Adherence to therapy among liver transplant patients as related to depression, anxiety, acceptance of the disease, and social support.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the patients' adherence to therapeutic regimens after liver transplantation, taking into account the levels of depression and anxiety, acceptance of the disease, and social support. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study group included N = 112 patients selected from 669 patients after liver transplantation. The Delphi method was used to develop a tool to assess the level of adherence to treatment regimens. The sources of data for this study were recommendations and the work of an expert panel. The next method used in the study was a diagnostic survey based on the following standardized research instruments: Inventory of Socially Supportive Behaviors (ISSB), Acceptance of Illness Scale (AIS), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). RESULTS: The study group showed a medium level of adherence to therapeutic recommendations (6.8 ± 1.85). We observed a statistically significant positive correlation between acceptance of the disease and adherence to therapeutic recommendations (r = -0.20, t = -2.040, p = 0.044). Among the factors analyzed, six predictors were identified that significantly affect the level of adherence to therapeutic recommendations in a group of liver transplant patients. CONCLUSIONS: 1. Patients who accept their disease are a group of people who significantly worse adhere to therapeutic recommendations. 2. The main positive predictors of treatment adherence in the group of transplant patients are the search for various sources of information and declarative adherence to treatment recommendations. Negative predictors include the duration of the disease, side effects of the applied treatment, and comorbidities. 3. The patients who were informed that results depend on regular medication intake significantly more often followed therapeutic recommendations.

Diagnostic markers of insulin resistance to discriminate between prediabetes and diabetes in menopausal women.

OBJECTIVE: Menopause is an important transition period in a woman's reproductive life during which hormonal changes occur, resulting in an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. In this study, we assessed the possibility of using surrogate measures of insulin resistance (IR) to predict the risk of insulin resistance in perimenopausal women. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study involved 252 perimenopausal women living in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. The methods employed in this study were diagnostic survey based on the original questionnaire, anthropometric measurement, and laboratory tests performed to determine the levels of selected biochemical parameters. RESULTS: In the entire study population, the highest area under the curve was found for the homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI). Triglyceride-glucose index (TyG index) showed a higher diagnostic value as a distinction tool between prediabetes and diabetes in perimenopausal women than the other markers. HOMA-IR significantly positively correlated with fasting blood glucose (r = 0.72; p = 0.001), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C, r = 0.74; p = 0.001), triglycerides (TG, r = 0.18; p < 0.005), and systolic blood pressure (SBP, r = 0.15; p= 0.021), and negatively with high-density lipoprotein (HDL, r = -0.28; p = 0.001). QUICKI negatively correlated with fasting blood (r = -0.051; p = 0.001), HbA1C (r = -0.51; p = 0.001), TG (r = -0.25; p = 0.001), low-density lipoprotein (LDL, r = -0.13; p= 0.045), and SBP (r = -0.16; p = 0.011), and positively with HDL (r = 0.39; p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Anthropometric and cardiometabolic parameters were found to significantly correlate with IR markers. HOMA-beta, the McAuley index (McA), visceral adiposity index (VAI), and lipid accumulation product (LAP) may be useful as predictors of pre-diabetes and diabetes in postmenopausal women.

The relationship between women's personality traits and addiction to social networking sites on the example of Facebook.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to generally assess the degree of women's dependence on social networking sites on the example of Facebook, taking into account personality traits according to the five-factor model of personality, the so-called Big Five. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study included 556 women. This survey-based study was carried out using the questionnaire technique. The following research tools were used to analyze behavioral addictions in adult women: the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale (BFAS), the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO FFI) and the author's questionnaire. RESULTS: Among the surveyed women, 69.6% were average Facebook users, of whom 16.4% had scores indicating possible Facebook addiction, and 14.0% had scores indicating addiction. The higher the neuroticism, the more serious the Facebook addiction. A weak negative correlation was obtained for the agreeableness subscale. A weak negative correlation was also obtained for the subscale of conscientiousness. There was no statistically significant correlation between the log10 score obtained on the BFAS and the score on the NEO-FFI subscales of extraversion and openness to experience. CONCLUSIONS: The personality types of the studied women indicated relationships in terms of behavioral addictions. Women characterized by neuroticism showed stronger addiction to Facebook. Women characterized by high conscientiousness were at lower risk of behavioral addictions, while agreeableness as a personality trait significantly protected the surveyed women against Facebook addiction.

The relationship between loneliness, depression, internet and social media addiction among young Polish women.

OBJECTIVE: When speaking of behavioral addictions (especially to the Internet and social media), it is emphasized that it is not the environment that is the main contributor to addiction, but rather certain behaviors and personality traits. The aim of this study was to assess the level of Internet and social media addiction on the example of Facebook with regard to psychological and social factors. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This survey-based study involved a group of women representing the female population in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland (N = 556). Research instruments were a self-developed questionnaire concerning sociodemographic data, the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Internet Addiction Test, and the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale. RESULTS: Age, depressive symptoms, loneliness were the variable contributing to Internet and Facebook addiction among the studied. Available studies confirm the results of their own research. CONCLUSIONS: Depressive symptoms and dependence on the Internet and Facebook were more common among single women. In the employed women, we only observed higher levels of Internet and Facebook addiction. The level of dependence on the Internet and Facebook was higher among younger women. Loneliness correlated with Internet and Facebook addiction, and more severe depressive symptoms entailed higher levels of Internet and Facebook addiction.

Quality of life of young adult patients after orthognathic surgery.

OBJECTIVE: Craniofacial defects are functional imbalances of their structures. Impaired speech and facial deformities hinder adolescents' ability to fulfill social roles. The optimal age for a patient to be qualified for orthognathic surgery is between 16 and 30 years. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study sample consisted of 65 patients after bimaxillary orthognathic surgery performed in the Head and Neck Surgery Department with Craniofacial Surgery Subdivision in Provincial Specialist Children's Hospital in Olsztyn. The research tools used in the study were: the author's questionnaire concerning sociodemographic data, and the following standardized questionnaires: the 'How Do You Cope?' questionnaire, the Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (INTE), the List of Personal Values (LOPV), the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). RESULTS: The study demonstrated a positive correlation between the levels of QoL and general life satisfaction according to the SWLS. A negative relationship was observed between QoL and dispositional coping according to the 'How do you cope?' questionnaire. The emotion-focused coping strategy in the category of dispositional coping negatively correlated with eight of the SF-36 domains. CONCLUSIONS: Young adults after bimaxillary orthognathic procedures show a high level of QoL. The level of QoL depends, among others, on the level of emotional intelligence. Better ability to recognize emotions is associated with higher QoL in the domain of general health.