The Effects of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Man Smokers’ Comorbid Depression and Anxiety Symptoms and Smoking Cessation: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Besides physical problems, cigarette smoking is associated with a high prevalence of comorbid depression and anxiety symptoms. One of the reasons behind high post-cessation smoking lapse and relapse rates is inattentiveness to these symptoms during the process of cessation. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on male smokers’ comorbid depression and anxiety symptoms and smoking cessation.Methods: This two-group pre-test-post-test randomized controlled trial was done on a random sample of seventy male smokers. Participants were randomly and evenly allocated to an intervention and a control group. Patients in these groups received either acceptance or commitment therapy or routine psychological counseling services include cognitive behavior therapy, respectively. Study data were collected through a demographic questionnaire, the Structural Clinical Interview (SCI) for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-4th edition (DSM-IV) disorders, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Micro Smokerlyzer carbon monoxide monitor.The SPSS software was employed to analyze the data.Findings: After the intervention, depression and anxiety scores and smoking cessation rate in the intervention group were respectively lower and higher than the control group (P < 0.050).Conclusion: ACT can significantly improve comorbid depression and anxiety symptoms and smoking cessation rate. Thus, it can be used to simultaneously manage depression, anxiety, and cigarette smoking

Comparing the effect of agomelatine and sertraline in treating patients with major depression disorder

Objectives: This study compared the effect of agomelatine and sertraline in treating patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).Methods: This single‑blinded clinical trial was conducted on 52 patients aged 18–65 years with major depression (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition) in Kashan in 2020. The Hamilton Rating Scale was randomly assigned agomelatine (25–50 mg/day) or sertraline (50–200 mg/day) for 8 weeks. The main efficacy outcome was considered a mean change of HAM‑D score from the baseline to the end of therapy.Results: The drugs under study effectively reduced depressive symptoms at all time points. As a frequent analysis showed, changes in Hamilton score were found to be significant in both the groups over time (F = 45.48, P < 0.001). Comparing the two groups showed a significant difference, such that score reduction was higher in the sertraline group (F = 4.45, P = 0.04). However, due to the differences between the two groups in terms of age and sex, the data were re‑analyzed using a linear regression analysis with a random effect model approach. After removing the effect of age and sex as two confounding variables, we observed no significant differences between the two groups.Conclusion: Agomelatine is more effective than sertraline in treating MDD

The Effect of Memantine Versus Folic Acid on Cognitive Impairment in Patients with Schizophrenia: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Objective: Schizophrenia, as one of the most severe psychiatric diseases, has a chronic and debilitating process. The majority of patients with schizophrenia do not respond adequately to treatment with common antipsychotic drugs. Therapeutic problems induced by drug side effects as well as undesired results are major challenging issues regarding this disease. This study aimed at evaluating the effect of memantine supplementation on the improvement of cognitive symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. Method: The present clinical trial was performed on 50 patients with acute schizophrenia who were admitted to Kargarnejad Psychiatric Hospital in Kashan in 2022 and who were diagnosed as schizophrenia cases at least three months ago. Patients were randomly divided into either the intervention group (n = 25) or the placebo group (n = 25). The intervention group received 5 mg of memantine per day for three months. The dose of memantine in this group was increased to the maximum of 20 mg per day. The placebo group received 1 mg of folic acid per day for three months. Moreover, an identical routine schizophrenia therapeutic regimen was administered to all patients. The effectiveness of memantine was evaluated using the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-III), which assessed cognitive ability in older adults over a 12-week follow-up period. Results: The WAIS-III score in the 12th week of the study was significantly different between the placebo and intervention groups (P = 0.004), such that the score of the memantine group was higher than that of the placebo group. No significant difference was observed between the two groups in terms of drug side effects. Conclusion: Memantine can be supplemented in the treatment of schizophrenia so as to improve the cognitive symptoms of this disorder. However, subsequent studies involving larger sample sizes and different doses seem to be necessary to provide more accurate results in this respect

Mental Health of Young Couples Referred to Premarriage Consulting Center of Kashan

Background and Objective: Marriage is base of family creation and human race reproduction. Evaluation mental health of couples; diagnosis and treatment of mental disorder are essential and should be considered before marriage. The aim of this study was to investigate the mental health in young couple referred to consulting center before marriage.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out on 194 young couples. The data collection instruments included the Goldberg's General Health Questionnaire (which has 4 subunits depression, anxiety, somatic symptoms and function) and a questionnaire form consist of personal information and factors associated with mental health. Data were analyzed using, Chi-Square or Fisher exact test and t- tests.Results: The mean (SD) total GHQ score was 22.3 (8.8) in females and 18.7 (8.5) in men (P=0.004). 29.9 % men and 37% women had mental health problem. The mean (SD) total GHQ score was 21.9 (9.1) in the age group 21 to 25 which was higher than the other age groups, and in those with a higher diploma degree was 23.3 (11.7) which was higher than the other educational groups (P= 0.005).Conclusion: Young couples with age 21-25 years old, females and couples with high educational levels had lower mental health than other groups. Therefore, early screening and diagnosis of these problems can prevent impact of these disorders on job performance and social and interpersonal relationship.</p

Quality of Life of Residents in Hospitals Affiliated to Kashan University of Medical Sciences During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background and Objectives: The prevalence of COVID-19 significantly affected different aspects of the quality of life (QoL) in people, especially the medical staff, who are at the forefront of battle against the disease. This study aims to investigate the QoL of medical residents of hospitals affiliated to Kashan University of Medical Sciences (KUMS) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 140 medical residents of hospitals affiliated to KUMS in 2021. Their QoL was assessed using World Health Organization quality of life (WHOQOL). The collected data were analyzed in SPSS software, version 22 using Chi-square, Mann-Whitney U test, t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Pearson and Spearman correlation tests. Results: The physical health dimension had a statistically significant relationship with age, marital status, underlying disease, sports/arts activities, and year of residency (P<0.001). The psychological health dimension had a statistically significant relationship with marital status, underlying disease, sports/arts activities, and year of residency (P<0.001). The social relationships dimension had a statistically significant relationship with marital status, underlying disease, and year of residency. The environmental health dimension had a statistically significant relationship with sex, marital status, underlying disease, and year of residence (P<0.05). Conclusion: Female residents had lower QoL. The residents in pathology, neurology and infectious diseases had higher QoL, while those in psychiatry had higher scores in the psychological health dimension

Fluvoxamine for the Treatment of Child and Adolescent Depression: An Open Label Trial

"n&nbsp;Objective: "n Major depressive disorder is a severe disorder that has a significant impact on the psychological and social functioning of children and adolescents. Considering current limitations in the treatment of this disorder, the present study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of fluvoxamine in the treatment of children and adolescents with major depressive disorder. "nMethod: In an open trial, the efficacy of fluvoxamine (50-200 mg/d) on children and adolescents with major depressive disorder or dysthymic disorder was evaluated using the "Children&apos;s Depression Inventory", the "Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale", the "Children - Global Assessment Scale", the "Clinical Global Impression Scale", and the "Drug Side Effect Questionnaire" at the beginning and 2, 4, and 8 weeks after the beginning of the treatment. The frequency of suicidal ideas was evaluated as well. "nResults: Treatment with fluvoxamine caused statistically significant improvement in all of the above scales. The frequency of suicidal ideas decreased from 88.9 percent to zero after 8 weeks. No significant side effects were observed. "nConclusion: Fluvoxamine can be used as a safe and effective drug in the treatment of major depressive disorder and dysthymic disorder of children and adolescents

The relationship between mental health and sleep quality in students of Kashan University of Medical Sciences in the academic year of 1994-93

Introduction: Sleep is one of most essential cycle in a day that has a complex biological pattern. Sleep and sleep disorders have an important role in people's life. Sleep disorders have adverse effect on social performance in addition mental health threat .Prevalence of sleep disorders is increasing specially in young people. Some groups like students have more sleep disorders. This study aimed to assess the relation between mental healths with sleep quality in students. Methods and Materials: In this case-control, dormitories students of kashan university of medical science were studied from 2013 to 2014. We selected 200 students include 100 person with sleep disorder and 100 students without sleep disorder by randomized sampling. Three questionnaires used includes: Demographic information, Pittsburgh and GHQ. All data improved with EPIINFO program and were analyzed by SPSS 16. We used chi-square and t-test for analysis of dependent and independent changeable data and regression methods used to control confounding data. Results: This persons were108 female (54%) and 92 male (46%). 22 person were married, and 177 person were single. Mean age in person with sleep disorder was 22.61, and without sleep disorders was 22.35 without significant difference. Psychological disorders like anxiety, depression and physical health have significant relation with sleep disorders (P0.05). Suicidal ideation was 35% in people with sleep disorders and 7% without sleep disorders. Ideation of suicidal attempts was 32% in people with sleep disorder and 7% without sleep disorder (P<0.001) Conclusion: Sleep quality have important role in different items of mental health. Pay attention to improve sleep quality of dormitories students, and necessary actions like advice and training of sleep health is important to improve health status

Sleep quality and related factors among the nurses of the Hospital of Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Iran

Aim: Sleep and rest are the essential physiological needs of human. Nurses are at risk of developing sleep problems than others because of having various shift work. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the sleep quality and related factors in the nurses. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 200 nurses were selected randomly from Shahid Beheshti Educational Hospital of Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, 2016. Persian version of Pittsburgh Sleep Questionnaire Index and demographic questionnaire were used for the detection of sleep quality. Results: The mean age of cases was 51.31 years, and most of them (73%) were female. The majority of them had rotating shift work and worked over 150 h per month. 95.5% (191 cases) of them had poor sleep quality. The mean total score of sleep quality in females was higher than males (P = 0.04). The nurses with rotating shift work had higher mean total score of sleep quality than nurses with fixed shift work. Nurses with over 150 h per month had more problems in daily function than others (P = 0.04). Conclusion: These results present that the majority of the nurses had poor sleep quality. Poor sleep quality could be affect function, mental and physical health, and secondary effect delivery service to patients. Therefore, attention to this issue and strategies for improved sleep quality is necessary

Clinical and metabolic reaction to probiotic supplement in children suffering attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled experiment

Aim: This paper aimed at assessing the influence that probiotic supplement had on mental health and metabolic conditions of children suffering attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Materials and Methods: A number of 34 children with ADHD were selected randomly. Participants were randomly allocated into a group receiving 8 × 109 CFU/g probiotic supplements (n = 17) and a group receiving placebo (n = 17) during an 8-week time period. Clinical symptoms were recorded applying the rating scale of ADHD (ADHD-RS), Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) both at onset of the study and after the 8-week interval. Moreover, samples of blood were also taken at the beginning and after the 8-week interval so that the metabolic information could be evaluated. Results: The probiotic supplementation could bring about a considerable decrease in total ADHD-RS (β −3.31; 95% confidence interval [CI]: −5.60, −1.02; P = 0.006) and HAM-A (β −1.91 [0.18]; 95% CI, −3.41, −0.41; P = 0.01) than that of the placebo. In addition, probiotic supplementation brought about a considerable decrease in high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) of serum (β −2.05 mg/L; 95% CI, −3.57, −0.52; P = 0.01) as well as a substantial rise in plasma overall antioxidant volume (TAC) (β 66.26 mmol/L; 95% CI, 36.83, 95.68; P < 0.001) than that of the placebo. No meaningful effects were observed on CDI and other metabolic features after the intake of probiotic supplements. Conclusions: Taking probiotic by children suffering ADHD could affect ADHD-RS, HAM-A, hs-CRP of serum, and TAC levels in plasma, while it did not show any effects on CDI and other metabolic profiles