After the 2023 Earthquake in Turkiye: An Assessment of Post-Earthquake Psychological Resilience in Children and Adolescents- A Systematic Review

Psychiatric disorders can be observed in children and adolescents following an earth-quake, with both risk factors and protective factors influencing the development of these disorders. This review aims to compile studies examining the relationship between earthquakes and resilience in children and adolescents after the earthquake disaster in Terkiye. 113 articles were identified using the PubMed database and relevant keywords. After excluding irrelevant studies, 24 that were related to the topic were included in the review. 66.6% of the studies were conducted in China, with 41.6% of total studies having a longitudinal design. In our country, no study was found in this context. Resilience levels were lower in females than males. Resilience was found to be protective against depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder, and was positive -ly correlated with social support. High resilience was also associated with significant posttraumatic growth. However, it is not conclusive that all therapy and intervention programs related to resilience are effective. Protecting the mental health of children and adolescents, who are vulnerable and exposed to dangers following an earthquake, is crucial. Identifying protective factors for mental health, particularly resilience, and developing intervention methods for routine and field use to enhance resilience are vital to prevent the development of mental illnesses

A comparative study of separation anxiety and sleep problems in school-aged children of health professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect physical health as well as mental health in children and adolescents. In this study, we aimed to investigate the state, trait, separation anxiety, and sleep disturbances in the children of health professionals in the first and third waves of the pandemic. Method: 33 children of health professionals and 42 children whose parents were not health professionals were included in the study. Sociodemographic data form, The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Separation Anxiety Assessment Scale- Child Version (SAAS-C), The Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC) were used for assessment each for the first and third waves of the pandemic. Results: The state, trait anxiety, and SAAS-C scores of the children of health professionals were higher than the control group in the first wave of the pandemic, state anxiety and SAAS-C scores were still higher than controls in the third wave. Positive correlations were found between the STAI and SAAS-C scores with the working hours of mothers in the pandemic. State anxiety, and SAAS-C scores were higher in children of healthcare workers with a history of COVID-19. Discussion: STAI and SAAS-C scores were found to be higher in the children of health professionals compared to the control group in the first and third wave of the pandemic. There was no effect being child- ren of healthcare workers on SDSC scores. Anxiety levels were related to the time the mother worked during the pandemic and the parent's history of COVID-19

S100B and Neuron-Specific Enolase Levels as Brain Injury Biomarkers in Internet Addiction: Effect of Sleep

Background: Comorbidity of Internet addiction (IA) with sleep disruptions is common in adolescents. There is evidence that the levels of brain injury markers could be affected by sleep disruptions. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the relationship between sleep quality and these biomarkers within the framework of the relationship between IA and sleep disruptions. Methods: A total of 65 drug-free adolescents with newly diagnosed IA, aged 12 to 18 years, were included in the study, and they were divided into two groups considering the comorbidities of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and social anxiety. The control group consisted of 30 healthy children. The participants were asked to complete the Young Internet Addiction Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Morningness Eveningness Questionnaire, Beck's Depression Inventory, Beck's Anxiety Inventory, and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11. Blood samples were taken between 8 and 9 am to analyze S100 calcium-binding protein B (S100B) and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) levels with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: Plasma S100B and NSE levels were found to be statistically significantly higher in the IA with ADHD and the IA with anxiety groups than in healthy controls. NSE and S100B levels were found to be correlated with PSQI scores in both the IA groups. Also, there was a positive correlation between these biomarkers and IA severity. Conclusions: Decreased sleep quality and daily sleep duration in IA might cause brain injury, resulting in an increase in the severity of the addiction. Prospective studies with large samples are needed to better explain the IA-sleep-brain injury relationship

Determination of depression, anxiety, and hopelessness levels in adolescents with refractive errors after the COVID-19 pandemic

Background/Aim: The prevalence of myopia is increasing worldwide especially among adolescents. Changes in living conditions such as reduced engagement in outdoor activities as well as increased activities near the workplace like reading, writing, and screen exposure are thought to be responsible for this increase. Adolescence is a sensitive period of rapid changes in psychological, physiological, and social aspects. Mental health issues such as anxiety and depression are common during this period. During the pandemic, mental health issues among children and adolescents increased due to stress caused by the disease, social isolation, disruption of routines, and the loss of loved ones. With the rapid increase in myopia among adolescents, there is a need to investigate the effects of myopia on mental health. The aim of this study is to evaluate anxiety, depression, and hopelessness levels in adolescents with myopia after the COVID-19 pandemic and to examine the relationship between myopia and anxiety, depression, and hopelessness.Methods: This was a case-control study that included 40 myopic adolescents aged 16-19 with a spherical refractive degree of -2 diopters (D) and above and 40 emmetropic (no refractive error). Participants who had previously undergone refractive surgery, had binocular visual acuity less than 1.0, had strabismus and amblyopia, had a diagnosis of glaucoma, had undergone ocular surgery for any reason, had retinopathy, or had an astigmatic refractive degree greater than ±0.50 were excluded from the study. The study did not include patients with chronic physiological or psychiatric diseases. Both groups were administered the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ), Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS), Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The groups were compared according to the scales. Myopic degrees were compared with mixed-effect linear models according to scale categories, and the relationship between ATS scores and myopia degrees was evaluated using the Spearman correlation coefficient.Results: The mean (SD) spherical refractive power of myopic adolescents was -3.156 (1.40) diopters; 62.5% of participants with myopia had been exposed to COVID-19, and the anxiety rate in myopic participants compared to controls was 15% (P=0.026). However, no significant difference was found between the myopia and control groups in terms of automatic thoughts, hopelessness, and depression inventory scores when comparing the groups. No correlation was found between the CAS (F=1.098), BHS (F=1.610), BDI (F=1.699), and ATQ (r=0.151) scales and the increase in myopia when we performed linear mixed model analysis and Spearman correlation analysis. There was no significant relationship between the degree of myopia and automatic thoughts, hopelessness anxiety, and depression.Conclusion: The results indicate that adolescents with myopia had higher levels of anxiety after the COVID-19 pandemic. There was no significant correlation between the degree of myopia and anxiety, depression, hopelessness, and automatic thoughts. It is important to monitor adolescents with myopia carefully during pandemics and provide the necessary mental health support. This is because offering mental health support to myopic young people may protect them from potential lasting emotional problems in adulthood during potential future pandemics. It may be beneficial for adolescents to increase their engagement in outdoor activities to reduce myopia and anxiety.</jats:p