Prevalence of Psychological Disorders among Health Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Repeated contact with patients with COVID-19 and working in quarantine conditions has made health workers vulnerable to psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal of the present systematic review and meta-analysis was to examine the prevalence of the various psychological distresses among health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases were searched for access to papers examining psychological distress among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). Heterogeneity among the studies was examined using the Cochran's Q test; because heterogeneity was significant, the random effects model was used to examine the prevalence of psychological distress. Results: Overall, 12 studies with a total sample size of 5265 were eligible and included in the analysis. Prevalence rates of depression, anxiety, and PTSD were 20% (95% CI: 14-27), 23% (95% CI: 18-27), and 8% (95% CI: 6-9), respectively. The highest prevalence rates of depression and anxiety were related to the SDS and the GAD-7, respectively, and the lowest prevalence rates of the two aforementioned variables were related to the DASS-21. Conclusions: The high prevalence of psychological distress among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 epidemic can have negative effects on their health and the quality of services provided. Therefore, training coping strategies for psychological distress in this pandemic seems necessary.

Effect of Progressive Muscle Relaxation on the Fatigue and Quality of Life Among Iranian Aging Persons.

Since the elderly population is increasing rapidly in developing countries which may decrease the physical activity and exercise and in turn could affect the elderly's quality of life, this study aimed to investigate the effect of progressive muscle relaxation on the elderly's quality of life in Iran. In a randomized clinical trial, participants were randomly divided into intervention and control groups. For the intervention group, muscular progressive relaxation was run three days per week for three months (totally 36 sessions). In relaxation, a patient contract a group of his/her muscles in each step and relaxes them after five seconds and finally loosens all muscles and takes five deep breaths. Each session lasts for 45 minutes. The instrument of data gathering consisted of questionnaires on individual's demographic data and quality of life SF-36. After intervention, quality of life increased significantly in the patients undergoing muscular progressive relaxation and fatigue severity decreased significantly in the intervention group compared to prior to intervention. In addition, there was a statistically significant difference in mean score of physical performance, restricted activity after physical problem, energy, socially function, physical pain, overall hygiene, and quality of life between intervention and control groups. By implementing regular and continuous progressive muscle relaxation, quality of life could be increased in different dimensions in the elderly and the context could be provided to age healthily and enjoy higher health and autonomy. Therefore, all of the therapeutic staffs are recommended to implement this plan to promote the elderly's quality of life.

Effect of exercise training on the quality of life and echocardiography parameter of systolic function in patients with chronic heart failure: a randomized trial.

BACKGROUND: Ejection fraction promotion in heart failure patients reduces mortalities and limitations. OBJECTIVES: This study was to investigate the effect of exercise on ejection fraction of chronic heart failure patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The present study was conducted on patients with chronic heart failure. 66 patients were divided randomly into two experimental and control groups of 33 each. The subjects were male and female. The patients in experimental group followed an exercise program three sessions per week for 24 weeks. Echocardiography and quality of life questionnaire were used to gather data. The data were analyzed by SPSS 18 through pair and independent t-test. RESULTS: The results indicated a significant difference in left ventricular diameter (LV-ESD, LV-EDD) and ejection fraction at the end of exercise program in experimental group and 24 weeks after in control group. There was a significant difference in quality of life in physical performance, activity limitation following physical problems, energy and fatigue, social performance, physical pain, and public health (P < 0.05 for all) between two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Exercise program increases ejection fraction and quality of life in chronic heart failure patients, associated with management of disease by health team.

Comparison of regular aerobic and yoga on the quality of life in patients with multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: The pathophysiology of multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterized by fatigue, motor weakness, and spasticity, to name a few. MS symptoms may lead to physical inactivity associated with the development of secondary diseases. This study was to investigate the effect of regular aerobic and yoga on the quality of life of patients with MS. METHODS: The present quasi-experimental study was conducted on 90 patients with chronic MS chosen randomly and divided into two test and one control groups. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 11.5) through paired t-test, ANOVA, and Tukey's post hoc. RESULTS: There were no significant differences among the scores of quality of life in the three groups prior to investigation. Although they were significant after intervention. The mean score of yoga group was higher than that of aerobic group, and aerobic group showed a higher mean score compared with the control. CONCLUSION: Yoga and aerobic exercises may improve quality of life in patients with MS. It is highly recommended that the governor along with MS societies and other organizations servicing and supporting patients start to develop sport-regulated programs to help improve quality of life for these patients.