Self-Reported Diurnal Preference and Sleep Disturbance in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Background. Previous sleep studies suggest that type 2 diabetes mellitus is associated with poor quality of sleep and sleep disorders. Aim. To evaluate sleep parameters and diurnal preference in type 2 diabetic patients, using a questionnaire. Methods. Ninety seven patients (aged 55.8±8.3, sex ratio 1:1), previously diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus, together with 102 controls (aged 47.1±10.5, sex ratio 1:1), without diabetes, completed a questionnaire containing the Romanian translation of the Composite Scale of Morningness, the Sleep Disorders Questionnaire, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Pittsburgh Insomnia Rating Scale, the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test and the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI). The study was cross-sectional, as we included subjects from outpatient and inpatient facilities. The recruitment process was based on handing invitation letters to patients consulting their physician, as well as to their acquaintances, using the snowball sampling. Participation was voluntary and anonymous

Residents’ clinical empathy: gender and specialty comparisons - a Romanian study

Objective. To measure and examine medical residents’ (junior doctors) empathy and to compare psychiatry residents’ empathy with that of other specialties. Participants and Methods. A translated version of Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy for Practising Health Professionals was administered to 112 Romanian residents. Results. 60 residents in psychiatry and 52 in other specialities completed the questionnaire. Statistically significant differences were found between male and female counterparts, and between psychiatrists and residents in other specialities. Conclusions. Male doctors seemed to be less empathic compared to female ones. Psychiatry was the most empathic medical specialty

Sleep Beliefs, Subjective Sleep Quality and Diurnal Preference – Findings from Depressed Patients

This study evaluated the relationship between dysfunctional sleep beliefs, circadian typology and self-reported sleep quality and insomnia. We assessed these parameters both in healthy controls and patients with depression. One hundred eighty six subjects were assessed and completed measures of sleep beliefs, sleep disturbance, sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, depressive symptoms and circadian typology. We found that sleep beliefs are slightly linked with the subjective sleep quality, but with neither the diurnal preference, nor the self-reported insomnia

A variable‐number tandem repeat polymorphism in PER3 is not associated with chronotype in a population with self‐reported sleep problems

We examined whether a variable‐number tandem repeat (VNTR) polymorphism in the circadian clock gene PER3 was associated with subjective ratings of sleep and diurnal preference in a Romanian population with high levels of self‐reported sleep problems. Individuals, self‐reporting to their GP for sleep disturbances, completed a battery of validated scales that assess the presence of insomnia, sleep quality and diurnal preference and had their PER3 VNTR genotype determined. We found no significant differences in chronotype, sleep quality or other psychometric measures according to PER3 VNTR and conclude that diurnal preference or self‐reported sleep measures are not associated with PER3 genotype in this population