Improvement of mental health among Chinese plateau military personnel, 1993-2017: a cross-temporal meta-analysis of the Symptom Checklist-90

Physical and psychological status of emergency assistance personnel at major public health events: a qualitative descriptive study

BACKGROUND

Many personnel respond to natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis and frequent public health events like Ebola and COVID-19. However, research on emergency assistance personnel remains limited. This study aims to describe the perceived well-being among responders deployed in isolated or emergency international missions while providing practical references to intervene in developing similar missions.

METHODS

For this qualitative phenomenological study, purposive sampling was used following the principle of maximum differentiation to select personnel deployed on an emergency mission for over a year. Data collection continued until data saturation. Phenomenologically semi-structured interviews helped explore the physical and psychological status of the participants with Colaizzi's method.

RESULTS

Eleven personnel were interviewed after the mission, with four major themes being identified: 'perceived somatic change,' 'perceived emotional change,' 'behavioral change,' and 'coping with perceived change.'

CONCLUSIONS

The mental health status of the emergency assistance personnel was affected by multiple factors from external and internal environments. The current study explored the physical and psychological feelings and emotions of emergency assistance personnel during an emergency mission. The study provided a practical reference for health management under similar missions.

REGISTRATIONS

Not registered.

Changes in mental health levels among Chinese physical education college students from 1995 to 2019

To explore the changes in the mental health levels of Chinese physical education college students, the present study conducted a cross-temporal meta-analysis of 43 papers that adopted the Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90) from 1995 to 2019. The results showed that the average scores of the seven SCL-90 factors were negatively correlated with the year of data collection. The socioeconomic indicators (GDP, per capita GDP and household consumption level) were significantly negatively correlated with the eight dimension scores of the SCL-90 (except for phobic anxiety). The mean effect sizes of the sex differences in the seven dimension scores (except depression and phobic anxiety) were lower than the small effect size. In conclusion, Chinese physical education college students' mental health levels have increased in the past 25 years. This phenomenon may be related to Chinese socioeconomic growth, the implementation of national sports policies, and the provision of mental health education for college students. In addition, although the increasing trend in the mental health level of female students was more obvious, there were no significant sex differences.

Gender differences in the prevalence and impact factors of adolescent dissociative symptoms during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic

The purpose of this study was to explore the differences between the prevalence and impact factors of adolescent dissociative symptoms (ADSs) by using sex-stratification during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. A school-based, two-center cross-sectional study was conducted in Hangzhou City, China, between January 1, 2021 and April 30, 2022. The sample included 1,916 adolescents aged 13-18 years that were randomly selected using a multiphase, stratified, cluster sampling technique. A two-stage assessment procedure was used to find out the ADSs. We used a multivariate logistic regression analysis to assess the impact factors of ADSs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The adolescent dissociative scores (t = 4.88, P < 0.001) and positive ADSs rate (Chi-square = 15.76, P < 0.001) in males were higher than in females. Gender-stratified, stepwise multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that the conflict relationship of teacher-student [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 1.06, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01-1.10], family expressiveness (AOR 0.87, 95% CI 0.78-0.98), family conflict (AOR 1.15, 95% CI 1.05-1.27), family organization (AOR 0.88, 95% CI 0.78-0.99), and family cohesion (AOR 0.87, 95% CI 0.77-0.99) were linked to ADSs only in males, while individual psychological states of somatic complaint (AOR 1.04, 95% CI 1.00-1.08) and paranoid ideation (AOR 1.09, 95% CI 1.01-1.19) were associated with female ADSs only. The ADSs seemed to be prevalent in Hangzhou City, studied during the COVID-19 pandemic. Gender differences in the prevalence and impact factors of dissociative symptoms seem to be significant among adolescents. Thus, gender-specific intervention programs against ADSs should be considered as reducing this risk.

Mental health status and quality of life in elderly patients with coronary heart disease

Background

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among elderly individuals. Patients with CHD are at high risk for mental health disorders, and psychological issues may affect the quality of life (QoL) of these patients. Nevertheless, there is little evidence regarding the psychological issues and QoL of patients with CHD among the elderly population. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between comorbidities and mental status as well as QoL among elderly patients with CHD.

Methods

Overall, 216 patients were included in this cross-sectional, observational, single-center study. The demographics and clinical manifestations of the patients were collected from electronic medical records. All patients were interviewed using the Chinese version of Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90) to assess the mental health status and the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF) to assess the QoL.

Results

In total, 96 men and 120 women, with a mean age of 71.69 ±  8.30 years, were included. When controlling for the patients’ sex, marital status and stroke, multiple stepwise linear regression analyses suggested that for CHD patients, comorbid type 2 diabetes mellitus had the significant influence on average positive factors (Coef., 5.809; 95% CI [2.467–9.152] p = 0.001); when controlling for the patients’ sex, marital status and type 2 diabetes mellitus, multiple stepwise linear regression analyses suggested that for CHD patients, comorbid stroke had the significant influence on average positive factors (Coef., 8.680; 95% CI [4.826–12.534]; p < 0.001); when controlling for the patients’ sex, marital status, type 2 diabetes mellitus and stroke, multiple stepwise linear regression analyses suggested that for CHD patients, comorbid primary hypertension had the significant influence on phobic anxiety (Coef., 0.178; 95% CI [0.010–0.347]; p = 0.038).

Conclusions

For elderly CHD patients, comorbid type 2 diabetes mellitus and stroke were at risk for psychological problems and lower QoL. Our findings may guide patients and clinicians to make better decisions and achieve better outcomes.