Social support and its association with depression, gender and socioeconomic indicators in individuals with spinal cord injury in Iran.

STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive cross-sectional study. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the relationship between perceived social support and depression and to evaluate the role of family, friends and other caregivers in the perception of social support in Iranian individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). SETTING: Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. METHODS: Social support was evaluated using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support questionnaire, which gauges perceptions of support from family, friends and 'important persons'. The presence and severity of depression were assessed with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II-PERSIAN)-a 21-item multiple-choice questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 140 individuals with SCI were enrolled in the study. The average age of the participants was 29.4±7.9 years; the mean duration of injury was 46.3±46.5 months and most patients were male (72%). Social support and all subscales of social support were numerically greater in males; however, this difference was not statistically significant. The subcategory of friends' support in men was 17.9±7.9 compared to 14.6±8.0 in women (P=0.04). The self-reported social support score (r=-0.387, P<0.001) and subscales of social support, including family (r=-0.174, P=0.045), friends (r=-0.356, P<0.001) and important persons (r=-0.373, P<0.001), were all negatively correlated with depression. CONCLUSION: Higher self-reported perception of social support appears to be associated with lower levels of depression in individuals with SCI. SCI care providers should consider the relationship between social support and depression in their continuing care.

The relationship between anxiety, depression and religious coping strategies and erectile dysfunction in Iranian patients with spinal cord injury.

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/sc.2016.7.

The relationship between anxiety, depression and religious coping strategies and erectile dysfunction in Iranian patients with spinal cord injury.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the role of anxiety, depressive mood and religious coping in erectile function among Iranian patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). SETTING: Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Repair Research Center, Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. METHODS: A sample of N=93 men with SCI participated in this cross-sectional study. Levels of anxiety and depressive mood were assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Religious coping strategies were measured using the 14-items Brief Coping Questionnaire. Erectile function was assessed using the International Index of Erectile Function. The joint effect of anxiety, depressive mood and religious coping strategies on erectile function was assessed by performing stepwise multiple linear regression analyses. RESULTS: The mean age of the SCI patients was 37.8 years with a mean post-injury time of 4.6 years. Multivariate regression analyses indicated that age (B=-0.27, 95% CI=-0.47 to -0.07), education (B for higher education=0.63, 95% CI=0.24 to 1.02), the American Spinal Injury Association impairment scale (B for complete impairment=-3.36, 95% CI=-3.82 to -2.89), anxiety (B=-3.56, 95% CI=-5.76 to -1.42), positive religious coping (B=0.30, 95% CI=0.03 to 0.57), negative religious coping (B=-0.56, 95% CI=-0.82 to -0.29) and the duration of injury (B=-0.25, 95% CI=-0.22 to -0.29) were all independent factors influencing erectile function in SCI patients. CONCLUSION: Overall, the results indicated that SCI patients who use positive religious coping strategies had better erectile function compared with individuals who applied negative religious coping strategies. Furthermore, higher levels of anxiety, greater impairment and longer duration of injury turned out to be risk factors for erectile dysfunction.

Does religious coping and spirituality have a moderating role on depression and anxiety in patients with spinal cord injury? A study from Iran.

OBJECTIVES: We evaluate the level of anxiety and depression among patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) in relation with their religious coping and spiritual health. SETTING: Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Repair Research Center, Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. METHODS: A sample of patients with SCI participated in this cross-sectional study. They completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Brief Religious Coping Questionnaire and the Spiritual Well-being Scale. Then, the association between anxiety, depression and independent variables was examined. RESULTS: In all, 213 patients with SCI were studied. Of these, 64 (30%) have had anxiety and 32 (15%) have had depression. Multiple logistic regression analyses revealed that gender (odds ratio (OR) for female=3.34, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.31-8.51, P=0.011), employment (OR for unemployed=5.71, 95% CI=1.17-27.78, P=0.031), negative religious coping (OR=1.15, 95% CI=1.04-1.28, P=0.006) and existential spiritual well-being (OR=0.93, 95% CI=0.89-0.97, P=0.003) were significant contributing factors to anxiety (Table 3), whereas negative religious coping (OR=1.21, 95% CI=1.06-1.37, P=0.004) and existential spiritual well-being (OR=0.90, 95% CI=0.84-0.96, P=0.001) were significant contributing factors to depression. CONCLUSION: The findings indicated that depression and anxiety are two psychologically important side effects after SCI. The findings also indicated that religion and spiritual well-being have a moderating role on occurrence of depression and anxiety.

Psychometric properties of the Sexual Adjustment Questionnaire (SAQ) in the Iranian population with spinal cord injury.

STUDY DESIGN: This is a cross-sectional study. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Sexual Adjustment Questionnaire (SAQ) for Iranian people with spinal cord injury. SETTING: This study was conducted in the brain and Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. METHODS: We assessed the psychometric properties of the SAQ, with 200 participants (men=146, women=54) completing the scale. An evaluation of its test-retest reliability was performed over a 2-weeks period, on a subsample of 30 patients recruited from the overall group. Cronbach's α-coefficient was computed for assessment of internal consistency reliability. In addition, content and face validity were examined by an expert committee. Construct validity was assessed by examining convergent and discriminant validity. Finally, exploratory factor analysis was used to extract the factor structure of the questionnaire. RESULTS: The Cronbach's α and intraclass correlation coefficient were 0.77 and 0.72 retrospectively. With regard to construct validity, there was a significant (P=0.009) negative correlation (r=-0.28) between the SAQ score and age. Those with lower levels of educations scored significantly lower on the SAQ (P=0.04). The exploratory factor analysis indicated a four-factor structure for the questionnaire, accounting for 68.9% of the observed variance. The expert committee approved the face and content validity of the developed measure. CONCLUSION: The SAQ is a valid measure for assessing sexual adjustment in people with spinal cord injury. The evaluation of sexual well-being may be useful in clinical trials and practical settings.

Female sexual dysfunction in patients with spinal cord injury: a study from Iran.

OBJECTIVES: We assess the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI), compare sexual function and sexual distress between female patients with SCI and gender-matched healthy controls, and address risk factors associated with sexual dysfunction among Iranian female patients with SCI. SETTING: Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. METHODS: Eligible Iranian female patients with SCI were included in this cross-sectional study. They were asked to provide sociodemographic information, and complete the Female Sexual Function Index, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and Female Sexual Distress Scale-Revised questionnaire. RESULTS: Of the 105 patients participated in this study, the average age was 41.0 (s.d.=10.1) years. Women with SCI reported significantly higher levels of sexual dysfunction compared with normal controls. Approximately, 88% of SCI patients reported at least one type of sexual dysfunction, whereas only 37% of healthy controls reported sexual dysfunction. Lack of vaginal lubrication was reported more frequent in SCI patients compared with controls. Women with SCI reported a significantly higher level of sexual distress compared with healthy women. Sexual dysfunction was observed to be significantly higher in older patients, those with less education, patients with complete lesions, those with sexual distress and patients who were anxious and depressed. CONCLUSION: Sexual dysfunction is highly prevalent among Iranian women with SCI. Sexual dysfunction is associated with age, education, symptoms of depression and anxiety and level of injury. Sexual counseling during the rehabilitation period may help to prevent sexual dysfunction following SCI.