Sleep quality in patients with heart failure in the spanish population: A cross-sectional study

Background: Heart failure is a major problem in western societies. Sleep Disorders maintain a bidirectional relationship with heart failure, as shown by studies conducted in other countries. This study aims to describe the quality of sleep in Spanish patients with heart failure. Materials and methods: We carried out a cross-sectional study to analyze the quality of sleep in a sample of 203 patients with a diagnosis of heart failure admitted to an Internal Medicine Service. The Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to evaluate sleep quality in our sample over a one-month period. Results: 75% of the sample presented sleep disorders. The most common problems included the interruption of sleep (73.5% nocturia and 30% breathing difficulties); 35% had poor sleep efficiency; 33% showed a decrease in daytime performance; 84% had used hypnotics at some point to induce sleep and 35% used them regularly. Conclusions: This is the first study to report on the perceived sleep quality of patients with heart failure in Spain. Self-perception of sleep quality differed from that estimated by the PSQI. The prevalence of the use of sleep-inducing medication was very high. The diurnal dysfunction generated by sleep disorders in a heart failure environment can contribute to the development of self-care and cognitive deterioration problems

Sleep quality in patients with heart failure in the spanish population: A cross-sectional study

Background: Heart failure is a major problem in western societies. Sleep Disorders maintain a bidirectional relationship with heart failure, as shown by studies conducted in other countries. This study aims to describe the quality of sleep in Spanish patients with heart failure. Materials and methods: We carried out a cross-sectional study to analyze the quality of sleep in a sample of 203 patients with a diagnosis of heart failure admitted to an Internal Medicine Service. The Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to evaluate sleep quality in our sample over a one-month period. Results: 75% of the sample presented sleep disorders. The most common problems included the interruption of sleep (73.5% nocturia and 30% breathing difficulties); 35% had poor sleep efficiency; 33% showed a decrease in daytime performance; 84% had used hypnotics at some point to induce sleep and 35% used them regularly. Conclusions: This is the first study to report on the perceived sleep quality of patients with heart failure in Spain. Self-perception of sleep quality differed from that estimated by the PSQI. The prevalence of the use of sleep-inducing medication was very high. The diurnal dysfunction generated by sleep disorders in a heart failure environment can contribute to the development of self-care and cognitive deterioration problems

The prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress and their associated factors in college students

Aim: To estimate the prevalence of symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress and associated factors in a population of college students. Method: Cross-sectional study of psychological distress measured through the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) in a sample of 1074 college students. Results: We found a moderate prevalence of depression (18, 4%), anxiety (23, 6%) and stress (34, 5%) symptoms in our study population. Being <21, having problematic Internet use behavior, smoking, presenting insomnia and having a low self-esteem were independently associated with symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. Being a woman, living with their family, having a stable partner, consuming alcohol frequently and having poor nutritional habits were significantly associated with symptoms of stress; lacking a stable partner was significantly associated with depressive symptoms; and frequent consumption of alcohol was significantly associated with symptoms of anxiety. Conclusion: We found a moderate prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress symptoms in our population. Interventions aimed at promoting mental health among college students should be implemented

Care dependency in patients with heart failure: A cross-sectional study in Spain

Background: Heart failure (HF) is a progressive and debilitating condition that represents an ever-growing problem for health systems worldwide. HF patients feel that they are a burden on their families, they feel socially isolated and have a low perception of their health. Accordingly, the objectives of this study were to: (1) to explore the profile of care dependency in a representative sample of Spanish HF patients through the Care Dependency Scale (CDS), and (2) to identify correlates of care dependency in this population. Material and Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of 187 patients admitted for HF decompensation to the Hospital Clínico of Zaragoza (Spain). Results: Only 15% of our sample was highly or completely dependent on care from others. More specifically, our results indicate that HF patients felt a greater level of dependency on care from others when it comes to moving, getting dressed and undressed, maintaining good personal hygiene, participating in daily and recreational activities and being continent. Conclusions: We find association between the CDS categories that present a low score for care dependency in HF patients and the patients’ physical deterioration

Health Plans for Suicide Prevention in Spain: A Descriptive Analysis of the Published Documents

The number of deaths by suicide worldwide each year is more than 800,000 people, which is equivalent to one death every 40 seconds. Suicide prevention has been listed by the World Health Organisation as a global imperative and has become a priority for global public health. This descriptive study describes and compares the intervention components included in the suicide prevention plans in the different provinces of Spain. We analysed the published documents through an extensive literature search and summarised the findings using descriptive content analysis. The search was carried out through the official websites of the government and health departments of each province in addition to consulting other official digital platforms such as the National Suicide Observatory, the World Health Organisation and the National Institute of Statistics. The results show the most relevant differences between the prevention plans, revealing that although all the activities included were related to the health sector, not all of them include prevention aimed at the general population level. We conclude that there is a lack of interventions related to the application of universal prevention, while selective and indicated prevention are the most developed tools in Spain

Relationship between Determinants of Health, Equity, and Dimensions of Health Literacy in Patients with Cardiovascular Disease

Background: Health literacy (HL) has been linked to empowerment, use of health services, and equity. Evaluating HL in people with cardiovascular health problems would facilitate the development of suitable health strategies care and reduce inequity. Aim: To investigate the relationship between different dimensions that make up HL and social determinants in patients with cardiovascular disease. Methods: Observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study in patients with cardiovascular disease, aged 50-85 years, accessing primary care services in Valencia (Spain) in 2018-2019. The Health Literacy Questionnaire was used. Results: 252 patients. Age was significantly related with the ability to participate with healthcare providers (p = 0.043), ability to find information (p = 0.022), and understanding information correctly to know what to do (p = 0.046). Level of education was significant for all HL dimensions. Patients without studies scored lower in all dimensions. The low- versus middle-class social relationship showed significant results in all dimensions. Conclusions: In patients with cardiovascular disease, level of education and social class were social determinants associated with HL scores. Whilst interventions at individual level might address some HL deficits, inequities in access to cardiovascular care and health outcomes would remain unjustly balanced unless structural determinants of HL are taken into account

Patient profile and management of delirium in older adults hospitalized due to COVID-19

SARS-CoV-2 can cause neurologic symptoms, as well as respiratory ones. Older adults are at risk of developing acute delirium in older persons (ADOP). The combination of experiencing respiratory isolation due to COVID-19, as well as other associated risk factors for older adults, may have had an impact on ADOP and ADOP management in the acute hospital setting. This study aimed to analyze the characteristics of ADOP in patients admitted to a COVID-19 unit. An observational prospective study on a sample of 108 patients was carried out between November 2020 and May 2021. The following data were collected: sociodemographic characteristics, risk factors for ADOP, management of ADOP, and impact on ADOP on both functional and cognitive deteriora-tion. A 29.6% proportion of older adults admitted to an acute COVID-19 unit presented hyperactive ADOP, mainly during the night. Management of ADOP in our sample involved mainly pharmaco-logical treatment and had a serious impact on hospital stay and both functional and cognitive dete-rioration. Preventive strategies and being accompanied by a relative or a carer may be useful to manage ADOP during hospital admission due to COVID-19

Association between life skills and academic performance in adolescents in the autonomous community of aragon (Spain)

Background: Learning and socio-emotional development is promoted through the creation and nurturing of an optimal school climate. This study aims to analyze the relationship between life skills and academic performance in a large sample of adolescents from the autonomous community of Aragón (Spain). Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on the life skills and academic performance of a sample of 7th and 8th grade middle school students during the academic year 2018–2019. A sample of 43 middle schools were randomly selected; the final sample comprised 1745 students. The following data were collected through an anonymized, previously validated questionnaire: sociodemographic variables, social skills, self-efficacy, affective balance, and academic performance. Results: We found a statistically significant association between life skills and academic performance (p < 0.001) in our sample. We also observed significant gender differences in life skills, with boys obtaining higher scores in cognitive skills and affective balance, and with girls achieving higher scores in social skills. Conclusion: We argue that life skills should be integrated into educational policies in order to improve the academic performance and health outcomes of students. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Spanish Version of the Caregiver Contribution to Self-Care of Heart Failure Index (CC-SCHFI): A Psychometric Evaluation

Background: The Caregiver Contribution to Self-Care of Heart Failure (CC-SCHFI) is a theoretically driven instrument to measure the extent to which caregivers support heart failure (HF) patients to perform self-care. The CC-SCHFI measures caregivers’ contribution to self-care maintenance and self-care management and caregiver confidence in contributing to heart failure patients’ self-care. To date, the CC-SCHFI has never been tested in Spanish-speaking populations. Purpose: To translate the CC-SCHFI from English into Spanish and to test its psychometric characteristics. Method: CC-SCHFI translation and back-translation were performed according to the Beaton et al. methodology. Data from a cross-sectional study conducted in an outpatient clinic in Spain were used for the analysis. Psychometric analysis was performed with exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with oblique rotation. Results: Caregivers had a mean age of 60.5 years (SD 14,9) and the majority were female (85%). Data from 220 caregivers were analyzed. From EFA, using the principal axis factoring method, we extracted two factors in the self-care maintenance subscale (“treatment adherence behaviors” and “symptom control and maintenance behaviors”), two in the self-care monitoring subscale (“illness behaviors” and “prevention behaviors”) and one factor for the self-efficacy subscale. The Pearson’s rank correlation coefficients between SCHFI and CCSCHFI showed significant correlation in each subdimension