RESUMO
Objective@#In somatic symptom disorder (SSD), cognitive dysfunction is related to perceptive distortion that excessively amplifies bodily sensations. The association between high body mass index (BMI) and cognitive dysfunction could be attributed to underlying systemic inflammation. We aimed to evaluate whether patients with SSD and high BMI exhibit increased somatic symptom severity and whether this is mediated by cognitive dysfunction. @*Methods@#This retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted on 54 patients with SSD (20 males/34 females, mean age ± standard deviation: 40.65 ± 13.23 years). Participants’ BMI, laboratory data including complete blood count and lipid profile, results from the Korean Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV, and scores of the Korean-Symptom Checklist 95-Somatization (SCL95-SOM) were analyzed. We performed a path analysis to evaluate BMI as a predictor of somatic symptoms. @*Results@#In a path analysis, the SCL95-SOM score was directly influenced by working memory (b = −0.326, p = 0.032), which was significantly influenced by BMI (b = −0.338, p = 0.009), although there was no direct effect of BMI on the SCL95-SOM score. The path analytic model showed a close fit to the data with the following values: χ2 (df) = 0.918 (1), p = 0.338, root mean square error of approximation = 0.000 (＜ 0.001), and comparative fit index = 1.00. @*Conclusion@#Patients with SSD and high BMI may exhibit increased somatic symptom severity, and this is mediated by working memory dysfunction. Weight management may help improve symptoms in patients with SSD and high BMI.
RESUMO
Objective@#In somatic symptom disorder (SSD), cognitive dysfunction is related to perceptive distortion that excessively amplifies bodily sensations. The association between high body mass index (BMI) and cognitive dysfunction could be attributed to underlying systemic inflammation. We aimed to evaluate whether patients with SSD and high BMI exhibit increased somatic symptom severity and whether this is mediated by cognitive dysfunction. @*Methods@#This retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted on 54 patients with SSD (20 males/34 females, mean age ± standard deviation: 40.65 ± 13.23 years). Participants’ BMI, laboratory data including complete blood count and lipid profile, results from the Korean Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV, and scores of the Korean-Symptom Checklist 95-Somatization (SCL95-SOM) were analyzed. We performed a path analysis to evaluate BMI as a predictor of somatic symptoms. @*Results@#In a path analysis, the SCL95-SOM score was directly influenced by working memory (b = −0.326, p = 0.032), which was significantly influenced by BMI (b = −0.338, p = 0.009), although there was no direct effect of BMI on the SCL95-SOM score. The path analytic model showed a close fit to the data with the following values: χ2 (df) = 0.918 (1), p = 0.338, root mean square error of approximation = 0.000 (＜ 0.001), and comparative fit index = 1.00. @*Conclusion@#Patients with SSD and high BMI may exhibit increased somatic symptom severity, and this is mediated by working memory dysfunction. Weight management may help improve symptoms in patients with SSD and high BMI.
RESUMO
Objective@#Our previous study suggested that monitoring online board gamers may be an efficient approach to curb illegal gambling. We aimed to invent and validate a behavioral scale for assessing the risk of problematic web-based board gaming. @*Methods@#The sample included 300 Korean adults, representing a response rate of 3.1%. All participants were asked to complete a set of questionnaires, which included questions on demographic variables, patterns of online board gaming, and the web-based board game scale score. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to determine whether the items on the new behavioral scale would indicate a risk of pathologic web-based board gaming behavior. @*Results@#The internal consistency of the 17-item scale was high (Cronbach’s α=0.89). The test-retest reliability of the 17-item scale in a randomly selected sample of 100 participants in 2 weeks was r=0.77 (p<0.001). The criterion-related validity based on a comparison of the total behavioral scale scores between the high-risk group and low-risk group was relatively high. The data obtained from the 300 participants were acceptable for a factor analysis. After removing 7 items from the 17-item scale, internal consistency (Cronbach’s α) of the 10-item scale increased to 0.936. @*Conclusion@#These results showed that the 10-item version of the scale appeared to be more valid than the 17-item version. We suggest that the 10-item web-based board game behavioral scale is a useful tool for assessing the risk of pathologic web-based board gaming.