Investigating gender differences in quality of life and social support in patients with severe mental illnesses.

BACKGROUND: Severe mental illnesses (SMIs), including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder affect patients significantly. Gender has been identified as a key factor influencing the experience of SMIs with notable disparities in prevalence, symptoms, and treatment outcomes. Additionally, the quality of life (QoL) and social support for patients with SMIs can vary based on gender. AIMS: This study examined gender differences in QoL and social support of patients with SMIs. METHOD: Participants include 170 outpatients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder at Shafa Hospital (2021). QoL and social support were assessed using World Health Organization QoL (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire and Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey (MOS-SSS), respectively. Group differences were analyzed using t-test or Mann-Whitney U test, and two-way multivariate analyses of variance explored the effect of gender and disease type. RESULTS: It was indicated that females with schizophrenia reported higher QoL than males, but the opposite was observed for bipolar disorder. Gender differences in social support were not significant among schizophrenia patients, nor between the two patient groups. However, women with bipolar disorder and multiple hospitalizations experienced lower social support and QoL compared to men. Additionally, more hospitalizations were associated with decreased QoL in both genders with schizophrenia. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest the need for gender- specific interventions and support policies to enhance QoL and social support in patients with SMI.

Evaluation of patient social support, caregiver burden, and their relationship with the course of the disease in patients with bipolar disorder.

BACKGROUND: Bipolar disorder is a chronic disorder that causes significant effects on the patient and exerts a significant care burden on caregivers. This study aimed to investigate the social support of patients, caregivers' burden and their impact on the clinical course of the disease. METHODS: The study included 85 patients with bipolar disorder type I and II (in the recovery phase of the disease) and their caregivers in the age range of 18 to 60 years. It was conducted in Shafa psychiatry Hospital in Rasht (Guilan, Iran, 2020). To assess social support and burden, patients and caregivers completed the Multidimensional Perceived Social Support Scale (MSPSS) and Caregiver Burden Inventory (CBI), respectively. Clinical variables were also obtained from patients' medical records; Then ANOVA, MANOVA, Independent T-test were used to compare the data and Regression Analysis and Spearman correlation coefficient were used to find the relationships between variables. RESULTS: It was showed that increasing patient social support is associated with reducing caregiver burden. Among the clinical variables, less social support and more caregiver burden were associated with longer duration of illness (p < .0029, p < .012), decrease in last recurrence time (p < .0013, p < .0001), increased number of hospitalizations (p < .0001, r = -.43 and p < .0001, r = +.49), decreased response to treatment (p < .0001, p < .0001), and reduced follow-up (p = .001, OR = 1.12 and p = .001, OR = 0.95). CONCLUSION: The relationship between low social support and high caregiver burden and their significant effect on the disease course indicates a vicious cycle that affects patients, caregivers, and the clinical course of the disease. Therefore, it seems that interventions to break this cycle can change the situation in favor of patients and caregivers and improve the clinical course of the disease.

The relationship between gender, age, anxiety, depression, and academic achievement among teenagers.

BACKGROUND: Researchers have shown that the anxiety and depression have an important role in academic achievement. OBJECTIVES: This study is designed to identify the impact of anxiety and depression on academic achievement in students living in North of Iran. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this study 666 secondary school students (13-19 years old) were involved in North of Iran, were involved in this study. We used two instruments for data collection, The Beck Anxiety Inventory and The Beck Depression Inventory. RESULTS: The results indicate that girls with 21.8% were more anxious than boys with 11.6% (F = 21.448, t = 5.420), while boys with 29.5% are more depressed than girls with 17.8% (F = 25.530, t = 4.847). Additionally, there were a significantly negative correlation between academic achievement with anxiety and depression. There was no statistically significant difference in the mean of anxiety and age between teenagers, but a significant depression level of respondents who are 18 and 19 years old was significantly different from other ages. CONCLUSIONS: It is recommended that along with academic performance, mental health be developed in school settings using support strategies such as educational guidance and counseling, teaching life skill programs, and psychotherapy. It was concluded that there is an urgent need to pay more attention to the anxiety and depression of adolescents in Iran. The findings of the study will be useful in assisting educators, counselors, and psychologists to develop strategies to enhance students' psychological well-being.

An investigation into the prevalence of cognitive impairment and the performance of older adults in Guilan province.

Introduction: The escalating rate of old people with a functional impairment in Iran and the weakness of the family support due to the diminishing of family size have increased the demand for long-term care for the elderly with cognitive impairment (CI). Objective: The purpose of this research is to explore the frequency of cognitive impairment in the elderly and its association with their daily functional impairment and disability. Method: This is a cross-sectional and descriptive-analytic study conducted in 2016-2017. The study sample consisted of 393 elderly people who were 60 years old or older who live in of Guilan different counties. Samples were selected by using multi-stage cluster sampling. Subsequently, data were analyzed by using the Chi-square test and correlation and regression analysis conducted in SPSS 22. Results: It was observed that 4.3, 28.6, and 37% of the subjects suffered from severe, moderate, and mild cognitive impairment, respectively. Cognitive impairment had a significant relationship with daily functioning and activities requiring special tools. Moreover, cognitive impairment in women, people with low education, and those over 70 years old was more common, and the difference between them was significant (p <0.001). Also, disability was significantly greater in the elderly with cognitive impairment. Conclusion: Many old people need to be cared for after the appearance of cognitive impairment. Therefore, appropriate screening of cognitive impairments is conducive to early diagnosis and prevention of executive functioning problems.

Correction to: An investigation into the prevalence of cognitive impairment and the performance of older adults in Guilan province.

[This corrects the article on p. 247 in vol. 11, PMID: 30364719.].

Comparing depressive symptoms in teenage boys and girls.

INTRODUCTION: Symptoms of depression vary between the males and females. Depressed men show behaviors such as irritability, restlessness, difficulty in concentrating, and instead of the usual behaviors. Sleep disturbance is a common symptom in depressed men. Men are less likely to go to doctors and unconsciously show other behaviors such as anger instead of the sadness. It seems that considering depression as "feminine" is a great injustice toward male patients whom their illness will not be diagnosed nor treated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The sample consisted of 191 depressed adolescents, 108 males and 83 females aged 13-19 years old. Data collected for 10 years from 2005 to 2015 and their depressive symptoms were evaluated by the Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition. RESULTS: Depressed girls felt sadness, guilt, punishment, worthlessness, low energy and fatigue, or more asthenia, whereas depressed boys have symptoms such as irritability, depression, suicidal thoughts, or desires to reduce their pleasure. The results of t-test showed that the difference between the total scores of boys and girls with depressive disorder (16.93) is significant at 0.001. F values for feeling sad (58.13), hatred of self (12.38), suicidal thoughts or desires (12.97), restlessness (17.35), and irritability (46. 41) were significant in the 0.001. CONCLUSION: Experiencing depression in boys and girls according to the role of gender was different. Gender can have an effective role in showing depression symptoms in adolescents.

Drug Addiction in Patients With Chronic Schizophrenia and Its Relation With Psychopathology and Impulsiveness.

BACKGROUND: Using drugs is a common affliction in patients with Schizophrenia affecting their increasing death rate. They have to tolerate longer treatment time and staying in hospital and they further show more violence and their living quality decreases. It also seems that this factor is among the influential factors of unsuccessful results in treating these patients. OBJECTIVES: Despite all this, there is little data about drug consumption, psychopathology and demographic information in patients with chronic schizophrenia in Iran. This paper reviews the relation between drug consumption and the mentioned qualities in patients afflicted by chronic Schizophrenia. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 100 patients with Schizophrenia were interviewed based on DSM-IV-TR diagnostic parameters and according to a psychiatrist´s views. The severity of psychopathology was evaluated, using PANSS, (SCID-I) DSM-IV and BARRAT. RESULTS: The results show that in patients with chronic schizophrenia, there is a meaningful relation between cigarette consumption and education, gender, family background and BARRAT. It also has a direct correlation with Attention and Motor. Drug consumption has a meaningful relation with gender and Motor (p<0.05). But it has no relation with BARRAT. Of the variables having a relation with correlation, cigarette and treatment period factors have a predicting effect for drug consumption. CONCLUSIONS: According to the results, drug and cigarette consumption is high among patients with Chronic Schizophrenia. Common cigarette consumption and its relation with impulsiveness increase, and death rate are the reasons which make us take the needed steps to have these patients quit smoking.