Coronavirus-induced Anxiety among Pregnant Women

Introduction: Anxiety about COVID-19 is common and seems to be mostly due to the unknown and confusing nature of the virus. Given the effects of stress on maternal and fetal health and the lack of a similar study on this issue and the importance of the issue, so we decided to assess the degree of anxiety in COVID-19 in pregnant women. Materials and Methods: The present study is a cross-sectional study (descriptive-analytical). The statistical population of this study includes pregnant women referred to Kashani Hospital in Jiroft from March to August 2020. A total of 182 pregnant women referred to the hospital were interred in the study. Results: The mean age of pregnant women was 27.2±7.2 years. Among the demographic factors of pregnant women, only a significant relationship was seen between maternal age and anxiety caused by COVID-19. Also, the mean anxiety of psychological symptoms was significantly higher than the physical symptoms (P<0.001). Both factors indicated moderate anxiety. Conclusion: Given that there is currently limited information available to pregnant women with COVID-19 and its complications in pregnant mothers, it is necessary to pay more attention to corona prevention training programs and how to deal with stress and anxiety in pregnant women

Resilience and anxiety in nurses in a hospital in Iran during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

The lack of any definitive treatment or prevention of COVID-19 disease has created a lot of stress and anxiety in societies. This study aimed to evaluate the resilience and anxiety of COVID-19 in nurses of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Jiroft and their relationship with demographic variables from April to August 2020. The present study is descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional. To select the statistical sample, the census method was used so that 80 nurses working in different wards of the hospital were selected and included in the study. The resilience measurement tool is the Connor-Davidson Resilience Questionnaire (CD-RIS). COVID-19 anxiety was assessed using a comprehensive national questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics Chi-square, Independent two-sample parametric t-test, and ANOVA through SPSS 20. The level of COVID-19 anxiety in nurses was moderate (19.3±11.64) and the rate of resilience was low (36.7±16.65). There is a statistically significant difference between resilience in nurses and age (p = 0.003). There was no statistically significant relationship between the rate of resilience in nurses and gender (p = 0.13), the unit of service (p = 0.87), marital status (p = 0.98), work experience (p = 0.06), and the level of education (p = 0.63). There was no statistically significant relationship between anxiety in nurses and age (p = 0.53), gender (p = 0.59), the unit of work (p = 0.48), marital status (p = 0.90), work experience (p = 0.40), and level of education (p = 0.60). The results of multivariate analysis showed that, work experience, and place of work have a statistically significant relationship with resilience and anxiety of COVID-19 in nurses, respectively (p <0.05).The level of COVID-19 anxiety in nurses is moderate and the rate of resilience is high. Given the current high-risk situation, it is important to identify nurses prone to psychological disorders to maintain and improve their mental health with appropriate strategies and techniques

COVID‐19 and the increase in schizophrenia incidence in the future: A hypothesis and a serious warning

Abstract Background and Aims The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19), which has caused a global pandemic, is brought on by the Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2). Since the COVID‐19 pandemic started so recently, dealing with complications that emerge years later and have the potential to cause several crises for humanity is one of the issues we face in the post‐COVID‐19 age. Therefore, we wish to discuss a theory and potential dangers surrounding the probability of schizophrenia following COVID‐19 infection in this study. Methods The literature search for this article has been entirely internet‐based. Information was gathered using the Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases. Results The results showed that multiple immune system changes brought on by COVID‐19 have been identified as potential causes of schizophrenia. Conclusion It is predicted that one of the long‐term effects of COVID‐19 is an increase in the risk of schizophrenia incidence based on the results of this study, which looked at the pathophysiology and etiology of schizophrenia as well as the pathogenic mechanisms of the SARS‐CoV‐2. Therefore, healthcare staff should be prepared to handle any potential risks in future

Investigation of Psychological Distress in Pregnant Women under Domestic Violence

Introduction and Aim: Psychological distress is a common disorder during pregnancy. Nevertheless, it is recommended to conduct national and regional studies to identify factors influencing it. Therefore, this study was conducted with the aim of investigating psychological distress in pregnant women subjected to domestic violence. Materials and Methods: This descriptive-cross-sectional study was conducted in 2020 on 305 pregnant mothers subjected to domestic violence in southern Iran. Subjects were included in the study by census and the data were collected through questionnaires: Kessler's psychological distress and the short form of domestic violence screening scale. Then, they were analyzed using SPSS version 24 software. Results: The mean score and ± standard deviation of the psychological distress of pregnant women under domestic violence was 24.68 ± 6.43. The results showed that psychological distress had a direct and significant statistical relationship with the age of pregnant women (p<0.05 and r=0.18), marriage duration (p<0.001 and r=0.31), number of children (p<0.001 and r=0.22), and domestic violence (p<0.001 and r=0.73). . Also, the result of the independent t-test showed that women with planned pregnancy had lower mean scores of psychological distress than women with unwanted pregnancy (p<0.001, t=5.13). Conclusion: According to the results of the present study, it can be concluded that the identification of factors influencing domestic violence and psychological distress as a main and important priority in the health of mothers and infants should receive the attention of healthcare managers

The Effect of transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on Opioid Craving: Effect of tDCS on Opioid Craving

Introduction: Nowadays, substance use disorder is one of the most serious health problems in the world. Craving is one of the leading causes of substance use relapse. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on participants with opioid substance use disorder. Materials and Methods:&nbsp; A randomized, sham-controlled trial was carried out to evaluate the effect of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex stimulation (right anodal and left cathodal) on craving among participants with opioid use disorder. Eighteen men were categorized into sham tDCS and active tDCS groups. Interventions were performed for seven consecutive days. In both groups, the instantaneous and periodic craving was evaluated by the Desire for Drug Questionnaire (DDQ) and Obsessive Compulsive Drug Use Scale (OCDUS) before and a week after the interventions. The differences between the two groups were evaluated by paired samples t-test and student's t-test. Results: The results indicated that tDCS significantly reduced the scores on DDQ and OCDUS in the active tDCS group compared to the sham tDCS group (P&lt;.05). Conclusions: Our findings provide support for applying tDCS in controlling opioid craving. Therefore, this method can be considered to be a new therapeutic approach in treatment of opioid use disorder

The relationship between regional brain volumes and the extent of coronary artery disease in mild cognitive impairment

Background: There are conflicting reports regarding the association between coronary artery disease (CAD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Volumetric Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) investigations have been considered as an objective biomarker for MCI. In this study, we determined the relationship between the regional brain volumes and the extent of CAD in MCI patients and cognitively normal controls. Materials and Methods: In a case-control study a subset of MCI patients (n = 20) and cognitively normal controls (n = 20), aged 66.4 ± 4.6 and 65.3 ± 3.9 respectively, from subjects who were recently admitted to cardiac catheterization facilities in two general hospitals were selected. All subjects underwent a clinical interview, biochemical measures, neuropsychological testing and Neuropsychiatry Unit COGnitive assessment tool. Video records of coronary angiography were scored with the Gensini method. For volumetric evaluation of regions of interest, brain MRI scans was processed using the FreeSurfer software package the relationship between the regional brain volumes and the extent of CAD in MCI patients and cognitively normal controls were compared. Results: We have found that, there were significant differences between the two groups in volumes of left fusiform (P = 0.039), left pars triangularis (P = 0.003) and left superior temporal gyrus (P = 0.009), after controlling for intracranial volumes. Higher Gensini scores were associated with reduced volumes of total cortical volume (P = 0.047, R = −0.4), left precuneus (P = 0.022, R = −0.5), right inferior parietal lobule (P = 0.011, R = −0.5) and left supra marginal gyrus (P = 0.035, R = −0.04) in MCI. Conclusion: In MCI, a greater degree of coronary stenosis correlates with greater loss of gray matter in specific brain regions relevant to cognitive function. This, however, was not the case for cognitively normal subjects

Coronary artery disease and plasma apolipoprotein E4 in mild cognitive impairment

BACKGROUND: Atherosclerosis and apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4) are known risks for Dementia. We sought to evaluate the relationship between coronary atherosclerosis and APOE4 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). METHODS: In a case-control study, subjects with age more than 60 years and recent coronary angiography were evaluated by mini-mental state examination and neuropsychiatry Unit Cognitive Assessment Tool (NUCOG) to find the patients with MCI (n = 40) and the controls with normal cognition (n = 40). Coronary angiography records were re-assessed to find the severity of coronary artery disease by the Gensini scores. Plasma levels of APOE4 were measured. RESULTS: There were no-significant difference between the 2 groups regarding the plasma APOE4 levels (P = 0.706) and the Gensini scores (P = 0.236). Associations between the Gensini scores and the NUCOG scores in the MCI group (r = &minus;0.196, P = 0.225) and the control group (r = 0.189, P = 0.243) were not significant. However, the interaction effect between the Gensini and the NUCOG scores based on allocation to the control or the patient groups showed statistically significant difference (F(1,67) = 4.84, P = 0.031). CONCLUSION: Although atherosclerosis has been considered as known risk factor for dementia and MCI, this study could not reveal that coronary atherosclerosis-related to declining in cognitive functioning. There was no significant association between plasma APOE4 levels and MCI. &nbsp; Keywords: Mild Cognitive Impairment, Coronary Artery, Angiography, Apolipoprotein E4 Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE FA <!--[endif] --