Immune-inflammatory and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis biomarkers are altered in patients with non-specific low back pain: A systematic review.

This systematic review aimed to investigate immune-inflammatory and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis biomarkers in individuals with non-specific low back pain (NSLBP) compared to healthy control. The search was performed in five databases until 4 November 2021. Two reviewers independently conducted screenings, data extraction, risk of bias, and methodological quality assessment of 14 unique studies. All studies reported the source of the fluid analyzed: nine studies used serum, two used plasma, one used serum and plasma, and two studies used salivary cortisol. We found preliminary and limited evidence (only one study for each biomarker) of increased levels in growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15), interleukin-23 (IL-23), transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), and soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 (sTNF-R1) in NSLBP. Inconsistent and limited evidence was identified for interleukin-10 (IL-10). Although C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) levels appear to increase in NSLBP, only one study per each biomarker reported statistically significant differences. Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), interleukin-17 (IL-17), interferon gamma (IFN-γ), and high-sensitivity CRP (hsCRP) showed no significant differences. Regarding cortisol, one study showed a significant increase and another a significant decrease. More robust evidence between GDF-15, IL-23, TGF-β, and sTNF-R1 with NSLBP is needed. Moreover, contrary to the findings reported in previous studies, when comparing results exclusively with healthy control, insufficient robust evidence for IL-6, TNF-α, and CRP was found in NSLBP. In addition, cortisol response (HPA-related biomarker) showed a dysregulated functioning in NSLBP, with incongruent evidence regarding its directionality. Therefore, our effort is to find adjusted evidence to conclude which immune-inflammatory and HPA axis biomarkers are altered in NSLBP and how much their levels are affected

Social inequities in the impact of COVID-19 lockdown measures on the mental health of a large sample of the Colombian population (PSY-COVID study)

The identification of general population groups particularly vulnerable to the impact of COVID-19 lockdown measures on mental health and the development of healthcare policies are priority challenges in the current and future pandemics. This study aimed to identify the personal and social determinants of the impact of COVID-19 lockdown measures on mental health in a large sample of the Colombian population. In this cross-sectional study, an anonymous online survey was answered by 18,061 participants from the general population residing in Colombia during the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak (from 20 May to 20 June 2020). The risk of depression, anxiety, and somatization disorders were measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-2), and Somatic Symptom Questionnaire (SSQ-5), respectively. Overall, 35% of participants showed risk of depression, 29% of anxiety, and 31% of somatization. According to the analysis of social determinants of health, the most affected groups were people with low incomes, students, and young adults (18-29 years). Specifically, low-income young females were the most at-risk population group. These findings show how the lockdown measures affected the general population's mental health in Colombia and highlight some social risk factors in health

Predictive factors of the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on university students : a study in six Ibero-American countries

Background/Objective: During Covid-19, high prevalences of anxiety and depression were reported among university students, suggesting that they may be at higher risk than the general population of developing psychological disorders in lockdown situations. This study aimed to analyze how sociocultural factors and individual differences contributed to explaining the psychological impact of the pandemic among Ibero-American university students from Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Spain, Mexico, and Uruguay. Method: The study was carried out on 7601 university students (72% women). Data were collected through an online questionnaire that measured anxiety (GAD-2), depression (PHQ-2), somatic symptoms (SSQ-5), post-traumatic growth (PTGI), loneliness (UCLS), personality (NEO-FFI), Resilience (CD-RISC-2), Perceived Competences (PCS) and sociodemographic data. Descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression model were performed. Results: Analysis indicated a high prevalence (46.15%) of distress among university students, regardless of country and significantly higher than in the general population (28.27%). Greater feelings of loneliness and greater neuroticism were significantly associated with anxiety, depression, and somatization. Likewise, male gender and higher levels of resilience were found to be protective factors, while post-traumatic growth was also higher in men and was associated with higher levels of resilience, perceived competence, and responsibility. Conclusions: The results suggest the need to consider individual risk factors such as being a woman, presenting higher levels of neuroticism and loneliness in understanding the psychological impact of the pandemic on university students. It is concluded that universities should offer specific interventions to address mental health problems and manage the added complications of crisis events on the health of students.Antecedentes/Objetivo: Durante el Covid-19, se informaron altas prevalencias de ansiedad y depresión entre estudiantes universitarios, lo que sugiere que pueden tener un mayor riesgo que la población general de desarrollar trastornos psicológicos en situaciones de encierro. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo analizar cómo los factores socioculturales y las diferencias individuales contribuyeron a explicar el impacto psicológico de la pandemia entre estudiantes universitarios iberoamericanos de Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, España, México y Uruguay. Método: El estudio se realizó en 7601 estudiantes universitarios (72% mujeres). Los datos fueron recolectados a través de un cuestionario en línea que midió ansiedad (GAD-2), depresión (PHQ-2), síntomas somáticos (SSQ-5), crecimiento postraumático (PTGI), soledad (UCLS), personalidad (NEO-FFI), Resiliencia (CD-RISC-2), Competencia Percibida (PCS) y datos sociodemográficos. Se realizó estadística descriptiva y modelo de regresión lineal múltiple. Resultados: Los análisis indicaron una alta prevalencia (46,15%) de angustia entre los estudiantes universitarios, independientemente del país y significativamente mayor que en la población general (28,27%). Mayores sentimientos de soledad y mayor neuroticismo se asociaron significativamente con ansiedad, depresión y somatización. Asimismo, el género masculino y mayores niveles de resiliencia resultaron ser factores protectores, mientras que el crecimiento postraumático también fue mayor en los hombres y se asoció con mayores niveles de resiliencia, competencia percibida y responsabilidad. Conclusiones: Los resultados sugieren la necesidad de considerar factores de riesgo individuales como ser mujer, presentar mayores niveles de neuroticismo y soledad en la comprensión del impacto psicológico de la pandemia en estudiantes universitarios. Se concluye que las universidades deben ofrecer intervenciones específicas para abordar los problemas de salud mental y manejar las complicaciones añadidas de los eventos de crisis sobre la salud de los estudiantes

Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2: predictors of vaccination resistance in young adults in Spain

Rationale: widespread population vaccination against the SARS-CoV-2 virus is a matter of great interest to public health managers as it is the main pharmacological measure to contain the COVID-19 epidemic. Hesitancy or reluctance to vaccination has become one of the main barriers to containing the pandemic. The young adult population appears as one of the population clusters with the greatest reluctance to vaccination, even in countries such as Spain, one of those with the highest vaccination rate during this pandemic. Objective: the aim of this study was to identify the main predictive factors of vaccination intention and profile people with hesitancy/reluctance to vaccinate against SARS-CoV-2 virus in young adults living in Spain during the pandemic. Method: a cross-sectional study was carried out based on the administration of an online form (PSY-COVID-2) that evaluated the intention of vaccination together with a wide range of sociodemographic, social, cognitive, behavioral and affective variables in a sample of 2210 young adults. Results: 14% of the young adults sample showed hesitancy/reluctance to vaccination at the beginning of their vaccination campaign. Pearson`s product-moment correlation revealed that a total of 35 factors of a heterogeneous nature were associated with the intention to vaccinate. Analysis of variance showed that belonging to health personnel, threat to personal health, tolerance of confinement, favorable attitude to mobility restrictions, to preventive measures, to the vaccine and to the public system response, trust in the government and health/science experts, personality (extraversion and agreeableness), time and quality of information about COVID-19, and coping strategy of seeking emotional support were conditions associated with the intention to vaccinate against SARS-CoV-2. In contrast, conspiratorial thinking about COVID-19, availability of public resources for mental health, good post-pandemic mood, and coping strategies of seeking family support and substance use were conditions associated with hesitancy/reluctance to vaccination. A multiple linear regression analysis showed that a reduced set of 4 attitudinal and social variables explained 41% of the variability in vaccination intention: attitude towards vaccination, trust in health/science experts, conspiracy ideations and time spent on information about COVID-19. A discriminant analysis showed that these 4 variables had good sensitivity and specificity when classifying people as reluctant/not reluctant to vaccination, properly classifying 86% of people. Conclusions: psychosocial processes related to attitudes, trust and information are the main predictors of vaccination intention in a highly reluctant group such as the young adult population

PSY-COVID-1, study of Health personnel dataset

This is the dataset from the PSY-COVID-1 online survey in its first wave (may-september 2020) employed in the study "predictive factors of mental adjustment of health personnel during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: An international survey". It contains data provided by 16221 heatlh workers from 22 countries and a age-gender and country matched sample of 16221 people from general population. Dataset contains data about these domains: Behavioural changes and adaptation during the pandemic, behaviours and their determinants facing the SARS-CoV-2 contagion, mental health (anxiety, depression, somatization, posttraumatic growth), social and physical context of lockdown/confinement during the first wave of the pandemic, personal dispositional variables (personality, resilience, loneliness) and sociodemographical variables. </p

PSY-COVID-1 General Dataset

This is the main dataset from the PSY-COVID online survey in its first wave (may-september 2020). It contains 11M data provided by 82.772 participants from 55 countries.Dataset contains data about these domains: Behavioural changes and adaptation during the pandemic, behaviours and their determinants facing the SARS-CoV-2 contagion, mental health (anxiety, depression, somatization, posttraumatic growth), social and physical context of lockdown/confinement during the first wave of the pandemic, personal dispositional variables (personality, resilience, loneliness) and sociodemographical variables.</p

Social inequities in the impact of COVID-19 lockdown measures on the mental health of a large sample of the Colombian population (PSY-COVID study)

Background. The identification of general population groups particularly vulnerable to the impact of COVID-19 lockdown measures on mental health and the development of healthcare policies are priority challenges in the current and future pandemics. Objective. To identify the personal and social determinants of the impact of COVID-19 lockdown measures on mental health in a large sample of the Colombian population. Design. In this cross-sectional study, an anonymous online survey was answered by 18,061 participants from the general population residing in Colombia during the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak (from May 20th to June 20th, 2020). Main outcome measures. Symptoms of depression, anxiety, and somatisation were measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-2), and Somatic Symptom Questionnaire (SSQ-5), respectively. Results. Overall, 35% of participants showed symptoms of depression, 29% of anxiety, and 31% of somatization. According to the analysis of social determinants of health, the most affected groups were people with low incomes, students, and young adults. Specifically, low-income young females were the most at-risk population group. Conclusion. These findings show how the lockdown measures impacted on the general population's mental health in Colombia and highlights some social risk factors in health

PSY-COVID PSS-4 Dataset

This is the dataset of the online survey PSY-COVID in its third wave (2022) used in the study "Psychometric properties of the Perceived Stress Scale-4 (PSS-4) in Colombians with university education". It contains data provided by 1,911 Colombians with university studies. The data set contains data on sociodemographic variables (age, gender, status, economic and employment) and clinical variables (stress, depression, anxiety, resilience, post-traumatic growth). </p