ABSTRACT
Introduction: Awareness of psychological disorders such as smartphone addiction, anxiety, and depression is a trending research area in the scientific community that has further escalated with the impact of COVID-19. In this regard, young adults and medical students are already considered to be under a high level of stress academically and culturally. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between depression, anxiety, and smartphone addiction among medical students in Jordan. Method(s): A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online structured questionnaire. The survey was completed by 164 male and female medical students stratified by years one to three in the basic medical sciences. The survey consisted of items from the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), and Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version (SAS-SV), in addition to two questions concerning the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on smartphone addiction. Result(s): Among the students who participated, the mean age was 18.9, with almost half (47.2%) being first-year students. The results showed no significant difference in stress, anxiety or cell phone addiction based on gender or academic year. The logistic regression model was not statistically significant regarding the covariates, except for GAD, which had an OR=1.15 (CI: 1.06 -1.25). Furthermore, SAS-SV was positively correlated with GAD-7 and PHQ-9 scores (r=0.42, r=0.2, p< 0.000, p=0.029, respectively). Conclusion(s): The results of the study showed a statistically significant positive correlation between smartphone addiction, depression, and anxiety. These variables were not statistically different among medical students in terms of gender and academic year.Copyright © 2023 DSR Publishers / The University of Jordan. All Rights Reserved.
ABSTRACT
Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus (SARS-CoV-2) infection on Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) patients and their humoral response against the virus infection or vaccination is presently unclear, as in extant research Type 1 and Type 2 DM is rarely distinguished. Objective: we aimed to investigate the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection, any associated risk factors for hospitalization, and the COVID-19 IgG antibody levels in T1DM patients versus those obtained from healthy individuals. Methods and subjects: 58 T1DM patients and 56 healthy adults with documented COVID-19 diagnosis and/or documented vaccination were recruited from different clinics in Al-Karak Governmental Hospital to complete a questionnaire before collecting their serum samples for measuring IgG levels. Results: Our results revealed a statistically significant decrease in SARS-CoV-2 NP IgG antibody levels in COVID-19 infected T1DM patients compared to infected healthy individuals who served as controls, while, no significant difference was noticed in the levels of SARS-CoV-2 S1/S2 IgG antibody among vaccinated T1DM patients versus controls. After adjusting for associated risk factors, the risk of hospitalization due to COVID-19 for individuals with uncontrolled T1DM was significantly increased compared to controls, and among patients with T1DM, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) correlated negatively with the IgG levels. Moreover, IgG seropositivity was significantly associated with old age and smoking. Conclusion: Our findings point towards an increased need for vaccination for patients with T1DM, and suggest that glycemic control could be a vital measure for diminishing the impact of COVID-19 on these individuals.