Assessment of sleep quality of patients with panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder during remission: a case-control study

Background: Sleep disorders are common in psychiatric diseases. Panic disorder (PD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) are two major anxiety disorders that are associated with sleep disorders. Objective: We hypothesized that poor sleep quality continues in PD and GAD during remission. Therefore, in this study we aimed to compare the sleep quality of patients with PD and GAD to that of healthy controls. Methods: The study included patients with PD (n = 42) and GAD (n = 40) who had been in remission for at least 3 months and healthy control volunteers (n = 45). The patients were administered the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Results: The total PSQI scores of the GAD group were significantly increased in comparison to those of the PD (p = 0.009) and control (p < 0.001) groups. The rate of poor sleep quality in GAD during remission (77.5%) was greater than that of the PD (47.6%) and control (51.1%) groups (p = 0.011). Discussion: GAD is a chronic and recurrent disease. In this study, it was found that the deterioration in sleep quality of patients with GAD may continue during remission. In the follow-up and treatment of patients, it is appropriate to question about sleep symptoms and to plan interventions according to these symptoms

Evaluation of body image, sexual dysfunctions and quality of life in female patients with generalized anxiety disorder

Objective: This study aimed to compare the patients with GAD in terms of SD, body perception and quality of life with healthy controls. Methods: The study included 41 female patients and 40 healthy female individuals with an aged between 18-50 years, regular sexual life and married. The Arizona Sexual Experiences Scale(ASEX), Short Form 36(SF-36), Body Cathexis Scale(BCS) and Beck Anxiety Inventory were used in the subjects. Patients with chronic illness, comorbid psychiatric, endocrine, alcohol or substance use disorder, drug use that could impair sexual function, pregnant, lactation, were not included in the study. Results: In ASEX, high scores were found in 44% of GAD patients and 17.5% of the control group in terms of SD. Sexual desire, arousal, lubrication, and orgasm scores of ASEX correlated with the body dissatisfaction in GAD patients. Physical function, general health status, mental health scores of SF-36 were found lower in the GAD group. Discussion: As a result of these findings, it can be suggested that sexual function, body image and quality of life are negatively affected in GAD patients and that deterioration of them should be questioned as well as symptomatic relief in patients' follow-up and treatment

Neurobiology of Suicidal Behaviour

Suicide is a phenomenon that is a world health priority, with multidimensional clinical appearance and with complex biological, social and psychological risk factors. Recent studies have revealed the complexity underlying the neurobiological mechanisms of suicide. The association between genetic transmission, serotonergic system dysfunction, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenaline axis hyperactivity, stress system, lipid metabolism, noradrenergic hyperactivity, anomaly in glial cells and signaling failure and suicidal behavior has been highlighted in particular in family, twin and adoption studies. There are also considerable evidences of morphological changes in the brain neuroimaging studies, particularly in the frontolimbic nerve and differences in the cognitive functions of the suicide attempted cases. The identification of neurobiological risk factors for suicidal behavior will play an important role in the prevention of suicide, as well as the arrangement of treatment algorithms and follow-up of treatment. The aim of this review article is to evaluate the neurobiological reasons of suicidal behavior

How Do Health Anxiety, Somatosensory Amplification, and Depression Levels Relate to Non-cyclical Mastalgia? A Case-Control Study

Symptoms that are not completely explicable, such as mastalgia, might cause individuals to experience more apprehension regarding health and to visit doctors more frequently. No study has been found in the literature that assessed the level of somatosensory amplification of patients with mastalgia. This study is intended to assess the levels of somatosensory amplification of patients who complain of mastalgia and to compare them to a healthy control group. Forty patients with the diagnosis of non-cyclical mastalgia and 41 voluntary controls were incorporated in the study. All patients participating in the study were assessed using the Somatosensory Amplification Scale (SSAS), Health Anxiety Inventory (HAI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The scores of SSAS, HAI, BAI, and BDI for the patient group were higher than those for the control group. Upon a simple regression analysis, the effect of education duration in mastalgia group on HAI was 12.4%, the effect of anxiety level on SSAS was 28%, and that of the depression level on HAI was 10.8%. Patients with mastalgia exhibited higher levels of somatosensory amplification, depression, anxiety, and health anxiety than the control group. The idiopathic symptoms might cause individuals to develop a higher level of somatosensory amplification and to perceive bodily symptoms more severely. Furthermore, such symptoms might further produce anxiety and depressive symptoms due to the higher perception by the individuals with apprehension related to their health

Method Development for Sustainable Product and Service Design Strategy: Polymer Products with Shell Structures

Sustainability in industrial design aims to provide a better world for future generations by reducing the energy and resource consumption used in the design of products or services. After the industrial design is completed, the products are transformed into a form that will take their place in our lives through the engineering design process. However, during this process, the features that industrial design focuses on may be lost or damaged. This situation reveals the importance of sustainable design strategies by creating various economic and time losses. In order to minimize the aforementioned problems, changes were made to the mechanical design of the products whose industrial design was carried out by an engineering company. It is aimed to strengthen the mechanical strength of the form with changes that do not affect the outer form. Four options were created for each of the two electricity meter models, the structures of which are shell structures and the products to be produced with polymer materials, which differ in size and three-axis ratios, and mechanical strength was analyzed with engineering analysis programs. With the method in the study, it has been revealed that the problem can be solved without the need to make radical changes due to strength in the industrial designs of product groups with similar structures. Thus, a method has been developed within the framework of sustainable product and service design strategies, and it is thought that this method will increase efficiency in the business model and cause less energy and resource consumption

The effect of health anxiety on postoperative analgesia requirement and anesthesia recovery in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Introduction: Health anxiety is the excessively negative interpretation of normal physical signs in an individual with no physical disease. Having knowledge information about the health anxiety levels of patients is one of the criteria that will affect the treatment of the patients’ pain. The aim of this study was to evaluate the preoperative health anxiety of laparoscopic cholecystectomy patients together with the perception of postoperative pain and the requirement for analgesia.Methods: The study included 41 patients of American Society of Anesthesiologists(ASA) grade I-II, aged 18-65 years who were to undergo a laparoscopic cholecystectomy operation and a control group of 40 healthy individuals. The Health Anxiety Inventory was applied to the patients preoperatively and to the control group. In the postoperative period, the patients were followed up for 24 hours with a patient-controlled analgesia device prepared with tramadol. Visuel Analog Scale(VAS) values of patients were below 4 due to the use of patient controlled analgesia device. Total analgesic consumption was recorded. The results were compared statistically.Results: No significant difference was determined between the patient and control groups in respect of age, gender and body mass index (p>0.05). The VAS score of all the patients was less than four. The mean total tramadol consumption of the patients in the first 24 hours postoperatively was 221.58±73.06. The analgesia consumption of female patients was significantly higher than that of males (p=0.013). The health anxiety results of the patient group were found to be significantly higher than the control group (p<0.001). A positive correlation was determined in the patient group between health anxiety and the total analgesia requirement (r=0.813, p<0.01). Conclusions: In conclusion, high level of analgesia consumption was determined in those with high health anxiety and in female patients. When planning postoperative pain treatment, consideration of the gender of the patient and the level of health anxiety will make a positive contribution to the treatment

A comparative study on acute stress levels of healthcare professionals and public in COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in important consequences for healthcare workers, such as long shifts, staying away from family members due to the risk of illness, and working under intense stress. Outbreaks are considered as traumatic factors like other natural disasters and are expected to cause trauma-related disorders. In this study, it was aimed to determine the acute stress levels and stress responses of both the community sample and healthcare workers via using the National Stressful Events Survey Acute Stress Disorder Short Scale (NSESSS). A total of 1027 volunteers, including 387 healthcare workers and 640 non-healthcare workers, participated in the study. The NSESSS levels of non-healthcare workers were significantly higher than healthcare worker, females compared to males, and singles than married ones. As the thought that work justice was provided in healthcare workers increased, NSESSS levels decreased. As the difficulty of finding protective equipment in healthcare workers decreased, NSESSS levels decreased. Nurses' ages, time spent on duty, and NSESSS levels were significantly higher than physicians and other healthcare workers. In the pandemic period, it can be a guide in determining the risk factors and risk groups in terms of acute stress, taking preventive mental health measures, and providing early intervention. [Med-Science 2022; 11(1.000): 7-14