Readability of online health information pertaining to migraine and headache in the UK.

An estimated 46% of the worldwide adult population live with an active headache disorder, and it is thought that there is a proportion of headache and migraine sufferers who do not attend for medical care, instead choosing to manage their symptoms at home. The internet continues to act as a source of online health information for self-management, however, it is important that this information can be understood by the user. Research indicates that most health information online is written at a level too difficult for much of the UK population to understand. The aim of this study was to investigate the readability of online health information pertaining to headache and migraine for a UK-based internet user accessing the top four search engines. Searches for 'headache' and 'migraine' were performed on each search engine and results from the first page were selected for analysis. Five validated readability tests were used to analyse readability; Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Flesch Reading Ease, Gunning Fog Index, Coleman-Liau Index and Simple Measure of Gobbledygook Index. We found that the majority of online health information about migraine and headache is too difficult for the UK adult population to read. Findings highlight work is required to ensure that information from a wider variety of sources is easier to comprehend for much of the population in order for individuals to make informed decisions about health seeking and self-management of headache and migraine. Health information providers should weave readability analysis into their content design process, incorporating shorter sentences and simpler words in their description of conditions and treatment.

Affective touch and regulation of stress responses.

Much has been documented on the association between stress and health. Both direct and indirect pathways have been identified and explored extensively, helping us understand trajectories from healthy individuals to reductions in well-being, and development of preclinical and disease states. Some of these pathways are well established within the field; physiology, affect regulation, and social relationships. The purpose of this review is to push beyond what is known separately about these pathways and provide a means to integrate them using one common mechanism. We propose that social touch, specifically affective touch, may be the missing active ingredient fundamental to our understanding of how close relationships contribute to stress and health. We provide empirical evidence detailing how affective touch is fundamental to the development of our stress systems, critical to the development of attachment bonds and subsequent social relationships across the life course. We will also explore how we can use this in applied contexts and incorporate it into existing interventions.

Loneliness in Older Indian Dyads.

BACKGROUND: Loneliness has been recognised as a major public health concern in older adults in developed nations, with little focus on low- and middle-income countries such as India. While the protective nature of social relationships on loneliness has been explored in the context of marriage, typically these benefits are examined in individual spouses rather than within the marital dyad. METHODS: A sample of 398 opposite-sex married Indian couples (mean age 54.8 years) was obtained from the pilot wave of the Longitudinal Aging Study in India (LASI) conducted in 2010. These cross-sectional data were analysed using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model, with one's own and one's partner's cognitive function, functional limitations, depressive symptoms, employment status and contact with friends included as predictors of loneliness. RESULTS: There were no gender differences in the pattern of associations. Depression was positively associated with loneliness with actor and partner effects being significant. One's partner being employed was associated with less loneliness. CONCLUSIONS: The sample showed low levels of depression, loneliness, and reduced functionality; however, depression still predicted one's own and one's partner's loneliness. Future work using longitudinal data could examine the role of employment in loneliness, particularly within the context of gender roles.

Fluoroquinolones: With great power comes great risk.

ABSTRACT: Fluoroquinolones (FQs) are highly effective, well-tolerated, broad-spectrum antibiotics, making them desirable treatment options for infections. However, their adverse reactions as well as recent trends in antibiotic susceptibility must be considered. This article discusses the spectrum of activity and adverse reactions of FQs to guide nurses in caring for patients receiving this class of antibiotics.

The Impact of Caregiving Burden on Mental Well-Being in Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery Caregivers: The Mediatory Role of Perceived Social Support.

An increase in caregiver burden and a decrease in social support have both been identified as predictors of poor caregiver psychological distress. However, little is known about the role of these factors in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) caregivers. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether change in perceived social support from pre to post surgery mediated the relationship between change in caregiver burden and caregiver depressive symptoms and subjective well-being post surgery. A sample of 101 caregivers of elective CABG patients were assessed 28 days before and 62 days after patients' surgery. Caregivers completed the Oberst Burden Scale, the Enhancing Recovery in Coronary Heart Disease (ENRICHD) Social Support Instrument, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Control, Autonomy, Self-Realisation, and Pleasure (CASP-19) scale. Simple mediation analyses showed that change in social support significantly mediated both the relationship between change in caregiver burden and post-surgery depressive symptoms (unstandardised ß = 0.041, 95% CI (0.005, 0.112)) and the relationship between change in caregiver burden and post-surgery subjective well-being (unstandardised ß = 0.071, 95% CI (0.001, 0.200)). Psychological interventions aimed at the CABG caregiver population should promote social support to deal with the increase of caregivers' tasks and demands after the patients' surgery.

What are the most effective interventions to improve physical performance in pre-frail and frail adults? A systematic review of randomised control trials.

BACKGROUND: With life expectancy continuing to rise in the United Kingdom there is an increasing public health focus on the maintenance of physical independence among all older adults. Identifying interventions that improve physical outcomes in pre-frail and frail older adults is imperative. METHODS: A systematic review of the literature 2000 to 2017 following PRISMA guidelines and registered with PROSPERO (no. CRD42016045325). RESULTS: Ten RCT trials fulfilled selection criteria and quality appraisal. The study quality was moderate to good. Interventions included physical activity; nutrition, physical activity combined with nutrition. Interventions that incorporated one or more physical activity components significantly improved physical outcomes in pre-frail and/or frail older adults. CONCLUSIONS: Physical activity interventions are key to maintaining independence in pre-frail and frail older adults. A lack of consensus regarding the definition of frailty, and an absence of core measures to assess this means any attempt to create an optimal intervention will be impeded. This absence may ultimately impact on the ability of older and frail adults to live well and for longer in the community.

Pre-surgical Caregiver Burden and Anxiety Are Associated with Post-Surgery Cortisol over the Day in Caregivers of Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery Patients.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between pre-surgical distress and diurnal cortisol following surgery has not been investigated prospectively in caregivers of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patients before. We aimed to examine the relationship between pre-surgical anxiety and caregiver burden and diurnal cortisol measured 2 months after the surgery in the caregivers of CABG patients. METHOD: We used a sample of 103 caregivers of elective CABG patients that were assessed 28.86 days before and 60.94 days after patients' surgery. Anxiety and caregiver burden were assessed using the anxiety subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Oberst Burden Scale respectively. Saliva samples were collected to measure cortisol area under the curve with respect to ground (AUCg) and diurnal cortisol slope. Anxiety and caregiver burden were entered into linear regression models simultaneously. RESULTS: While high levels of pre-surgical anxiety were positively associated with increased follow-up levels of AUCg (ß = 0.30, p = 0.001), greater pre-surgery perceived burden score was associated with steeper cortisol slope (ß = 0.27, p = 0.017) after controlling for a wide range of covariates. CONCLUSION: These outcomes support the utility of psychological interventions aimed to increase the awareness of caregiving tasks and demands in informal caregivers.

Urgent care centre redirection: evaluation of a nurse-led intervention.

AIM: Patient redirection can help reduce service demand by providing information about more appropriate services. There is, however, no evidence about the effect of nurse-led patient redirection in urgent care centre settings. The aim of this project was to develop and evaluate a nurse-led patient 'self-care and redirection first' intervention in an urgent care centre (UCC). METHOD: Adopting a prospective observational design, the intervention was delivered to an opportunity sample of patients who attended a south London hospital UCC, between June and July 2014, and evaluated through patient interviews five to ten days after initial attendance. FINDINGS: 118 of the 1,710 people who attended the UCC participated in the intervention, of whom 81 (69%) were redirected to other services or home to self-care, and 37 were transferred to an emergency department. Of the 110 (93.2%) participants who completed the questionnaire, 97.2% were satisfied with the service. Only two accessed different services to those recommended, 72.2% ( n =85) said they would not reattend a UCC for a similar condition. CONCLUSION: Treating minor ailments in a UCC is an inefficient use of resources. A nurse-led self-care and redirection intervention can help divert patients with minor ailments to more appropriate services. Further evaluation of the effect of the intervention on service demand and costs is required.

A systematic review of the effectiveness of self-management interventions in people with multiple sclerosis at improving depression, anxiety and quality of life.

BACKGROUND: Self-management interventions have become increasingly popular in the management of long-term health conditions; however, little is known about their impact on psychological well-being in people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). PURPOSE: To examine the effectiveness of self-management interventions on improving depression, anxiety and health related quality of life in people with MS. METHOD: A structured literature search was conducted for the years 2000 to 2016. The review process followed the PRISMA guidelines, and is registered with PROSPERO (no. CRD42016033925). RESULTS: The review identified 10 RCT trials that fulfilled selection criteria and quality appraisal. Self-management interventions improved health-related quality of life in 6 out of 7 studies, with some evidence of improvement in depression and anxiety symptoms. CONCLUSION: Although the results are promising more robust evaluation is required in order to determine the effectiveness of self-management interventions on depression, anxiety and quality of life in people with MS. Evaluation of the data was impeded by a number of methodological issues including incomplete content and delivery information for the intervention and the exclusion of participants representing the disease spectrum. Recommendations are made for service development and research quality improvement.

Pre-surgical depression and anxiety and recovery following coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

We aimed to explore the combined contribution of pre-surgical depression and anxiety symptoms for recovery following coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) using data from 251 participants. Participants were assessed prior to surgery for depression and anxiety symptoms and followed up at 12 months to assess pain and physical symptoms, while hospital emergency admissions and death/major adverse cardiac events (MACE) were monitored on average 2.68 years after CABG. After controlling for covariates, baseline anxiety symptoms, but not depression, were associated with greater pain (ß = 0.231, p = 0.014) and greater physical symptoms (ß = 0.194, p = 0.034) 12 months after surgery. On the other hand, after controlling for covariates, baseline depression symptoms, but not anxiety, were associated with greater odds of having an emergency admission (OR 1.088, CI 1.010-1.171, p = 0.027) and greater hazard of death/MACE (HR 1.137, CI 1.042-1.240, p = 0.004). These findings point to different pathways linking mood symptoms with recovery after CABG surgery.

Depression 12-months after coronary artery bypass graft is predicted by cortisol slope over the day.

Alterations in the diurnal profile of cortisol have been associated with depressed mood in patients with coronary heart disease. The relationship between cortisol output and depressed mood has not been investigated prospectively in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patients before. We aimed to study the relationship between cortisol measured pre- and post-operatively and depression symptoms measured 12 months after CABG surgery. We analysed data from 171 patients awaiting first-time, elective CABG surgery from the pre-assessment clinic at St. George's Hospital, London. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was used to assess depression symptoms and saliva samples were collected to measure diurnal cortisol. Baseline assessments of depression and cortisol were obtained an average 29days before surgery, short-term follow-up of cortisol occurred 60days after surgery and long-term follow-up of depression was assessed 378days after surgery. Baseline cortisol slope was not associated with depression at 12-month follow-up. However, a steeper cortisol slope measured 60days after surgery predicted reduced odds of depression (BDI≥10) 12 months after surgery (odds ratio 0.661, 95% confidence interval 0.437-0.998, p=0.049) after controlling for covariates. These findings suggest interventions aimed at improving adaptation in the early recovery period may have long-term benefits in this patient group.

Attachment anxiety predicts depression and anxiety symptoms following coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

OBJECTIVE: Depression and anxiety are associated with poor recovery in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patients, but little is known about predictors of depression and anxiety symptoms. DESIGN: We tested the prospective association between attachment orientation, and symptoms of depression and anxiety in CABG patients, 6-8 weeks, and 12 months following surgery. METHOD: One hundred and fifty-five patients who were undergoing planned CABG surgery were recruited. Patients completed questionnaires measuring attachment, depression, and anxiety prior to surgery, then 6-8 weeks, and 12 months after surgery. RESULTS: Attachment anxiety predicted symptoms of depression and anxiety at both follow-up time points, whereas attachment avoidance was not associated with depression or anxiety symptoms. The findings remained significant when controlling for baseline mood scores, social support, demographic, and clinical risk factors. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that attachment anxiety is associated with short-term and long-term depression and anxiety symptoms following CABG surgery. These results may offer important insight into understanding the recovery process in CABG surgery. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Depression and anxiety symptoms are twice more likely to occur in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) populations than in any other medical group. Depression and anxiety are associated with poor recovery following cardiac surgery. Predictors of depression and anxiety in CABG patients have been underexplored. What does this study add? This study highlights the importance of close interpersonal relationships on health. Attachment anxiety was prospectively associated with higher levels of depression and anxiety. These results add to understanding mechanisms linked to recovery following CABG.

Pre-Operative Cognitive Functioning and Inflammatory and Neuroendocrine Responses to Cardiac Surgery.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive functioning is linked to cardiac mortality and morbidity, but the mechanisms underlying this relationship are unclear. PURPOSE: To examine the relationship between pre-operative cognitive functioning and post-operative inflammatory and neuroendocrine responses in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. METHODS: One-hundred ninety-three outpatients were screened to assess their cognitive function using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) on average 30 days prior to CABG surgery and provided blood samples for the measurement of interleukin (IL)-6 and C-reactive protein (CRP) and saliva samples for the measurement of diurnal cortisol. Participants were followed-up 4-8 days following surgery for the repeat measurement of IL-6 and CRP and 60 days after surgery for the measurement of diurnal salivary cortisol. RESULTS: Patients with low cognitive function (MoCA < 26) prior to surgery reached higher IL-6 concentrations in the days after surgery (ß = -0.212, p = 0.021) and had greater cortisol output across the day 2 months after surgery (ß = -0.179, p = 0.044). CONCLUSIONS: Low cognitive functioning is associated with a more negative pattern of biological response to surgery, indicative of poorer physical recovery. These pathways may contribute to the links between cognitive function and cardiovascular pathology.

Health-related personal control predicts depression symptoms and quality of life but not health behaviour following coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

To determine the prospective association between health-related control beliefs, quality of life (QOL), depression symptoms, and health behaviours in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patients 6-8 weeks following surgery. 149 patients who were undergoing planned CABG surgery were recruited. Patients completed questionnaires measuring health related personal control, treatment control, depression symptoms, QOL, and health behaviours prior to and 6-8 weeks after surgery. Higher levels of health-related personal control predicted better QOL, and lower levels of depression symptoms, but not adherence to medication, cardiac rehabilitation attendance, or physical activity. These results were independent of demographic, behavioural, and clinical covariates. Treatment control was not associated with any outcome. These results suggest that perceived health-related personal control is associated with key aspects of short-term recovery from CABG surgery. Targeted interventions aimed at improving perceptions of health-related personal control may improve health outcomes in this cardiac population.

Diurnal Cortisol Rhythm Is Associated With Adverse Cardiac Events and Mortality in Coronary Artery Bypass Patients.

PURPOSE: There is growing evidence that the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis plays a role in the progression of cardiovascular disease. We examined the relationship between diurnal cortisol rhythm and adverse events in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. We hypothesized that a flatter presurgical diurnal cortisol slope would be associated with higher rates of adverse cardiac events and death in the years following the CABG procedure. METHODS: Repeated measures of saliva were taken over the day from 250 CABG patients 1 month before surgery to assess diurnal cortisol slope and overall output (area under the curve). Long-term clinical outcomes were occurrence of a major adverse cardiac event (MACE) and death, and were collected up to 2.68 (SD = 0.40) years after surgery. Cox proportional hazard models were used to determine relationships between presurgical cortisol and clinical outcomes. EuroSCORE, chronic illness burden, and whether or not the patient had undergone cardiopulmonary bypass were included as covariates in the models. RESULTS: Diurnal cortisol slope predicted the occurrence of MACE or death after surgery (hazard ratio = 0.73; 95% confidence interval = 0.56-0.96; P = .023). Patients with a steeper slope were at reduced risk of adverse outcomes. This association was driven by changes in both waking and evening cortisol levels. CONCLUSION: These results provide evidence for a link between diurnal cortisol rhythm and recovery after CABG. Measuring diurnal cortisol slope before surgery may help to identify those patients at risk of adverse outcomes in the years after the procedure.

Psychological distress and intensive care unit stay after cardiac surgery: The role of illness concern.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between psychological factors and length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay in patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. METHOD: We studied 212 adults undergoing CABG surgery preoperatively to assess depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and illness perceptions and then followed them up during the in-hospital stay to measure length of ICU stay. RESULTS: Greater preoperative concern about the illness (B = .200, 95% CI [.094, .305], p = < .001), but not depression or anxiety symptoms, was significantly related to longer ICU stays after controlling for demographic, clinical, and behavioral covariates. CONCLUSIONS: Illness concern may be particularly relevant for CABG recovery, though more work is needed to delineate the exact mechanisms of this effect.

Attachment anxiety predicts IL-6 and length of hospital stay in coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) patients.

OBJECTIVE: The mechanisms underlying the association between adult attachment and health are not well understood. In the current study, we investigated the relationship between attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance, inflammation, and length of hospital stay in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery patients. METHOD: 167 CABG patients completed an attachment questionnaire prior to surgery, and blood samples were taken before and after surgery to assess inflammatory activity. RESULTS: We found that attachment anxiety predicted higher plasma interleukin 6 (IL-6) concentration, and this association was mediated by self-reported sleep quality. Anxious attachment also predicted longer hospital stays following CABG surgery, even after controlling for demographic and clinical factors. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that increased levels of IL-6 may be a process linking adult attachment anxiety with health outcomes.

Optimism measured pre-operatively is associated with reduced pain intensity and physical symptom reporting after coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

OBJECTIVE: Optimism is thought to be associated with long-term favourable outcomes for patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Our objective was to examine the association between optimism and post-operative pain and physical symptoms in CABG patients. METHODS: We assessed optimism pre-operatively in 197 adults undergoing CABG surgery, and then followed them up 6-8 weeks after the procedure to measure affective pain, pain intensity, and physical symptom reporting directly pertaining to CABG surgery. RESULTS: Greater optimism measured pre-operatively was significantly associated with lower pain intensity (ß=-0.150, CI=-0.196 to -0.004, p=.042) and fewer physical symptoms following surgery (ß=-0.287, CI=-0.537 to -0.036, p=.025), but not with affective pain, after controlling for demographic, clinical and behavioural covariates, including negative affectivity. CONCLUSIONS: Optimism is a modest, yet significant, predictor of pain intensity and physical symptom reporting after CABG surgery. Having positive expectations may promote better recovery.

The relationship between cortisol responses to laboratory stress and cortisol profiles in daily life.

Relationships between cortisol responses to laboratory stress and cortisol output over the day have not been studied extensively. We tested associations between cortisol responses to a set of laboratory challenges (colour/word interference and mirror tracing) and three aspects of cortisol output over the day, namely total area under the curve (AUCday), the cortisol awakening response (CAR) and the slope of cortisol decline over the day. Participants were 466 men and women aged 54-76 years. We found that cortisol responses to laboratory stress were positively associated with cortisol AUCday independently of sex, age, socioeconomic status, smoking, body mass index, and time of laboratory testing (B=0.212, 95% C.I. 0.143-0.282, p<0.001). No associations between laboratory responses and the CAR or cortisol slope were observed. The laboratory-field association was not moderated by demographic or psychosocial factors. The study provides evidence for the ecological validity of acute laboratory stress testing.