Health Related Quality of Life and Cardiovascular Risk Factors.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) is associated with deteriorating of quality of life (QOL) and exercise capacity (EC) but less is known on how EC interplays with QOL. The present study explores the relationship between quality of life and cardiovascular risk factors in people who present in cardiology clinics. A total of 153 adult presentations completed the SF-36 Health Survey and provided data for hypertension, diabetes mellitus, smoking, obesity, hyperlipidemia and history of coronary heart disease. Physical capacity was assessed by treadmill test. were correlated with the scores of the psychometric questionnaires. Participants with longer duration on treadmill exercise score higher on the scale of physical functioning. The study found that treadmill exercise intensity and duration were associated with improved scores in dimensions of the physical component summary and the physical functioning of SF-36, respectively. The presence of cardiovascular risk factors is related to a decreased quality of life. Patients with cardiovascular diseases should undergo particularly detailed analysis of the quality of life along with specific mental factors such as depersonalization and posttraumatic stress disorder.

Burnout Related to Diabetes Mellitus: A Critical Analysis.

Background: Diabetes burnout is a condition when a patient with diabetes feels tired from his/her disease and neglects it for a certain period or continuously. Objective: Diabetes burnout is frequent, and there is extended literature about psychosocial stress and its negative effects on health. Methods: A search for relevant studies was conducted using PubMed, Google Scholar and ResearchGate. A systematic review was conducted on the relevant articles after critical appraisal. Only publications in English were selected. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between burnout syndrome and diabetes mellitus. Results: This article mainly focused on studies that evaluated the presence of burnout and diabetes mellitus effects. Diabetes can influence psychological health equally with somatic strength. Relatives can also express depression, guilt, fright, worry, rage, and burnout. Psychosocial job stress and extended working hours are linked with a higher possibility of myocardial infarction, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension. Conclusion: Diabetes burnout is a combination of emotions and practices, ranging from tiredness to indifference, linked with a distressing sense of hopelessness. Revealing this health condition is necessary so that preventive measures can be taken.

Psychiatric admission as a risk factor for posttraumatic stress disorder.

Psychiatric hospitalization poses a risk for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), partly because of coercion. However, the role of legal status is less clear, while factors like insight, exposure to violence and affective disorders have not been addressed adequately. The present study aims at assessing PTSD rates after hospitalization and evaluating the potential role of these factors. 98 inpatients were assessed for PTSD, insight, main diagnosis, adverse events during hospitalization and legal status. Assessment took place at discharge (T1) and three months later (T2). Three months after discharge, 74.2% of patients with affective disorders met symptom-criteria for PTSD. Voluntarily hospitalized patients had more severe PTSD-symptoms. This relation vanished after controlling for affective disorders. The latter, as well as exposure to violence were the most significant risk factors at T2. Female gender, marital status (not married) and employment status (not employed), were additional risk factors at T1, while involuntary medication had a negative effect on PTSD-symptoms. Voluntarily hospitalized patients are more vulnerable to PTSD, due to higher rates of affective disorders. Females suffering from affective disorders who are not married and not employed should be monitored for PTSD symptoms during and after hospitalization, especially if exposed to violence.

The use of the Symptom Checklist 90-R in exploring the factor structure of mental disorders and the neglected fact of comorbidity.

The Symptom Checklist 90-R (SCL-90-R) is a popular instrument, accessing nine different symptom clusters of psychopathology, although its original factor structure is widely questioned. However, most validation studies seem to ignore the possible effect of comorbidity. We aimed at validating the factor structure of the SCL-90-R and to draw additional information about the role of comorbidity in the factor structure of mental disorders. We thus introduced a comorbidity index within the SCL-90-R and validated the Greek version of the SCL-90-R in a sample of 914 participants, consisting of 688 individuals from the general population and 226 psychiatric outpatients. We showed that the original 9-factor model was superior to the second order factor and the bi-factor model. This may reflect lower comorbidity traits in our sample, rather than the accuracy of the original 9-factor structure of the SCL-90-R, which has to be further assessed by concurrent validity for each individual scale on selected samples. In this regard, we showed that the depression subscale was an excellent screening tool in a subgroup of patients with a confirmed major depressive episode.