Effects of psychiatric symptoms, age, and gender on fear of missing out (FoMO) and problematic smartphone use: A path analysis with clinical-based adolescent sample.

Background: Fear of missing out (FoMO) is a kind of anxiety that arises from FoMO on rewarding online social experiences that others might be having. Recent studies demonstrated that there is a strong relationship between FoMO and problematic smartphone use (PSU). In this study, we aimed to address the relationship between age, gender, psychiatric symptoms, PSU, and FoMO among a clinical-based adolescent sample. Methods: In total, 197 adolescents (136 boys, 12-18 years) who applied to psychiatry clinics were recruited in the study. Path analysis with observed variables was used to investigate the relationships of PSU and FoMO with each other and with psychiatric symptoms (somatization, obsession-compulsion, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, and psychoticism), age, and gender. Results: Path analysis showed that age (B1 = 2.35, P < 0.001), somatization (B1 = 1.19, P < 0.001), hostility (B1 = 0.92, P = 0.001), and paranoid ideation (B1 = 0.93, P = 0.005) have significant positive effect on PSU, when interpersonal sensitivity has a significant negative effect (B1 = -1.47, P < 0.001). For FoMO, male gender (B0 = 0.35, P < 0.001), anxiety (B1 = 1.37, P < 0.001), and PSU have positive effects, whereas age (B1 = -1.60, P < 0.001), depression (B1 = -0.58, P = 0.004), and hostility (B1 = -0.49, P = 0.001) have a negative effect. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that although PSU and FoMO are closely related to each other in previous studies, they have different associations with age, gender, and psychiatric symptoms among a clinical-based adolescent sample. The positive effects of PSU, anxiety on FoMO are predictable; however, the negative effect of age, hostility, and depression on FoMO was interesting. These relationships could be related to social exclusion-hostility and impulsivity-male gender/younger age associations in adolescence. In addition, we did not find a significant effect of FoMO on PSU, this could be related to the social and non-social use of smartphones, and should be reevaluated in clinical samples in the future.

A Retrospective Evaluation on Demographic, Phenomenological, and Comorbidity Features of Pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

ABSTRACT: The impacts of sex, age of onset, phenotype, and comorbidity on clinical features were explored in a large clinical sample with pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (p-OCD) (n = 457), along with concomitant specific features in the framework of different symptom dimensions/phenotypes, by a retrospective cross-sectional evaluation design. The most prevalent phenotype was obsession/checking (almost half), and the clinical features belonging to different phenotypes varied among sexes, age of onset, severity, and comorbidities. The contamination and aggressive obsessions, along with the compulsions such as cleaning and repeating routine activities, were the most prevalent symptoms, which were prevalently accompanied by generalized anxiety disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and depression. Females with OCD were likely prone to exhibit comorbid internalizing disorders, whereas males were prone to externalizing. This recent study on a large Turkish clinical sample of p-OCD followed up within 5 years, highlighting separate evidence on subtyping of p-OCD in phenotype and comorbidity frame.

The evaluation of right ventricle dyssynchrony by speckle tracking echocardiography in systemic sclerosis patients.

PURPOSE: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is associated with right ventricle (RV) remodeling and dysfunction. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate RV dyssynchrony (RV-Dys) in SSc patients using two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (2D-STE). METHODS: Fifty-five SSc patients with functional class I-II and 45 healthy controls were consecutively included and underwent 2D-STE. RV-Dys was defined as the standard deviation of time to peak strain of mid and basal segments of RV free wall and interventricular septum. SSc group was further classified according to the presence of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Patients with tricuspid regurgitant velocity >2.8 m/s with additional echocardiographic PAH signs were defined as SSc PAH (+). RESULTS: SSc patients had lower RV longitudinal strain (RV-LS) (-17.6 ± 4.6% vs. -20.8 ± 2.8%, p < 0.001) and greater RV-Dys (49.9 ± 25.4 ms vs 24.3 ± 11.8 ms, p = 0.006) than controls despite no significant difference in conventional echocardiographic variables regarding RV function. Although SSc PAH(+) patients had lower RV-LS and higher RV-Dys than SSc PAH(-) patients, the differences were not statistically significant. The only independent predictor of RV-Dys was RV-LS (ß:-0.324 [-3.89- -0.45]; p = 0.014). CONCLUSION: SSc patients had not only reduced RV-LS but also impaired RV synchronicity even as conventional echocardiographic variables were preserved.

The relationship between problematic smartphone use and psychiatric symptoms among adolescents who applied to psychiatry clinics.

Problematic mobile phone use is an important problem which has increasing prevalence among adolescents. We should address risk factors to create intervention frameworks related to this problem. In this study, we aimed to determine the prevalence of problematic smartphone use among adolescents who were referred to clinics, its relationship to sociodemographic characteristics, psychiatric symptoms and emotion regulation problems. We included 150 adolescents aged 12-18 years who own smartphones. All participants filled out the Sociodemographic Information Form, Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) and Problematic Mobile Phone Use Scale (PMPUS). Problematic smart phone use was detected in 50.6% of the sample. Adolescents with problematic use were found to be older than the others, with lower levels of maternal education and self-achievement. Regression analysis revealed that the factors predicting the risk of problematic smartphone use are somatization, interpersonal sensitivity and hostility symptoms. According to our results, we suggest psychiatrists consider the high prevalence of problematic smartphone use, address the relationship between hostility, somatic symptoms and interpersonal sensitivity (susceptibility) and the effects of this current problem on social-academic functioning while evaluating and treating adolescents.

The value of the Duke treadmill score in predicting the presence and severity of coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: We aimed to investigate the role of the Duke treadmill score (DTS) in predicting the presence and severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) by using the SYNTAX score (SS), and also to determine the cut-off value of DTS for both the presence and severity of CAD. METHODS: The study population consisted of 267 patients admitted to the outpatient clinic with chest pain, who under-went coronary angiography after a positive treadmill stress test. First the patients were divided into two groups: SS = 0 and SS > 0. Then the SS > 0 patients were classified into two subgroups with low (1-22) and high (> 22) SS. RESULTS: There was a strong negative correlation between DTS and SS (r = -072, p < 0.001). The area under the receiver-operating curve of DTS was 0.83 (0.77-0.88, p < 0.001) for predicting a significant presence of CAD. The optimal cut-off value of DTS to predict the significant presence of CAD was -3.7 (sensitivity of 74% and specificity of 73%). The area under the receiver-operating curve of DTS was 0.84 (0.78-0.90, p < 0.001) for predicting high SS. The optimal cut-off value of DTS to predict high SS was -11.2 (sensitivity of 81% and specificity of 80%). DTS was found to be an independent predictor of high SS in multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: DTS can predict the presence and severity of stable CAD before coronary angiography and may enable the estimation of the revascularisation method that will be required after the procedure.

Clinical significance of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in left-sided infective endocarditis.

Decreased serum levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol have been shown to be of prognostic significance in patients with severe infectious diseases. Serum HDL cholesterol levels were therefore investigated as a possible parameter for the prediction of clinical outcomes in patients with left-sided infective endocarditis (IE). Fifty-four patients with IE with available admission serum HDL cholesterol levels were included in the study. A clinical outcome was defined as a complicated course during hospitalization. Forty-two patients had complicated courses during their in-hospital stays. The median serum HDL cholesterol level was significantly lower in patients with IE (n = 54) than healthy controls (n = 26) (26 vs 47 mg/dl, p <0.0001). In the 42 patients with complicated courses, the median serum HDL cholesterol level was lower compared with that in 12 patients with uneventful courses (24 vs 36 mg/dl, p = 0.011). A cut point of serum HDL cholesterol level of 25 mg/dl had sensitivity of 62%, specificity of 75%, and a positive predictive value of 90% for predicting clinical outcomes. In conclusion, serum HDL cholesterol levels measured at admission were markedly reduced in patients with left-sided IE. Furthermore, low serum HDL cholesterol levels predicted complicated clinical courses in these patients.