COVID 19 and Psychological Problems in Mexican Mothers

COVID-19 seriously affected people’s mental health. Possibly symptoms of anxiety, depression and insomnia occur with most frequency in various sectors of the population, especially in mothers. The objective of this research was to evaluate levels of depression, anxiety and insomnia in Mexican mothers who had COVID-19, who care for or cared for patients with COVID-19, or in neither of these two conditions. A sample of 540 Mexican mothers was gathered, a questionnaire was applied to obtain data on sociodemographic variables, as well as instruments to measure depression, anxiety and insomnia. The 70% of the participants had insomnia, 77% had depressive symptoms, while 80.2% showed anxiety. Working mothers presented more severe symptoms of insomnia than housewives. Caring for a COVID-19 patient was significantly associated with the psychological variables evaluated. Mexican mothers who care or cared for COVID-19 patients have high rates of depression, anxiety, and insomnia (AU)

Determinantes socioeconómicos y sociodemográficos asociados al consumo de frutas y verduras de las madres de familia y los hogares de escolares de Jalisco / Socioeconomic and sociodemographic determinants associated with fruit and vegetable consumption among mothers and homes of schoolchildren in Jalisco

Introducción: incrementar el consumo de frutas y verduras es una prioridad, objetivo fundamental en las políticas públicas a nivel mundial. Dado que dicho consumo en los escolares de Jalisco (México) se encuentra por debajo de las recomendaciones alimentarias, es esencial identificar los determinantes que influyen en su consumo de frutas y verduras, para promover el desarrollo de acciones que contribuyan a mejorarlo. Objetivo: identificar los determinantes socioeconómicos y sociodemográficos del consumo de frutas y verduras en las madres de familia y los hogares de escolares de Jalisco, México. Método: estudio transversal analítico, realizado durante el primer trimestre del año 2020 utilizando una frecuencia de consumo de alimentos validada y un cuestionario sobre factores sociodemográficos y socioeconómicos. Resultados: el bajo nivel educativo de las madres de los escolares se asoció con un menor consumo de verduras y el bajo nivel de ingresos en el hogar se asoció con un menor consumo de frutas por los escolares. Conclusiones: el bajo nivel educativo de las madres y el bajo nivel de ingresos de los hogares fueron determinantes asociados al consumo de frutas y verduras de los escolares. Sin embargo, se presentaron diferencias en cuanto a los determinantes para las frutas y para las verduras. Estos factores y sus diferencias deben de tenerse en cuenta para la planificación de acciones que contribuyan a mejorar la ingesta de frutas y verduras en la población escolar (AU)

Introduction: increasing fruit and vegetable consumption is a priority. It has been prioritized as a fundamental objective of public policies worldwide. Given that such consumption in schoolchildren in Jalisco (Mexico) is below the dietary recommendations it is crucial to identify the determinants that influence this consumption to promote the development of contextualized actions that improve it. Objective: to identify the socioeconomic and sociodemographic determinants of fruit and vegetable consumption among mothers and households of schoolchildren in Jalisco, Mexico. Method: an analytical, cross-sectional study carried out during the first quarter of 2020. A validated food consumption frequency and a questionnaire on sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors were used for its development. Results: a lower educational level of the mothers of schoolchildren was associated with a lower consumption of vegetables by schoolchildren. In turn, a lower household income level was associated with a lower consumption of fruits in schoolchildren. Conclusions: a low educational level of mothers and a low household income were determinants associated with fruit and vegetable consumption in schoolchildren. However, there were differences in the determinants for fruits and vegetables. It is essential to consider these factors and their differences in order to plan actions that contribute to improving fruit and vegetable intake in the school population (AU)

Plant extracts as a natural treatment against the fish ectoparasite Neobenedenia sp. (Monogenea: Capsalidae).

The toxicity of water-ethanol extracts of garlic (Allium sativum), ginger (Zingiber officinale), basil (Ocimum basilicum), bitter chaparro (Castela tortuousa), onion (Allium cepa) and papaya (Carica papaya) against adults, eggs and oncomiracidia of Neobenedenia spp. parasites was examined. Parasites were exposed to continuous immersion and treated as follows: extracts were tested at three dilutions: 1:10, 1:50 and 1:100 made with filtered seawater (35 g l-1); ethanol (70%) was evaluated at the same dilutions of 1:10 (7% ethanol), 1:50 (1.4% ethanol) and 1:100 (0.07% ethanol) and a seawater (35 g l-1) control. The antiparasitic effect was measured on: (1) adult survival, egg production and time to detachment from the culture vessel; (2) egg development and cumulative egg hatching; and (3) oncomiracidia survival. All three dilutions of ginger and dilutions 1:100 and 1:50 of basil extract reduced adult survival in vitro, time to detachment from the surface of the culture vessel, egg production and oncomiracidia survival. Bitter chaparro extract reduced adult egg production and oncomiracidia survival. Hatching success was significantly reduced (P < 0.05) in basil extract (1:100) to 86.6% compared to the seawater control (100%). Dilutions 1:10 of ginger and basil exhibited the highest impact on the biological parameters of Neobenedenia sp. Our study demonstrates that water-ethanol extracts of ginger, basil and bitter chaparro are toxic against Neobenedenia sp. life stages.

Growth hormone response to apomorphine in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Several lines of evidence suggest that dopamine plays a role in the pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Indeed, some trials have shown the efficacy of neuroleptic addition in the treatment of OCD patients. In this study, we assessed the growth hormone (GH) response to 0.5 mg apomorphine(sc) in 8 drug-free inpatients (6 male, 2 female; mean age +/- SD = 34.7 +/- 12.6) meeting DSM-III-R criteria for OCD without major depression and compared their responses with those of 8 healthy male volunteers (mean age = 27.1 +/- 8.5). The groups did not differ in their mean GH peak response: 12.4 +/- 9.7 ng/mL in OCD patients versus 21.1 +/- 14.2 ng/mL in normal controls (F = 0.9, df1, 14, P = 0.37). These results do not support the hypothesis of dopaminergic overactivity in OCD. In fact, the completely blunted GH response to apomorphine in 2 OCD patients suggests the biological heterogeneity of OCD. Some dopaminergic disturbances could be observed in patients with comorbid diagnoses or patients unresponsive to serotonin reuptake inhibitors, but the results of this study require confirmation from a larger sample with a precise assessment of comorbidity.

Suicidal behavior and growth hormone response to apomorphine test.

Several cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) studies have provided support for a possible role for the dopaminergic system as a biological correlate of suicidal behavior. Indeed, low CSF levels of the dopamine metabolite homovanillic acid (HVA) have been described in depressed patients with a history of suicide attempts. In this study, we assessed the dopamine receptor sensitivity in relationship to suicidal behavior by measuring growth hormone (GH) response to apomorphine 0.5 mg subcutaneously (sc) in 15 DSM-III-R (APA 1987) major depressive inpatients with a history of suicide attempts, compared to age-matched and gender-matched major depressive inpatients without a history of suicide. Patients with a history of suicidal behavior exhibited a significantly lower GH response to apomorphine than patients who never attempted suicide (t = 3.60, df = 1.28, p = 0.0012). Therefore, these results suggest that a blunted GH response to apomorphine could represent a biological marker of suicidal behavior.

Psychopathological correlates of dopaminergic disturbances in major depression.

In a recent report, we confirmed the role of dopamine in the pathophysiology of depression by demonstrating a blunted response of growth hormone (GH) to apomorphine, a selective dopaminergic agonist, in endogenous depressive patients. Few data are available on the possible psychopathological correlates of disturbances in the apomorphine test. In this study, we assessed the relationship between GH response to apomorphine and the Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory (MMPI) scales in a sample of 20 major depressive inpatients. The GH response (area under the curve) after apomorphine injection was positively correlated with the social introversion scale scores (r = 0.56, df = 19, p less than 0.01) and the anxiety scale scores (r = 0.45, df = 19, p = 0.04). These results suggest dopaminergic overactivity in anxious psychopathology rather than in depressive psychopathology. The relationship between the social introversion scale score and the apomorphine test is in agreement with the dopaminergic hypothesis of schizophrenic disorders.