Association Between Problematic Social Media Use and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in a Sample of Lebanese Adults.

Objective: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been recognized as a clinically diverse condition with elevated rates of comorbidities with other psychiatric conditions. The consequences of social media are gaining attention worldwide due to its rapidly increased use. The objective of this study was to identify an association between problematic social media use and ADHD in a Lebanese sample and determine whether depression or anxiety could be considered as mediators of this association.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between January and May 2019. Proportionate random-sampling techniques were applied on all Lebanese governorates, which resulted in the recruitment of 466 community-dwelling participants. Adult ADHD was identified using the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale.Results: Higher problematic social media use (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.065) was significantly associated with higher odds of having ADHD. When anxiety was added as an independent variable, the results showed that higher anxiety (aOR = 1.043) was significantly associated with higher odds of ADHD. Anxiety mediated the association between problematic social media use and ADHD by 26.75%.Conclusions: A clear correlation was demonstrated in this study linking problematic social media use to anxiety and ADHD symptoms. This correlation was explained by the finding that constant stimulation provided by the social network sites significantly decreased attention. Future studies should evaluate the possible mechanisms and methods to increase awareness of problematic social media use, especially among the younger generation.

Validation of the Beirut Distress Scale (BDS-10), a short version of BDS-22, to assess psychological distress among the Lebanese population.

PURPOSE: To develop and validate a short version of the Beirut Distress Scale (BDS-22), the BDS-10, in the Lebanese population, and evaluate the association between psychological distress and other mental disorders. METHODS: A total of 2260 participants was enrolled in this cross-sectional study (January-July 2019). RESULTS: Items converged over a solution of two factors (Factor 1 = Mood, affect and cognitive symptoms; Factor 2 = Physical symptoms; total variance explained = 64.51%). A significantly high correlation was found between BDS-10 and BDS-22 (r = 0.963, p < 0.001). Higher depression, anxiety, and insomnia were significantly associated with higher stress (higher BDS-10 and BDS-22 scores). PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: This new short tool is valid and reliable to screen for psychological distress, influencing mood and affect, and physical and cognitive functions.

Nomophobia in Lebanon: Scale validation and association with psychological aspects.

OBJECTIVES: Nomophobia, an abbreviation of "No mobile phone phobia", is characterized by the illogical fear of being detached from the mobile phone or unable to use it. Research have provided evidence of an association between increased cellular phone use and multiple health issues, such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, and others. To our knowledge, there are no Lebanese studies about nomophobia, despite the high incorporation rate of mobile phones in Lebanon and the likelihood of suffering from anxiety, depression, and other conditions due to nomophobic attitudes. The study objectives were to validate and confirm psychometric properties of the Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q) and examine the associations between particular psychological conditions (anxiety, depression, stress, insomnia and impulsivity) and nomophobia among a representative sample of Lebanese people. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was carried out between January and July 2019. It enrolled 2260 residents of the community randomly selected from Lebanon's Mohafazat. Two villages per sub-district and households from each village were chosen using a random sampling technique. A questionnaire was distributed randomly to the households. SPSS version 25 was used to perform the statistical analysis. A multinomial regression was computed taking the nomophobia categories as the dependent variable (and taking the absence of nomophobia as the reference category) and all variables that showed a significant association in the bivariate analysis as independent variables. RESULTS: A total of 2260 (80.71%) out of 2800 questionnaires distributed was collected back. The mean age of the participants was 27.98 ± 9.66 years (58.8% females). Moreover, the mean nomophobia score was 71.56 ± 26.92 (median = 71; minimum = 14; maximum = 140). The results showed that 46 (2.0%) had no nomophobia, 769 (34.1%) mild nomophobia [95% CI 0.322-0.361], 1089 (48.3%) moderate nomophobia [95% CI 0.463-0.504] and 349 (15.5%) severe nomophobia [95% CI 0.140-0.170]. Items of the nomophobia scale converged over a solution of three factors that had an Eigenvalue over 1 (Factor 1 = emotions associated to losing connectedness, Factor 2 = not being able to communicate, Factor 3 = not being able to access information; total variance explained = 66.65%, and Cronbach's alpha = 0.948). The results of a multinomial regression, taking the nomophobia score as the dependent variable, showed that higher age was significantly associated with lower odds of having mild (aOR = 0.97), moderate (aOR = 0.93) and severe (aOR = 0.97) nomophobia respectively. Higher anxiety (aOR = 1.09) and higher insomnia (aOR = 1.04) were significantly associated with higher odds of having severe nomophobia. CONCLUSION: The results suggest a positive correlation between nomophobia and psychological conditions. There is a need for longitudinal and prospective studies that furnish information with regards of the impact of time on the variables measured, in order to better understand the nature, causes, and attributes of nomophobia.

Association between problematic social media use and memory performance in a sample of Lebanese adults: the mediating effect of anxiety, depression, stress and insomnia.

BACKGROUND: Psychological factors such as depression, anxiety, stress and insomnia and problematic social media use are able to alter our memories and might have an impact on memory function and retrieval. More studies are needed to better understand the relationship between memory performance and mental health disorders, especially the ones that could be related to problematic social media use. The objective of this study was to evaluate any association between problematic social media use, depression, anxiety, stress, and insomnia vs memory performance among a representative sample of Lebanese people. METHODS: This cross-sectional study, conducted between January and May 2019, enrolled 466 community dwelling participants using a proportionate random sample from all Lebanese governorates. The questionnaire consisted of the following measures: the Memory Awareness Rating Scale (MARS) to assesses views of memory performance, the problematic social media use scale to measure the degree of addiction to social media, the Hamilton depression rating scale and Hamilton anxiety scale to assess depression and anxiety respectively, the Beirut Distress Scale to assess stress and the Lebanese Insomnia sale to assess insomnia. The data analysis was performed using the SPSS software version 25. A linear regression was conducted, taking the memory performance scale as the dependent variable. A mediation analysis was performed to test the effect of problematic social media use on memory performance mediated by depression, anxiety, stress and insomnia. RESULTS: Higher problematic social media use (Beta = - 0.21) and higher anxiety (Beta = - 0.25) were significantly associated with lower memory performance. The association between problematic social media use and memory performance was partially mediated by anxiety (21.19%) but not depression, stress or insomnia. CONCLUSION: Concerning problematic social media use, a clear correlation was demonstrated in this study linking it to lower memory performances. Future studies should evaluate the possible mechanisms and methods for effective awareness especially towards the younger generation.

Monopolar electrocautery tip vs plasma ablation in tonsillotomy: A randomized case-control study comparing outcomes in pediatric population.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to compare the low-priced monopolar electrocautery to the high-priced, worldwide used, plasma ablation in tonsillotomy among children aged between three and twelve years, suffering from obstructive breathing disorders (OBD), with respect to post-operative pain, bleeding and related morbidities. METHODS: A randomized case-control study was conducted in the Eye and Ear Hospital International- Lebanon. 103 children aged between three and twelve years suffering from OBD secondary to tonsillar hypertrophy were randomly assigned into two groups. Post-operative pain was evaluated using age-adequate validated scales: "FLACC-R" (Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability-Revised) for children aged less than five years, and "Wong Baker faces" for older children. Additional post-operative outcomes were evaluated using Pain-PROM (Patient reported Pain-Related Outcome Measures) and TAHSI (Tonsil and Adenoid Health Status Instrument) scales. RESULTS: Significantly, higher rates of patients who underwent tonsillotomy via plasma ablation technique used analgesics and had severe pain compared to the monopolar electrocautery group. A longer operative duration was significantly associated with higher pain scores, and the plasma ablation technique yielded significantly higher operative mean durations. 10 days post-operatively, a significantly higher percentage of children reported an overall high pain severity and more than expected overall pain when using the plasma ablation technique compared to the monopolar electrocautery one. Overall bleeding rates were similar. No difference was reported one month post-operatively. CONCLUSION: When compared to plasma ablation, monopolar electrocautery, can provide the same efficiency in relieving OBD in healthy children, with equal overall bleeding rates, but significantly lower cost, operating time, pain scores and need for analgesics.

Video gaming addiction and its association with memory, attention and learning skills in Lebanese children.

BACKGROUND: Examining whether any association exists between addiction to video games and cognitive abilities in children could inform ongoing prevention and management of any possible harm. The objective of this study was to investigate the associations between addiction to video games, and memory, attention and learning abilities among a sample of Lebanese school children. METHODS: This cross-sectional study, conducted between January and May 2019, enrolled 566 school children aged between 9 and 13 years. Three private schools were chosen conveniently for this study. Students were randomly chosen from the list given by the school administration. The students' parents are those who responded to the questionnaire. RESULTS: The results showed that higher addiction to video gaming salience was significantly associated with worse episodic memory, problem solving, basic reading skills, written expression skills and worse clinical attention. Higher addiction to video gaming tolerance were significantly associated with worse novel problem solving and worse attention. Higher addiction to video gaming withdrawal were significantly associated with worse attention, factual memory, attention, processing speed, visual spatial organization, sustained sequential processing, working memory, novel problem solving and worse written expression skills. CONCLUSION: The results suggest a correlation between addiction to video games and worse memory, attention, as well as cognitive and academic abilities among school children. Those findings indicate the need for more extensive research, and serve to highlight vital next steps needed in future papers, such as identifying predicting factors that could aid in early detection of video gaming addiction in children.

Association between orthorexia nervosa, eating attitudes and anxiety among medical students in Lebanese universities: results of a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to evaluate the association between orthorexia nervosa (ON) tendencies and behaviors, eating attitudes (EAT) and anxiety among a representative sample of medical students in the Lebanese universities. METHODS: This cross-sectional study, conducted between May 2018 and January 2019, enrolled 627 medical students using a proportionate random sample from all seven faculties of medicine in Lebanon. The ORTO-15 scale was used to evaluate ON tendencies and behaviors among participants. Scores below 40 indicate the presence of ON. The Eating Attitude Test-26 and the Hamilton Anxiety Rating A (HAM-A) scales (yielding a psychic and a somatic subscale scores) were used to assess eating attitudes and anxiety, respectively. It is noteworthy that the sum of the EAT items 6, 7, 16 and 17 responses yielded the EAT score that would predict ON. RESULTS: The results of a linear regression, taking the ORTO-15 score (15 items) as the dependent variable and the EAT total score, the summated score of the EAT items that predict ON and the psychic and somatic anxiety subscales scores as independent variables, showed that a higher EAT score (ß = - 0.094) was significantly associated with lower ORTO-15 scores (more orthorexia tendencies and behaviors); whereas, a higher psychic anxiety subscale score (ß = 0.117) was significantly associated with higher ORTO-15 scores (lower orthorexia tendencies and behaviors). CONCLUSION: This suggests a link between eating disorders and ON which is beyond ON tendencies observed in eating disorders but ON individuals simultaneously have lesser psychological distress and anxiety. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 5, cross-sectional descriptive study.