Comparison of healthcare workers and non-healthcare workers in terms of obsessive-compulsive and depressive symptoms during COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal case-controlled study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the obsessive-compulsive and depressive symptoms of healthcare workers in a case-control setting as longitudinal. Method: In this study included 49 healthcare workers and 47 non-health workers. A sociodemographic data form, the Maudsley Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (MOCI), the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90), and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) were used to assess individuals between June 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021. We assessed the same healthcare workers after 12 months on June 30, 2021 using MOCI, HAM-D, and SCL-90. Results: MOCI and SCL-90 obsessive-compulsive subscale scores were significantly higher in the healthcare workers than in the non-health workers. When we assessed MOCI, HAM-D, and SCL-90 obsessive-compulsive subscale scores after 12 months, there was a statistically significant decrease in the scores of all three scales among the healthcare workers. Conclusion: The results of the study showed that healthcare workers were more likely to have obsessive-compulsive symptoms than non-health workers in the early part of the pandemic on June 1, 2020, as shown by their scores on MOCI and the obsessive-compulsive subscale of SCL-90. When we assessed the same participants after 12 months (June 30, 2021), both MOCI and SCL-90 obsessive-compulsive subscale scores had decreased significantly. In contrast to these results, HAM-D scores significantly increased.

The DQQ is a Valid Tool to Collect Population-Level Food Group Consumption Data: A Study Among Women in Ethiopia, Vietnam, and Solomon Islands.

BACKGROUND: The Diet Quality Questionnaire (DQQ) is a rapid dietary assessment tool designed to enable feasible measuring and monitoring of diet quality at population level in the general public. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate validity of the DQQ for collecting population-level food group consumption data required for calculating diet quality indicators by comparing them with a multipass 24-h dietary recall (24hR) as the reference. METHODS: Cross-sectional data were collected among female participants aged 15-49 y in Ethiopia (n = 488), 18-49 y in Vietnam (n = 200), and 19-69 y in Solomon Islands (n = 65) to compare DQQ and 24hR data in proportional differences in food group consumption prevalence, percentage of participants achieving Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDD-W), percent agreement, percentage misreporting food group consumption, and diet quality scores of Food Group Diversity Score (FGDS), noncommunicable disease (NCD)-Protect, NCD-Risk, and the Global Dietary Recommendation (GDR) score using a nonparametric analysis. RESULTS: The mean (standard deviation) percentage point difference between DQQ and 24hR in population prevalence of food group consumption was 0.6 (0.7), 2.4 (2.0), and 2.5 (2.7) in Ethiopia, Vietnam, and Solomon Islands, respectively. Percent agreement of food group consumption data ranged from 88.6% (10.1) in Solomon Islands to 96.3% (4.9) in Ethiopia. There was no significant difference between DQQ and 24hR in population prevalence of achieving MDD-W except for Ethiopia (DQQ 6.1 percentage points higher, P < 0.01). Median (25th-75th percentiles) scores of FGDS, NCD-Protect, NCD-Risk, and GDR score were comparable between the tools. CONCLUSIONS: The DQQ is a suitable tool for collecting population-level food group consumption data for estimating diet quality with food group-based indicators such as the MDD-W, FGDS, NCD-Protect, NCD-Risk, and GDR score.

Examining the perceived stress and body image in burn patients: A cross-sectional study.

This study aimed to examine the perceived stress and body image in burn patients and the relationship between these two variables. This is a descriptive and cross-sectional study. The study included total of 144 patients who had burn injuries, received treatment in a research and training hospital and were scheduled to be discharged. The data were collected prospectively by the researchers, using descriptive methods, Kruskal Wallis test, paired samples t test, and Pearson's correlation analysis. Of the patients, 59% were between the ages of 18 and 35 years, 68.1% were male, 65.3% had second-degree burns, 77.1% had burn surfaces ranging between 10% and 20% of their body, and 54.9% had autograft surgery. The burn patients aged 51 years and over had higher perceived stress than younger patients, and the difference between them was statistically significant (P < 0.05). As the percentage of burn surface increased, the perceived stress increased, and the perceived body image weakened (P < 0.05). The burn patients with autograft surgery had lower perceived stress and higher perceived body image than those without autograft surgery, and the difference between them was statistically significant (P < 0.01). This study found an inverse relationship between perceived stress and body image in burn patients, which was affected by the percentage of burn surface and autograft surgery. Relevant interventions are suggested to increase perceived body image in burn patients and reduce their perceived stress.

Effects of Major Depressive Disorder on Monocytes, High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL) and Monocyte to HDL Ratio: A Case-Control Study.

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we investigated the effects of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) on monocyte counts, High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL) levels, and Monocyte to HDL ratios (MHR) among inflammatory markers. METHOD: This is a retrospective case-control study. The case group of our study included 120 major depressive patients. The control group included 124 healthy individuals. The data were collected using a Personal Information Form, the Clinical Global Impression Scale, and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. The lipid profiles and complete blood count parameters of the case and control groups were tested and compared. The collected data were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test, Mann-Whitney U test and independent-samples t-test. RESULTS: A significant increase in the monocyte and MHR values and a decrease in the HDL values of the case group were observed with older ages (p<0.01). In the case group, the MHR and monocyte count values were higher, and the HDL levels were lower in the MDD patients who had never received treatment in comparison to those who had received treatment. As the severity of depression increased, MHR levels also increased. CONCLUSION: Our study is the first study to show that MHR is significantly higher in MDD patients than healthy controls. It was also shown that depression severity and MHR are positively correlated. Consequently, MHR might be a simple, practical, and low-cost parameter which shows inflammation in MDD patients.

The analysis of immunosuppressant therapy adherence, depression, anxiety, and stress in kidney transplant recipients in the post-transplantation period.

AIM: Our study aimed to analyze the immunosuppressant therapy adherence, anxiety, stress, and depression in kidney transplant recipients in the post-transplantation period. METHOD: This study was conducted as descriptive and cross-sectional research with the participation of 260 recipients who underwent kidney transplantation and were already discharged from the hospital (n = 260). In the data collection process, we used the Personal Information Form, the Immunosuppressant Therapy Adherence Scale (ITAS), and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS)-21. The One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Chi-Squared test, post hoc and Pearson Correlation analysis methods were used in data analysis. FINDINGS: In our study all participant kidney transplant recipients, 45.4% were age 46-64 years and 81.5% were men. As the recipients' age levels increased, their immunosuppressant therapy adherence levels decreased (p < 0.05). Similarly, kidney recipients with at least 3 adverse events (infection, gastrointestinal problems, edema, blood disorders etc.) had a higher DASS-21 score and a lower ITAS score than those with low side effects. ITAS had a strong negative relationship with DASS-21 (p < 0.05). Recipients' depression, stress, and anxiety scores were, in general, above the medium level. CONCLUSION: Adherence to the immunosuppressive drug regimen after kidney transplantation and depression, anxiety and stress are in a bidirectional relationship. At the same time, the side effects of immunosuppressive drugs can trigger the development of depression, anxiety and stress. After kidney transplant, recipients are at risk for the development of depression, anxiety, and stress. We recommend early detection of this condition and taking preventive and symptom-reducing interventions.

A case-control study on depression, anxiety, and belief in sexual myths in trans women.

Objective: The purpose of our study was to investigate depression, anxiety, and belief in sexual myths in trans women. Methods: This is a prospective case-control study. The case group included 60 trans women who were referred to the Medical Biology and Genetics Department from various clinics of the research and training hospital where this study was conducted. The control group consisted of 60 healthy male individuals who presented to the same hospital for routine health follow-ups and collecting documents showing their health. In data collection, we used a Personal Information Form, the Sexual Myths Scale, and the Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories. The IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 25.0 was used to analyze the data. Results: In the case group, 26.7% of the participants were sex workers, and all were single. While 46.7% of the participants in the case group were living with their families, 66.7% were smokers, and 13.3% were receiving hormone treatment. All 60 participants in the control group were also single. The participants in the control group had higher levels of believing sexual myths and lower levels of anxiety and depression than those in the case group (p = 0.000). The mean scores of the participants in the control group in the Sexual Orientation and Sexual Violence subscales of the Sexual Myths Scale were higher than the mean scores of those in the case group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The trans women who participated in this study had higher levels of anxiety and depression and lower levels of believing sexual myths than the control group. The mental health of trans women can be disrupted due to various treatments they are exposed to in society such as stigma, discrimination, and violence. Their higher anxiety and depression levels in this study could be explained by this exposure. This exposure could also have led to their lower total scores in the Sexual Myths Scale, as well as lower scores in the Sexual Violence and Sexual Orientation subscales.

PROTOCOL: Measuring diet-related consumer behaviours relevant to low- and middle-income countries to advance food systems research: An evidence and gap map.

This is the protocol for a evidence and gap map. The main objective of this evidence and gap map is to provide access to a systematic overview of available indicators for diet-related consumer behaviours relevant to LMICs, to support policy makers and researchers to develop, monitor and revise food policies and programmes to leverage food systems transformations for healthier and more sustainable diets.