The association between antihypertensive medications and mental health outcomes among Syrian war refugees with stress and hypertension

The crosstalk between subjective fibromyalgia, mental health symptoms and the use of over-the-counter analgesics in female Syrian refugees: a cross-sectional web-based study

Suboptimal fibromyalgia management with over-the-counter analgesics leads to deteriorated outcomes for pain and mental health symptoms especially in low-income countries hosting refugees. To examine the association between the over-the-counter analgesics and the severity of fibromyalgia, depression, anxiety and PTSD symptoms in a cohort of Syrian refugees. This is a cross-sectional study. Fibromyalgia was assessed using the patient self-report survey for the assessment of fibromyalgia. Depression was measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, insomnia severity was measured using the insomnia severity index (ISI-A), and PTSD was assessed using the Davidson trauma scale (DTS)-DSM-IV. Data were analyzed from 291. Among them, 221 (75.9%) reported using acetaminophen, 79 (27.1%) reported using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and 56 (19.2%) reported receiving a prescription for centrally acting medications (CAMs). Fibromyalgia screening was significantly associated with using NSAIDs (OR 3.03, 95% CI 1.58-5.80, p = 0.001). Severe depression was significantly associated with using NSAIDs (OR 2.07, 95% CI 2.18-3.81, p = 0.02) and CAMs (OR 2.74, 95% CI 1.30-5.76, p = 0.008). Severe insomnia was significantly associated with the use of CAMs (OR 3.90, 95% CI 2.04-5.61, p < 0.001). PTSD symptoms were associated with the use of CAMs (β = 8.99, p = 0.001) and NSAIDs (β = 10.39, p < 0.001). Improper analgesics are associated with poor fibromyalgia and mental health outcomes, prompt awareness efforts are required to address this challenge for the refugees and health care providers.

Effect of food insecurity on depression, anxiety, and stress among resettled Syrian refugees in Ontario

Food insecurity has been linked to adverse health outcomes, particularly among vulnerable populations such as refugees. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of food insecurity and its association with depression, anxiety, and stress among resettled Syrian refugee parents in Ontario. This was a cross-sectional study with a total of 540 Syrian refugee parents who resided in Ontario for an average of four years and had at least one child less than 18 years who were interviewed. Information about food insecurity was collected based on the question "During the past year, did you ever eat less because there was not enough food or money for food?". Levels of depression, anxiety, and stress were assessed using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21). Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to evaluate the relationship between food insecurity and depression, anxiety, and stress after adjusting for sociodemographic, migration-, and health-related factors. 44.6% of respondents reported experiencing food insecurity. Of participants, 7.6%, 8.9%, and 8.5% reported severe to extremely severe levels of depression, anxiety, and stress, respectively. Results of the multiple linear regression analysis showed that food insecurity was significantly associated with higher levels of depression (Adjβ = 2.00, p = 0.008), anxiety (Adjβ = 1.53, p = 0.013), and stress (Adjβ = 1.87, p = 0.019). Implementation of effective government interventions and frameworks are essential to reduce food insecurity among resettled Syrian refugees to ultimately improve their mental health outcomes and overall well-being.

Risk factors for severe dysmenorrhea in Arab women: A focus on war displacement and mental health outcomes

Background

Dysmenorrhea is wide spread gynecological disorder among that affect the quality of life of women world wide. The current study aims to examine whether war displacement, mental health symptoms, and other clinical factors are associated with dysmenorrhea severity.

Methods

This is a cross-sectional case-control study recruiting two groups: displaced Syrian women and un-displaced local Jordanian women. Demographics and clinical details were recorded. The severity of dysmenorrhea was assessed using WaLIDD scale, the PHQ-9 scale was emplyed to assess depressive symptoms, anxiety was assessed using the GAD-7 scale, and insomnia was assessed using the ISI-A scale. Predictors of severe dysmenorrhea in females using multivariate binary logistic regression.

Results

Out of 808 of the total participants, 396 (49%) were Syrian displaced war refugees, 424 (42.5%) reported using paracetamol, 232 (23.2%) were using NSAIDs, and 257 (25.9%) using herbal remedies. Severe dysmenorrhea was associated with war displacement (OR = 2.14, 95% CI = 1.49-3.08, p < 0.001), not using NSAIDs (OR = 2.75, 95% CI = 1.91-3.95, p < 0.001), not using herbal remedies (OR = 2.01, 95% CI = 1.13-3.60, p = 0.01), depression (OR = 2.14, 95% CI = 1.40-3.29, p < 0.001), and insomnia (OR = 1.66, 95% CI = 1.14-2.42, p = 0.009).

Conclusions

War displacement, type of analgesic, depression, and insomnia are risk factors for severe dysmenorrhea.

Depression, anxiety, insomnia and dysmenorrhea in stressed fingolimod-treated women with multiple sclerosis

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the prevalence and correlates of depression, anxiety, insomnia, and dysmenorrhea in stressed fingolimod-treated women with multiple sclerosis.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study recruited female patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and high stress scores from Al-Bashir Hospital in Jordan. Depression was assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9); anxiety by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale; insomnia by the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI-A) scale; and dysmenorrhea severity by a measure assessing working ability, location, intensity, days of pain, and miscellaneous dysmenorrhea symptoms (WaLIDD).

RESULTS

A total of 129 patients were recruited for the study. Severe depression was reported in 55.8%, severe anxiety in 62.0%, severe insomnia in 36.4%, and severe dysmenorrhea in 23.3%. Multivariate analyses revealed that depressive symptoms were associated with dysmenorrhea (OR = 3.55, 95% CI = 1.56-8.12, p = 0.003); anxiety symptoms with "not using dysmenorrhea analgesics" (OR = 2.74, 95% CI = 1.16-6.46, p = 0.02) and dysmenorrhea symptoms (OR = 4.74, 95% CI = 1.94-11.59, p = 0.001); insomnia symptoms with age above 30 years (OR = 4.34, 95% CI = 1.64-11.51, p = 0.003); and dysmenorrhea symptoms with the presence of chronic diseases (OR = 4.21, 95% CI = 1.28-13.92, p = 0.02), anxiety symptoms (OR = 3.03, 95% CI = 1.18-7.73, p = 0.02), and insomnia symptoms (OR = 3.00, 95% CI = 1.18-7.64, p = 0.02).

CONCLUSION

Stressed women with multiple sclerosis in Jordan experience high rates of depression, anxiety, insomnia, and dysmenorrhea. Characteristics related to these conditions may help clinicians to identify those at risk. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine the causal nature of these associations.

Severe depressive symptoms in patients with hypertension: Are antihypertensive medications implicated?

OBJECTIVE

This study examined whether antihypertensive medications and other patient characteristics are associated with severe depressive symptoms in patients with hypertension.

METHODS

Patients with a diagnosis of hypertension were recruited from the internal medicine outpatient clinics of a hospital in Amman, Jordan, into this cross-sectional study. Depression severity was assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9); anxiety by the General Anxiety Disorder-7; sleep quality by the Insomnia Severity Index; and psychological stress by the Perceived Stress Scale. Multivariable binary logistic regression was used to examine the association between the different classes of antihypertensive medication and depressive symptoms.

RESULTS

Of the 431 participants, 282 (65.4%) were men; 240 (55.7%) reported having type 2 diabetes; 359 (83.3%) had dyslipidemia; 142 (32.9%) were on beta-blockers; 197 (45.2%) were on ACE inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers; 203 (47.1%) were on metformin; and 133 (30.9%) were taking sulfonylurea. Severe depressive symptoms, indicated by scoring above the cut-off of 14 on the PHQ-9, were present in 165 (38.3%) patients. Severe depression was associated with younger age (<55 years) (OR = 3.15, 95% CI = 1.83-5.41, P < 0.001), unemployment (OR = 2.15, 95% CI = 1.15-4.00, P = 0.01), diabetes (OR = 1.81, 95% CI = 1.09-3.02, P = 0.02), severe anxiety (OR = 6.40, 95% CI = 3.64-11.28, P < 0.001), and severe insomnia (OR = 4.73, 95% CI = 2.85-7.82, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Severe depressive symptoms were not associated with antihypertensive medications or other drugs used by hypertensive patients. Younger age, diabetes, anxiety, and insomnia were the primary correlates of depression.