Depress Anxiety

ObjectiveDespite evidence of elevated risk factors for suicidal thoughts and behavior in youth with Tourette syndrome and chronic tic disorders (CTD), few studies have actually examined that relationship. This study documented the frequency and clinical correlates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in a sample of children and adolescents with CTD (N=196; range 6-18 years old).MethodYouth and parents completed a battery of measures that assessed co-occurring psychiatric diagnoses, child emotional and behavioral symptoms, and impairment due to tics or co-occurring conditions.ResultsA structured diagnostic interview identified that 19 youths with CTD (9.7%) experienced suicidal thoughts and/or behaviors, which was elevated compared to three youths (3%) who experienced these thoughts in a community control sample (N=100; range 6-18 years old; p = 0.03). For youth with CTD, suicidal thoughts and behaviors were frequently endorsed in the context of anger and frustration. The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) anxious/depressed, withdrawn, social problems, thought problems, and aggressive behavior subscales, as well as the total internalizing problems scale were associated with the presence of suicidal thoughts and/or behaviors. Suicidal thoughts and/or behaviors were significantly associated with tic symptom severity, tic-related impairment, and obsessive-compulsive, depressive, anxiety, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptom severity. CBCL anxiety/depression scores mediated the relationship between tic severity and suicidal thoughts and behaviors.ConclusionsFindings suggest that about 1 in 10 youth with CTD experience suicidal thoughts and/or behaviors, which are associated with a more complex clinical presentation and often occur in the presence of anger and frustration.CC999999/Intramural CDC HHS/United StatesK12 NS066098/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/United StatesU01DD000509-01/DD/NCBDD CDC HHS/United States2016-10-01T00:00:00Z25711415PMC454788

Yoga in women with abdominal obesity - Do lifestyle factors mediate the effect? Secondary analysis of a RCT.

INTRODUCTION: The reduction of obesity is an important challenge for health policy. Although dietary interventions are widely available, patient adherence is usually low. A promising alternative is yoga. We hypothesized that weight reduction through yoga is mediated by aspects related to eating habits as well as physical aspects. METHODS: This is an exploratory secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial comparing the effects of yoga to waiting list in women with abdominal obesity. Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference were assessed as outcomes; physical exercise habits, physical activity habits at leisure time, physical activity habits at work time, daily fruit and vegetable intake, nutrition self-efficacy, and physical self-efficacy were captured as mediators. Measures were assessed at weeks 0 and 12. The original trial was conducted between April and August 2015. The secondary analysis was performed December 2019. RESULTS: Forty patients were randomized to the 12 weekly yoga sessions (48.5 ± 7.9 years) and 20 patients to the waitlist group (46.4 ± 8.9 years). Physical exercise habits fully mediated the effect of yoga on BMI (B=-0.26;CI[-.56;-.07]). Daily fruit and vegetable intake partially mediated the effect of yoga on BMI (B=-0.13;CI[-.38;-.01]). No further mediation effects were found. CONCLUSIONS: Yoga supports people with overweight in eating healthier and increasing their physical activity which in turn leads to a reduced BMI. Yoga's effects on waist circumference seem to be due to other mechanisms

The beneficial effect of tart cherry on plasma levels of inflammatory mediators (not recovery after exercise) : A systematic review and meta-analysis on randomized clinical trials

Funding Information: This systematic review and meta-analysis was financially supported by Neyshabur University of Medical Sciences (Grant number: 1400-04-100 ). We are extremely grateful to the data collection team at the Neyshabur University of Medical Sciences.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Beneficial effect of soy isoflavones and soy isoflavones plus soy protein on serum concentration of C-reactive protein among postmenopausal women : An updated systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Financial support: This systematic review and meta-analysis was financially supported by Neyshabur University of Medical Sciences (Grant number: 98-01-149. Ethical code: IR.NUMS.REC.1399.006). We are extremely grateful to the data collection team at the Neyshabur University of Medical Sciences.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Mindfulness to Manage Moral Injury: Rationale and Development of a Live Online 7-Week Group Intervention for Veterans with Moral Injury

BACKGROUND: Military service puts service members at risk for moral injury. Moral injury is an array of symptoms (e.g., guilt, shame, anger) that develop from events that violate or transgress one\u27s moral code. OBJECTIVE: We describe adaption of in-person mindfulness training program, Mindfulness to Manage Chronic Pain (MMCP), to address symptoms of moral injury to be delivered live via the web. We discuss how we will assess benchmarks (i.e., recruitment, credibility and acceptability, completion rates, and adherence) of the Mindfulness to Manage Moral Injury (MMMI) program. METHODS: Aim 1: To develop and then adapt the MMCP program based on feedback from experts and veterans who took part in Study 1. Aim 2: To develop an equally intensive facilitator-led online Educational Support (ES) program to serve as a comparison intervention and conduct a run-through of each program with 20 veterans (10 MMMI; 10 ES). Aim 3: To conduct a small-scale randomized controlled trial (N = 42 veterans; 21 MMMI; 21 ES) in which we will collect pre-post-test and weekly benchmark data for both refined intervention arms. RESULTS: Study 1 and 2 are completed. Data collection for Study 3 will be completed in 2022. CONCLUSION: MMMI is designed to provide a live facilitated mindfulness program to address symptoms of moral injury. If Study 3 demonstrates good benchmarks, with additional large-scale testing, MMMI may be a promising treatment that can reach veterans who may not seek traditional VAMC care and/or who prefer a web-based program

A Pilot Study on the Impacts of Lung-Strengthening Qigong on Wellbeing

Background Qigong embraces a range of self-care exercises originating from China. Lung-Strengthening Qigong (LSQ) is a specific technique for maintaining and improving physical and mental wellbeing. Methods We recruited 170 practitioners and 42 non-practitioner/control samples to investigate the impacts of LSQ practice on body, mind, thoughts, and feelings. This is a pilot study pursued to plan for an adequately powered, non-clinical randomized controlled trials (RCT) on overall wellbeing and health and to evaluate the adequacy of delivering the physical activity intervention with fidelity. Self-evaluation-based data collection schemes were developed by regularly requesting completion of a questionnaire from both practitioner and control group, and an online diary and end of study survey (EOS) completion only from the practitioners. Diverse types of analyses were conducted, including statistical tests, machine learning, and qualitative thematic models. Results We evaluated all different data resources together and observed that (a)the impacts are diverse, including improvements in physical (e.g., elevated sleep quality, physical energy, reduced fatigue), mental (e.g., increased positivity, reduced stress), and relational (e.g., enhanced connections to self and nature) wellbeing, which were not observed in control group; (b)measured by the level-of-effectiveness, four distinct clusters were identified, from no-effect to a high-level of effect; (c)a majority (84 %) of the LSQ practitioners experienced an improvement in wellbeing; (d)qualitative and quantitative analyses of the diary entries, questionnaires, and EOS were all found to be consistent, (e)majority of the positively impacted practitioners had no or some little prior experience with LSQ. Conclusions Novel features of this study include (i)an increased sample size vis-à-vis other related studies; (ii)provision of weekly live-streamed LSQ sessions; (iii)integration of quantitative and qualitative type of analyses. The pilot study indicated that the proportion of practitioners who continued to engage in completing the regular-interval questionnaires over time was higher for practitioners compared to the control group. The engagement of practitioners may have been sustained by participation in the regular live LSQ sessions. To fully understand the impacts of LSQ on clinical/physiological outcomes, especially for specific patient groups, more objective biomarkers (e.g. respiratory rate, heart rate variation) could be tracked in future studies

Complementary and alternative medicine use in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: an examination of the influence of illness and treatment representations

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a chronic functional disorder of the gastrointestinal system with prevalence in adults of 10-20%. IBS is characterised by a number of troublesome symptoms including abdominal bloating, pain and excess gas, and has substantial impact on quality of life in addition to wider economic implications. Conventional medical treatment can be problematic however, due to the lack of established aetiology and the number of symptoms reported. Concurrently, use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to relieve IBS symptoms is reported to be as high as 50%, although the benefits and impact of such treatments are not fully substantiated by primary research data. However, evidence has shown that people affected may benefit from psychological interventions in terms of reduced use of health care services and reported symptoms. This thesis has examined psychological factors that influence use of CAM and quality of life in individuals affected by IBS. These factors were explored within the theoretical framework of an extended common-sense model of illness representations (CSM), which incorporated treatment beliefs. The main aim of the thesis was twofold: to examine the illness perceptions and treatment beliefs that influence CAM use and to explore pathways from illness and treatment representation to quality of life in CAM-users and those not using CAM (non-users). A web-based cross-sectional study and minimum six month time-period follow-up study were conducted. Participants were primarily recruited from an IBS self-help network in the UK and other online message boards. The cross-sectional study (n=63) considered illness perceptions and treatment beliefs associated with CAM use and how these factors differed in influencing coping strategies and quality of life in CAM-users and non-users. The follow-up study (n=197) focused on exploration of the influence of illness perceptions and treatment beliefs at study time one, on coping strategies and quality of life at study time two. The findings demonstrated that components of illness perceptions influenced CAM use, coping strategies and quality of life. Treatment beliefs were more strongly implicated in influencing the use of CAM. At the cross-sectional stage, stronger perceptions of illness consequences and emotional representations were major influences on reduced reported quality of life measures and poorer emotional outcomes in both survey groups, where similar strength effects were observed. There were many observed instances of partial mediation of maladaptive and dysfunctional coping strategies such as self-blame and behavioural disengagement. In addition, follow up data demonstrated a reduction of the influence of illness perceptions (time one) on quality of life (time two) compared to the cross-sectional data. Moreover, evidence of mediation effects was only detected in CAM-users in the follow-up study. These results highlight the importance of psychological factors, in particular illness perceptions, and to an extent, treatment beliefs in influencing coping strategies, quality of life and emotional outcome in those affected by IBS. Practical and theoretical implications of the findings are considered and future applications discussed. This thesis concludes with the proposal of a novel conceptual model to utilise a mulitconvergent approach to enhance the quality of life and emotional outcomes in those affected by IBS