Immediate mental health status of refugees during the Ukrainian armed conflict of 2022.

The study assessed stressors and the immediate mental health status of the Ukrainian refugees during the ongoing Ukrainian armed conflict of 2022 and analyzed strategies for reducing anxiety levels. The questionnaire-based prospective study was undertaken in Lviv, Ukraine (five study groups) and Israel (two groups) among 27,901 refugees and 1,259 controls. We assessed the levels of anxiety with General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7; score range = 0-21, mild to severe) and Refugees' Anxiety Reasons-6 (RAR-6) with a score ranging from 30 (no anxiety) to 6 (extreme anxiety) questionnaires. RAR-6 assessed worries about personal safety, money matters, relatives under fire, the future of the country, limited medications, and general mental fatigue. The study involved refugees in the migration phase and internally displaced persons. The GAD-7 score of 16.1 ± 2.6 (severe anxiety) showed that all participants experienced anxiety during current hostilities. The RAR-6 score of 21.8 ± 1.7 demonstrated that participants worried about numerous acute problems, but the results varied from group to group. The refugees who moved abroad independently and without a clear goal had the worst GAD-7 score of 19.4 ± 1.7. The refugees who traveled abroad in a group-organized manner had the best RAR-6 score of 24.8 ± 1.5, while passing through Lviv refugees had the worst RAR-6 score of 19.0 ± 1.6 (p = .03). During hostilities, refugees, internally displaced persons, and regular inhabitants are mentally affected to varying degrees. For refugees, group-organized travel abroad is the best option to maintain adequate mental health, followed by an internal refugee status and traveling abroad independently (the worst strategy). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Immediate physical needs of refugees during the Ukrainian armed conflict of 2022.

PURPOSE: The study assessed the physical needs of Ukrainian refugees and internally displaced persons during the ongoing Ukrainian armed conflict of 2022. We aimed to investigate the immediate physical needs of the refugees that may affect their somatic condition during the armed conflict when they did not yet reach their final destination or just reached a safety zone. METHODS: The questionnaire-based prospective repeated cross-sectional study (three study groups) and the longitudinal study (one group) were undertaken in Ukraine and Israel among 19,101 refugees and 828 controls from February 24 to April 9. We assessed the availability of basic somatic necessities (water, food, clothing, hygiene, and sleep) and the general physical fatigue of internal, moving abroad, and arriving to safety refugees with scores ranging from 35 (normal) to 7 (extremely inadequate). RESULTS: The average score of 26.8 ± 1.8 indicates that the participants experienced somatic problems even being healthy. In Ukraine, the score for moving abroad refugees (n = 16,449) dropped from 26.8 ± 0.6 to 23.5 ± 0.6 (p = 0.03) during the study period. Internally displaced persons (n = 1200) remained physically stable with a score of 27.5 ± 0.7. In Israel, group-organized refugees (n = 796) were relatively normal somatically (30.0 ± 0.6) while independent refugees (n = 656) were exhausted having a score of 24.2 ± 0.7 (p = 0.03 vs. group-organized). CONCLUSION: During hostilities, refugees, internally displaced persons, and regular inhabitants are somatically affected but to varying degrees. For refugees, group-organized travel abroad is the best option to maintain adequate physical condition, followed by an internal refugee status, and travel abroad independently (the worst strategy).

Thermal Comfort in School Classes in the Era of Global Warming: A Prospective Multicenter Study.

BACKGROUND: We investigated adolescents' feelings of thermal comfort during the educational process in various geographical locations far apart and present recommendations for the adjustment of the thermal environment in schools. METHODS: The prospective international multicenter study took place in 8 locations on different continents. The survey in the form of a questionnaire was carried out among 2800 healthy high school students. The study was divided into "cold season survey," "warm-season survey," and heat wave survey. RESULTS: The statistically significant difference between the "cold season survey" score of 4.04 (discomfort) and "warm-season survey" score of 3.47 (slight discomfort) (p = .04) indicates that students feel more thermal discomfort during winter months in all 8 locations. The heat wave survey score was 4.53 (discomfort). During the cold season, 29.24% of high school students felt themselves in full thermal comfort and 76.48% of the students felt themselves relatively comfortable (slightly cool-comfortable-slightly warm). CONCLUSIONS: Even during the ongoing process of climate change, the cold season discomfort remains the main problem for students in classes. This tendency is present in different continents as a universal problem. We recommend keeping an entrance hall and classroom temperatures at different levels and to advise students about proper clothing.

Owls and larks do not exist: COVID-19 quarantine sleep habits.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus pandemic presented a unique opportunity to study the daily temporal patterns and sleep habits of humans. The question to be explored was: Are there discernible differences in sleep between the normal operational environment and the stay-at-home condition? METHODS: This international prospective study analyzed results from the sleep-wake patterns questionnaire, daily logs, and interviews. Surveys were administered to the healthy volunteers (age 15-60 y) with stay-at-home for a month or more, without previous sleep disorders and mood-related complaints; volunteers were not involved in online education/work daily timetable-related activities. RESULTS: We analyzed 3787 subjects with average stay-at-home of 65 ± 9 days. The most significant changes in sleep occurred during the first ten days when the difference between weekdays and weekends disappeared and changes occurred in napping habits. The majority of the participants (66.8%) shifted toward eveningness when the self-selected sleep was possible and 1869 volunteers appeared to be owls (49.4%), 823 (21.7%) exercised "typical" sleep, 478 (12.6%) were larks, and 617 (16.3%) participants were completely desynchronized to the end of stay-at-home. In addition, 497 participants (13.1%) alternated their sleep habits. The most of the desynchronized participants (n = 414) were older than 50 years (age correlation r = 0.80), and predominantly males (n = 297, r = 0.76). CONCLUSION: In self-selected sleep conditions, the timing of sleep and sleep habits significantly differ from those of socially and economically fixed daily routine conditions. The changes in daily temporal patterns of humans during a prolonged stay-at-home situation indicate that human sleep habits may change according to existing living conditions.

Stay-at-home circumstances do not produce sleep disorders: An international survey during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: The anxiety-related insomnia and other sleep disorders were mentioned as possible side effects of quarantine and stay-at-home conditions. The questions to be explored were: Are there discernable differences in hours of sleep and sleep habits between the normal operational environment and the stay-at-home condition? and How seriously anxiety-induced insomnia or other sleep disorders may affect individuals during the stay-at-home? METHODS: This international prospective study analyzed results from the sleep-wake patterns questionnaire, daily logs, and interviews. During COVID-19 pandemic, surveys were administered to the healthy volunteers with stay-at-home for 14 days or more, without previous sleep disorders; volunteers were not involved in online education/work daily timetable-related activities. RESULTS: We analyzed 14,000 subjects from 11 countries with average stay-at-home of 62 days. The most significant changes in sleep occurred during the first 14 days of stay-at-home. The difference in the sleep duration between weekdays and weekends disappeared. Most of the participants discontinued using alarm clocks. The total sleep time increased in duration up to 9:10 ± 1:16 to the end of the quarantine/stay-at-home (+1:34, p = 0.02). The age-dependent changes in napping habits occurred. Only 1.8% of participants indicated insomnia during the first 14-day period with a decline to 0.5% after two months of stay-at-home. CONCLUSION: During the stay-at-home situation, both duration and timing of sleep significantly differ from those of daily routine and most humans sleep longer than in a schedule-dependent operational environment. An appearance of anxiety-induced insomnia is extremely rare if a healthy individual is already in the stay-at-home situation.

Knowledge and attitudes of adolescents to e-cigarettes: an international prospective study.

PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to assess the familiarity of adolescents with e-cigarettes. We performed a survey to investigate the frequency of their contact with e-cigarettes, beliefs about this sort of smoking (vaping), and their real knowledge of its effects. METHODS: The survey was carried out among 1600 high school students in the USA, Israel, Ukraine and Australia. The questionnaire comprised three parts, each with five questions. The first part was designed to assess the frequency of contact with the phenomenon. The second part assessed misconceptions and opinions concerning vaping. The third part questioned the participants' real knowledge of the subject. RESULTS: Out of a maximum score of 5, the average score of 4.25 for Part 1 indicated that the participants had frequent contact with e-cigarettes. The score of 3.65 for Part 2 showed that adolescents have both right and wrong beliefs on the subject. Part 3 was completed by 1224 participants (76.5%) while 376 (23.5%) reported a lack of any specific knowledge about vaping. The average score of 3.33 demonstrated that adolescents who completed Part 3 of the survey have incomplete knowledge about e-cigarettes. For the whole cohort of 1600 participants, the average score was 2.80. No significant sex differences were detected. The Ukranian participants had poor knowledge about the dangers of vaping in comparison with the participants in the USA and Australia (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: While the contact of adolescents with e-cigarettes users is extensive, their actual knowledge remains inadequate. Various school-based smoking risk campaigns face a necessity for further adjustments and improvements.

Screening Procedure for Hemihypertrophy: Preliminary Results of International Multicenter Prospective Study.

INTRODUCTION: Isolated or congenital hemihypertrophy is a rare disorder characterized by asymmetric overgrowth of one side of the body. This article describes the protocol and preliminary results of a lateral body asymmetry (hemihypertrophy) screening procedure performed in healthy adolescents in a multicenter study. The reported incidence of hemihypertrophy varies between different publications and standardized protocols are needed to improve research in this area. METHODS: Our screening program is taking place in Australia, Israel, Mexico, Ukraine and USA. Procedure includes two steps: (1) "three measurements - three questions" screening, or assessment of face, palms, and shins; (2) in-depth assessment of selected cases in order to exclude localized, lesional, and syndrome-related cases as well as body asymmetry within normative range and to select suspected cases of isolated hemihypertrophy. This step includes measurements of various anatomical regions and a detailed questionnaire. RESULTS: At this stage, the screening procedure is completed and the selected participants are advised to refer to medical institutions for further clinical and genetic follow up to exclude possible tumors and other accompanying disorders. CONCLUSION: We present an easy-to-use selection tool to identify children with suspected IH, which results in the selection of the risk group that may benefit from referral to a pediatrician and a clinical geneticist.