The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on depression and anxiety symptoms: Findings from the United Arab Emirates Healthy Future (UAEHFS) cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Significant concerns about mental health were raised during the COVID-19 pandemic. We investigated the prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms among the participants of the United Arab Emirates Healthy Future Study (UAEHFS); a national cohort study. We further explored the change in the prevalence of depression symptoms among those with comparable pre-pandemic data. METHODS: A sample of UAEHFS participants were invited to complete a COVID-19 online questionnaire during the first wave of the pandemic. Depression and anxiety symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire Depression Scale (PHQ-8) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 Scale (GAD-7) respectively. Unpaired analyses were done to examine the effect of COVID-19 on depression and anxiety symptoms during the pandemic. Paired analysis was conducted to examine the change in depression symptoms. RESULTS: During the pandemic, we reported a prevalence of 32.8% (95% CI: 27.0, 39.1) for depression and 26.4% (95% CI: 21.0, 32.6) for anxiety symptoms. Younger people reported higher levels of depression (40.4%) and anxiety (34.5%) symptoms. Females reported higher levels of depression (36.5%) and anxiety (32.7%) symptoms. In paired analysis, the prevalence of depression symptoms during the pandemic was 34% (95% CI: 26.5, 42.4) compared to 29.9% (95% CI: 22.7, 38.1) before the pandemic. No statistically significant difference was observed, p-value = 0.440. Adjusted multivariate logistic regression models for PHQ-8 and GAD-7 during the pandemic showed that participants, who were experiencing flu-like symptoms, had higher odds of reporting depression symptoms compared to those without symptoms. Additionally, age was significantly negatively associated with anxiety symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, we found that depression and anxiety symptoms were more prevalent among young people and females. However, we did not find a significant change in the prevalence of depression symptoms among those with comparable pre-pandemic data. Identifying vulnerable groups and understanding trajectories through longitudinal studies would help with planning for effective mental health interventions for the current and future pandemics

Result of the sensitivity analysis using 200 multiple imputations.

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Associations between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, body mass index and body fat composition among Emirati population: Results from the UAE healthy future study.

INTRODUCTION: Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency are highly prevalent among several populations across the globe. Numerous studies have shown a significant correlation between body-mass-index (BMI) and Vitamin D status, however, some results differed according to ethnicity. Despite the abundance of sunshine throughout the year, vitamin D deficiency is prominent in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In this study, we analyzed the UAE Healthy Future Study (UAEHFS) pilot data to investigate the association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and % body fat (BF) composition as well as BMI. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Data from a total of 399 Emirati men and women aged ≥ 18 years were analyzed. Serum 25(OH)D and standard measures of weight and height were included in the analyses. Vitamin D deficiency was defined as serum 25(OH)D concentration<20 ng/ml. Multivariate quantile regression models were performed to explore the relationship between serum 25(OH)D levels and % BF composition and BMI correspondingly. RESULTS: There were 281 (70.4%) males and 118 (29.6%) females included in this study. More than half of the study participants had vitamin D insufficiency (52.4%), and nearly a third had vitamin D deficiency (30.3%); while only 17.3% had optimal levels. A statistically significant negative association between serum 25(OH) D levels and % BF composition was observed at intermediate percentiles while a statistically significant negative association between serum 25(OH)D and BMI was only observed at the median (50th percentile). CONCLUSION: The study findings support the association between low serum 25(OH) D levels (low vitamin D status) and high % BF composition and high BMI among adult Emiratis. Further longitudinal data from the prospective UAEHFS could better elucidate the relationship between serum 25(OH) D levels, % BF composition, and BMI in the context of various health outcomes among this population

Demographic characteristics by the dichotomized PHQ-8 score (PHQ-8>10) and dichotomized anxiety score (GAD-7 >10) during the pandemic.

Demographic characteristics by the dichotomized PHQ-8 score (PHQ-8>10) and dichotomized anxiety score (GAD-7 >10) during the pandemic.</p

Pandemic worries by the dichotomized PHQ-8 score (PHQ-8>10) and dichotomized anxiety score (GAD-7 >10) during the pandemic.

Pandemic worries by the dichotomized PHQ-8 score (PHQ-8>10) and dichotomized anxiety score (GAD-7 >10) during the pandemic.</p

Flow chart showing selection into the study.

Flow chart showing selection into the study.</p

Multivariate logistic regression models with dichotomized PHQ-8 and GAD-7 as outcomes.

Multivariate logistic regression models with dichotomized PHQ-8 and GAD-7 as outcomes.</p

Additional file 1: of The UAE healthy future study: a pilot for a prospective cohort study of 20,000 United Arab Emirates nationals

Participant Completed Questionnaire. (DOCX 82 kb

A Method to Assess Adherence in Inhaler Use through Analysis of Acoustic Recordings of Inhaler Events

<div><p>Rationale</p><p>Poor adherence to inhaler use can be due to poor temporal and/or technique adherence. Up until now there has been no way of reliably tracking both these factors in everyday inhaler use.</p><p>Objectives</p><p>This paper introduces a device developed to create time stamped acoustic recordings of an individual's inhaler use, in which empirical evidence of temporal and technique adherence in inhaler use can be monitored over time. The correlation between clinical outcomes and adherence, as determined by this device, was compared for temporal adherence alone and combined temporal and technique adherence.</p><p>Findings</p><p>The technology was validated by showing that the doses taken matched the number of audio recordings (r² = 0.94, p<0.01). To demonstrate that audio analysis of inhaler use gives objective information, in vitro studies were performed. These showed that acoustic profiles of inhalations correlated with the peak inspiratory flow rate (r² = 0.97, p<0.01), and that the acoustic energy of exhalations into the inhaler was related to the amount of drug removed. Despite training, 16% of participants exhaled into the mouthpiece after priming, in >20% of their inhaler events. Repeated training reduced this to 7% of participants (p = 0.03). When time of use was considered, there was no evidence of a relationship between adherence and changes in AQLQ (r² = 0.2) or PEFR (r² = 0.2). Combining time and technique the rate of adherence was related to changes in AQLQ (r² = 0.53, p = 0.01) and PEFR (r² = 0.29, p = 0.01).</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>This study presents a novel method to objectively assess how errors in both time and technique of inhaler use impact on clinical outcomes.</p><p>Trial Registration</p><p><a href="https://eudract.ema.europa.eu" target="_blank">EudraCT 2011-004149-42</a></p></div

A consort diagram for the 69 patients who participated in the study is shown.

<p>A consort diagram for the 69 patients who participated in the study is shown.</p