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Objective@#To analyze the mental health status of the Chinese Medical Team (CMT) members and its influencing factors.@*Methods@#A total of 1 015 members of the CMT were recruited and surveyed by using a self-administered questionnaire and 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) from May 10 to June 10, 2018. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify risk factors for mental health problems.@*Results@#A total of 808 subjects completed the questionnaire and an estimated 25.9% of them were suspected to have mental health problems (GHQ-12≥3). Logistic model analysis indicated that family life (OR=1.928, 95%CI: 1.162-3.197), domestic work status (OR=2.069, 95%CI: 1.210-3.538), father’s health status (OR=1.703, 95%CI: 1.060-2.736), disease symptoms (OR=2.087, 95%CI: 1.363-3.194), captain (OR=1.996, 95%CI: 1.128-3.532), cultural differences (OR=2.439, 95%CI: 1.621-3.671) were the risk factors for mental health. Age (OR=0.736, 95%CI: 0.571-0.949), leisure activities (OR=0.654, 95%CI: 0.490-0.872) were the protective factors. Drinking habits (OR=7.439, 95%CI: 1.290- 42.900), loneliness (OR=4.094, 95%CI: 2.438-6.875), and respect from the hospital (OR=0.783, 95%CI: 0.610-1.004) were relative to mental health problems.@*Conclusion@#CMT members have certain mental health problems, especially young members and captains. Therefore, interventions should be implemented to improve the mental health of CMT members and to promote the development of foreign aid work.
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Mental health is an integral component to the formation of human capital performance. Human capital with high productivity is the key factor to the growth of a country. Thus, this study aims to investigate the relationship between the level of mental health of undergraduate students in Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) with their performance. Mental health was measured using the General Health Questionnaire 12-item (GHQ-12) and the performance was based on the Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA). A total of 316 undergraduate students at UUM had answered questionnaires that were distributed. The data were analysed descriptively and the effect of the level of mental health on performance was tested using probit model. Based on GHQ-12, 48% respondents were found to have a good mental health status. A total of 67.21% of the students who obtain CGPA 3.67 and above have a good level of health compared with only 36.08% for those with CGPA under 3.67. Based on the probit model, the level of mental health was found to be significant at 1% level in influencing the CGPA. These findings provide indication to policy makers of the importance of mental health in influencing the students’ performance. Mental health education programs should be implemented or enhanced to raise awareness of the importance of good mental health state among students in higher education institution.
Subject(s)
Mental HealthABSTRACT
<p><b>Introduction</b></p><p> In Sri Lanka, there was ethnic violence in the form of armed conflict that lasted 26 years from 1983 through 2009. The conflict between two ethnic groups were bogged down by terrorism or by foreign military intervention. It destroyed the life of inhabitants and it is thought to have inhibited the health and growth of children.</p><p> A case study was conducted in Sri Lanka to establish the effects of the armed conflict on children’s health, soon after the conflict ended. The case study was aimed at using the result for planning health administration.</p><p><b>Methods </b></p><p> 400 participants aged 12 and above were selected from 10 schools of two out of 11 Divisional Secretariat Divisions in Trincomalee District in Sri Lanka. 10 schools were classified into two DS Divisions, severely devastated and less devastated. Each participant was assessed, using anthropometric techniques and questionnaires including GHQ-12. Reliability of the questions was confirmed through back translation and the use of an English-Tamil questionnaire. The mean values of the anthropometric measurements, the mean values of score by factor analysis of GHQ-12 response, and various items of social environment were compared between the two regions. These different significances were tested using F-test, t-test and Chi-square test. </p><p><b>Results</b></p><p> In comparisons between two regions, body weight, height and BMI among participants in severely affected region were significantly lower. Additionally, susceptibility to infectious and endemic diseases in severely affected were significantly increased.</p><p> Four characteristics of mental health were identified, but there was no significant difference about the state of depression between the two regions.</p><p><b>Conclusion </b></p><p> Children in conflict zones are susceptible not only to malnutrition, but also infectious diseases caused by unhygienic living conditions. The application of simple anthropometric techniques and relevant knowledge and food distribution are important in evaluating and responding to these children’s health problems.</p>
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Introduction: The 12- item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) has been translated into many languages and widely used in different settings and countries. Its reliability and psychometric properties were extensively studied in many population groups which suggested that it measures psychological distress in multidimensional construct. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the reliability and factor structure of the Bahasa Malaysia version of the GHQ-12 among university students attending a health program at a Malaysian public university. Method: The cross sectional survey was conducted on 306 undergraduate students aged between 18 to 27 years old who visited the booth set up for mental health screening at a health program. The screening was conducted using a self-administered, validated Bahasa Malaysia version of GHQ-12 questionnaire. Results: Using exploratory factor analysis, the Bahasa Malaysia version of GHQ-12 was found to have a three factor structures namely depressive symptoms, self-esteem and perceived abilities which accounted for 58% of the item variance. The overall Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the scale was found to be high (0.84) with each factor having acceptable inter-item consistency ranging from 0.61 to 0.82. Conclusion: The findings of the study show that the Bahasa Malaysia version GHQ-12 is reliable and has good structural characteristics. It can assess a few domains of the psychological status of university students. It also helps in providing more information on the domain which may become a focus target of intervention in the prevention of mental illness.
Subject(s)
Quality of Life , Delivery of Health CareABSTRACT
Resumen:
Objetivos: estimar el nivel de agotamiento emocional y conocer el estado de malestar psicológico en una muestra de estudiantes de enfermería. Analizar la relación entre el agotamiento emocional y el estado de malestar psicológico percibido. Método: estudio descriptivo transversal. En una muestra de 113 estudiantes de enfermería de cuarto de grado se administraron dos cuestionarios validados: la escala del agotamiento emocional en la adaptación española del Inventario de Burnout de Maslach (MBI-GS), y la validación española del cuestionario de bienestar psicológico GHQ-12. Resultados: un 27,4% de la muestra experimentó niveles altos de agotamiento emocional. Se obtuvo una puntuación media de 9,43 (SD=7,26) en la escala de bienestar psicológico. El agotamiento emocional se asoció a la edad (r=0,252; p<0,01) y a una mayor frecuencia de malestar psíquico (r=0,494, p≤0,000). Ni el género ni el estado civil se asociaron al agotamiento emocional y al estado de bienestar psíquico.Conclusiones: un amplio porcentaje de la muestra reflejó altos niveles de agotamiento emocional, asociados a una mayor presencia de sintomatología psíquica. Por tanto, se requieren medidas a nivel formativo que permitan prevenir el desarrollo del síndrome de burnout y de sus consecuencias sobre el bienestar psicológico de los estudiantes.
Subject(s)
Stress, Psychological , Students, Nursing , Feedback, Psychological , SpainABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) has been used extensively in various settings across different cultures. This study was conducted to determine the thresholds associated with optimum sensitivity and specificity for the GHQ-12 in Korean adults. METHODS: Data was acquired from a sample of 6,510 Korean adults, ages 18 to 64 years old, who were selected from the 2005 Census (2,581 men and 3,929 women). Participants completed the GHQ-12 and the Korean Composite International Diagnostic Interview (K-CIDI). Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was conducted. RESULTS: The mean GHQ-12 score for the total sample was 1.63 (SD 1.98). The internal consistency of the GHQ-12 was good (Cronbach's alpha=0.72). Results from the ROC curve indicated that the GHQ-12 yielded greater accuracy when identifying mood and anxiety disorders than when identifying all mental disorders as a whole. The optimal threshold of the GHQ-12 was either 1/2 or 2/3 point depending on the disorder, but was mainly 2/3. CONCLUSION: The Korean version of the GHQ-12 could be used to screen for individuals at high risk of mental disorders, namely mood and anxiety disorders.
Subject(s)
Adult , Humans , Male , Anxiety Disorders , Censuses , Mass Screening , Mental Disorders , Mental Health , Surveys and Questionnaires , ROC Curve , Sensitivity and SpecificityABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) has been used extensively in a variety of settings across countries. The objectives of this study were to test the factor structure and internal consistency of the GHQ-12 in the Korean general population and to test relationships among the scales, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and the EuroQoL-5 Dimension Index (EQ-5D). METHODS: Data were acquired from a sample of 6,510 Koreans, aged 18 to 64 years old, who were randomly selected based on the 2005 census (2,581 men and 3,929 women). Participants completed the GHQ-12, the CES-D, and the EQ-5D. Exploratory factor analysis was performed for extraction of factor structures of the GHQ-12. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used for assessment of internal consistency. Finally, correlation analysis was performed for assessment of the relationships among the three instruments. RESULTS: Results of principal axis factoring with oblique rotation solution showed that the GHQ-12 was a measure of psychological distress with a two-factor structure that jointly accounted for 38% of the variance. The internal consistency of the GHQ-12 was high (Cronbach's alpha=0.79). Concurrent validity indicated a significant positive correlation with the CES-D (r=0.68, p<0.01) and a significant negative correlation with the EQ-5D(r=-0.36, p<0.01). CONCLUSION: Findings of this study demonstrated that the Korean version of the GHQ-12 has a two-factor structure and is a reliable and valid instrument that can be used for measurement of psychological distress in Korean adults.
Subject(s)
Adult , Aged , Humans , Male , Axis, Cervical Vertebra , Censuses , Depression , Factor Analysis, Statistical , Surveys and Questionnaires , Weights and MeasuresABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To quantify the health related quality of life in primary immunodeficiency patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used generic health status and general psychological health questionnaires to determine the range of issues that needed to be considered in examining the burden of common variable immunodeficiency (CVID). RESULTS: The health status of patients with CVID was lower than that observed in normal subjects. Overall, Role-Physical and General Health scales correlated with a poorer clinical status. Surprisingly, the duration of disease did not influence health status. Being female, older, General Health Questionnaire-positive and alexithymic proved to be major risk factors associated with a poor health status. Patients with chronic lung disease and chronic diarrhea had the lowest values on the Medical Outcome Study, Short Form SF-36 (SF-36) scales. Disease severity perception was associated with the General Health Questionnaire and alexithymia status. Limitations in daily activities as a result of lower physical health were the major problems facing common variable immunodeficiency patients. CONCLUSION: Our data underlined the importance of conducting a periodical health related quality of life assessment on patients with primary antibody deficiencies and, moreover, stressed the necessity of providing psychological support to at risk patients.
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Male , Chronic Disease , Common Variable Immunodeficiency/physiopathology , Health Status , Quality of Life , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
O Questionário de Saúde Geral (QSG-12) é um dos instrumentos mais utilizados na avaliação da saúde psicológica.Entretanto, não há consenso sobre sua estrutura fatorial. Este estudo objetiva investigar a estrutura fatorial do QSG-12.Participaram do estudo 517 professores de 57 escolas públicas e particulares, com idade média de 36,52 anos(DP=10,46), sendo 66,3% do sexo feminino. Análises fatoriais exploratórias (n=203) demonstraram a existência de doisfatores oblíquos, denominados Depressão e Autoeficácia. Foram comparados, por meio de análises fatoriaisconfirmatórias (n=304), os índices de ajuste do modelo exploratório e o modelo unidimensional. A solução bidimensionaldemonstrou melhor ajuste (c²/gl=2,43; AGFI=0,90; CFI=0,91; RMSEA=0,068; CAIC=297,98) em comparação àestrutura unifatorial. A consistência interna dos fatores Depressão e Autoeficácia variou de 0,82 a 0,80 e 0,66 a 0,63,respectivamente. São sugeridos estudos que comparem diferentes soluções fatoriais do instrumento em busca de umaestrutura fatorial generalizável do QSG-12.
The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) is one of the most used instruments in psychological health assessment.However, there is no consensus about its factor structure. This study aimed to investigate the factor structure of GHQ-12.The study included 517 teachers from 57 public and private schools, averaging 36.5 years of age (DP=10.34), being66.3% women. Exploratory factor analysis (n=203) demonstrated the existence of two oblique factors, titled Depressionand Self-efficacy. Confirmatory factor analysis (n=314) compared the model fit indexes of the exploratory and singlefactormodels. The two-dimensional solution showed better fit indexes (c²/gl=2.43, AGFI=0.90, CFI=0.91,RMSEA=0.068, CAIC=297.98) compared to the single-factor structure. The internal consistence of the factorsDepression and Self-efficacy ranged from 0.82 to 0.80 and from 0.66 to 0.63, respectively. It is suggested further studiescomparing different factorial solutions of the instrument in the search for a generalizable GHQ-12 factor structure.
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Young Adult , Middle Aged , Faculty , Mental HealthABSTRACT
Introduction An active lifestyle, characterized by a regular pattern of leisure time physical activity along the lifespan, improves cognitive functioning and mental health. To join in sports activities or exercise programs is associated with a better quality of life, and people who engage in these activities show not only a better physical fitness, but a better psychological and emotional wellbeing. An active lifestyle provides an apparent protective effect against the incidence of disorders such as anxiety or depression. However, in this regard, the dose-response in terms of what type, amount, duration and intensity of physical activity is necessary for achieving improvements has not been well established in studies with large samples. Objetives The aim of this study is to provide evidence that, from a descriptive point of view, shows the association between different indicators of mental health in the Spanish adult population and leisure time physical activity practice, also assessing the level of this leisure time physical activity. Methods Data were obtained from the last Spanish National Health Survey, a cross-sectional study conducted by the Ministry of Health and Social Policy Institute for Health Information-Spain, between June 2006 and June 2007. The sample was representative of the Spanish adult population. Persons over 16 years took part in this study, being the reference population available in the last official census (January 1, 2006). A total of 29 478 persons (11 645 men and 1 7 833 women, older than 1 6 years) were interviewed using the National Health Survey Questionnaire 2006. It was designed as multistage sampling, stratified cluster in which the first units were census tracts distributed by population size; the second stage units are the main family dwellings, and the last unit was selected as a person over 1 6 years from each dwelling. The census tracts studied were selected within each stratum with proportional probability to size with the goal of this whole procedure would lead to self-weighting samples in each stratum, and households and individuals were selected by a random procedure, taking into account sampling quotas for age and sex. The sampling error for a confidence interval was 95.5% ± 0.6%. To minimize seasonal biases in the study, in terms of morbidity and lifestyle, the questionnaire was administered in four phases over the year: each stage involved 15 days, and the reference period of each variable explored comprised two weeks one year from the day of data collection. The gathering of information was conducted by trained interviewers. Leisure time physical activity pattern was obtained through this questionnaire by the question: «Usually, do you engage in any leisure time physical activity such as walking, sports, gymnastics ...?¼ This question could be answered «yes¼ or «no¼. Those who responded affirmatively were asked to describe the amount of physical activity in the last two weeks, in bouts of 20 or more minutes, in response to three levels of physical activity: light (<3.0 times resting energy expenditure), moderate (3.0 to 5.9 times resting energy expenditure) or vigorous (>6.0 times resting energy expenditure), providing the interviewer at least five examples of each level of activity. People who reported any amount of leisure time physical activity were classified into three groups based on the recommendations of physical activity practice for adults from the American Heart Association: insufficiently active (people who engage in some kind of physical activity, but do not meet the minimum recommendation to maintain health), moderately active (150 or more minutes of moderate physical activity, weekly) and vigorously active (60 or more minutes of vigorous physical activity, weekly). To assess mental health, we used a subjective mental health index obtained through a 12 items questionnaire (General Health Questionnaire, GHQ-12) designed for diagnosing psychiatric disorders, widely used in international literature and validated for Spanish adult population. The score ranges from 0 to 1 2 points, from the better mental health to the worse mental health. To facilitate statistical comparison, individuals are grouped into percentiles, containing the 95th percentile for people with worse mental health. Other variables included in this study were: age group, gender, perceived health status, history of depression or mental illness throughout life, depression or mental illness in the last 12 months, diagnosed depression, anxiety or other mental disorders at some time, psychiatrist attendance in the last 12 months, and finally, use of antidepressants, anxiolytics or other mental drugs for the past 12 months. We used a multinomial logistic regression to model the association between variables and calculating the odds ratio (OR) and confidence interval 95% (CI) to determine the degree of association between leisure time physical activity and mental-health related factors, taking into account gender and age group. Also, the association between the level of practice and mental health-related factors as studied in both sexes. The statistical treatment of data was performed trough the SPSS statistical package software (15.0 version). Results Leisure time physical activity is associated with a higher prevalence of perceived good or very good health status, and with a better assessment on the GHQ scale of subjective mental health (50th percentile). In terms of levels of practice, it seems that any amount of leisure time physical activity was associated with a higher probability of showing better perceived health status (p<0.001) and good GHQ index (p<0.001 ) in both sexes, although the degree of association grows proportionally to the level of practice of physical activity achieved. In both sexes, vigorous activity level is strongly associated with the studied variables, showing that there are more positive indicators of mental well-being in more vigorously active subjects, being the only exception psychiatrist attendance for females. For men, there is an association at this level of vigorous physical activity with a smaller number of psychiatrist attendance (p<0.05), but this association is less than the relationship with other variables, in which there is a higher significance level (p<0.001). For the lower levels of physical activity, the relationship of practice with these variables is not significant on many occasions. Sometimes, there is no difference between those classified as insufficiently actives (not reaching the minimum) and those who have a pattern of physical activity considered as moderate, and even the differences are in favour of those individuals insufficiently active. Such is the case of the use of medication for mental health in men or psychiatrist attendance in the case of women, less probable in insufficiently active group than in the other two groups (moderate and vigorous leisure time physical activity). Conclusion Practicing a physical activity during leisure time is associated with a lower prevalence of negative mental health indicators.
Introducción La práctica de actividad física a lo largo de la vida favorece el mantenimiento de las funciones cognitivas y se asocia habitualmente a una mejor salud mental. Invertir tiempo en realizar deporte o hacer ejercicio físico se asocia con una mejor calidad de vida en las personas que realizan regularmente estas actividades, y participar en programas de ejercicio físico dirigidos puede mejorar diferentes dimensiones del bienestar psicológico y emocional. Un estilo de vida activo otorga un aparente efecto protector ante la incidencia de trastornos como la ansiedad o la depresión; no obstante, la relación dosis-respuesta en términos de qué tipo, cantidad, duración e intensidad de la actividad física es necesaria para lograr mejorías en este sentido, no ha sido muy bien establecida en estudios con grandes muestras, y aún menos en los que se describa la relación con la actividad física durante el tiempo libre. Objetivo El objetivo del presente trabajo es aportar datos que desde un punto de vista descriptivo permitan contrastar la asociación entre diferentes indicadores de salud mental en la población española y la práctica de actividad física durante el tiempo libre, valorando también el nivel de actividad física realizado habitualmente. Métodos Los datos empleados en este artículo forman parte de un estudio transversal llevado a cabo por el Ministerio de Sanidad y Política Social-Instituto de Información Sanitaria de España, comenzado en el año 2006. La muestra estaba compuesta por sujetos mayores de 16 años, siendo la población de referencia el último censo oficial disponible. Fue entrevistado un total de 29 478 personas (11 645 hombres y 1 7 833 mujeres mayores de 1 6 años) con el Cuestionario Nacional de Salud del año 2006. Se evaluó la práctica de actividad física durante el tiempo libre y el nivel de práctica, de acuerdo a las recomendaciones existentes para mantener la salud, y se obtuvo un índice de salud mental por medio de un cuestionario de 12 ítems (General Health Questionnaire, GHQ-12), además de otras variables relacionadas con la salud mental. Resultados Se puede observar tanto en hombres como en mujeres de los diferentes grupos de edad, que realizar actividad física se asocia con una mejor valoración en la escala GHQ-1 2. En función del nivel de práctica, cualquier cantidad de ejercicio físico durante el tiempo libre se relaciona con una mayor probabilidad de mostrar mejor estado de salud percibida (p<0,001) y mejor puntuación en el cuestionario GHQ-12 (p<0,001) en ambos sexos, aunque el grado de asociación estimado (OR) crece proporcionalmente al nivel de práctica de actividad física alcanzado. Conclusiones Practicar actividad física durante el tiempo libre se asocia con una menor prevalencia de indicadores negativos de salud mental. Por medio de los diferentes indicadores estudiados se observa una mejor salud mental en las personas de ambos sexos que realizan práctica de actividad física vigorosa.
ABSTRACT
Objectives: We investigated psychological well-being and associated factors among elderly Hansen’s Disease (HD) patients in three national leprosaria in Japan. Methods: Three questionnaires on physical and social factors, and psychological well-being based on the 12-item of General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) were used to survey all HD patients admitted to three leprosaria in Japan. The number of respondents over 65 years old who completed all 12 items of GHQ-12 was 754 (459 men and 295 women) with a response rate of 80.9%. Data were analyzed by t-test and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) to determine factors associated with psychological well-being. Results: The impairment in 8 physical functions, walking, eating, and toileting for both men and women, bathing for men, and vision, dressing and grooming for women, were significantly related to high GHQ-12 scores by t-test and ANCOVA. Having no close friends, less frequent contact with neighbors, and no or less frequent participation in group activities in men, and inactive daily life style in male and female HD patients, were related to high GHQ-12 scores by both analyses. Conclusion: The present results showed that physical factors and inactive daily life style were related to psychological well-being for both men and women. Social factors were related to psychological well-being among elderly male HD patients in Japan. Further follow-up study is necessary to examine the causal relationships among psychological well-being and associated factors.
Subject(s)
Huntington Disease , AgedABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVES</b>We investigated psychological well-being and associated factors among elderly Hansen's Disease (HD) patients in three national leprosaria in Japan.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Three questionnaires on physical and social factors, and psychological well-being based on the 12-item of General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) were used to survey all HD patients admitted to three leprosaria in Japan. The number of respondents over 65 years old who completed all 12 items of GHQ-12 was 754 (459 men and 295 women) with a response rate of 80.9%. Data were analyzed by t-test and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) to determine factors associated with psychological well-being.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The impairment in 8 physical functions, walking, eating, and toileting for both men and women, bathing for men, and vision, dressing and grooming for women, were significantly related to high GHQ-12 scores by t-test and ANCOVA. Having no close friends, less frequent contact with neighbors, and no or less frequent participation in group activities in men, and inactive daily life style in male and female HD patients, were related to high GHQ-12 scores by both analyses.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The present results showed that physical factors and inactive daily life style were related to psychological well-being for both men and women. Social factors were related to psychological well-being among elderly male HD patients in Japan. Further follow-up study is necessary to examine the causal relationships among psychological well-being and associated factors.</p>