormalities (p<0.05). HIV-uninfected women with HIV-infected male sex partners (CD4>350 cells/µL) had the lowest prevalence of high-grade cervical lesions. HIV-infected women (CD4>350 cells/µL) and HIV-uninfected women with HIV-infected partners (CD4≤350 cells/µL) were at similar intermediate risk (P>0.05), and HIV-infected women (CD4≤350 cells/µL) had significantly higher risk of high-grade cervical abnormalities (p=0.05). Women in HIV-discordant relationships have high rates of cervical lesions and this may be influenced by couple-level factors, including HIV status and CD4 count of the infected partner. PMID:24047885

  14. The Association Between Physical Activity, Mental Status, and Social and Family Support with Five Major Non-Communicable Chronic Diseases Among Elderly People: A Cross-Sectional Study of a Rural Population in Southern China.

    PubMed

    Huang, Xiang; Yang, Huajie; Wang, Harry H X; Qiu, Yongjun; Lai, Xiujuan; Zhou, Zhiheng; Li, Fangjian; Zhang, Liwei; Wang, Jiaji; Lei, Jimin

    2015-10-21

    Non-communicable chronic diseases (NCDs) have become the top threat in China. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of major NCDs among the elderly population in rural areas in southern China and explore its associated social determinants. A multistage cluster random sampling methodology was adopted to select a total of 9245 rural elderly people from 3860 rural households in Guangdong Province. Interviews and physical examinations were performed to collect patient information. Descriptive and logistic regression analyses were conducted to explore factors associated with the presence of major NCDs. Over one-third (38.5%) of the study population suffered from five major NCDs. The grade of activities of daily living (ADL), mental status, and social relationship of elderly people without NCDs were better than those with NCDs. The major factors associated with the presence of NCDs among the elderly people included age (70-79 years group and 80-89 years group), education level (senior high/technical secondary school and junior college and above), mental status (concentration, enrichment and happy life and memory), relationship with neighbours, activities of daily living (ADL) (being able to climb three floors and bend over), physical activity, marital status (bereft), and living conditions (with offspring and family members). The study identified several social determinants associated with the presence of major NCDs. A higher level of family support and physical exercise might contribute to improved physical condition, mental status, and ADL among the elderly people in rural areas in southern China.

  15. Mental illness among journalists: a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Aoki, Yuta; Malcolm, Estelle; Yamaguchi, Sosei; Thornicroft, Graham; Henderson, Claire

    2013-06-01

    Mass media depictions of people with mental illness have a strong influence on public attitudes, to the extent that changes in these depictions can reduce public stigmatization of people with such illness. Journalists' mental health may influence their depiction of those with mental illness, but little is known about this. To investigate mental illness among journalists in five key areas: (1) journalists' mental health status; (2) journalists' personal attitudes towards mental illness; (3) attitudes and support journalists expect or have experienced from colleagues when they have a mental health problem; (4) effect of journalism's professional culture on the course of mental illness; and (5) effect of journalism's professional culture on mass media depictions of people with mental illness. We performed a systematic screening of MEDLINE, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library regarding the study aims. We identified 19, 12, seven and four studies for aims 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. No articles were found for aim 5. The prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among journalists is higher than that among the general population. Journalists have positive personal attitudes towards mental illness, but there are perceived workplace disincentives to disclose mental health problems.

  16. Job loss, retirement and the mental health of older Americans.

    PubMed

    Mandal, Bidisha; Roe, Brian

    2008-12-01

    Millions of older individuals cope with physical limitations, cognitive changes, and various losses such as bereavement that are commonly associated with aging. Given increased vulnerability to various health problems during aging, work displacement might exacerbate these due to additional distress and to possible changes in medical coverage. Older Americans are of increasing interest to researchers and policymakers due to the sheer size of the Baby Boom cohort, which is approaching retirement age, and due to the general decline in job security in the U.S. labor market. This research compares and contrasts the effect of involuntary job loss and retirement on the mental health of older Americans. Furthermore, it examines the impact of re-employment on the depressive symptoms. There are two fundamental empirical challenges in isolating the effect of employment status on mental health. The first is to control for unobserved heterogeneity--all latent factors that could impact mental health so as to establish the correct magnitude of the effect of employment status. The second challenge is to verify the direction of causality. First difference models are used to control for latent effects and a two-stage least squares regression is used to account for reverse causality. We find that involuntary job loss worsens mental health, and re-employment recaptures the past mental health status. Retirement is found to improve mental health of older Americans. With the use of longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study surveys and the adoption of proper measures to control for the possibility of reverse causality, this study provides strong evidence of elevating depressive symptoms with involuntary job displacement even after controlling for other late-life events. Women suffer from greater distress levels than men after job loss due to business closure or lay-off. However, women also exhibit better psychological well-being than men following retirement. The present

  17. Preoperative mental health status may not be predictive of improvements in patient-reported outcomes following an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion.

    PubMed

    Mayo, Benjamin C; Massel, Dustin H; Bohl, Daniel D; Narain, Ankur S; Hijji, Fady Y; Long, William W; Modi, Krishna D; Basques, Bryce A; Yacob, Alem; Singh, Kern

    2017-02-01

    OBJECTIVE Prior studies have correlated preoperative depression and poor mental health status with inferior patient-reported outcomes following lumbar spinal procedures. However, literature regarding the effect of mental health on outcomes following cervical spinal surgery is limited. As such, the purpose of this study is to test for the association of preoperative SF-12 Mental Component Summary (MCS) scores with improvements in Neck Disability Index (NDI), SF-12 Physical Component Summary (PCS), and neck and arm pain following anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). METHODS A prospectively maintained surgical database of patients who underwent a primary 1- or 2-level ACDF during 2014-2015 was reviewed. Patients were excluded if they did not have complete patient-reported outcome data for the preoperative or 6-week, 12-week, or 6-month postoperative visits. At baseline, preoperative SF-12 MCS score was assessed for association with preoperative NDI, neck visual analog scale (VAS) score, arm VAS score, and SF-12 PCS score. The preoperative MCS score was then tested for association with changes in NDI, neck VAS, arm VAS, and SF-12 PCS scores from the preoperative visit to postoperative visits. These tests were conducted using multivariate regression controlling for baseline characteristics as well as for the preoperative score for the patient-reported outcome being assessed. RESULTS A total of 52 patients were included in the analysis. At baseline, a higher preoperative MCS score was negatively associated with a lower preoperative NDI (coefficient: -0.74, p < 0.001) and preoperative arm VAS score (-0.06, p = 0.026), but not preoperative neck VAS score (-0.03, p = 0.325) or SF-12 PCS score (0.04, p = 0.664). Additionally, there was no association between preoperative MCS score and improvement in NDI, neck VAS, arm VAS, or SF-12 PCS score at any of the postoperative time points (6 weeks, 12 weeks, and 6 months, p > 0.05 for each). The percentage of patients

  18. Array-Based Comparative Genomic Hybridization for the Genomewide Detection of Submicroscopic Chromosomal Abnormalities

    PubMed Central

    Vissers, Lisenka E. L. M. ; de Vries, Bert B. A. ; Osoegawa, Kazutoyo ; Janssen, Irene M. ; Feuth, Ton ; Choy, Chik On ; Straatman, Huub ; van der Vliet, Walter ; Huys, Erik H. L. P. G. ; van Rijk, Anke ; Smeets, Dominique ; van Ravenswaaij-Arts, Conny M. A. ; Knoers, Nine V. ; van der Burgt, Ineke ; de Jong, Pieter J. ; Brunner, Han G. ; van Kessel, Ad Geurts ; Schoenmakers, Eric F. P. M. ; Veltman, Joris A. 

    2003-01-01

    Microdeletions and microduplications, not visible by routine chromosome analysis, are a major cause of human malformation and mental retardation. Novel high-resolution, whole-genome technologies can improve the diagnostic detection rate of these small chromosomal abnormalities. Array-based comparative genomic hybridization allows such a high-resolution screening by hybridizing differentially labeled test and reference DNAs to arrays consisting of thousands of genomic clones. In this study, we tested the diagnostic capacity of this technology using ∼3,500 flourescent in situ hybridization–verified clones selected to cover the genome with an average of 1 clone per megabase (Mb). The sensitivity and specificity of the technology were tested in normal-versus-normal control experiments and through the screening of patients with known microdeletion syndromes. Subsequently, a series of 20 cytogenetically normal patients with mental retardation and dysmorphisms suggestive of a chromosomal abnormality were analyzed. In this series, three microdeletions and two microduplications were identified and validated. Two of these genomic changes were identified also in one of the parents, indicating that these are large-scale genomic polymorphisms. Deletions and duplications as small as 1 Mb could be reliably detected by our approach. The percentage of false-positive results was reduced to a minimum by use of a dye-swap-replicate analysis, all but eliminating the need for laborious validation experiments and facilitating implementation in a routine diagnostic setting. This high-resolution assay will facilitate the identification of novel genes involved in human mental retardation and/or malformation syndromes and will provide insight into the flexibility and plasticity of the human genome. PMID:14628292

  19. Expression of human PQBP-1 in Drosophila impairs long-term memory and induces abnormal courtship.

    PubMed

    Yoshimura, Natsue; Horiuchi, Daisuke; Shibata, Masao; Saitoe, Minoru; Qi, Mei-Ling; Okazawa, Hitoshi

    2006-04-17

    Frame shift mutations of the polyglutamine binding protein-1 (PQBP1) gene lead to total or partial truncation of the C-terminal domain (CTD) and cause mental retardation in human patients. Interestingly, normal Drosophila homologue of PQBP-1 lacks CTD. As a model to analyze the molecular network of PQBP-1 affecting intelligence, we generated transgenic flies expressing human PQBP-1 with CTD. Pavlovian olfactory conditioning revealed that the transgenic flies showed disturbance of long-term memory. In addition, they showed abnormal courtship that male flies follow male flies. Abnormal functions of PQBP-1 or its binding partner might be linked to these symptoms.

  20. Immigration and Mental Health

    PubMed Central

    Alegría, Margarita; Álvarez, Kiara; DiMarzio, Karissa

    2017-01-01

    Purpose of review While the experience of migration and resettlement in a new country is associated with mental health risks, immigrants generally demonstrate better mental health than expected. This review describes patterns in mental health outcomes among immigrants. We discuss a conceptual model of the potential underlying mechanisms that could buffer the stress and disadvantage experienced by this substantial and growing population. Recent findings While epidemiological studies have established a general pattern of lower risk for mental health disorders among first-generation (foreign-born) immigrants in the U.S., recent studies highlight how this pattern varies substantially by the intersection of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, and socioeconomic status. Contextual factors including the family and neighborhood context; an immigrant’s social position; experiences of social support and social exclusion; language competency and ability; and exposure to discrimination and acculturative stress further influence the relationship between immigration and mental health. Summary We conclude with an emphasis on social resilience processes, with a focus on how immigrants develop social relations, social capital and social networks. We recommend future directions for research that prioritize identifying and understanding social adaptation strategies adopted by immigrant groups to cope with immigration stressors. PMID:29805955

  1. Abnormal Condition Monitoring of Workpieces Based on RFID for Wisdom Manufacturing Workshops.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Cunji; Yao, Xifan; Zhang, Jianming

    2015-12-03

    Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology has been widely used in many fields. However, previous studies have mainly focused on product life cycle tracking, and there are few studies on real-time status monitoring of workpieces in manufacturing workshops. In this paper, a wisdom manufacturing model is introduced, a sensing-aware environment for a wisdom manufacturing workshop is constructed, and RFID event models are defined. A synthetic data cleaning method is applied to clean the raw RFID data. The Complex Event Processing (CEP) technology is adopted to monitor abnormal conditions of workpieces in real time. The RFID data cleaning method and data mining technology are examined by simulation and physical experiments. The results show that the synthetic data cleaning method preprocesses data well. The CEP based on the Rifidi(®) Edge Server technology completed abnormal condition monitoring of workpieces in real time. This paper reveals the importance of RFID spatial and temporal data analysis in real-time status monitoring of workpieces in wisdom manufacturing workshops.

  2. Abnormal Condition Monitoring of Workpieces Based on RFID for Wisdom Manufacturing Workshops

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Cunji; Yao, Xifan; Zhang, Jianming

    2015-01-01

    Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology has been widely used in many fields. However, previous studies have mainly focused on product life cycle tracking, and there are few studies on real-time status monitoring of workpieces in manufacturing workshops. In this paper, a wisdom manufacturing model is introduced, a sensing-aware environment for a wisdom manufacturing workshop is constructed, and RFID event models are defined. A synthetic data cleaning method is applied to clean the raw RFID data. The Complex Event Processing (CEP) technology is adopted to monitor abnormal conditions of workpieces in real time. The RFID data cleaning method and data mining technology are examined by simulation and physical experiments. The results show that the synthetic data cleaning method preprocesses data well. The CEP based on the Rifidi® Edge Server technology completed abnormal condition monitoring of workpieces in real time. This paper reveals the importance of RFID spatial and temporal data analysis in real-time status monitoring of workpieces in wisdom manufacturing workshops. PMID:26633418

  3. Type D personality and health status in cardiovascular disease populations: a meta-analysis of prospective studies.

    PubMed

    Versteeg, Henneke; Spek, Viola; Pedersen, Susanne S; Denollet, Johan

    2012-12-01

    Knowledge of the factors associated with individual differences in patient-reported outcomes is essential to identify high-risk patients and improve secondary prevention. In this meta-analysis, we examined the association between Type D personality and the individual differences in patient-reported physical and mental health status among cardiovascular patients. A computerized search of the literature through PUBMED and PsychINFO (from 1995 to May 2011) was performed and prospective studies were selected that analysed the association between Type D personality and health status in cardiovascular patients. Two separate meta-analyses were performed for the association of Type D personality with physical and mental health status, respectively. Of all identified studies, ten studies met the selection criteria. The meta-analyses showed that Type D was associated with a two-fold increased odds for impaired physical health status (3035 patients, OR 1.94, 95% CI 1.49-2.52) and a 2.5-fold increased odds for impaired mental health status (2213 patients, OR 2.55, 95% CI 1.57-4.16). There was no significant heterogeneity between the studies on physical health status (Q = 12.78; p = 0.17; I(2 )= 29.59), but there was between those on mental health status (Q = 21.91; p = 0.003; I(2 )= 68.04). Subgroup analyses showed that the association between Type D and mental health status decreased yet remained significant when adjusting for baseline health status. Type D personality was shown to be an independent correlate of impaired patient-reported physical and mental health status in various cardiovascular patient groups. Clinicians should be aware of the association between chronic psychological distress and poor patient-reported outcomes.

  4. Sluggish cognitive tempo in abnormal child psychology: an historical overview and introduction to the special section.

    PubMed

    Becker, Stephen P; Marshall, Stephen A; McBurnett, Keith

    2014-01-01

    There has recently been a resurgence of interest in Sluggish Cognitive Tempo (SCT) as an important construct in the field of abnormal child psychology. Characterized by drowsiness, daydreaming, lethargy, mental confusion, and slowed thinking/behavior, SCT has primarily been studied as a feature of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and namely the predominately inattentive subtype/presentation. Although SCT is strongly associated with ADHD inattention, research increasingly supports the possibility that SCT is distinct from ADHD or perhaps a different mental health condition altogether, with unique relations to child and adolescent psychosocial adjustment. This introductory article to the Special Section on SCT provides an historical overview of the SCT construct and briefly describes the contributions of the eight empirical papers included in the Special Section. Given the emerging importance of SCT for abnormal psychology and clinical science, there is a clear need for additional studies that examine (1) the measurement, structure, and multidimensional nature of SCT, (2) SCT as statistically distinct from not only ADHD-inattention but also other psychopathologies (particularly depression and anxiety), (3) genetic and environmental contributions to the development of SCT symptoms, and (4) functional impairments associated with SCT. This Special Section brings together papers to advance the current knowledge related to these issues as well as to spur research in this exciting and expanding area of abnormal psychology.

  5. [Mental disorders in digestive system diseases - internist's and psychiatrist's insight].

    PubMed

    Kukla, Urszula; Łabuzek, Krzysztof; Chronowska, Justyna; Krzystanek, Marek; Okopień, BogusŁaw

    2015-05-01

    Mental disorders accompanying digestive system diseases constitute interdisciplinary yet scarcely acknowledged both diagnostic and therapeutic problem. One of the mostly recognized examples is coeliac disease where patients endure the large spectrum of psychopathological symptoms, starting with attention deficit all the way down to the intellectual disability in extreme cases. It has not been fully explained how the pathomechanism of digestive system diseases affects patient's mental health, however one of the hypothesis suggests that it is due to serotonergic or opioid neurotransmission imbalance caused by gluten and gluten metabolites effect on central nervous system. Behavioral changes can also be invoked by liver or pancreatic diseases, which causes life-threatening abnormalities within a brain. It occurs that these abnormalities reflexively exacerbate the symptoms of primary somatic disease and aggravate its course, which worsens prognosis. The dominant mental disease mentioned in this article is depression which because of its effect on a hypothalamuspituitary- adrenal axis and on an autonomic nervous system, not only aggravates the symptoms of inflammatory bowel diseases but may accelerate their onset in genetically predisposed patients. Depression is known to negatively affects patients' ability to function in a society and a quality of their lives. Moreover, as far as children are concerned, the occurrence of digestive system diseases accompanied by mental disorders, may adversely affect their further physical and psychological development, which merely results in worse school performance. All those aspects of mental disorders indicate the desirability of the psychological care for patients with recognized digestive system disease. The psychological assistance should be provided immediately after diagnosis of a primary disease and be continued throughout the whole course of treatment. © 2015 MEDPRESS.

  6. Critical care for patients with congenital abnormalities of the coronary arteries.

    PubMed

    Flores, Saul; Moore, Ryan A; Statile, Christopher J; Michelfelder, Erik C; Wanstrath, Shawna G; Knilans, Timothy K; Morales, David L; Cooper, David S

    2015-12-01

    Congenital abnormalities of the coronary arteries in the absence of structural heart disease account for a small but interesting percentage of cardiac lesions in children. Their presentation may vary from incidental identification to aborted/sudden cardiac death. Patients with aborted sudden death episodes will require significant support if they develop extensive ischaemic myocardial injury. Ultimately, surgical repair should be carried out as soon as haemodynamic stability is attained and the neurological status is evaluated. The aims of this article were to provide a review of congenital abnormalities of the coronary arteries most commonly seen in children in the ICU as well as to review the current critical-care management thereof.

  7. A Report of Two Cases of Morquio's Syndrome Associated with Mental Retardation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kumar, Y. Vikram; And Others

    1979-01-01

    The paper details the case studies of two siblings, a boy aged 7 and a girl aged 5 1/2, who suffer from Morquio's Syndrome (a disease characterized by cartilagenous and bony abnormalities) as well as mental retardation. (PHR)

  8. Association of comorbid mental health symptoms and physical health conditions with employee productivity.

    PubMed

    Parker, Kristin M; Wilson, Mark G; Vandenberg, Robert J; DeJoy, David M; Orpinas, Pamela

    2009-10-01

    This study tests the hypothesis that employees with comorbid physical health conditions and mental health symptoms are less productive than other employees. Self-reported health status and productivity measures were collected from 1723 employees of a national retail organization. chi2, analysis of variance, and linear contrast analyses were conducted to evaluate whether health status groups differed on productivity measures. Multivariate linear regression and multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted to analyze how predictive health status was of productivity. Those with comorbidities were significantly less productive on all productivity measures compared with all other health status groups and those with only physical health conditions or mental health symptoms. Health status also significantly predicted levels of employee productivity. These findings provide evidence for the relationship between health statuses and productivity, which has potential programmatic implications.

  9. Proportionate Responses to Life Events Influence Clinicians’ Judgments Of Psychological Abnormality

    PubMed Central

    Kim, Nancy S.; Paulus, Daniel J.; Gonzalez, Jeffrey S.; Khalife, Danielle

    2012-01-01

    Psychological abnormality is a fundamental concept in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR; APA, 2000) and in all clinical evaluations. How do practicing clinical psychologists use the context of life events to judge the abnormality of a person’s current behaviors? The appropriate role of life-event context in assessment has long been the subject of intense debate and scrutiny among clinical theorists, yet relatively little is known about clinicians’ own judgments in practice. We propose a proportionate-response hypothesis, such that judgments of abnormality are influenced by whether the behaviors are a disproportionate response to past events, rendering them difficult to understand or explain. We presented licensed, practicing clinical psychologists (N=77) with vignettes describing hypothetical people’s behaviors (disordered, mildly distressed, or unaffected) that had been preceded by either traumatic or mildly distressing events. Experts’ judgments of abnormality were strongly and systematically influenced by the degree of mismatch between the past event and current behaviors in strength and valence, such that the greater the mismatch, the more abnormal the person seemed. A separate, additional group of clinical psychologists (N=20) further confirmed that the greater the degree of mismatch, the greater the perceived difficulty in understanding the patient. These findings held true across clinicians of different theoretical orientations and in disorders for which these patterns of judgments ran contrary to formal recommendations in the DSM-IV-TR (APA, 2000). The rationality of these effects and implications for clinical decision science are discussed. PMID:22142425

  10. Electroencephalography and phenytoin toxicity in mentally retarded epileptic patients.

    PubMed Central

    Iivanainen, M; Viukari, M; Seppäläinen, A M; Helle, E P

    1978-01-01

    There were significantly more diffuse and focal electroencephalographic abnormalities in 127 mentally retarded epileptic patients treated with phenytoin than in 68 epileptics without phenytoin. Phenytoin intoxication made the difference still more pronounced. Monitoring drug levels and electroencephalograms appears to be the method of choice for ensuring safe and effective medication in intractable epilepsy. PMID:632825

  11. Associations between DSM-IV mental disorders and onset of self-reported peptic ulcer in the World Mental Health Surveys

    PubMed Central

    Scott, Kate M.; Alonso, Jordi; de Jonge, Peter; Viana, Maria Carmen; Liu, Zhaorui; O’Neill, Siobhan; Aguilar-Gaxiola, Sergio; Bruffaerts, Ronny; Caldas-de-Almeida, Jose Miguel; Stein, Dan J.; Angermeyer, Matthias; Benjet, Corina; de Girolamo, Giovanni; Firuleasa, Ingrid-Laura; Hu, Chiyi; Kiejna, Andrzej; Kovess-Masfety, Viviane; Levinson, Daphna; Nakane, Yoshibumi; Piazza, Marina; Posada-Villa, José A.; Khalaf, Mohammad Salih; Lim, Carmen C. W.; Kessler, Ronald C.

    2013-01-01

    Objective Recent research demonstrating concurrent associations between mental disorders and peptic ulcers has renewed interest in links between psychological factors and ulcers. However, little is known about associations between temporally prior mental disorders and subsequent ulcer onset. Nor has the potentially confounding role of childhood adversities been explored. The objective of this study was to examine associations between a wide range of temporally prior DSM-IV mental disorders and subsequent onset of ulcer, without and with adjustment for mental disorder comorbidity and childhood adversities. Methods Face-to-face household surveys conducted in 19 countries (n=52,095; person years=2,096,486).The Composite International Diagnostic Interview retrospectively assessed lifetime prevalence and age at onset of 16 DSM-IV mental disorders. Peptic ulcer onset was assessed in the same interview by self-report of physician’s diagnosis and year of diagnosis. Survival analyses estimated associations between first onset of mental disorders and subsequent ulcer onset. Results After comorbidity and sociodemographic adjustment, depression, social phobia, specific phobia, post-traumatic stress disorder, intermittent explosive disorder, alcohol and drug abuse disorders were significantly associated with ulcer onset (ORs 1.3-1.6). Increasing number of lifetime mental disorders was associated with ulcer onset in a dose-response fashion. These associations were only slightly attenuated by adjustment for childhood adversities. Conclusions A wide range of mental disorders were linked with the self-report of subsequent peptic ulcer onset. These associations require confirmation in prospective designs, but are suggestive of a role for mental disorders in contributing to ulcer vulnerability, possibly through abnormalities in the physiological stress response associated with mental disorders. PMID:23915767

  12. Factors impacting the mental health of the caregivers of children with asthma in china: effects of family socioeconomic status, symptoms control, proneness to shame, and family functioning.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Ting; Yi, Chunli; Zhang, Xuxia; Wang, Yuyin

    2014-12-01

    Caregiver mental health is widely considered to be an important factor influencing children's asthma symptoms. The present study aimed to examine key factors that contribute to caregiver mental health in pediatric asthma with a Chinese sample. Two hundred participants reported their family socioeconomic status (SES), proneness to shame, asthma symptoms control of their child, family functioning, and their depression and anxiety symptoms. Results suggested that low family SES, low family functioning, and a high level of shame proneness were associated with high levels of anxiety and depression for caregivers. Family functioning mediated the effects of SES and shame on caregiver mental health and also moderated the effects of SES and shame on caregiver depression. This study highlights the importance of reducing experience of shame and enhancing family functioning in families affected by pediatric asthma. © 2014 Family Process Institute.

  13. Mental distress and sociodemographic variables: a study of Greek warship personnel.

    PubMed

    Mazokopakis, Elias E; Vlachonikolis, Ioannis G; Sgantzos, Markos N; Polychronidis, Ioannis E; Mavreas, Venetsanos G; Lionis, Christos D

    2002-11-01

    Mental disorders have been found to be the main cause of maladjustment and early discharge of the personnel in the Hellenic Navy and the armed forces in general. This study investigates the mental health status of a warship's military personnel by use of a widely used self-administered scale. The 28-item Greek version of the General Health Questionnaire was administered to 281 men aboard a Greek warship to determine their mental health status and to examine possible associations with sociodemographic variables (rank, educational level, marital status). A high prevalence of General Health questionnaire cases (48.8%) was found which indicated conscripts as the group with the greater tendency for problems of adjustment and performance among the personnel of the warship. A negative association was found between educational level and psychological distress, whereas married subjects were found to have better levels of psychological well-being as defined by lower General Health questionnaire scores, compared with unmarried subjects. Although a further methodological and more sophisticated inquiry is necessary, the findings of the present study could be useful for the design of mental health interventions in the naval and the military setting.

  14. [Variant of abnormal mental development with early evidence of abstract thinking].

    PubMed

    Bulakhova, L A

    1982-01-01

    The author presents the data of 4- to 25-year-long observation of a group of boys distinguished since the early age by a pronounced disproportionaity of the psychic development: an accelerated development of abstract-logical thinking with gross defects of sensuous perception, emotions, psychomotor functions, and adaptive behaviour as a whole. Despite the evolutional course of the state most of the patients appeared to be unable to independent social adaptation. The degree and structure of this disharmonic underdevelopment allow one to regard this pathology as a variant of nervous system dysontogenesis differing from, but bordering on such forms as Kanner's autism, Asperger's psychopathy, or mental retardation with partial giftedness.

  15. Adults with genetic syndromes and cardiovascular abnormalities: Clinical history and management

    PubMed Central

    Lin, Angela E.; Basson, Craig T.; Goldmuntz, Elizabeth; Magoulas, Pilar L.; McDermott, Deborah A.; McDonald-McGinn, Donna M.; McPherson, Elspeth; Morris, Colleen A.; Noonan, Jacqueline; Nowak, Catherine; Pierpont, Mary Ella; Pyeritz, Reed E.; Rope, Alan F.; Zackai, Elaine; Pober, Barbara R.

    2009-01-01

    Cardiovascular abnormalities, especially structural congenital heart defects (CHDs), commonly occur in malformation syndromes and genetic disorders. Individuals with syndromes comprise a significant proportion of those affected with selected CHDs such as complete atrioventricular canal, interrupted arch type B, supravalvar aortic stenosis and pulmonary stenosis. As these individuals age, they contribute to the growing population of adults with special health care needs. Although most will require longterm cardiology followup, primary care providers, geneticists and other specialists should be aware of (1) the type and frequency of cardiovascular abnormalities, (2) the range of clinical outcomes, and (3) guidelines for prospective management and treatment of potential complications. This article reviews fundamental genetic, cardiac, medical and reproductive issues associated with common genetic syndromes which are frequently associated with a cardiovascular abnormality. New data are also provided about the cardiac status of adults with a 22q11.2 deletion and with Down syndrome. PMID:18580689

  16. Mental health status and work environment among workers in small- and medium-sized enterprises in Guangdong, China-a cross-sectional survey.

    PubMed

    Zeng, Zhi; Guo, Yan; Lu, Liming; Han, Lu; Chen, Wen; Ling, Li

    2014-11-12

    Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) generate nearly 80% of the jobs in China, but the dangerous work environment often found in these enterprises poses a major concern for public health. Psychosocial pressure and mental health problems among the workers are also common in SMEs. However, mental health of workers in SMEs is largely neglected in occupational health research and practice in China. The purpose of this study is to assess mental health of the workers and to explore the associations between physical and psychosocial work environment and workers' mental health in SMEs in South China. Data were collected in 2012 through a cross-sectional survey among 1200 workers working in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Guangdong, China. Mental health was measured by psychological well-being in the current study. Job Demand-Control-Support (JDCS) model was used as a theoretical framework to examine the psychosocial factors associated with workers' psychological well-being. Data were analyzed using SPSS 20.0 and analysis was performed using bivariate analyses and multivariate logistic regression. About three in ten workers (35.3%) in the sample had poor psychological well-being. Those who were men, younger in age, or migrant workers had worse psychological outcome in bivariate analyses. After controlling for individual variables (gender, age, marital status, and household registration), we found that longer weekly work hours (OR = 1.30, 95% CI: 1.13 ~ 1.50), more exposure to hazardous work environment (OR = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.10 ~ 1.44), higher job demands (OR = 1.29, 95% CI: 1.12 ~ 1.49), and lower job autonomy (OR = 0.70, 95% CI: 0.60 ~ 0.81) were significant associated with worse psychological well-being. The results were consistent with predictions of the JDCS model. The results indicate that the JDCS model is a useful framework in predicting psychological well-being among Chinese workers in SMEs. Future mental health promotion should focus on young

  17. Education Mitigates the Relationship of Stress and Mental Disorders Among Rural Indian Women.

    PubMed

    Fahey, Nisha; Soni, Apurv; Allison, Jeroan; Vankar, Jagdish; Prabhakaran, Anusha; Moore Simas, Tiffany A; Byatt, Nancy; Phatak, Ajay; O'Keefe, Eileen; Nimbalkar, Somashekhar

    Common mental disorders (CMD) are a constellation of mental health conditions that include depression, anxiety, and other related nonpsychotic affective disorders. Qualitative explanatory models of mental health among reproductive-aged women in India reveal that distress is strongly associated with CMD. The relationship of perceived stress and CMD might be attenuated or exacerbated based on an individual's sociodemographic characteristics. To screen for Common Mental Disorders (CMD) among reproductive-aged women from rural western India and explore how the relationship between perceived stress and CMD screening status varies by sociodemographic characteristics. Cross-sectional survey of 700 women from rural Gujarat, India. CMD screening status was assessed using Self-Reported Questionnaire 20 (SRQ-20). Factors associated with CMD screening status were evaluated using multivariable logistic regression. Effect modification for the relationship of perceived stress and CMD screening status was assessed using interaction terms and interpreted in terms of predicted probabilities. The analytic cohort included 663 women, with roughly 1 in 4 screening positive for CMD (157, 23.7%). Poor income, low education, food insecurity, and recurrent thoughts after traumatic events were associated with increased risk of positive CMD screen. Perceived stress was closely associated with CMD screening status. Higher education attenuated the relationship between high levels of stress and CMD screening status (82.3%, 88.8%, 32.9%; P value for trend: 0.03). Increasing income and age attenuated the link between moderate stress and CMD. Our findings suggest a high burden of possible CMD among reproductive-aged women from rural western India. Higher education might mitigate the association between elevated stress and CMD. Future efforts to improve mental health in rural India should focus on preventing CMD by enhancing rural women's self-efficacy and problem-solving capabilities to overcome

  18. The productivity of mental health care: an instrumental variable approach.

    PubMed

    Lu, Mingshan

    1999-06-01

    BACKGROUND: Like many other medical technologies and treatments, there is a lack of reliable evidence on treatment effectiveness of mental health care. Increasingly, data from non-experimental settings are being used to study the effect of treatment. However, as in a number of studies using non-experimental data, a simple regression of outcome on treatment shows a puzzling negative and significant impact of mental health care on the improvement of mental health status, even after including a large number of potential control variables. The central problem in interpreting evidence from real-world or non-experimental settings is, therefore, the potential "selection bias" problem in observational data set. In other words, the choice/quantity of mental health care may be correlated with other variables, particularly unobserved variables, that influence outcome and this may lead to a bias in the estimate of the effect of care in conventional models. AIMS OF THE STUDY: This paper addresses the issue of estimating treatment effects using an observational data set. The information in a mental health data set obtained from two waves of data in Puerto Rico is explored. The results using conventional models - in which the potential selection bias is not controlled - and that from instrumental variable (IV) models - which is what was proposed in this study to correct for the contaminated estimation from conventional models - are compared. METHODS: Treatment effectiveness is estimated in a production function framework. Effectiveness is measured as the improvement in mental health status. To control for the potential selection bias problem, IV approaches are employed. The essence of the IV method is to use one or more instruments, which are observable factors that influence treatment but do not directly affect patient outcomes, to isolate the effect of treatment variation that is independent of unobserved patient characteristics. The data used in this study are the first (1992

  19. Clinical utility of the mini-mental status examination when assessing decision-making capacity.

    PubMed

    Pachet, Arlin; Astner, Kevin; Brown, Lenora

    2010-03-01

    The main objectives of this study were to examine the relationship between cognitive deficits, as measured by the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE), and decision-making capacity and to determine whether the sensitivity and specificity of the MMSE varied based upon the patient population assessed. Using a sample size of 152 patients and varying cutoff scores, the MMSE demonstrated extremely poor sensitivity. In contrast, the MMSE had excellent specificity when scores of 19 or less were obtained. In our sample, not one patient, regardless of diagnosis, was deemed to have capacity if their MMSE score was below 20. However, reliance on the MMSE for scores above 19 would too frequently lead to misclassification and incorrect assumptions about a patient's decision-making abilities. Although a score below 20 consistently yielded findings of incapability in our sample, it remains our opinion that the MMSE should not be used as a stand-alone tool to make determinations related to capacity, especially when considering the complexities associated with capacity evaluations and the vital areas, such as executive functioning and individual values and beliefs, which are omitted by the MMSE.

  20. HANDBOOK OF MENTAL DEFICIENCY, PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORY AND RESEARCH. MCGRAW-HILL SERIES IN PSYCHOLOGY.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    ELLIS, NORMAN R.

    THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF 21 AUTHORS IN THIS VOLUME ARE DEVOTED TO ASSESSING THE STATUS OF RESEARCH AND THEORY IN MENTAL DEFICIENCY, FOCUSING ATTENTION ON THE BEHAVIOR OF THE MENTALLY HANDICAPPED. PART ONE IS CONCERNED WITH RESEARCH FINDINGS AND THEORIES TO EXPLAIN MENTAL DEFICIENCY. COMPREHENSIVE PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES REPRESENTED INCLUDE FIELD…

  1. Status Epilepticus and Refractory Status Epilepticus Management

    PubMed Central

    Abend, Nicholas S.; Bearden, David; Helbig, Ingo; McGuire, Jennifer; Narula, Sona; Panzer, Jessica A.; Topjian, Alexis; Dlugos, Dennis J.

    2014-01-01

    Status epilepticus (SE) describes persistent or recurring seizures without a return to baseline mental status, and is a common neurologic emergency. SE can occur in the context of epilepsy or may be symptomatic of a wide range of underlying etiologies. The clinician’s aim is to rapidly institute care that simultaneously stabilizes the patient medically, identifies and manages any precipitant conditions, and terminates seizures. Seizure management involves “emergent” treatment with benzodiazepines followed by “urgent” therapy with other anti-seizure medications. If seizures persist then refractory SE is diagnosed and management options include additional anti-seizure medications or infusions of midazolam or pentobarbital. This paper reviews the management of pediatric SE and RSE. PMID:25727508

  2. Epilepsy, Mental Health Disorder, or Both?

    PubMed Central

    Beletsky, Vadim; Mirsattari, Seyed M.

    2012-01-01

    Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), a subset of the seizure disorder family, represents a complex neuropsychiatric illness, where the neurological presentation may be complemented by varying severity of affective, behavioral, psychotic, or personality abnormalities, which, in turn, may not only lead to misdiagnosis, but also affect the management. This paper outlines a spectrum of mental health presentations, including psychosis, mood, anxiety, panic, and dissociative states, associated with epilepsy that make the correct diagnosis a challenge. PMID:22934158

  3. Understanding patient outcomes after acute respiratory distress syndrome: identifying subtypes of physical, cognitive and mental health outcomes.

    PubMed

    Brown, Samuel M; Wilson, Emily L; Presson, Angela P; Dinglas, Victor D; Greene, Tom; Hopkins, Ramona O; Needham, Dale M

    2017-12-01

    With improving short-term mortality in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), understanding survivors' posthospitalisation outcomes is increasingly important. However, little is known regarding associations among physical, cognitive and mental health outcomes. Identification of outcome subtypes may advance understanding of post-ARDS morbidities. We analysed baseline variables and 6-month health status for participants in the ARDS Network Long-Term Outcomes Study. After division into derivation and validation datasets, we used weighted network analysis to identify subtypes from predictors and outcomes in the derivation dataset. We then used recursive partitioning to develop a subtype classification rule and assessed adequacy of the classification rule using a kappa statistic with the validation dataset. Among 645 ARDS survivors, 430 were in the derivation and 215 in the validation datasets. Physical and mental health status, but not cognitive status, were closely associated. Four distinct subtypes were apparent (percentages in the derivation cohort): (1) mildly impaired physical and mental health (22% of patients), (2) moderately impaired physical and mental health (39%), (3) severely impaired physical health with moderately impaired mental health (15%) and (4) severely impaired physical and mental health (24%). The classification rule had high agreement (kappa=0.89 in validation dataset). Female Latino smokers had the poorest status, while male, non-Latino non-smokers had the best status. We identified four post-ARDS outcome subtypes that were predicted by sex, ethnicity, pre-ARDS smoking status and other baseline factors. These subtypes may help develop tailored rehabilitation strategies, including investigation of combined physical and mental health interventions, and distinct interventions to improve cognitive outcomes. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use

  4. Feeling Abnormal: Simulation of Deviancy in Abnormal and Exceptionality Courses.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fernald, Charles D.

    1980-01-01

    Describes activity in which student in abnormal psychology and psychology of exceptional children classes personally experience being judged abnormal. The experience allows the students to remember relevant research, become sensitized to the feelings of individuals classified as deviant, and use caution in classifying individuals as abnormal.…

  5. Mental health outcomes of developmental coordination disorder in late adolescence.

    PubMed

    Harrowell, Ian; Hollén, Linda; Lingam, Raghu; Emond, Alan

    2017-09-01

    To assess the relationship between developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and mental health outcomes in late adolescence. Data were analyzed from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Moderate-to-severe DCD was defined at 7 to 8 years according to the DSM-IV-TR criteria. Mental health was assessed at 16 to 18 years using self-reported questionnaires: Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, Short Moods and Feelings Questionnaire, and the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale. Logistic and linear regressions assessed the associations between DCD and mental health, using multiple imputation to account for missing data. Adjustments were made for socio-economic status, IQ, and social communication difficulties. Adolescents with DCD (n=168) had an increased risk of mental health difficulties (total Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire score) than their peers (n=3750) (odds ratio 1.78, 95% confidence interval 1.12-2.83, adjusted for socio-economic status and IQ). This was, in part, mediated through poor social communication skills. Adolescent females with DCD (n=59) were more prone to mental health difficulties than males. Greater mental well-being was associated with better self-esteem (β 0.82, p<0.001). Individuals with DCD, particularly females, had increased risk of mental health difficulties in late adolescence. Interventions that aim to promote resilience in DCD should involve improving social communication skills and self-esteem. © 2017 The Authors. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Mac Keith Press.

  6. Exploration of microstructural abnormalities in borderline personality disorder

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fritzsche, Klaus H.; Brunner, Romuald; Henze, Romy; Meinzer, Hans-Peter; Stieltjes, Bram

    2012-03-01

    As with other mental disorders, the causes of borderline personality disorder (BPD) are complex and not fully understood. In this study we aimed to determine whether adults with BPD exhibit microstructural abnormalities using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). 56 female right-handed individuals (age range, 14-18 years), 19 with a DSM-IV diagnosis of BPD, 18 patients with a DSM-IV defined current psychiatric disorder and 19 healthy control subjects were included. Groups were matched for age and IQ. DTI Images were analyzed using Tract-Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS). The analysis revealed significanty reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) values in the group of BPD patients compared to the normal controls. Similar FA reductions could not be found comparing BPD patients to clinical controls. Several clusters of increased radial (DR), axial (DA), and mean (MD) diffusivity were consistently identified when comparing the BPD patients to clinical as well as to healthy controls. None of the measures showed significant differences between the clinical and healthy controls. Diverse possible factors have been suggested to play a role in the disease, including environmental factors, neurobiological factors, or brain abnormalities. The presented results may play an important role in this ongoing debate.

  7. Abnormal Uterine Bleeding

    MedlinePlus

    ... abnormal uterine bleeding? Abnormal uterine bleeding is any heavy or unusual bleeding from the uterus (through your ... one symptom of abnormal uterine bleeding. Having extremely heavy bleeding during your period can also be considered ...

  8. Association of educational status with heart rate recovery: a population-based propensity analysis.

    PubMed

    Shishehbor, Mehdi H; Baker, David W; Blackstone, Eugene H; Lauer, Michael S

    2002-12-01

    An abnormally attenuated heart rate recovery after exercise is a predictor of mortality that is thought to reflect decreased parasympathetic activity. Lower educational level may be associated with automatic imbalance. We sought to assess the association of educational level with heart rate recovery. Among 5246 healthy adults from a population-based cohort who underwent exercise testing, 874 (17%) did not graduate from high school, 1823 (35%) completed high school, and 2549 (49%) attended at least some college. An abnormal heart rate recovery was defined as a difference of status. An abnormal heart rate recovery was more common among adults who did not graduate from high school compared with those who attended at least some college (50% [440/874] vs. 28% [701/2549]; odds ratio [OR]: 2.7; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.3 to 3.1; P <0.001). After using propensity scores, lower educational status remained associated with an abnormal heart rate recovery (OR = 1.9; 95% CI: 1.6 to 2.4; P <0.001). During 12-years of follow-up, there were 327 deaths. Poor educational status was associated with greater mortality (9% [80/874] vs. 6% [247/4372]; unadjusted hazard ratio [HR] = 1.9; 95% CI: 1.4 to 2.5; P <0.001). However, after accounting for age, sex, and heart rate recovery, educational status was a weaker predictor (HR = 1.3; 95% CI: 1.0 to 1.7). Educational status is independently associated with an abnormal heart rate recovery.

  9. Emerging Drugs and Indications for Cardio-Metabolic Disorders in People with Severe Mental Illness.

    PubMed

    Kouidrat, Youssef; Amad, Ali; De Hert, Marc

    2015-01-01

    Patients with severe mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, are at increased risk of developing metabolic disorders including obesity, diabetes, and dyslipidemia. All of these comorbidities increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality. Different approaches, including diet and lifestyle modifications, behavioral therapy and switching antipsychotic agents, have been proposed to manage these metabolic abnormalities. However, these interventions may be insufficient, impractical or fail to counteract the metabolic dysregulation. Consequently, a variety of pharmacological agents such as antidiabetic drugs, have been studied in an attempt to reverse the weight gain and metabolic abnormalities evident in these patients. Despite a significant effect, many of these treatments are used off-label. This qualitative review focuses on pharmacological agents that could offer significant benefits in the management of cardio-metabolic disorders associated with serious mental illness.

  10. Abnormalities of mental rotation of hands associated with speed of information processing and executive function in chronic schizophrenic patients.

    PubMed

    Mazhari, Shahrzad; Moghadas Tabrizi, Yousef

    2014-06-01

    Deficits in mental imagery ability have been reported in patients with schizophrenia. However, there is scarce evidence about the correlation between impairment in mental rotation and other cognitive deficits in the patients. The aim of this study was to assess mental rotation ability, along with other measures of cognitive function in patients with schizophrenia. The performance of 29 patients with schizophrenia was compared with 29 healthy controls. Mental rotation was measured with the Hand Rotation Task, and cognitive functions were measured with the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS). On Hand Rotation Task, the patients were significantly slower and less accurate compared to controls. Moreover, mental rotation accuracy was significantly correlated with all the BACS domains except verbal memory. In multiple regression analysis, the two BACS subscales, Tower of London and Symbol Coding tasks, were significant predictors and accounted for 41% of the variance in accuracy in the patients. These results support previous findings showing dysfunction of the posterior parietal cortex in schizophrenia, which is involved in general mental rotation, as well as other cognitive processes. © 2014 The Authors. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences © 2014 Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology.

  11. Racial and Cultural Factors Affecting the Mental Health of Asian Americans

    PubMed Central

    Miller, Matthew J.; Yang, Minji; Farrell, Jerome A.; Lin, Li-Ling

    2011-01-01

    In this study, we employed structural equation modeling to test the degree to which racism-related stress, acculturative stress, and bicultural self-efficacy were predictive of mental health in a predominantly community-based sample of 367 Asian American adults. We also tested whether bicultural self-efficacy moderated the relationship between acculturative stress and mental health. Finally, we examined whether generational status moderated the impact of racial and cultural predictors of mental health by testing our model across immigrant and U.S.-born samples. Results indicated that our hypothesized structural model represented a good fit to the total sample data. While racism-related stress, acculturative stress, and bicultural self-efficacy were significant predictors of mental health in the total sample analyses, our generational analyses revealed a differential predictive pattern across generational status. Finally, we found that the buffering effect of bicultural self-efficacy on the relationship between acculturative stress and mental health was significant for U.S.-born individuals only. Implications for research and service delivery are explored. PMID:21977934

  12. Why do Chinese Canadians not consult mental health services: health status, language or culture?

    PubMed

    Chen, Alice W; Kazanjian, Arminée; Wong, Hubert

    2009-12-01

    Data from the Canadian Community Health Survey Cycle 1.1 showed that Chinese immigrants to Canada and Chinese individuals born in Canada were less likely than other Canadians to have contacted a health professional for mental health reasons in the previous year in the province of British Columbia. The difference persisted among individuals at moderate to high risk for depressive episode. Both immigrant and Canadian-born Chinese showed similar characteristics of mental health service use. The demographic and health factors that significantly affected their likelihood to consult mental health services included Chinese language ability, restriction in daily activities, frequency of medical consultations, and depression score. Notwithstanding lower levels of mental illness in ethnic Chinese communities, culture emerged as a major factor explaining differences in mental health consultation between Chinese and non-Chinese Canadians.

  13. Toward Explaining Mental Health Disparities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aneshensel, Carol S.

    2009-01-01

    Mental health disparities refer to the disproportionate amount of psychopathology found among persons of disadvantageous social standing, such as persons of low socioeconomic status (SES). Although social and self selection cannot entirely be ruled out as explanations for these differences, the accumulation of evidence supports a social causation…

  14. Living arrangements and mental health in Finland

    PubMed Central

    Joutsenniemi, Kaisla; Martelin, Tuija; Martikainen, Pekka; Pirkola, Sami; Koskinen, Seppo

    2006-01-01

    Background Non‐married persons are known to have poor mental health compared with married persons. Health differences between marital status groups may largely arise from corresponding differences in interpersonal social bonds. However, official marital status mirrors the social reality of persons to a decreasing extent, and living arrangements may be a better measure of social bonds. Little is known about mental health in different living arrangement groups. This study aims to establish the extent and determinants of mental health differences by living arrangement in terms of psychological distress (GHQ) and DSM‐IV psychiatric disorders (CIDI). Methods Data were used from the nationally representative cross sectional health 2000 survey, conducted in 2000–1 in Finland. Altogether 4685 participants (80%) aged 30–64 years were included in these analyses; comprehensive information was available on measures of mental health and living arrangements. Living arrangements were measured as follows: married, cohabiting, living with other(s) than a partner, and living alone. Results Compared with the married, persons living alone and those living with other(s) than a partner were approximately twice as likely to have anxiety or depressive disorders. Cohabiters did not differ from the married. In men, psychological distress was similarly associated with living arrangements. Unemployment, lack of social support, and alcohol consumption attenuated the excess psychological distress and psychiatric morbidity of persons living alone and of those living with other(s) than a partner by about 10%–50% each. Conclusions Living arrangements are strongly associated with mental health, particularly among men. Information on living arrangements, social support, unemployment, and alcohol use may facilitate early stage recognition of poor mental health in primary health care. PMID:16698975

  15. A case of probable autosomal recessive ectodermal dysplasia with corkscrew hairs and mental retardation in a family with tuberous sclerosis.

    PubMed

    Argenziano, G; Monsurrò, M R; Pazienza, R; Delfino, M

    1998-02-01

    We describe a woman with a probable autosomal recessive ectodermal dysplasia with corkscrew hairs and mental retardation in a family with tuberous sclerosis. Other findings included syndactyly, typical facies, dental abnormalities, dermatoglyphic hypoplasia, epidermal ridge sweat pore count slightly below normal, and keratosis pilaris. Clinical studies and genetic analysis excluded the diagnosis of tuberous sclerosis in our patient. We conclude that she has ectodermal dysplasia associated with mental retardation. This association has been described previously; it suggests the possible interrelationship of a community of ectodermal dysplasia syndromes with a distinctive structural hair abnormality (pili torti et canaliculi), variable midfacial malformations, limb defects, and other features such as mental retardation. The similarity of our patient to that described by Whiting et al. and Abramovits-Ackerman et al. suggests the autonomy of this syndrome.

  16. The effects of income on mental health: evidence from the social security notch.

    PubMed

    Golberstein, Ezra

    2015-03-01

    Mental health is a key component of overall wellbeing and mental disorders are relatively common, including among older adults. Yet the causal effect of income on mental health status among older adults is poorly understood. This paper considers the effects of a major source of transfer income, Social Security retirement benefits, on the mental health of older adults. The Social Security benefit "Notch" is as a large, permanent, and exogenous shock to Social Security income in retirement. The "Notch" is used to identify the causal effect of Social Security income on mental health among older ages using data from the AHEAD cohort of the Health and Retirement Study. We find that increases in Social Security income significantly improve mental health status and the likelihood of a psychiatric diagnosis for women, but not for men. The effects of income on mental health for older women are statistically significant and meaningful in magnitude. While this is one of the only studies to use plausibly exogenous variation in household income to identify the effect of income on mental health, a limitation of this work is that the results only directly pertain to lower-education households. Public policy proposals that alter retirement benefits for the elderly may have important effects on the mental health of older adults.

  17. Abnormal chromosome behavior in human oocytes which remained unfertilized during human in vitro fertilization.

    PubMed

    Spielmann, H; Krüger, C; Stauber, M; Vogel, R

    1985-09-01

    Chromosomal abnormalities and abnormal embryonic development have previously been observed after human in vitro fertilization (IVF). Chromosomal abnormalities may arise not only after fertilization but even earlier during meiotic maturation of human oocytes in culture. Since chromosomal analysis is simple in oocytes during meiotic maturation, the chromosomal status was analyzed in oocytes which remained unfertilized in a human in vitro fertilization program. In 50 fertilization attempts the chromosomes of 62 unfertilized oocytes could be analyzed; 45 of them were in the process of meiotic maturation. In three oocytes two small polar bodies were observed 16-18 hr after insemination in the absence of fertilization. In one oocyte abnormal chromosome behavior was found during the first meiotic division, and in four oocytes during metaphase of the second meiotic division. These data suggest that chromosomal analysis of unfertilized oocytes in human IVF may improve the understanding human oocyte maturation and fertilization.

  18. Multiple Roles and Women's Mental Health in Canada.

    PubMed

    Maclean, Heather; Glynn, Keva; Ansara, Donna

    2004-08-25

    HEALTH ISSUE: Research on the relationship between women's social roles and mental health has been equivocal. Although a greater number of roles often protect mental health, certain combinations can lead to strain. Our study explored the moderating affects of different role combinations on women's mental health by examining associations with socioeconomic status and differences in women's distress (depressive symptoms, personal stress (role strain) and chronic stress (role strain plus environmental stressors). KEY FINDINGS: Women with children, whether single or partnered, had a higher risk of personal stress. Distress, stress and chronic stress levels of mothers, regardless of employment, or marital status, are staggeringly high. Single, unemployed mothers were significantly more likely than all other groups to experience financial stress and food insecurity. For partnered mothers, rates of personal stress and chronic stress were significantly lower among unemployed partnered mothers. Married and partnered mothers reported better mental health than their single counterparts. Lone, unemployed mothers were twice as likely to report a high level of distress compared with other groups. Lone mothers, regardless of employment status, were more likely to report high personal and chronic stress. DATA GAPS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: National health surveys need to collect more data on the characteristics of women's work environment and their care giving responsibilities. Questions on household composition should include inter-generational households, same sex couples and multifamily arrangements. Data disaggregation by ethno-racial background would be helpful. Data should be collected on perceived quality of domestic and partnership roles and division of labours.

  19. Mental Health Providers' Attitudes About Criminal Justice-Involved Clients With Serious Mental Illness.

    PubMed

    Bandara, Sachini N; Daumit, Gail L; Kennedy-Hendricks, Alene; Linden, Sarah; Choksy, Seema; McGinty, Emma E

    2018-04-01

    Community mental health providers' attitudes toward criminal justice-involved clients with serious mental illness were examined. A total of 627 Maryland psychiatric rehabilitation program providers responded to a survey (83% response rate). Measures assessed providers' experience with, positive regard for, and perceptions of similarity, with their clients with serious mental illness. Chi-square tests were used to compare providers' attitudes toward clients with and without criminal justice involvement. Providers reported lower regard for criminal justice-involved clients than for clients without such involvement. Providers were less likely to report having a great deal of respect for clients with (79%) versus without (95%) criminal justice involvement. On all items that measured providers' perceived similarity with their clients, less than 50% of providers rated themselves as similar, regardless of clients' criminal justice status. Future research should explore how providers' attitudes toward criminal justice-involved clients influence service delivery for this group.

  20. Mental health, places and people: a multilevel analysis of economic inactivity and social deprivation.

    PubMed

    Fone, David L; Dunstan, Frank

    2006-09-01

    Using data on 24,975 respondents to the Welsh Health Survey 1998 aged 17-74 years, we investigated associations between individual mental health status measured using the SF-36 instrument, social class, economic inactivity and the electoral division Townsend deprivation score. In a multilevel modelling analysis, we found mental health was significantly associated with the Townsend score after adjusting for composition, and this effect was strongest in respondents who were economically inactive. Further contextual effects were shown by significant random variability in the slopes of the relation between mental health and economic inactivity at the electoral division level. Our results suggest that the places in which people live affect their mental health, supporting NHS policy that multi-agency planning to reduce inequalities in mental health status should address the wider determinants of health, as well as services for individual patients.

  1. [Revalidation and standardization of the cognition mini-exam (first Spanish version of the Mini-Mental Status Examination) in the general geriatric population].

    PubMed

    Lobo, A; Saz, P; Marcos, G; Día, J L; de la Cámara, C; Ventura, T; Morales Asín, F; Fernando Pascual, L; Montañés, J A; Aznar, S

    1999-06-05

    The revalidation of the Mini Examen Cognoscitivo (MEC), first Spanish version (1978) of the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) and documentation of "population-based norms" should clarify the potential confusion induced by later versions of MMSE. The Zaragoza Study on the prevalence of dementia and depression in a representative sample of the elderly community (N = 1,080). MEC-35 and MEC-30 points, and validated, Spanish versions of Geriatric Mental State (GMS), History and Aetiology Schedule (HAS) and Social Status Schedule (SSS). a) validation of MEC (standardized lay interviewers) against the gold standard of psychiatric diagnosis (DSM-III-R), two months later; b) "population-based norms" in the "healthy" population, and c) comparison with other MMSE versions. The instrument fulfills criteria of "feasibility", "content", "procedural" and "construct validity". Test-retest reliability: weighted kappa = 0.637. MEC-30 (cut-off point 23/24), sensitivity = 89.8%, specificity = 75.1% (80.8% with the cut-off at 22/23), and ROC curve, AUC = 0.920. The coefficients of individual items were satisfactory and the specificity increases in MEC-35 (83.9%). Other MMSE Spanish versions have not improved these coefficients. "Population-based norms" confirm the hypothesized influence of age and education level. MEC-30 is the version with most comparable results with the MMSE in USA. The validity of MEC is confirmed in the elderly population, with the same cut-off points recommended in the original standardization. MEC-30 is the best version for international comparisons.

  2. Teaching about mental health and illness through the history of the DSM.

    PubMed

    Clegg, Joshua W

    2012-11-01

    Most students enter introductory or abnormal psychology courses with a naively realist concept of what constitutes mental illness, and most textbooks do little to complicate this understanding. The tendency to reify the various diagnostic categories of the mental health disciplines into stable and independent illnesses is ever present. However, a critical review of the development of successive versions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) can help instructors demonstrate the evolving ways in which mental health and illness are conceptualized and can reveal the cultural, political, and economic forces that shape this process. This article provides a brief general review of this history, along with useful pedagogical questions and suggestions for integrating this material into the classroom. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).

  3. Acculturation stress and mental health among the marriage migrant women in Busan, South Korea.

    PubMed

    Im, Hyuk; Lee, Ki Young; Lee, Hyo Young

    2014-05-01

    Our study investigated mental health and associated factors, especially acculturation stress and coping resources, among "marriage migrant" women. Cross-sectional data were collected for 501 marriage migrant women, about 10 % of those living in Busan, South Korea. Acculturation stress, coping resources, sociodemographic factors were examined using structured questionnaires, and the General Health Questionnaire-28 was administered as a measure of mental health. Many factors were related to mental health, especially marital satisfaction. Core cultural shock and self-rated economic status, interpersonal stress, and social support were also significantly related to mental health status. This study highlights the importance of marriage migrant women's mental health in South Korea. To improve their mental health, increased marital satisfaction, social support, resettlement funds, and/or educational programs that foster coping are needed. Additionally, we should encourage establishment of and participation in marriage migrant self-help groups, which can facilitate adaptation to marriage and to Korean culture.

  4. Violence Exposure and Mental Health of College Students in the United States.

    PubMed

    Assari, Shervin; Moghani Lankarani, Maryam

    2018-05-24

    Background : Despite the well-established link between exposure to violence and mental health problems, less is known about this association among college students. The current study aimed to investigate the association between history of exposure to violence and mental health of American college students. Methods : Healthy Mind Study (HMS, 2016⁻2017) is a national online survey of 41,898 adult college students. The independent variable was lifetime history of exposure to violence (psychological, physical, and sexual). The dependent variables were anxiety, depression, and suicidality. Race, age, gender, sexual orientation, parental education, financial stress, transfer status, enrollment status, and graduate status were covariates. Linear and logistic regression models were used for data analysis. Results : History of exposure to violence was associated with all three aspects of poor mental health, namely general anxiety, depression, and suicidality. These associations were independent of covariates and type of abuse. Conclusions : There is a need to address various mental health needs of college students who have experienced various forms of violence. College students who screen positive for history of violence exposure should be evaluated for anxiety, depression, and suicidal behaviors.

  5. Mental health of female foreign spouses in transnational marriages in southern Taiwan.

    PubMed

    Shu, Bih-Ching; Lung, For-Wey; Chen, Ching-Hsien

    2011-01-06

    The aim of this study was to investigate the mental health status, and the risk factors associated with mild psychiatric disorders, of female foreign spouses (from Vietnam, Indonesia, and mainland China) in southern Taiwan, and to understand the mental health needs of these women. One hundred and twenty nine participants were willing to participate in this study. All participants fulfilled all questionnaires which included demographic information, the Chinese Health Questionnaire (CHQ), the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), and the Mental Health Care Needs Questionnaire (MHCNQ). By multiple linear regression, neuroticism characteristics (p = 0.000), the dimension of knowledge of the level of their own psychological disturbance (p = 0.001), dimension of friends assistance (p = 0.033), and dimension of religion comfort (p = 0.041) in mental health care needs could be used to predict possible mild psychiatric disorders. Furthermore, SEM model showed that Indonesian or Vietnamese spouses have more likely degree in mental health care needs (β = -0.24, p = 0.003), compared with Chinese ones. A higher level of neuroticism was associated with a greater likelihood of mild psychiatric disorder (β = 0.54, p < 0.001), and of mental health care needs (β = 0.21, p = 0.013). A higher degree of mental health care needs was related to a greater likelihood of mild psychiatric disorder (β = 0.14, p = 0.05). In conclusion, we have obtained a better understanding of the mental health status of female foreign spouses in transnational marriages, who face many difficulties. Indonesian or Vietnamese spouses tend to more likely degree in mental health care needs than Chinese spouses, and then indirectly influenced their mental health status. Some individuals with a neurotic personality are exposed to high risk and might suffer from mild psychiatric symptoms. The needs for psychological counseling and religion therapy were the first priority for these women, particularly the

  6. Mental health of female foreign spouses in transnational marriages in southern Taiwan

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background The aim of this study was to investigate the mental health status, and the risk factors associated with mild psychiatric disorders, of female foreign spouses (from Vietnam, Indonesia, and mainland China) in southern Taiwan, and to understand the mental health needs of these women. Methods One hundred and twenty nine participants were willing to participate in this study. All participants fulfilled all questionnaires which included demographic information, the Chinese Health Questionnaire (CHQ), the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), and the Mental Health Care Needs Questionnaire (MHCNQ). Results By multiple linear regression, neuroticism characteristics (p = 0.000), the dimension of knowledge of the level of their own psychological disturbance (p = 0.001), dimension of friends assistance (p = 0.033), and dimension of religion comfort (p = 0.041) in mental health care needs could be used to predict possible mild psychiatric disorders. Furthermore, SEM model showed that Indonesian or Vietnamese spouses have more likely degree in mental health care needs (β = -0.24, p = 0.003), compared with Chinese ones. A higher level of neuroticism was associated with a greater likelihood of mild psychiatric disorder (β = 0.54, p < 0.001), and of mental health care needs (β = 0.21, p = 0.013). A higher degree of mental health care needs was related to a greater likelihood of mild psychiatric disorder (β = 0.14, p = 0.05). Conclusion In conclusion, we have obtained a better understanding of the mental health status of female foreign spouses in transnational marriages, who face many difficulties. Indonesian or Vietnamese spouses tend to more likely degree in mental health care needs than Chinese spouses, and then indirectly influenced their mental health status. Some individuals with a neurotic personality are exposed to high risk and might suffer from mild psychiatric symptoms. The needs for psychological counseling and religion therapy were the first priority

  7. Human papillomavirus infection and anxiety: analyses in women with low-grade cervical cytological abnormalities unaware of their infection status.

    PubMed

    Johnson, Candice Y; Sharp, Linda; Cotton, Seonaidh C; Harris, Cheryl A; Gray, Nicola M; Little, Julian

    2011-01-01

    Women testing positive for human papillomavirus (HPV) infection experience increased levels of anxiety that have been attributed to fears of stigmatization and developing cervical cancer. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between HPV infection and anxiety in women who were unaware they had been tested specifically for HPV, to determine if any anxiety experienced by HPV-positive women could be due to causes other than learning of test results. This study was nested within a randomised controlled trial of management of women with abnormal cervical cytology conducted in the United Kingdom with recruitment between 1999 and 2002. At baseline, prior to having a sample taken for HPV testing, the results of which were not disclosed, women were assessed for anxiety using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and asked about fears of developing cervical cancer ("cancer worries"); this assessment was repeated at 12, 18, 24, and 30 months of follow-up. Logistic regression and generalized estimating equations were used for the cross-sectional (baseline) and longitudinal analyses, respectively. Among the 2842 participants, there was no association between HPV status and anxiety among white women. Among non-white women, however, anxiety was less common among HPV-positive than HPV-negative women (adjusted odds ratio 0.41, 95% confidence interval 0.22 to 0.77). Among non-smokers, cancer worry was more common in HPV-positive than HPV-negative women; the opposite association was observed among ex-smokers. Associations between HPV status and anxiety may be explained by factors other than learning of test results and may vary by ethnicity and lifestyle factors.

  8. Exploring the Contributions of School Belonging to Complete Mental Health Screening

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moffa, Kathryn; Dowdy, Erin; Furlong, Michael J.

    2016-01-01

    Considering the many positive outcomes associated with adolescents' sense of school belonging, including psychological functioning, it is possible that including an assessment of school belonging within a complete mental health screening process could contribute to the prediction of students' future mental health status. This exploratory study…

  9. Cobalamin C Deficiency in an Adolescent With Altered Mental Status and Anorexia

    PubMed Central

    Bawcom, Amanda; Romano, Mary E.

    2014-01-01

    Although cobalamin (cbl) C deficiency is the most common inherited disorder of vitamin B12 metabolism, the late-onset form of the disease can be difficult to recognize because it has a broad phenotypic spectrum. In this report, we describe an adolescent female exposed to unknown illicit substances and sexual abuse who presented with psychosis, anorexia, seizures, and ataxia. The patient’s diagnosis was delayed until a metabolic workup was initiated, revealing hyperhomocysteinemia, low normal plasma methionine, and methylmalonic aciduria. Ultimately, cblC deficiency was confirmed when molecular testing showed compound heterozygosity for mutations (c.271dupA and c.482G>A) in the MMACHC gene. This diagnosis led to appropriate treatment with hydroxocobalamin, betaine, and folate, which resulted in improvement of her clinical symptoms and laboratory values. This patient demonstrates a previously unrecognized presentation of late-onset cblC deficiency. Although neuropsychiatric symptoms are common in late-onset disease, seizures and cerebellar involvement are not. Furthermore, anorexia has not been previously described in these patients. This case emphasizes that inborn errors of metabolism should be part of the differential diagnosis for a teenager presenting with altered mental status, especially when the diagnosis is challenging or neurologic symptoms are unexplained. Correct diagnosis of this condition is important because treatment is available and can result in clinical improvement.1 PMID:25367534

  10. Cobalamin C deficiency in an adolescent with altered mental status and anorexia.

    PubMed

    Rahmandar, Maria H; Bawcom, Amanda; Romano, Mary E; Hamid, Rizwan

    2014-12-01

    Although cobalamin (cbl) C deficiency is the most common inherited disorder of vitamin B12 metabolism, the late-onset form of the disease can be difficult to recognize because it has a broad phenotypic spectrum. In this report, we describe an adolescent female exposed to unknown illicit substances and sexual abuse who presented with psychosis, anorexia, seizures, and ataxia. The patient's diagnosis was delayed until a metabolic workup was initiated, revealing hyperhomocysteinemia, low normal plasma methionine, and methylmalonic aciduria. Ultimately, cblC deficiency was confirmed when molecular testing showed compound heterozygosity for mutations (c.271dupA and c.482G>A) in the MMACHC gene. This diagnosis led to appropriate treatment with hydroxocobalamin, betaine, and folate, which resulted in improvement of her clinical symptoms and laboratory values. This patient demonstrates a previously unrecognized presentation of late-onset cblC deficiency. Although neuropsychiatric symptoms are common in late-onset disease, seizures and cerebellar involvement are not. Furthermore, anorexia has not been previously described in these patients. This case emphasizes that inborn errors of metabolism should be part of the differential diagnosis for a teenager presenting with altered mental status, especially when the diagnosis is challenging or neurologic symptoms are unexplained. Correct diagnosis of this condition is important because treatment is available and can result in clinical improvement.(1.) Copyright © 2014 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

  11. A Serious Game for Clinical Assessment of Cognitive Status: Validation Study.

    PubMed

    Tong, Tiffany; Chignell, Mark; Tierney, Mary C; Lee, Jacques

    2016-05-27

    We propose the use of serious games to screen for abnormal cognitive status in situations where it may be too costly or impractical to use standard cognitive assessments (eg, emergency departments). If validated, serious games in health care could enable broader availability of efficient and engaging cognitive screening. The objective of this work is to demonstrate the feasibility of a game-based cognitive assessment delivered on tablet technology to a clinical sample and to conduct preliminary validation against standard mental status tools commonly used in elderly populations. We carried out a feasibility study in a hospital emergency department to evaluate the use of a serious game by elderly adults (N=146; age: mean 80.59, SD 6.00, range 70-94 years). We correlated game performance against a number of standard assessments, including the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM). After a series of modifications, the game could be used by a wide range of elderly patients in the emergency department demonstrating its feasibility for use with these users. Of 146 patients, 141 (96.6%) consented to participate and played our serious game. Refusals to play the game were typically due to concerns of family members rather than unwillingness of the patient to play the game. Performance on the serious game correlated significantly with the MoCA (r=-.339, P <.001) and MMSE (r=-.558, P <.001), and correlated (point-biserial correlation) with the CAM (r=.565, P <.001) and with other cognitive assessments. This research demonstrates the feasibility of using serious games in a clinical setting. Further research is required to demonstrate the validity and reliability of game-based assessments for clinical decision making.

  12. A Serious Game for Clinical Assessment of Cognitive Status: Validation Study

    PubMed Central

    Chignell, Mark; Tierney, Mary C.; Lee, Jacques

    2016-01-01

    Background We propose the use of serious games to screen for abnormal cognitive status in situations where it may be too costly or impractical to use standard cognitive assessments (eg, emergency departments). If validated, serious games in health care could enable broader availability of efficient and engaging cognitive screening. Objective The objective of this work is to demonstrate the feasibility of a game-based cognitive assessment delivered on tablet technology to a clinical sample and to conduct preliminary validation against standard mental status tools commonly used in elderly populations. Methods We carried out a feasibility study in a hospital emergency department to evaluate the use of a serious game by elderly adults (N=146; age: mean 80.59, SD 6.00, range 70-94 years). We correlated game performance against a number of standard assessments, including the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM). Results After a series of modifications, the game could be used by a wide range of elderly patients in the emergency department demonstrating its feasibility for use with these users. Of 146 patients, 141 (96.6%) consented to participate and played our serious game. Refusals to play the game were typically due to concerns of family members rather than unwillingness of the patient to play the game. Performance on the serious game correlated significantly with the MoCA (r=–.339, P <.001) and MMSE (r=–.558, P <.001), and correlated (point-biserial correlation) with the CAM (r=.565, P <.001) and with other cognitive assessments. Conclusions This research demonstrates the feasibility of using serious games in a clinical setting. Further research is required to demonstrate the validity and reliability of game-based assessments for clinical decision making. PMID:27234145

  13. Mental Health of Children Living in Foster Families in Rural Rwanda: The Role of HIV and the Family Environment.

    PubMed

    Nduwimana, Estella; Mukunzi, Sylvere; Ng, Lauren C; Kirk, Catherine M; Bizimana, Justin I; Betancourt, Theresa S

    2017-06-01

    Fostering children is common in sub-Saharan Africa, but few studies examine these children's mental health needs. This study investigated the impact of living in a foster family on the mental health of HIV-positive, HIV-affected and HIV-unaffected children (n = 681 aged 10-17) in rural Rwanda. Regression analyses assessed the impact of living in a foster family on mental health, parenting, and daily hardships; multiple mediation analyses assessed whether family factors mediated the association between foster status and mental health. HIV-positive children were eight times more likely to live in foster families than HIV-unaffected children. Being HIV-affected was predictive of depression and irritability symptoms after controlling for family factors. Controlling for HIV-status, foster children had more symptoms of depression, anxiety, and irritability than non-fostered children. Positive parenting fully mediated the association between foster status and mental health. Mental health and parenting interventions for foster children and HIV-affected children may improve child outcomes.

  14. Mental Health of Children Living in Foster Families in Rural Rwanda: The Role of HIV and the Family Environment

    PubMed Central

    Nduwimana, Estella; Mukunzi, Sylvere; Ng, Lauren C.; Kirk, Catherine M.; Bizimana, Justin I.; Betancourt, Theresa S.

    2016-01-01

    Fostering children is common in sub-Saharan Africa, but few studies examine these children’s mental health needs. This study investigated the impact of living in a foster family on the mental health of HIV-positive, HIV-affected and HIV-unaffected children (n = 681 aged 10–17) in rural Rwanda. Regression analyses assessed the impact of living in a foster family on mental health, parenting, and daily hardships; multiple mediation analyses assessed whether family factors mediated the association between foster status and mental health. HIV-positive children were eight times more likely to live in foster families than HIV-unaffected children. Being HIV-affected was predictive of depression and irritability symptoms after controlling for family factors. Controlling for HIV-status, foster children had more symptoms of depression, anxiety, and irritability than non-fostered children. Positive parenting fully mediated the association between foster status and mental health. Mental health and parenting interventions for foster children and HIV-affected children may improve child outcomes. PMID:27578000

  15. Functional impairment and mental health functioning among Vietnamese children.

    PubMed

    Dang, Hoang-Minh; Weiss, Bahr; Trung, Lam T

    2016-01-01

    Functional impairment is a key indicator of need for mental health services among children and adolescents, often a stronger predictor of service usage than mental health symptoms themselves. Functional impairment may be of particular importance in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) because of its potential to focus policy on treatment of child mental health problems which is generally given low priority in LMIC. However, few studies have assessed functional impairment in LMIC. The present study assessed rates of functional impairment among children in Vietnam, as a case example of an LMIC, as well as effects of other risk/protective factors of particular relevance to LMIC (e.g., whether the family lived in an urban or rural area; family structure variables such as grandparents living with the family). 1314 parents of children 6-16 years old from 10 Vietnamese provinces were interviewed. The overall rate of functional impairment among Vietnamese children was 20 %, similar to rates in high-income countries such as Germany and the United States, suggesting that LMIC status may not be associated with dramatic increases in functional impairment in children. Functional impairment was significantly greater among mental health cases than non-cases, with increases of over 550 % associated with mental health caseness. A number of other risk factors (e.g., marital status) had smaller but significant effects. Mental health problems are a major but not the sole contributor to functional impairment among Vietnamese children. The pragmatic significance of this research lies in its potential to affect public awareness and policy related to child mental health in LMIC.

  16. [Cerebral and ocular abnormalities with anterior pituitary insufficiency of familial nature].

    PubMed

    Weill, J; Boudailliez, B; Piussan, C; Ponte, C

    1985-01-01

    Three families presenting one or several cases of brain or ophthalmic abnormalities and an hypopituitarism at least by one of the members have been observed. In the first family, the mother and one of her sons present bilateral choroidoretineal coloboma with amblyopia; one of these two suffers as well from panhypopituitarism. In the second family two premature twins, a brother and his sister, present a syndrome with hypophyseal dwarfism and ophthalmic abnormalities, consisting in the boy's case in an peripapillary depigmentation with no visible sight trouble whereas girl's is showing an extreme microphthalmia with major mental retardation. In the third family two 2nd degree cousins present a panhypopituitarism but only one of the two reveals through neuroradiological investigations corpus callosum and septum lucidum agenesia. The karyotype is normal in all the cases. An hereditary mechanism appears clearly in the first family. It is possible in the second, probable in the third one.

  17. Health status, health service use, and satisfaction according to sexual identity of young Australian women.

    PubMed

    McNair, Ruth; Szalacha, Laura A; Hughes, Tonda L

    2011-01-01

    we sought to compare physical and mental health status, health service use, and satisfaction among young Australian women of varying sexual identity; and to explore associations of all of these variables with satisfaction with their general practitioner (GP). data are from the youngest cohort of women in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health surveyed in 2003. The sample included women aged 25 to 30 who identified as exclusively heterosexual (n = 8,083; 91.3%), mainly heterosexual (n = 568; 6.4%), bisexual (n = 100; 1.1%), or lesbian (n = 99; 1.1%). Univariate analyses compared self-reported mental health, physical health, access to GP services, and satisfaction across the four sexual identity groups. Linear regression, controlling for education, income, and residence, was used to identify factors associated with GP satisfaction. sexual minority women (lesbian, bisexual, and mainly heterosexual) were significantly more likely than were heterosexual women to report poorer mental health and to have more frequently used health services; depression was strongly associated with mental health services use. Bisexual and mainly heterosexual women were most likely to report poorer general health, abnormal Pap tests, sexually transmissible infections, urinary tract infections, hepatitis B or C virus infection, and asthma. Lesbians were most likely to have never had a Pap test or be underscreened. All sexual minority women had lower continuity of GP care and lower satisfaction with that care than heterosexual women. underlying social determinants of physical and mental health disparities experienced by sexual minority women require exploration, including the possible effects of discrimination and marginalization on higher levels of risk taking. Lower continuity of care and lower satisfaction with GP services also need further investigation. 2011 Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  18. Older Adults with Mental Disorders: What Factors Distinguish Those Who Present to Emergency Departments for Mental Health Reasons from Those Who Do Not?

    PubMed

    Walsh, Patrick G; Currier, Glenn W; Shah, Manish N; Friedman, Bruce

    2015-11-01

    To identify among older adults with mental disorders factors associated with those who present to emergency departments (EDs) for mental health reasons versus those who do not. The authors conducted a secondary, cross-sectional analysis of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), which comprises a representative sample of the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population. Of the MEPS participants ages 66 and older on December 31 of the survey years 2000-2005, the analysis sample (2,757) included the 177 persons with at least one mental health ED visit and the 2,580 persons with mental disorders without such a visit. The three categories of the Andersen behavioral model for healthcare services utilization-predisposing, enabling, and need factors-were used as the theoretical framework for the independent variables. Logistic regression analysis indicated that four need factors (adjustment disorder [OR: 3.42], psychosis [OR: 2.68], fair perceived physical health status [OR: 2.24], and anxiety disorder [OR: 1.85]) and two predisposing characteristics (widowed and living alone [OR: 1.68] and female [OR: 1.56]) were significantly associated with older adults with mental disorders who present to an ED for mental health reasons. Good perceived mental health status (OR: 0.55) was protective against presenting to an ED. EDs that serve populations with higher proportions of older persons that are women, widowed and living alone, with adjustment disorder, psychosis, anxiety disorders, or fair perceived physical health should expect to have a greater likelihood of older persons visiting the ED for mental health reasons. Copyright © 2015 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. How Possibly Do Leisure and Social Activities Impact Mental Health of Middle-Aged Adults in Japan?: An Evidence from a National Longitudinal Survey.

    PubMed

    Takeda, Fumi; Noguchi, Haruko; Monma, Takafumi; Tamiya, Nanako

    2015-01-01

    This study aimed to investigate longitudinal relations between leisure and social activities and mental health status, considering the presence or absence of other persons in the activity as an additional variable, among middle-aged adults in Japan. This study used nationally representative data in Japan with a five-year follow-up period. This study focused on 16,642 middle-aged adults, age 50-59 at baseline, from a population-based, six-year panel survey conducted by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. To investigate the relations between two leisure activities ('hobbies or cultural activities' and 'exercise or sports') and four social activities ('community events', 'support for children', 'support for elderly individuals' and 'other social activities') at baseline and mental health status at follow-up, multiple logistic regression analysis was used. We also used multiple logistic regression analysis to investigate the association between ways of participating in these activities ('by oneself', 'with others', or 'both' (both 'by oneself' and 'with others')) at baseline and mental health status at follow-up. Involvement in both leisure activity categories, but not in social activities, was significantly and positively related to mental health status in both men and women. Furthermore, in men, both 'hobbies or cultural activities' and 'exercise or sports' were significantly related to mental health status only when conducted 'with others'. In women, the effects of 'hobbies or cultural activities' on mental health status were no differences regardless of the ways of participating, while the result of 'exercise or sports' was same as that in men. Leisure activities appear to benefit mental health status among this age group, whereas specific social activities do not. Moreover, participation in leisure activities would be effective especially if others are present. These findings should be useful for preventing the deterioration of mental health

  20. Mental Health and Antiretroviral Adherence Among Youth Living With HIV in Rwanda.

    PubMed

    Smith Fawzi, Mary C; Ng, Lauren; Kanyanganzi, Fredrick; Kirk, Catherine; Bizimana, Justin; Cyamatare, Felix; Mushashi, Christina; Kim, Taehoon; Kayiteshonga, Yvonne; Binagwaho, Agnes; Betancourt, Theresa S

    2016-10-01

    In Rwanda, significant progress has been made in advancing access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) among youth. As availability of ART increases, adherence is critical for preventing poor clinical outcomes and transmission of HIV. The goals of the study are to (1) describe ART adherence and mental health problems among youth living with HIV aged 10 to 17; and (2) examine the association between these factors among this population in rural Rwanda. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted that examined the association of mental health status and ART adherence among youth (n = 193). ART adherence, mental health status, and related variables were examined based on caregiver and youth report. Nonadherence was defined as ever missing or refusing a dose of ART within the past month. Multivariate modeling was performed to examine the association between mental health status and ART adherence. Approximately 37% of youth missed or refused ART in the past month. In addition, a high level of depressive symptoms (26%) and attempt to hurt or kill oneself (12%) was observed in this population of youth living with HIV in Rwanda. In multivariate analysis, nonadherence was significantly associated with some mental health outcomes, including conduct problems (odds ratio 2.90, 95% confidence interval 1.55-5.43) and depression (odds ratio 1.02, 95% confidence interval 1.01-1.04), according to caregiver report. A marginally significant association was observed for youth report of depressive symptoms. The findings suggest that mental health should be considered among the factors related to ART nonadherence in HIV services for youth, particularly for mental health outcomes, such as conduct problems and depression. Copyright © 2016 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

  1. [Poverty and Mental Disorders in the Colombian Population: National Mental Health Survey 2015].

    PubMed

    Quitian, Hoover; Ruiz-Gaviria, Rafael E; Gómez-Restrepo, Carlos; Rondón, Martin

    2016-12-01

    Poverty has been associated in some studies with poorer outcomes in mental problems and disorders. A circular relationship has been considered in which poverty fosters the appearance of mental illness and this facilitates greater poverty. There are no studies in Colombia on this subject. To describe the association between mental problems and disorders and poverty according to the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) in Colombia. Using the 2015 National Mental Health Survey, adjusted with the expansion factors for the population. The prevalences of mental problems and disorders obtained through semi-structured interviews employing the instruments SRQ-20, AUDIT C and A, modified PCL, familiar APGAR and CIDI CAPI. The poverty status was determined by the MPI. A total of 13,200 households were interviewed, of which 13.5% were classified as in a poverty condition, 6.3% of the adolescents of poor households reported a life-time prevalence of any mental disorder, and 4.6% in the last 12 months. On the other hand, the prevalences for the same age group not in a poverty condition were 7.2% and 3.3%, respectively. For adults in poverty, the prevalence of life-time mental disorders were 9.2%, with 4.3% in the last year, while those not considered poor showed prevalences of 9.1% and 3.9% for the same time periods. For the population of Colombia, there is a relationship between not being able to access the basic basket of goods and the presence of mental diseases, although there does not seems to be an association between an increase in poverty and the deterioration of mental health. Copyright © 2016 Asociación Colombiana de Psiquiatría. Publicado por Elsevier España. All rights reserved.

  2. Using standardized patients in enhancing undergraduate students' learning experience in mental health nursing.

    PubMed

    Goh, Yong-Shian; Selvarajan, Sunil; Chng, Mui-Lee; Tan, Chee-Shiong; Yobas, Piyanee

    2016-10-01

    Conducting mental status examination and suicide risk assessment is an important skill required of nurses when they are in the clinical setting. With nursing students often expressing the anxiety and lack of confidence in doing so, the use of standardized patients provide an excellent opportunity to practice and become proficient with this skill in a simulated environment. To explore the learning experience of undergraduate nursing students using standardized patients while practising their mental status examination and suicide risk assessment skills in mental health nursing module. A pre- and post-test, single group quasi experimental design was used in this study. A standard didactic tutorial session and a standardized patient session was conducted to evaluate the learning experience of undergraduate nursing students learning mental status examination and suicide risk assessment. Outcome measures for this study include Student Satisfaction and Self-Confidence in learning scale. Qualitative comments in the form of open-ended questions were also collected in this study. A University offering nursing program from undergraduate to postgraduate level. A convenience sample of Year 2 undergraduate nursing students undertaking the mental health nursing module was included in this study. The use of standardized patient session had significantly increased students' satisfaction and confidence level before they are posted to a mental health setting for their clinical attachment. There was a significant difference on students' self-confidence level for those who have taken care of a patient with mental illness after adjusting for pre-test on score in learning. Qualitative feedback obtained from students showed a positive outlook towards the use of standardized patient as an effective tool in augmenting didactic learning into practical skills. Using standardized patient in mental health nursing education enhanced the integration of didactic content into clinical setting

  3. Mental Health and Related Factors after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

    PubMed Central

    Yokoyama, Yukari; Otsuka, Kotaro; Kawakami, Norito; Kobayashi, Seiichiro; Ogawa, Akira; Tannno, Kozo; Onoda, Toshiyuki; Yaegashi, Yumi; Sakata, Kiyomi

    2014-01-01

    Mental health is one of the most important issues facing disaster survivors. The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence and correlates of mental health problems in survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami at 6–11 months after the disaster. The questionnaire and notification were sent to the survivors in three municipalities in the Tohoku area of the Northern part of Honshu, Japan’s largest island, between September 2011 and February 2012. Questionnaires were sent to 12,772, 11,411, and 18,648 residents in the Yamada, Otsuchi, and Rikuzentakata municipalities, respectively. Residents were asked to bring the completed questionnaires to their health check-ups. A total of 11,124 or (26.0%) of them underwent health check-ups, and 10,198 were enrolled. We excluded 179 for whom a K6 score was missing and two who were both 17 years of age, which left 10,025 study participants (3,934 male and 6,091 female, mean age 61.0 years). K6 was used to measure mental health problems. The respondents were classified into moderate (5–12 of K6) and serious mental health problems (13+). A total of 42.6% of the respondents had moderate or serious mental health problems. Multivariate analysis showed that women were significantly associated with mental health problems. Other variables associated with mental health problems were: younger male, health complaints, severe economic status, relocations, and lack of a social network. An interaction effect of sex and economic status on severe mental health problems was statistically significant. Our findings suggest that mental health problems were prevalent in survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. For men and women, health complaints, severe economic status, relocations, and lack of social network may be important risk factors of poor mental health. For men, interventions focusing on economic support may be particularly useful in reducing mental health problems after the disaster. PMID

  4. Abnormal fatty acids in Canadian children with autism.

    PubMed

    Jory, Joan

    2016-04-01

    Fatty acids are critical for pediatric neurodevelopment and are abnormal in autism, although prior studies have demonstrated conflicting results and methodological differences. To our knowledge, there are no published data on fatty acid in Canadian children with autism. The aim of this study was to investigate red blood cell and serum fatty acid status to identify whether abnormalities exist in Canadian children with autism, and to enhance future cross-study comparison. Eleven Canadian children with autism (3 girls, 8 boys; age 3.05 ± 0.79 y) and 15 controls (9 girls, 6 boys; age 3.87 ± 1.06 y) met inclusion criteria, which included prior Diagnostic and Statistical Manual diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, no recent medication or supplements, no specialty diets, and no recent illness. The children with autism demonstrated lower red blood cell docosahexaenoic acid (P < 0.0003), eicosapentaenoic acid (P < 0.03), arachidonic acid (P < 0.002), and ω-3/ω-6 ratios (P < 0.001). They also demonstrated lower serum docosahexaenoic acid (P < 0.02), arachidonic acid (P < 0.05), and linoleic acid (P < 0.02) levels. Fatty acids in both serum and red blood cells were abnormal in this small group of Canadian children with autism than in controls, underlining a need for larger age- and sex-matched investigations in this community. A potential role for fatty acid abnormalities within the complex epigenetic etiology of autism is proposed in relation to emerging understanding of relationships between cobalamin metabolism, gut microbiota, and propionic acid production. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Poor Pre-Pregnancy and Antepartum Mental Health Predicts Postpartum Mental Health Problems among US Women: A Nationally Representative Population-Based Study

    PubMed Central

    Witt, Whitney P.; Wisk, Lauren E.; Cheng, Erika R.; Hampton, John M.; Creswell, Paul; Hagen, Erika W.; Spear, Hilary A.; Maddox, Torsheika; DeLeire, Thomas

    2011-01-01

    Purpose Mental health problems disproportionately affect women, particularly during childbearing years. However, there is a paucity of research on the determinants of postpartum mental health problems using representative US populations. Taking a life course perspective, we determined the potential risk factors for postpartum mental health problems, with a particular focus on the role of mental health before and during pregnancy. Methods We examined data on 1,863 mothers from eleven panels of the 1996-2006 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). Poor postpartum mental health was defined using self-reports of mental health conditions, symptoms of mental health conditions, or global mental health ratings of “fair” or “poor.” Results 9.5% of women reported experiencing postpartum mental health problems, with over half of these women reporting a history of poor mental health. Poor pre-pregnancy mental health and poor antepartum mental health both independently increased the odds of having postpartum mental health problems. Staged multivariate analyses revealed that poor antepartum mental health attenuated the relationship between pre-pregnancy and postpartum mental health problems. Additionally, significant disparities exist in women's report of postpartum mental health status. Conclusions While poor antepartum mental health is the strongest predictor of postpartum mental health problems, pre-pregnancy mental health is also important. Accordingly, health care providers should identify, treat, and follow women with a history of poor mental health, as they are particularly susceptible to postpartum mental health problems. This will ensure that women and their children are in the best possible health and mental health during the postpartum period and beyond. PMID:21349740

  6. Impaired nutritional status in geriatric trauma patients.

    PubMed

    Müller, F S; Meyer, O W; Chocano-Bedoya, P; Schietzel, S; Gagesch, M; Freystaetter, G; Neuhaus, V; Simmen, H-P; Langhans, W; Bischoff-Ferrari, H A

    2017-05-01

    Malnutrition is an established risk factor for adverse clinical outcomes. Our aim was to assess nutritional status among geriatric trauma patients. We enrolled 169 consecutive patients (⩾70 years) admitted to the Geriatric Traumatology Centre (University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland). On admission to acute care, nutritional status was assessed with the mini nutritional assessment (score<17=malnourished (M), ⩽23.5=at risk of malnutrition (ARM), >23.5=normal). At the same examination, we assessed mental (Geriatric Depression Scale; GDS) and cognitive function (Mini-Mental State Examination; MMSE), frailty status (Fried Scale), and number of comorbidities and medications. Further, discharge destination was documented. All analyses were adjusted for age and gender. A total of 7.1% of patients were malnourished and 49.1% were ARM. Patients with reduced mental health (GDS⩾5: 30.5 vs 11.5%; P=0.004), impaired cognitive function (MMSE⩽26: 23.6±0.5 vs 26.0±0.6; P=0.004), prevalent frailty (32.5 vs 8%; P<0.001), more comorbidities (2.3±0.1 vs 1.3±0.2; P<0.0001) and medications (5.6±0.3 vs 3.4±0.4; P<0.0001) were more likely to have an impaired nutritional status (M+ARM). Further, M+ARM patients were twice as likely to be discharged to destinations different to home (odds ratio=2.08; confidence interval 1.07-4.05). In this consecutive sample of geriatric trauma patients, 56.2% had an M+ARM upon admission to acute care, which was associated with indicators of worse physical, mental and cognitive health and predicted a more than twofold greater odds of being discharged to a destination other than home.

  7. The role of mental health and specific responsivity in juvenile justice rehabilitation.

    PubMed

    McCormick, Sarah; Peterson-Badali, Michele; Skilling, Tracey A

    2017-02-01

    Understanding the role that mental health issues play in justice-involved youth poses challenges for research, policy, and practice. While mental health problems are generally not risk factors for criminal behavior according to the risk-needs-responsivity (RNR) framework of correctional psychology practice, prevalence rates are very high and RNR principles suggest that mental health as a responsivity variable may moderate the success of interventions targeted to criminogenic needs. In this study we investigated the relationships among mental health status, criminogenic needs treatment, and recidivism in a sample of 232 youth referred for court-ordered assessments and followed through their community supervision sentence (probation). Youth with mental health needs were no more likely than youth without these needs to reoffend, regardless of whether those needs were treated. Youth who received mental health treatment also more frequently had their criminogenic needs matched across several domains, suggesting an association between mental health treatment and intermediate treatment targets. However, mental health did not moderate the effect of criminogenic needs treatment: youth who had a greater proportion of criminogenic needs targeted through appropriate services were less likely to reoffend, regardless of mental health status. Findings are consistent with the RNR stance that, within a correctional context in which the primary goal of intervention is preventing recidivism, treatment for mental health needs should be in addition to criminogenic needs treatment, not in replacement of it. They also point to the need for continued research to understand precisely how mental health treatment interacts with intervention targeting criminogenic needs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  8. Mental Imagery in Depression: Phenomenology, Potential Mechanisms, and Treatment Implications.

    PubMed

    Holmes, Emily A; Blackwell, Simon E; Burnett Heyes, Stephanie; Renner, Fritz; Raes, Filip

    2016-01-01

    Mental imagery is an experience like perception in the absence of a percept. It is a ubiquitous feature of human cognition, yet it has been relatively neglected in the etiology, maintenance, and treatment of depression. Imagery abnormalities in depression include an excess of intrusive negative mental imagery; impoverished positive imagery; bias for observer perspective imagery; and overgeneral memory, in which specific imagery is lacking. We consider the contribution of imagery dysfunctions to depressive psychopathology and implications for cognitive behavioral interventions. Treatment advances capitalizing on the representational format of imagery (as opposed to its content) are reviewed, including imagery rescripting, positive imagery generation, and memory specificity training. Consideration of mental imagery can contribute to clinical assessment and imagery-focused psychological therapeutic techniques and promote investigation of underlying mechanisms for treatment innovation. Research into mental imagery in depression is at an early stage. Work that bridges clinical psychology and neuroscience in the investigation of imagery-related mechanisms is recommended.

  9. Workplace social capital and mental health among Chinese employees: a multi-level, cross-sectional study.

    PubMed

    Gao, Junling; Weaver, Scott R; Dai, Junming; Jia, Yingnan; Liu, Xingdi; Jin, Kezhi; Fu, Hua

    2014-01-01

    Whereas the majority of previous research on social capital and health has been on residential neighborhoods and communities, the evidence remains sparse on workplace social capital. To address this gap in the literature, we examined the association between workplace social capital and health status among Chinese employees in a large, multi-level, cross-sectional study. By employing a two-stage stratified random sampling procedure, 2,796 employees were identified from 35 workplaces in Shanghai during March to November 2012. Workplace social capital was assessed using a validated and psychometrically tested eight-item measure, and the Chinese language version of the WHO-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5) was used to assess mental health. Control variables included sex, age, marital status, education level, occupation status, smoking status, physical activity, and job stress. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was conducted to explore whether individual- and workplace-level social capital was associated with mental health status. In total, 34.9% of workers reported poor mental health (WHO-5<13). After controlling for individual-level socio-demographic and lifestyle variables, compared to workers with the highest quartile of personal social capital, workers with the third, second, and lowest quartiles exhibited 1.39 to 3.54 times greater odds of poor mental health, 1.39 (95% CI: 1.10-1.75), 1.85 (95% CI: 1.38-2.46) and 3.54 (95% CI: 2.73-4.59), respectively. Corresponding odds ratios for workplace-level social capital were 0.95 (95% CI: 0.61-1.49), 1.14 (95% CI: 0.72-1.81) and 1.63 (95% CI: 1.05-2.53) for the third, second, and lowest quartiles, respectively. Higher workplace social capital is associated with lower odds of poor mental health among Chinese employees. Promoting social capital at the workplace may contribute to enhancing employees' mental health in China.

  10. Job demands, resources and mental health in UK prison officers.

    PubMed

    Kinman, G; Clements, A J; Hart, J

    2017-08-01

    Research findings indicate that working as a prison officer can be highly stressful, but the aspects of work that predict their mental health status are largely unknown. To examine, using elements of the demands-resources model, the extent to which work pressure and several potential resources (i.e. control, support from managers and co-workers, role clarity, effective working relationships and positive change management) predict mental health in a sample of UK prison officers. The Health and Safety Executive Management Standards Indicator Tool was used to measure job demands and resources. Mental health was assessed by the General Health Questionnaire-28. The effects of demands and resources on mental health were examined via linear regression analysis with GHQ score as the outcome. The study sample comprised 1267 prison officers (86% male). Seventy-four per cent met 'caseness' criteria for mental health problems. Job demands, poor interpersonal relationships, role ambiguity and, to a lesser extent, low job control and poor management of change were key predictors of mental health status. The findings of this study can help occupational health practitioners and psychologists develop structured interventions to improve well-being among prison officers. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

  11. Family violence influences mental health of school girls in Iran: Results of a preliminary study.

    PubMed

    Fakhari, Ali; Tabatabavakili, Mehdi; Javid, Yousef Sayah; Farhang, Sara

    2012-03-01

    The family plays the first and may be the most important role in the development of individuals' personality, health and function. The current study aimed to evaluate different aspects of violence against a sample of school girls of Iranian population and its effect on their mental health. A cluster, randomized sample consisting of 399 school girls was selected from all of the high schools in Tabriz city, northwest of Iran. Students were asked to participate in this study anonymously. Signs and symptoms of depression and anxiety were assessed by the General health questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) measuring their social function and physical situation as well. Another inquiry form involving questions about different kinds of violence and neglect gathered information about their situation during the recent year. The mean (SD) age of the students was 14.9 (0.8) and all were under 18. The mean (SD) total score of GHQ-28 was 24.18(13.61). The sub-threshold score in GHQ-28 (under 23) was observed in 44.1% of students which indicates considerable problems in mental health status. The type of reported violence was not significantly associated with an abnormal score of GHQ-28. A higher score of somatic symptoms was related to verbal violence at home by parents and the educational level of mother. High score on social dysfunction was predicted by lower educational level of mother. The depression scale was related to humility, neglect and discrimination at home. The factors were not predicting the score of anxiety or insomnia subscales. The current study observed a noticeable amount of problems in the mental health of teenage girls in a sample of the Iranian population. The educational level of the mother plays an important role in the mental health of school girls. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Task force report: the macroenvironment and community mental health.

    PubMed

    Monahan, J; Vaux, A

    1980-01-01

    The U.S. President's Commission on Mental Health (1978) has called for a broader conception of mental health and the factors that influence it. The "macro"-social environment is emerging as one area of concern. The influence of two macroenvironmental domains, the physical and economic, on several areas of human functioning is documented in this article. Topics in the physical domain include noise and crowding; and in the economic domain, socio-economic status, unemployment, and economic change. The implications of this research for community mental health practice is described.

  13. Mental health affects future employment as job loss affects mental health: findings from a longitudinal population study.

    PubMed

    Olesen, Sarah C; Butterworth, Peter; Leach, Liana S; Kelaher, Margaret; Pirkis, Jane

    2013-05-24

    Workforce participation is a key feature of public mental health and social inclusion policies across the globe, and often a therapeutic goal in treatment settings. Understanding the reciprocal relationship between participation and mental health has been limited by inadequate research methods. This is the first study to simultaneously examine and contrast the relative effects of unemployment on mental health and mental health on employment status in a single general population sample. Data were from working-age respondents (20 to 55 years at baseline) who completed nine waves of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey (N=7176). Cross-lagged path analyses were used to test the lagged and concurrent associations between unemployment and mental health over time, adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics. Mental health was shown to be both a consequence of and risk factor for unemployment. Thus, the poorer mental health observed amongst people who are not working is attributable to both the impact of unemployment and existing mental health problems. While the strength of these two effects was similar for women, the results for men suggested that the effect of unemployment on subsequent mental health was weaker than the effect of mental health on subsequent risk of unemployment. Disentangling the reciprocal links between mental health and workforce participation is central to the development and success of clinical goals and health and social policies that aim to promote either aspect. This study demonstrates that both effects are important and supports concurrent responses to prevent a cycle of disadvantage and entrenched social exclusion.

  14. Mental health affects future employment as job loss affects mental health: findings from a longitudinal population study

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background Workforce participation is a key feature of public mental health and social inclusion policies across the globe, and often a therapeutic goal in treatment settings. Understanding the reciprocal relationship between participation and mental health has been limited by inadequate research methods. This is the first study to simultaneously examine and contrast the relative effects of unemployment on mental health and mental health on employment status in a single general population sample. Method Data were from working-age respondents (20 to 55 years at baseline) who completed nine waves of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey (N=7176). Cross-lagged path analyses were used to test the lagged and concurrent associations between unemployment and mental health over time, adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics. Results Mental health was shown to be both a consequence of and risk factor for unemployment. Thus, the poorer mental health observed amongst people who are not working is attributable to both the impact of unemployment and existing mental health problems. While the strength of these two effects was similar for women, the results for men suggested that the effect of unemployment on subsequent mental health was weaker than the effect of mental health on subsequent risk of unemployment. Conclusion Disentangling the reciprocal links between mental health and workforce participation is central to the development and success of clinical goals and health and social policies that aim to promote either aspect. This study demonstrates that both effects are important and supports concurrent responses to prevent a cycle of disadvantage and entrenched social exclusion. PMID:23705753

  15. Surveys of medical seeking preference, mental health literacy, and attitudes toward mental illness in Taiwan, 1990-2000.

    PubMed

    Wu, Chia-Yi; Liu, Shen-Ing; Chang, Shu-Sen; Sun, Fang-Ju

    2014-01-01

    Mental health promotion campaigns require a good understanding of public attitudes and mental health literacy. Few studies have investigated changes in these two aspects over time. We aimed to examine such changes and their associations with help-seeking preference in Taiwan. Data were extracted from the Taiwan Social Change Survey (1990, 1995, and 2000) based on national representative samples. Each wave of the surveys included four questions about attitudes toward severe mental illness, a case vignette describing depressive and anxiety symptoms to evaluate respondents' mental health literacy, and their preference of medical and/or informal help-seeking if they develop such symptoms. Mental and physical health statuses measured using the Chinese Health Questionnaire and self-reported chronic physical illnesses were included as covariates. There were 2531, 2075, and 1892 respondents in the three waves of the surveys, respectively. During the 1990 s, approximately one in four to five Taiwanese held some misconceptions toward mental illness. The attitudes toward mental illness were generally not associated with medical or informal help-seeking preference after statistical adjustment. However, respondents viewing symptoms in the vignette as physical or mental in origin were more willing to seek help than those who saw these symptoms as not being an illness. Attribution of depressive and anxiety symptoms appeared to be more likely to influence help-seeking behaviors than attitudes toward mental illness. Enhancing public mental health literacy toward depression may help facilitate help-seeking in response to potential mental illness. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  16. [Mental Health: Concepts, Measures, Determinants].

    PubMed

    Doré, Isabelle; Caron, Jean

    Objectives This article aims to situate the concept of mental health in a historical perspective. This article presents the most commonly used measurement tools in Canada and elsewhere in the world to assess specific and multiple dimensions of mental health; when available, psychometric properties are discussed. Finally, research findings on quality of life and mental health determinants are presented.Methods A literature review of concepts, measurement and determinants of mental health is presented in this paper. The selection of measurement scales presented is based on the findings of the research reports conducted by the second author, an expert on mental health measures, for Health Canada and Statistics Canada.Results Mental health is more than the absence of mental illness; rather it is a state of complete well-being, which refers to our ability to enjoy life and deal with the challenges we face. Accordingly, mental health and mental illness are not extremes of the same continuum, but distinct yet correlated concepts. The traditional conceptualization suggesting that mental health represents simply the absence of mental illness has been replaced, in the last few decades, by a more holistic characterization, which directly concerns public health. The components of mental health include emotional well-being/quality of life (QOL) and psychological and social well-being. Mental health influences the personal and social functioning of individuals, justifying the importance of intervening upstream to promote mental health. Specific scales are relevant for obtaining a detailed measure of one aspect of well-being in particular (emotional/quality of life, psychological or social well-being); however, to account for the global mental health status, measurement tools that integrate all three forms of well-being (emotional, psychological and social) should be privileged. A diversity of determinants at the individual, social and neighbourhood levels influence quality of

  17. Meiotic abnormalities

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    NONE

    1993-12-31

    Chapter 19, describes meiotic abnormalities. These include nondisjunction of autosomes and sex chromosomes, genetic and environmental causes of nondisjunction, misdivision of the centromere, chromosomally abnormal human sperm, male infertility, parental age, and origin of diploid gametes. 57 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab.

  18. Discrimination, Perceived Social Inequity, and Mental Health Among Rural-to-Urban Migrants in China

    PubMed Central

    Lin, Danhua; Wang, Bo; Hong, Yan; Qin, Xiong; Stanton, Bonita

    2010-01-01

    Status-based discrimination and inequity have been associated with the process of migration, especially with economics-driven internal migration. However, their association with mental health among economy-driven internal migrants in developing countries is rarely assessed. This study examines discriminatory experiences and perceived social inequity in relation to mental health status among rural-to-urban migrants in China. Cross-sectional data were collected from 1,006 rural-to-urban migrants in 2004–2005 in Beijing, China. Participants reported their perceptions and experiences of being discriminated in daily life in urban destination and perceived social inequity. Mental health was measured using the symptom checklist-90 (SCL-90). Multivariate analyses using general linear model were performed to test the effect of discriminatory experience and perceived social inequity on mental health. Experience of discrimination was positively associated with male gender, being married at least once, poorer health status, shorter duration of migration, and middle range of personal income. Likewise, perceived social inequity was associated with poorer health status, higher education attainment, and lower personal income. Multivariate analyses indicate that both experience of discrimination and perceived social inequity were strongly associated with mental health problems of rural-to-urban migrants. Experience of discrimination in daily life and perceived social inequity have a significant influence on mental health among rural-to-urban migrants. The findings underscore the needs to reduce public or societal discrimination against rural-to-urban migrants, to eliminate structural barriers (i.e., dual household registrations) for migrants to fully benefit from the urban economic development, and to create a positive atmosphere to improve migrant's psychological well-being. PMID:20033772

  19. Discrimination, perceived social inequity, and mental health among rural-to-urban migrants in China.

    PubMed

    Lin, Danhua; Li, Xiaoming; Wang, Bo; Hong, Yan; Fang, Xiaoyi; Qin, Xiong; Stanton, Bonita

    2011-04-01

    Status-based discrimination and inequity have been associated with the process of migration, especially with economics-driven internal migration. However, their association with mental health among economy-driven internal migrants in developing countries is rarely assessed. This study examines discriminatory experiences and perceived social inequity in relation to mental health status among rural-to-urban migrants in China. Cross-sectional data were collected from 1,006 rural-to-urban migrants in 2004-2005 in Beijing, China. Participants reported their perceptions and experiences of being discriminated in daily life in urban destination and perceived social inequity. Mental health was measured using the symptom checklist-90 (SCL-90). Multivariate analyses using general linear model were performed to test the effect of discriminatory experience and perceived social inequity on mental health. Experience of discrimination was positively associated with male gender, being married at least once, poorer health status, shorter duration of migration, and middle range of personal income. Likewise, perceived social inequity was associated with poorer health status, higher education attainment, and lower personal income. Multivariate analyses indicate that both experience of discrimination and perceived social inequity were strongly associated with mental health problems of rural-to-urban migrants. Experience of discrimination in daily life and perceived social inequity have a significant influence on mental health among rural-to-urban migrants. The findings underscore the needs to reduce public or societal discrimination against rural-to-urban migrants, to eliminate structural barriers (i.e., dual household registrations) for migrants to fully benefit from the urban economic development, and to create a positive atmosphere to improve migrant's psychological well-being.

  20. Basic Behavioral Science Research for Mental Health. Sociocultural and Environmental Processes.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    American Psychologist, 1996

    1996-01-01

    Provides an overview of accomplishments in sociocultural and cross-cultural research and explores how culture influences the course of mental illness. The influence of race and ethnicity on mental health within a multicultural society is discussed as well as the influences of socioeconomic status, changing work roles, communities, and local…

  1. Affective mentalizing and brain activity at rest in the behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia.

    PubMed

    Caminiti, Silvia P; Canessa, Nicola; Cerami, Chiara; Dodich, Alessandra; Crespi, Chiara; Iannaccone, Sandro; Marcone, Alessandra; Falini, Andrea; Cappa, Stefano F

    2015-01-01

    bvFTD patients display an impairment in the attribution of cognitive and affective states to others, reflecting GM atrophy in brain regions associated with social cognition, such as amygdala, superior temporal cortex and posterior insula. Distinctive patterns of abnormal brain functioning at rest have been reported in bvFTD, but their relationship with defective attribution of affective states has not been investigated. To investigate the relationship among resting-state brain activity, gray matter (GM) atrophy and the attribution of mental states in the behavioral variant of fronto-temporal degeneration (bvFTD). We compared 12 bvFTD patients with 30 age- and education-matched healthy controls on a) performance in a task requiring the attribution of affective vs. cognitive mental states; b) metrics of resting-state activity in known functional networks; and c) the relationship between task-performances and resting-state metrics. In addition, we assessed a connection between abnormal resting-state metrics and GM atrophy. Compared with controls, bvFTD patients showed a reduction of intra-network coherent activity in several components, as well as decreased strength of activation in networks related to attentional processing. Anomalous resting-state activity involved networks which also displayed a significant reduction of GM density. In patients, compared with controls, higher affective mentalizing performance correlated with stronger functional connectivity between medial prefrontal sectors of the default-mode and attentional/performance monitoring networks, as well as with increased coherent activity in components of the executive, sensorimotor and fronto-limbic networks. Some of the observed effects may reflect specific compensatory mechanisms for the atrophic changes involving regions in charge of affective mentalizing. The analysis of specific resting-state networks thus highlights an intermediate level of analysis between abnormal brain structure and impaired

  2. Affective mentalizing and brain activity at rest in the behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia

    PubMed Central

    Caminiti, Silvia P.; Canessa, Nicola; Cerami, Chiara; Dodich, Alessandra; Crespi, Chiara; Iannaccone, Sandro; Marcone, Alessandra; Falini, Andrea; Cappa, Stefano F.

    2015-01-01

    Background bvFTD patients display an impairment in the attribution of cognitive and affective states to others, reflecting GM atrophy in brain regions associated with social cognition, such as amygdala, superior temporal cortex and posterior insula. Distinctive patterns of abnormal brain functioning at rest have been reported in bvFTD, but their relationship with defective attribution of affective states has not been investigated. Objective To investigate the relationship among resting-state brain activity, gray matter (GM) atrophy and the attribution of mental states in the behavioral variant of fronto-temporal degeneration (bvFTD). Methods We compared 12 bvFTD patients with 30 age- and education-matched healthy controls on a) performance in a task requiring the attribution of affective vs. cognitive mental states; b) metrics of resting-state activity in known functional networks; and c) the relationship between task-performances and resting-state metrics. In addition, we assessed a connection between abnormal resting-state metrics and GM atrophy. Results Compared with controls, bvFTD patients showed a reduction of intra-network coherent activity in several components, as well as decreased strength of activation in networks related to attentional processing. Anomalous resting-state activity involved networks which also displayed a significant reduction of GM density. In patients, compared with controls, higher affective mentalizing performance correlated with stronger functional connectivity between medial prefrontal sectors of the default-mode and attentional/performance monitoring networks, as well as with increased coherent activity in components of the executive, sensorimotor and fronto-limbic networks. Conclusions Some of the observed effects may reflect specific compensatory mechanisms for the atrophic changes involving regions in charge of affective mentalizing. The analysis of specific resting-state networks thus highlights an intermediate level of

  3. Individual factors and perceived community characteristics in relation to mental health and mental well-being.

    PubMed

    McAneney, Helen; Tully, Mark A; Hunter, Ruth F; Kouvonen, Anne; Veal, Philip; Stevenson, Michael; Kee, Frank

    2015-12-12

    It has been argued that though correlated with mental health, mental well-being is a distinct entity. Despite the wealth of literature on mental health, less is known about mental well-being. Mental health is something experienced by individuals, whereas mental well-being can be assessed at the population level. Accordingly it is important to differentiate the individual and population level factors (environmental and social) that could be associated with mental health and well-being, and as people living in deprived areas have a higher prevalence of poor mental health, these relationships should be compared across different levels of neighbourhood deprivation. A cross-sectional representative random sample of 1,209 adults from 62 Super Output Areas (SOAs) in Belfast, Northern Ireland (Feb 2010 - Jan 2011) were recruited in the PARC Study. Interview-administered questionnaires recorded data on socio-demographic characteristics, health-related behaviours, individual social capital, self-rated health, mental health (SF-8) and mental well-being (WEMWBS). Multi-variable linear regression analyses, with inclusion of clustering by SOAs, were used to explore the associations between individual and perceived community characteristics and mental health and mental well-being, and to investigate how these associations differed by the level of neighbourhood deprivation. Thirty-eight and 30 % of variability in the measures of mental well-being and mental health, respectively, could be explained by individual factors and the perceived community characteristics. In the total sample and stratified by neighbourhood deprivation, age, marital status and self-rated health were associated with both mental health and well-being, with the 'social connections' and local area satisfaction elements of social capital also emerging as explanatory variables. An increase of +1 in EQ-5D-3 L was associated with +1SD of the population mean in both mental health and well-being. Similarly, a

  4. Obesity and Serious Mental Ill Health: A Critical Review of the Literature.

    PubMed

    Bradshaw, Tim; Mairs, Hilary

    2014-04-01

    Individuals who experience serious mental ill health such as schizophrenia are more likely to be overweight or obese than others in the general population. This high prevalence of obesity and other associated metabolic disturbances, such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, contribute to a reduced life expectancy of up to 25 years. Several reasons have been proposed for high levels of obesity including a shared biological vulnerability between serious mental ill health and abnormal metabolic processes, potentially compounded by unhealthy lifestyles. However, emerging evidence suggests that the most significant cause of weight gain is the metabolic side effects of antipsychotic medication, usual treatment for people with serious mental ill health. In this paper we review the prevalence of obesity in people with serious mental ill health, explore the contribution that antipsychotic medication may make to weight gain and discuss the implications of this data for future research and the practice of mental health and other professionals.

  5. Risk factors for common mental disorders in women. Population-based longitudinal study.

    PubMed

    Patel, Vikram; Kirkwood, Betty R; Pednekar, Sulochana; Weiss, Helen; Mabey, David

    2006-12-01

    The determinants of common mental disorders in women have not been described in longitudinal studies from a low-income country. Population-based cohort study of 2494 women aged 18 to 50 years, in India. The Revised Clinical Interview Schedule was used for the detection of common mental disorders. There were 39 incident cases of common mental disorder in 2166 participants eligible for analysis (12-month rate 1.8%, 95% CI 1.3-2.4%). The following baseline factors were independently associated with the risk for common mental disorder: poverty (low income and having difficulty making ends meet); being married as compared with being single; use of tobacco; experiencing abnormal vaginal discharge; reporting a chronic physical illness; and having higher psychological symptom scores at baseline. Programmes to reduce the burden of common mental disorder in women should target poorer women, women with chronic physical illness and who have gynaecological symptoms, and women who use tobacco.

  6. The Effects of Income on Mental Health: Evidence from the Social Security Notch

    PubMed Central

    Golberstein, Ezra

    2015-01-01

    Background Mental health is a key component of overall wellbeing and mental disorders are relatively common, including among older adults. Yet the causal effect of income on mental health status among older adults is poorly understood. Aims This paper considers the effects of a major source of transfer income, Social Security retirement benefits, on the mental health of older adults. Methods The Social Security benefit “Notch” is as a large, permanent, and exogenous shock to Social Security income in retirement. The “Notch” is used to identify the causal effect of Social Security income on mental health among older ages using data from the AHEAD cohort of the Health and Retirement Study. Results We find that increases in Social Security income significantly improve mental health status and the likelihood of a psychiatric diagnosis for women, but not for men. Discussion The effects of income on mental health for older women are statistically significant and meaningful in magnitude. While this is one of the only studies to use plausibly exogenous variation in household income to identify the effect of income on mental health, a limitation of this work is that the results only directly pertain to lower-education households. Implications Public policy proposals that alter retirement benefits for the elderly may have important effects on the mental health of older adults. PMID:25862202

  7. Spontaneous Eye-Blinking and Stereotyped Behavior in Older Persons with Mental Retardation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roebel, Amanda M.; MacLean, William E., Jr.

    2007-01-01

    Previous research indicates that abnormal stereotyped movements are associated with central dopamine dysfunction and that eye-blink rate is a noninvasive, in vivo measure of dopamine function. We measured the spontaneous eye-blinking and stereotyped behavior of older adults with severe/profound mental retardation living in a state mental…

  8. Abnormal functional specialization within medial prefrontal cortex in high-functioning autism: a multi-voxel similarity analysis

    PubMed Central

    Meuwese, Julia D.I.; Towgood, Karren J.; Frith, Christopher D.; Burgess, Paul W.

    2009-01-01

    Multi-voxel pattern analyses have proved successful in ‘decoding’ mental states from fMRI data, but have not been used to examine brain differences associated with atypical populations. We investigated a group of 16 (14 males) high-functioning participants with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 16 non-autistic control participants (12 males) performing two tasks (spatial/verbal) previously shown to activate medial rostral prefrontal cortex (mrPFC). Each task manipulated: (i) attention towards perceptual versus self-generated information and (ii) reflection on another person's mental state (‘mentalizing'versus ‘non-mentalizing’) in a 2 × 2 design. Behavioral performance and group-level fMRI results were similar between groups. However, multi-voxel similarity analyses revealed strong differences. In control participants, the spatial distribution of activity generalized significantly between task contexts (spatial/verbal) when examining the same function (attention/mentalizing) but not when comparing different functions. This pattern was disrupted in the ASD group, indicating abnormal functional specialization within mrPFC, and demonstrating the applicability of multi-voxel pattern analysis to investigations of atypical populations. PMID:19174370

  9. [Mental Health, Emotional Suffering, Mental Problems and Disorders in Indigenous Colombians. Data From the National Mental Health Survey 2015].

    PubMed

    Gómez-Restrepo, Carlos; Rincón, Carlos Javier; Urrego-Mendoza, Zulma

    2016-12-01

    Indigenous people represent 5% of the world population and one-third of the poor ones. Alcoholism rates, substance abuse problems, and mental disorders are shown to be higher than the general population. An analysis was made of the data from the National Mental Health Survey 2015. In this survey, it was asked if self-recognition as a native was according to the culture, the people, or physical features. A total of 902 indigenous people were surveyed, corresponding to 8.3% of the surveyed adult population. The majority (39.5%) lived in the Pacific region, with 23.7% Atlantic region, and 20% in the Eastern region. More than one-quarter (26.6%) reported a status of poverty, 31.7% spoke the language of their people, and 17.8% reported displacement due to violence. Mental health was defined as, "having good physical health, to eat, sleep and rest, by 42.9%. As regards problems and mental disorders, 8% reported excessive consumption and 7.9% a risk consumption of alcohol. As regards general psychopathology, measured by the (Self-reporting questionnaire) SRQ, 8.1% of the population had symptoms. The life prevalences of anxiety and depressive mental disorders were reported by 6.7% women and 8.4% men, and the associated risk factors that show higher risk were: aged between 18 to 44 years, not speaking the language of their people, living in Bogota, living in urban areas, and consuming psychoactive substances and tobacco. People who recognised themselves as indigenous have higher rates of displacement by violence, report problems and common mental disorders that are associated with factors consistent with loss of cultural characteristics. Copyright © 2016. Publicado por Elsevier España.

  10. Food intake does not differ between obese women who are metabolically healthy or abnormal.

    PubMed

    Kimokoti, Ruth W; Judd, Suzanne E; Shikany, James M; Newby, P K

    2014-12-01

    Metabolically healthy obesity may confer lower risk of adverse health outcomes compared with abnormal obesity. Diet and race are postulated to influence the phenotype, but their roles and their interrelations on healthy obesity are unclear. We evaluated food intakes of metabolically healthy obese women in comparison to intakes of their metabolically healthy normal-weight and metabolically abnormal obese counterparts. This was a cross-sectional study in 6964 women of the REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study. Participants were aged 45-98 y with a body mass index (BMI; kg/m(2)) ≥18.5 and free of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer. Food intake was collected by using a food-frequency questionnaire. BMI phenotypes were defined by using metabolic syndrome (MetS) and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) criteria. Mean differences in food intakes among BMI phenotypes were compared by using ANCOVA. Approximately one-half of obese women (white: 45%; black: 55%) as defined by MetS criteria and approximately one-quarter of obese women (white: 28%; black: 24%) defined on the basis of HOMA-IR values were metabolically healthy. In age-adjusted analyses, healthy obesity and normal weight as defined by both criteria were associated with lower intakes of sugar-sweetened beverages compared with abnormal obesity among both white and black women (P < 0.05). HOMA-IR-defined healthy obesity and normal weight were also associated with higher fruit and low-fat dairy intakes compared with abnormal obesity in white women (P < 0.05). Results were attenuated and became nonsignificant in multivariable-adjusted models that additionally adjusted for BMI, marital status, residential region, education, annual income, alcohol intake, multivitamin use, cigarette smoking status, physical activity, television viewing, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, menopausal status, hormone therapy, and food intakes. Healthy obesity was not

  11. Effect of socio-economic status, family smoking and mental health through social network on the substance use potential in adolescents: a mediation analysis.

    PubMed

    Sajjadi, H; Jorjoran Shushtari, Z; Mahboubi, S; Rafiey, H; Salimi, Y

    2018-04-01

    Understanding pathways that influence substance use potential (SUP) can help with effective substance use prevention interventions among adolescents. The aim of the present study is to contribute to a better understanding of the SUP of adolescents by examining the mediating role of social network quality in the SUP of Iranian adolescents. A cross-sectional study. Structural equation modeling was conducted to assess the hypothesized model that social network quality would mediate the association of family socio-economic status, a mental health disorder, and family smoking with addiction potential. The model shows a good fit to the data. Social network quality mediated the effect of family smoking on the SUP for boys. A mental health disorder had a positive significant direct effect on addiction potential for both girls and boys. Social network quality mediates the effect of family smoking on boys' addiction potential in the context of Iran. Educational programs based on local societal ways and cultural norms are recommended to change tobacco smoking behavior among family members. In addition, to prevent subsequent substance use among adolescents, more effort is needed to improve their mental health. Copyright © 2018 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Thyroid status in a large cohort of patients with mental retardation: the TOP-R (Thyroid Origin of Psychomotor Retardation) study.

    PubMed

    Visser, Willem Edward; de Rijke, Yolanda B; van Toor, Hans; Visser, Theo J

    2011-09-01

    Abnormalities in thyroid state may affect development and function of the brain and result in mental retardation (MR). Thyroid parameters have not been systematically investigated in institutionalized MR subjects. The objective is to measure thyroid parameters in a novel cohort of 946 institutionalized subjects. The TOP-R (Thyroid Origin of Psychomotor Retardation) study is a cross-sectional nation-wide multicentre study. Subjects with unexplained MR. The majority of the MR subjects had thyroid parameters within the reference range used in our laboratory. Antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) use affected thyroid hormones (T4: 102·1 ± 1·2 vs 83·9 ± 1·2 nmol/l, P < 1 × 10(-24) ; FT4: 18·0 ± 0·2 vs 16·1 ± 0·2 pmol/l, P < 1 × 10(-9) ; T3: 1·72 ± 0·02 vs 1·57 ± 0·02 nmol/l, P < 1 × 10(-9) ; and rT3: 0·37 ± 0·01 vs 0·27 ± 0·01 nmol/l, P < 1 × 10(-28) in subjects without vs with AEDs). The prevalence of unrecognized primary hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism was 5·2% and 2·8%, respectively. We report thyroid parameters in a cohort of institutionalized subjects with MR. Our findings substantiate the fact that AEDs affect thyroid hormone levels. Future studies will be employed to investigate genetic causes of MR related to abnormalities in thyroid hormone homeostasis. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  13. [Severe mental illness in mothers and congenital malformations in newborns: a meta-analysis].

    PubMed

    Pereira, Priscila Krauss; Lima, Lúcia Abelha; Magnanini, Mônica Maria Ferreira; Legay, Leticia Fortes; Lovisi, Giovanni Marcos

    2011-12-01

    The risk of congenital malformations appears to be higher in infants of mothers with mental disorders as compared to those of mothers with no history of psychiatric illness. This article presents a meta-analysis of studies on the association between maternal mental illness and congenital malformations. The review consisted of an article search in the MEDLINE, ISIWEB, Scopus, and SciELO databases, using the following key words: "mental disorders" OR "mental health" OR "psychotic disorders" OR "schizophrenia" AND "congenital abnormalities" OR "birth defects". A total of 108 studies were identified, and five articles were selected according to the established criteria. These articles were included in a meta-analysis, involving a total of 4,194 children of mothers with mental illness and 249,548 children of mothers with no such disorders. Pooled relative risk showed a significant association between exposure to mental illness in mothers and risk of malformations in newborns (RR = 2.06, 95%CI: 1.46-2.67). The study highlights the relationship between maternal mental health during pregnancy and its effects on the infant's health.

  14. Mental health and illness in Vietnamese refugees.

    PubMed Central

    Gold, S J

    1992-01-01

    Despite their impressive progress in adapting to American life, many Vietnamese still suffer from wartime experiences, culture shock, the loss of loved ones, and economic hardship. Although this trauma creates substantial mental health needs, culture, experience, and the complexity of the American resettlement system often block obtaining assistance. Vietnamese mental health needs are best understood in terms of the family unit, which is extended, collectivistic, and patriarchal. Many refugees suffer from broken family status. They also experience role reversals wherein the increased social and economic power of women and children (versus men and adults) disrupts the traditional family ethos. Finally, cultural conflicts often make communication between practitioners and clients difficult and obscure central issues in mental health treatment. Rather than treating symptoms alone, mental health workers should acknowledge the cultural, familial, and historical context of Vietnamese refugees. PMID:1413772

  15. Mental health and illness in Vietnamese refugees.

    PubMed

    Gold, S J

    1992-09-01

    Despite their impressive progress in adapting to American life, many Vietnamese still suffer from wartime experiences, culture shock, the loss of loved ones, and economic hardship. Although this trauma creates substantial mental health needs, culture, experience, and the complexity of the American resettlement system often block obtaining assistance. Vietnamese mental health needs are best understood in terms of the family unit, which is extended, collectivistic, and patriarchal. Many refugees suffer from broken family status. They also experience role reversals wherein the increased social and economic power of women and children (versus men and adults) disrupts the traditional family ethos. Finally, cultural conflicts often make communication between practitioners and clients difficult and obscure central issues in mental health treatment. Rather than treating symptoms alone, mental health workers should acknowledge the cultural, familial, and historical context of Vietnamese refugees.

  16. Understanding mental retardation in Down's syndrome using trisomy 16 mouse models.

    PubMed

    Galdzicki, Z; Siarey, R J

    2003-06-01

    Mental retardation in Down's syndrome, human trisomy 21, is characterized by developmental delays, language and memory deficits and other cognitive abnormalities. Neurophysiological and functional information is needed to understand the mechanisms of mental retardation in Down's syndrome. The trisomy mouse models provide windows into the molecular and developmental effects associated with abnormal chromosome numbers. The distal segment of mouse chromosome 16 is homologous to nearly the entire long arm of human chromosome 21. Therefore, mice with full or segmental trisomy 16 (Ts65Dn) are considered reliable animal models of Down's syndrome. Ts65Dn mice demonstrate impaired learning in spatial tests and abnormalities in hippocampal synaptic plasticity. We hypothesize that the physiological impairments in the Ts65Dn mouse hippocampus can model the suboptimal brain function occuring at various levels of Down's syndrome brain hierarchy, starting at a single neuron, and then affecting simple and complex neuronal networks. Once these elements create the gross brain structure, their dysfunctional activity cannot be overcome by extensive plasticity and redundancy, and therefore, at the end of the maturation period the mind inside this brain remains deficient and delayed in its capabilities. The complicated interactions that govern this aberrant developmental process cannot be rescued through existing compensatory mechanisms. In summary, overexpression of genes from chromosome 21 shifts biological homeostasis in the Down's syndrome brain to a new less functional state.

  17. Using K-Nearest Neighbor Classification to Diagnose Abnormal Lung Sounds

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Chin-Hsing; Huang, Wen-Tzeng; Tan, Tan-Hsu; Chang, Cheng-Chun; Chang, Yuan-Jen

    2015-01-01

    A reported 30% of people worldwide have abnormal lung sounds, including crackles, rhonchi, and wheezes. To date, the traditional stethoscope remains the most popular tool used by physicians to diagnose such abnormal lung sounds, however, many problems arise with the use of a stethoscope, including the effects of environmental noise, the inability to record and store lung sounds for follow-up or tracking, and the physician’s subjective diagnostic experience. This study has developed a digital stethoscope to help physicians overcome these problems when diagnosing abnormal lung sounds. In this digital system, mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCCs) were used to extract the features of lung sounds, and then the K-means algorithm was used for feature clustering, to reduce the amount of data for computation. Finally, the K-nearest neighbor method was used to classify the lung sounds. The proposed system can also be used for home care: if the percentage of abnormal lung sound frames is > 30% of the whole test signal, the system can automatically warn the user to visit a physician for diagnosis. We also used bend sensors together with an amplification circuit, Bluetooth, and a microcontroller to implement a respiration detector. The respiratory signal extracted by the bend sensors can be transmitted to the computer via Bluetooth to calculate the respiratory cycle, for real-time assessment. If an abnormal status is detected, the device will warn the user automatically. Experimental results indicated that the error in respiratory cycles between measured and actual values was only 6.8%, illustrating the potential of our detector for home care applications. PMID:26053756

  18. Correlates of perceived need for mental health care among active military personnel.

    PubMed

    Sareen, Jitender; Belik, Shay-Lee; Stein, Murray B; Asmundson, Gordon J G

    2010-01-01

    There is increasing concern about mental health problems and need for mental health care among soldiers after deployment. This study examined correlates of self-perceived need for mental health care among active military personnel. Data were from a 2002 cross-sectional population-based survey of 8,441 active Canadian military personnel (2,592 women) aged 16 to 54 (response rate 81%). A fully structured lay-administered interview for past-year DSM-IV mental disorders and perceived need for mental health care was conducted. Five domains of self-perceived need were assessed: information, medication, counseling, social intervention, and skills training. Several deployment factors were assessed (length of deployment, number of deployments, and exposure to deployment-related traumatic events), as were long-term restriction in activities because of disability and suicidal ideation. Multiple logistic regression models were used to determine correlates of perceived need. After adjustment for mental disorders, the strongest and most consistent correlates of perceived need were long-term restriction in activities, suicidal ideation, female gender, and regular service status (versus reserve status) (adjusted odds ratios ranging from 1.28 to 4.37). Deployment and exposure to combat and witnessing atrocities were moderately associated with an increase in self-perceived need for mental health care. The findings suggest that a range of issues beyond the presence of common mental disorders need to be considered in understanding the factors that contribute to a sense of need for mental health treatment. Postdeployment screening programs should consider systematically assessing self-perceived need for mental health treatment.

  19. Abnormal branching and regression of the notochord and its relationship to foregut abnormalities.

    PubMed

    Vleesch Dubois, V N; Quan Qi, B; Beasley, S W; Williams, A

    2002-04-01

    An abnormally positioned notochord has been reported in embryos that develop foregut abnormalities, vertebral defects and other abnormalities of the VATER association. This study examines the patterns of regression of the abnormal notochord in the rat model of the VATER association and investigates the relationship between developmental abnormalities of the notochord and those of the vertebra and foregut. Timed-pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were given daily intraperitoneal injections of 1.75 mg/kg adriamycin on gestational days 6 - 9 inclusive. Rats were sacrificed between days 14 and 20 and their embryos harvested, histologically sectioned and stained and examined serially. The location and appearance of the degenerating notochord and its relationship to regional structural defects were analysed. All 26 embryos exposed to adriamycin developed foregut abnormalities and had an abnormal notochord. The notochord disappeared by a process of apoptotic degeneration that lagged behind that of the normal embryo: the notochord persisted in the abnormal embryo beyond day 17, whereas in the normal rat it had already disappeared. Similarly, formation of the nucleus pulposus was delayed. Vertebral abnormalities occurred when the notochord was ventrally-positioned. The notochord disappears during day 16 in the normal embryo whereas abnormal branches of the notochord persist until day 19 in the adriamycin-treated embryo. Degeneration of the notochord is dominated by apoptosis. An excessively ventrally-placed notochord is closely associated with abnormalities of the vertebral column, especially hemivertebrae.

  20. Health Status and Social Networks as Predictors of Resilience in Older Adults Residing in Rural and Remote Environments

    PubMed Central

    Lee, Aaron; Carrico, Catherine; Bourassa, Katelynn; Slosser, Andrea

    2016-01-01

    Purpose. Health status and social networks are associated with resilience among older adults. Each of these factors may be important to the ability of adults to remain in rural and remote communities as they age. We examined the association of health status and social networks and resilience among older adults dwelling in a rural and remote county in the Western United States. Methods. We selected a random sample of 198 registered voters aged 65 years or older from a frontier Wyoming county. Hierarchical linear regression was used to examine the association of health status as well as social networks and resilience. We also examined health status as a moderator of the relationship between social networks and resilience. Results. Family networks (p = 0.024) and mental health status (p < 0.001) significantly predicted resilience. Mental health status moderated the relationship of family (p = 0.004) and friend (p = 0.021) networks with resilience. Smaller family and friend networks were associated with greater resilience when mental health status was low, but not when it was high. Conclusion. Efforts to increase mental health status may improve resilience among older adults in rural environments, particularly for those with smaller family and friends networks. PMID:27478639