Inside edge - prevalence and factors associated with symptoms of anxiety/depression in professional cricketers

The purpose of this study was to i) determine the prevalence of anxiety/depression symptoms in professional cricketers and ii) identify factors associated with symptoms of anxiety/depression. One-hundred and seventy-seven (n = 177, response rate of 76%) professional cricketers completed the General Health Questionnaire 12 (GHQ-12). Odd ratios (OR) for anxiety/depression symptoms were related to players' career, family and education. Prevalence of symptoms of anxiety/depression was 59% (n = 104/177). Anxiety/depression symptoms increased when players were contracted for more than 2 years (OR: 5.0; 95% CI: 1.2-21.3; p = 0.028) and if they played their last offseason overseas (OR: 3.5; 95% CI: 1.3-9.6; p = 0.013). Anxiety/depression symptoms decreased by 70% when players made "productive use" of their time in the offseason (OR: 0.3; 95% CI: 0.1-0.9; p = 0.036) and contracted for 2 years (OR: 0.3; 95% CI: 0.1-1.0; p = 0.049). These findings can be incorporated into cricket mental health literacy programmes to improve awareness and understanding, and to encourage early help-seeking.

Psychological aspect of common people during lockdown

BACKGROUND

Lockdown was implemented to restrict the transmission of COVID-19. This brought upon many unforeseen hurdles, including mental health problems.

AIM

The aim of the study is to assess the impact of lockdown on mental health.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted using Google Form, which the participants were requested to complete online. The questionnaire included sociodemographic information and general health questionnaire (GHQ)-12, which was used to screen for mental health.

RESULTS

A total of 343 participants took part in the study in which 113 participants (32.9%) were having GHQ score of less than or equal to 12. The study showed that people aged less than 41 years were able to concentrate more during lockdown (75.6%) as compared to people aged more than 41 years (65%). Younger participants who were less than 41 years reported sleep disorders associated with late-night entertainment and TV viewing (24.5%). Many experienced stress during lockdown, but it was more in people over 60 years (63.7%).

CONCLUSIONS

An appreciable proportion of the participants faced stress during lockdown. Elderly people were more affected. Sleeping disorders were associated with late-night entertainment and TV viewing in younger people.

Reliability and Validity of General Health Questionnaire-12 in Chinese Dental Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic

BACKGROUND

The General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) is a widely used instrument to assess mental health status. However, little is known about its applicability in Chinese healthcare workers. This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the GHQ-12 in Chinese dental healthcare workers.

METHODS

Dental healthcare workers participated in the first occupational survey in China conducted by the Chongqing Stomatological Association from February 2021 to March 2021 by filling out GHQ-12. The reliability and validity of GHQ-12 were then tested.

RESULTS

A total of 3,020 valid electronic questionnaires were acquired. The positive detection rate of self-reported mental health status was 23.80% (719/3,020). The Cronbach's α coefficient of the GHQ-12 was 0.892, and the Cronbach's α coefficient was 0.877-0.888 after the deletion of individual items, and the split-half reliability was 0.843. The correlation coefficient between the item-total score ranged from 0.465 to 0.762 (P<0.05). The exploratory factor analysis found 2 common factors with a factor load of 0.564-0.818. The confirmatory factor analysis showed that the factor load on the specified items was 0.480-0.790.

CONCLUSIONS

The two-factor model of GHQ-12 featured good reliability and validity, which could be used to assess the mental health status of Chinese dental healthcare workers.

Sleep hygiene behaviours in Iranian adolescents: an application of the Theory of Planned Behavior

Poor sleep quality and inadequate sleep in adolescents are a rising trend globally. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB)-which centres on an individual's attitude toward performing the behaviour, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control-has been applied to examine sleep hygiene behaviours in young adults. We expanded on prior works by using a longitudinal design to examine the effects of TPB factors, together with sleep hygiene knowledge and planning constructs, on sleep hygiene behaviours and on sleep quality and health in a group of Iranian adolescents. A total of 1822 healthy adolescents (mean age = 13.97) from 25 high schools in Qazvin, Iran, completed a self-reported survey at baseline and 6 months later. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to delineate the pathway from adolescents' sleep hygiene knowledge, TPB constructs of their behavioural intentions and sleep hygiene behaviours and their sleep quality and self-reported health. The SEM model demonstrated that although behavioural intention, coping planning and action planning predicted the sleep hygiene behaviours positively 6 months later with acceptable model fit [comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.936; Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) = 0.902; root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.080; standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) = 0.044], sleep hygiene knowledge did not predict behavioural intentions significantly. Sleep hygiene behaviours were associated with sleep quality and psychiatric wellbeing. Thus, the TPB, combined with coping and action planning, is useful in understanding the sleep hygiene behaviours of adolescents. Health-care providers may want to emphasize TPB constructs and coping and action planning to improve adolescents' sleep hygiene behaviours, rather than rely solely upon increasing adolescents' sleep hygiene knowledge.

Pacific Islands Families Study: psychological distress among mothers of Pacific children living in New Zealand

OBJECTIVE

This study investigated: 1) the prevalence of psychological distress among a cohort of mothers of Pacific children; and 2) the socio-demographic and lifestyle variables associated with psychological distress.

METHOD

The Pacific Islands Families (PIF) Study is a longitudinal investigation of a cohort of Pacific children born in Auckland, New Zealand, and their mothers and fathers. The 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ12) was used to assess psychological distress among mothers (N=851) at about 11 years postpartum.

RESULTS

Current psychological distress was reported by 19% of mothers, and six explanatory variables were significantly associated with maternal psychological distress: stressful life events, postnatal depression, marital status, maternal education, ethnicity and cultural alignment.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that the mental health of Pacific people varies by particular ethnic group and cultural alignment. This highlights the need for culturally appropriate evaluation and treatment for at-risk Pacific mothers that will break down psychological, cultural and economic barriers to accessing help for psychological distress.

IMPLICATIONS

By learning about factors that are potentially modifiable we can begin to identify the most appropriate ways to address their impact on psychological distress among Pacific women.

Comparison of the prevalence of psychiatric co-morbidities in hepatitis C patients and hepatitis B patients in Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND/AIM

Hepatitis C is a major health concern world-wide and is frequently associated with psychiatric co-morbidity. The most common genotype in Saudi Arabia differs from genotypes prevalent elsewhere and thus we aimed to determine if psychiatric disturbances occur in Saudi patients infected with hepatitis C and whether these symptoms extend to those infected with hepatitis B.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Data were collected from hepatitis C and hepatitis B patients using the general health questionnaire (GHQ-28) and The Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) questionnaires. Tinnitus patients served as control subjects. The Chi-square test was used to examine the relationship between categorical variables. Continuous variables were compared using the Student's t-test or the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test for skewed data, and correlations were evaluated by calculating Spearman's rho. The odds ratio was used to determine the association between variables and the likelihood of being a psychiatric case.

RESULTS

Hepatitis C patients were twice as likely to be labeled as a psychiatric case compared with hepatitis B patients ( P = 0.01). Age and gender were not predictive factors though there was a non-significant tendency toward a higher prevalence of psychiatric cases among females. Hepatitis C patients also scored lower than hepatitis B patients in 3 domains of the SF-36 questionnaire, indicating a greater reduction in quality of life (QoL).

CONCLUSION

We demonstrate an increased incidence of psychiatric symptoms in Saudi Arabian hepatitis C patients compared to hepatitis B patients and controls. This highlights the importance of collaboration between hepatologists and psychiatrists in order to improve the QoL in this patient group.

Gender-specific association of psychological distress with cardiovascular risk scores

OBJECTIVE

To examine the gender differences in the association of psychological distress with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk scores using two different CVD risk assessment models.

DESIGN AND SETTING

A cross-sectional, population-based study from 1997 to 1998 in Pieksämäki, Finland.

SUBJECTS

A population sample of 899 (399 male and 500 female) middle-aged subjects.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The 10-year risk for CVD events was calculated using the European SCORE model and the Framingham CVD risk prediction model. Psychological distress was measured using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Study subjects were allocated into three groups according to their global GHQ-12 -scores: 0 points, 1-2 points, and 3-12 points.

RESULTS

Psychological distress was associated with higher mean CVD risk scores in men. Men in the highest GHQ group (3-12 points) had significantly higher mean European CVD risk score (3.6 [SD 3.3]) compared with men in the lowest group (0 points) (2.5 [SD 2.6]), the difference being 1.1 (95% CI 0.4 to 1.9). The p-value for linearity between the three GHQ groups was 0.003. The Framingham CVD risk prediction model yielded similar results: 15.7 (SD 10.2) vs. 12.3 (SD 9.6), the difference 3.4 (95% CI 1.0 to 6.0) and p-value for linearity 0.008. No significant association was observed in women.

CONCLUSION

A gender-specific association was found between psychological distress and cardiovascular risk scores. These results highlight the importance of identifying men with psychological distress when assessing CVD risk.

[Prevalence of worker burnout and psychiatric illness in primary care physicians in a health care area in Madrid]

AIM

To analyze worker burnout and the prevalence of psychiatric illness among primary care physicians, and to determine how burnout is related with sociodemographic and work-related factors.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional, descriptive study.

SETTING

Primary care centers in Area 8, Madrid (central Spain).Subjects. All 244 physicians (family medicine and pediatrics) who provided care at centers in Area 8 at the time of the study.Method. Anonymous, self-administered questionnaire that included the Maslach Burnout Inventory (worker burnout); GHQ-28 (possible mental illness); survey of sociodemographic and work-related factors, unhealthy behaviors, use of medications, and perceived quality of care and risk of medical errors in relation with work-related pressures; open question regarding causes of work-related stress.

RESULTS

Response rate, 80.3%. Burnout was detected in 69.2% of the physicians (95% CI, 62.1%-75.4%) and was severe in 12.3%. The prevalence of possible psychiatric illness was 36.7%. Burnout was found to be related with possible psychiatric illness (P<.01); perception that work-related pressures frequently led to diminished quality of care and medical errors (P<.o1); permanent employment status (P<.05); more than 1700 patients on the patient list (P<.05); age between 37 and 46 years (P<.01) and patient load of 35 to 47 patients/day (P<.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of worker burnout and possible psychiatric illness was high, and the two variables were related. A large percentage of participants perceived that work-related pressures diminished the quality of care provided.

[Commentary: chronic distress and worker burnout: hypotheses about causes and classification]

Objetivo

Analizar el desgaste profesional y la prevalencia de psicomorbilidad entre facultativos de atención primaria (AP) y determinar su relación con aspectos sociodemográficos y laborales.

Diseño

Estudio transversal y descriptivo.

Emplazamiento

Centros de AP del Área 8 de Madrid.

Sujetos

Los 244 médicos y pediatras con labor asistencial en dicha área en el momento de realizarse el estudio

Método

Cuestionario anónimo autoadministrado que incluye: el Maslach Burnout Inventory (mide el desgaste profesional); el GHQ-28 (detección de una posible enfermedad mental); encuesta sobre datos sociodemográficos, laborales, conductas no saludables, consumo de medicamentos y percepción de calidad de la asistencia y riesgo de errores médicos en relación con la presión en el trabajo, y pregunta abierta sobre las causas de estrés laboral.

Resultados

La tasa de respuesta fue del 80,3%. Está afectado por burnout el 69,2% (IC del 95%, 62,1–75,4%) de los facultativos, un 12,3% de ellos, de forma aguda. La prevalencia de posible psicomorbilidad es del 36,7%. Se encontró una asociación del desgaste profesional con los siguientes aspectos: una posible psicomorbilidad (p < 0,01); la percepción de que la presión en el trabajo produce con frecuencia una disminución de la calidad y la precipitación de errores médicos (p < 0,01); tener plaza en propiedad (p < 0,05), más de 1.700 pacientes en el cupo (p < 0,05), una edad de 37 y 46 años (p < 0,01) y una presión asistencial de 35–47 pacientes/día (p < 0,05).

Conclusiones

Existe una elevada prevalencia de desgaste profesional y de posible psicomorbilidad, apareciendo ambas variables relacionadas. Se percibe en un elevado porcentaje que la presión del trabajo ha hecho disminuir la calidad de la asistencia prestada.