Category: Statistics

Turk Psikiyatri Derg. 2021 Summer;32(2):100-108.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Trichotillomania (TTM) and Skin Picking Disorder (SPD) are psychiatric disorders characterized by chronic and compulsive pulling and picking to remove hair and skin. There are very few studies on the clinical and phenomenological differences of TTM and SPD. In this study we aimed to compare the clinical characteristics and comorbidities of patients diagnosed with TTM and SPD.

METHOD: We enrolled 56 TTM and 113 SPD patients who were assessed with SCID-I for DSM-IV. In addition, we evaluated the DSM- 5 criteria for Obsessive and Compulsive Disorder spectrum. We also utilized sociodemographic form, the Clinical Global Impression Scale, the Beck Anxiety Inventory and the Beck Depression Inventory.

RESULTS: Although patients with TTM and SPD had many common clinical features and comorbidities, statistically significant differences were determined in the number of the pulling/picking sites (Z=- 7.084; p<0.001), the type of the outpatient clinics which they initially consulted (χ2=19.451; p<0.001), reasons for pulling/picking behavior (p<0.05) and comorbidities of depression (χ2=3.878; p=0.049) and onychophagia (χ2=7.173; p=0.007). Disease severity and depression and anxiety scores of patients with TTM and SPD who had comorbid diseases were statistically significantly higher compared to the patients without comorbidities (p<0.005).

CONCLUSION: TTM and SPD often present with common clinical characteristics and a high incidence of psychiatric comorbidities. Finding out the clinical characteristics, the triggering factors and determining the comorbidities are important to gain an understanding of the course and determine the appropriate treatment for these disorders. Hence, phenomenological studies on large patient populations are needed.

PMID:34392506

Turk Psikiyatri Derg. 2021 Summer;32(2):129-136.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to develop a short scale that assesses the progress and recovery in addiction treatment with respect to all relevant areas, and to determine its validity and reliability.

METHOD: After scanning the literature and consulting the experts, a pool of questions was. The pilot form was tested in 10 cases then a final 8-item scale was generated. Clinical sample of the study consisted of 307 alcohol/substance users who applied Turkish Green Crescent Outpatient Counselling Center for psychosocial treatment between March 2016 and March 2017. Non-clinical sample of the study is composed by 102 randomly chosen participants without a history of psychiatric disorder. The reliability of the Addiction Outcome Assessment Index (AOAI) questions was determined by computing the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, and the factor structure analysis was determined by varimax rotation. Analysis of the reliability of the change between sessions was conducted via Reliable Change Index-(RCI).

RESULTS: The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the total Outcome Assessment Index (AOAI) was 0.80. Therapists’ total correlation coefficient was 0.75. Explanatory Factor Analysis revealed 2 factors which explains 43.96% of the total variance. The difference between groups’ AOAI-Turkish (BASI) mean score was statistically significant. Cut-off point was determined as 8.63. RCI was 3.5. AOAI’s first session mean score was 14.92±5.63, the mean score decreased at the tenth session to 9.4±4.71.

CONCLUSION: The results showed that AOAI is a valid and reliable questionnaire that can be used to measure the progress of different dimensions of alcohol and substance use.

PMID:34392509

Rheumatol Ther. 2021 Aug 14. doi: 10.1007/s40744-021-00348-2. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Patients with chronic inflammatory diseases (CIDs) may encounter challenges in their family planning journey. Here, we report on the access to family planning and pregnancy (FPP) information and the concerns among patients in Denmark with CIDs.

METHODS: Patients aged 18-50 years with CIDs participated in an online survey. Patients were recruited through patient advocacy groups and were asked to report information on their diagnosis, concerns related to FPP and perceptions of access to FPP information. Descriptive statistics were applied.

RESULTS: Of the eligible respondents, 368 had rheumatological diagnoses (rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis or axial spondyloarthritis; mean age 40 years; 83% women, 17% men) and 95 had dermatological diagnoses (psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis; mean age 38 years; 67% women, 33% men). Approximately 70% of all patients reported seeking FPP information from patient advocacy groups; 57% of both cohorts used the internet as information sources; and 73% and 42% of rheumatological and dermatological cohorts used their hospital and specialist doctor, respectively. Despite this, 58% and 67% of patients with rheumatological and dermatological diagnoses reported limited or no access to FPP information, with > 70% of dermatological patients of early/mid-reproductive age reporting a lack of access to this information. Overall, 68% of patients with rheumatological and 73% with dermatological diagnoses had biological children, amongst whom 24% and 18%, respectively, indicated their disease affected the number of children they ultimately decided to have. The most frequent FPP concerns among patients who did not want any/more biological children were disease worsening, heredity and taking care of the child.

CONCLUSIONS: Despite awareness of available sources of FPP information, patients expressed experiencing a feeling of limited access to information and having concerns that affect key decisions regarding FPP. The results of this survey highlight a need for improved and more standardised FPP information for patients with CIDs in Denmark.

PMID:34392489 | DOI:10.1007/s40744-021-00348-2

Dig Dis Sci. 2021 Aug 14. doi: 10.1007/s10620-021-07149-1. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Antimicrobial therapy improves symptoms in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but the efficacy in functional dyspepsia (FD) is largely unknown. While FD and IBS frequently overlap, it is unknown if concomitant IBS in FD alters the response to antimicrobial therapy in FD. Thus, we aimed to assess and compare the effect of antimicrobial therapy on visceral sensory function and symptom improvement in FD patients with and without IBS.

METHODS: Adult patients with FD with or without IBS received rifaximin 550 mg BD for 10 days, followed by a 6-week follow-up period. The total gastrointestinal symptom score as measured by the SAGIS (Structured Assessment of Gastrointestinal Symptoms) questionnaire and subscores (dyspepsia, diarrhea, and constipation), symptom response to a standardized nutrient challenge and normalization of the glucose breath tests were measured.

RESULTS: Twenty-one consecutive adult patients with FD and 14/21 with concomitant IBS were recruited. Treatment with rifaximin resulted in a significant (p = 0.017) improvement in the total SAGIS score from 34.7 (± 15.4) at baseline to 26.0 (± 16.8) at 2 weeks and 25.6 (± 17.8) at 6 weeks post-treatment. Similarly, compared to baseline there was a statistically significant improvement in SAGIS subscores for dyspepsia and diarrhea (all p < 0.05) and effects persisted for 6 weeks post-treatment. Similarly, the symptom score (and subscores) following a standardized nutrient challenge improved significantly (p < 0.001) 2 weeks post-treatment. The presence of concomitant IBS did not significantly influence the improvement of symptoms after antibiotic therapy (all p > 0.5).

CONCLUSIONS: In FD patients, the response to antimicrobial therapy with rifaximin is not influenced by concomitant IBS symptoms.

PMID:34392491 | DOI:10.1007/s10620-021-07149-1

Int Ophthalmol. 2021 Aug 15. doi: 10.1007/s10792-021-02003-9. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: A customized myopic refractive surgery was simulated by establishing a finite element model of the human eye, after which we studied the wave front aberrations induced by biomechanical effects and ablation profile after wave front-guided LASIK surgery.

METHODS: Thirty myopia patients (i.e., 60 eyes) without other eye diseases were selected. Their ages, preoperative spherical equivalent, astigmatism, and wave front aberration were then obtained, in addition to the mean spherical equivalent error range – 4 to – 8D. Afterward, wave front-guided customized LASIK surgery was simulated by establishing a finite element eye model, followed by the analysis of the wave front aberrations induced by the surface displacement from corneal biomechanical effects, as well as customized ablation profile. Finally, the preoperative and induced aberrations were statistically analyzed.

RESULTS: Comatic aberrations were the main wave front abnormality induced by biomechanical effects, and the wave front aberrations induced by the ablation profile mainly included coma and secondary coma, as well as sphere and secondary-sphere aberrations. Overall, the total high-order aberrations (tHOAs), total coma (C₃₁), and sphere ([Formula: see text]) increased after wave front-guided customized LASIK surgery. According to our correlation analyses, coma, sphere, and tHOAs were significantly correlated with decentration. Additionally, the material parameters of ocular tissue were found to affect the postoperative wave front aberrations. When the material parameters of the sclera remained constant but those of cornea increased, the induced wave front aberrations were reduced.

CONCLUSION: All biomechanical effects of cornea and ablation profile had significant effects on postoperative wave front aberrations after customized LASIK refractive surgery; however, the effects of the ablation profile were more notorious. Additionally, the characteristics of biomechanical materials have influence on the clinical correction effect.

PMID:34392473 | DOI:10.1007/s10792-021-02003-9

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2021 Aug 14. doi: 10.1007/s11356-021-15384-2. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The surface water is a significant feature in the hydrological system and is a vital compound for life growth. Assessment of trace elements in the water bodies is essential since it poses huge threats to aquatic organisms and humans if present in high concentrations. This study was carried out to assess the seasonal changes in the dissolved trace elements concentration in Bhavani river, which is one of the major rivers of Tamil Nadu, southern India and also to assess the human health risk due to its consumption. A total of 46 surface water samples were collected along the river during pre-monsoon and post-monsoon of 2018 and were analyzed for various trace elements such as Zn, Cu, Fe, Ni, and Pb. The variation in trace element concentration is observed spatially, where higher concentration is found in samples from agricultural and urban areas than the samples from the undisturbed natural-mountain terrains. The results highlighted that the concentrations of trace elements differ temporally where the concentration is greater during the monsoon due to increased discharge of sewage and agricultural run off to the river. Multivariate statistical analysis indicates stronger relationship between trace elements and other physio-chemical parameters hinting that natural and anthropogenic sources alters the riverine chemistry. Thus, the rainfall-runoff characteristics along with lithology, topography, and landuse of the basin plays a dominant role in the seasonal variation of dissolved trace elements. The water quality index value shows “good/excellent” during pre-monsoon and “marginal/fair” during monsoon season and the Heavy Metal Pollution Index values were also low during both the seasons. The river water samples which defy these indices were found to be either from urban or agricultural lands. The oral and dermal ingestion health risk to adults was assessed, which indicates that the risks posed to humans by consumption of water were minimal. The trace metal concentration of the river was then compared with the other rivers of world and India, where it shows that Zn, Cu, and Ni concentration was higher in Bhavani than in most of the rivers. Thus, the study highlighted that the urban settlements and agricultural lands have a considerable influence on river quality thereby triggering the increase in trace element concentrations. Therefore, the study necessitates on the continuous monitoring of river along with adoption of stringent discharge protocols.

PMID:34392481 | DOI:10.1007/s11356-021-15384-2

Brain Imaging Behav. 2021 Aug 15. doi: 10.1007/s11682-021-00492-x. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

A higher incidence of cognitive impairment (CI) has previously been reported among orchiectomized testicular cancer patients (TCPs), but little is known about the underlying pathophysiology. The present study assessed CI in newly orchiectomized TCPs and explored the structural brain networks, endocrine status, and selected genotypes. Forty TCPs and 22 healthy controls (HCs) underwent neuropsychological testing and magnetic resonance imaging, and provided a blood sample. CI was defined as a z-score ≤ -2 on one neuropsychological test or ≤ -1.5 on two neuropsychological tests, and structural brain networks were investigated using graph theory. Associations of cognitive performance with brain networks, endocrine status (including testosterone levels and androgen receptor CAG repeat length), and genotypes (APOE, BDNF, COMT) were explored. Compared with HCs, TCPs performed poorer on 6 out of 15 neuropsychological tests, of which three tests remained statistically significant when adjusted for relevant between-group differences (p < 0.05). TCPs also demonstrated more CI than HCs (65% vs. 36%; p = 0.04). While global brain network analysis revealed no between-group differences, regional analysis indicated differences in node degree and betweenness centrality in several regions (p < 0.05), which was inconsistently associated with cognitive performance. In TCPs, CAG repeat length was positively correlated with delayed memory performance (r = 0.36; p = 0.02). A COMT group × genotype interaction effect was found for overall cognitive performance in TCPs, with risk carriers performing worse (p = 0.01). No effects were found for APOE, BDNF, or testosterone levels. In conclusion, our results support previous findings of a high incidence of CI in newly orchiectomized TCPs and provide novel insights into possible mechanisms.

PMID:34392471 | DOI:10.1007/s11682-021-00492-x

J Bodyw Mov Ther. 2021 Jul;27:717-722. doi: 10.1016/j.jbmt.2021.06.015. Epub 2021 Jun 17.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Being the second highest musculoskeletal problem irrespective of age, gender and occupation, the etiology of neck pain is predominantly mechanical in nature. This can lead to dysfunction with time and recurrence. Altered joint position sense (JPS) from soft tissues can alter the cervical biomechanics by compromising the cephalo spatial orientation, which depends on the visual, vestibular and proprioceptive cues. This study was done to observe the additive effect of “Brahma mudra” (BM) a yogic tool on non-specific mechanical neck pain and its clinical implication on pain, proprioception and functional abilities.

METHODS: It was a quasi-experimental pre -post study design involving 30 individuals from a software firm between the age group of 18-45 years. The conventional treatment group received standard physiotherapy regime and in the BM group BM was incorporated in addition to standard physiotherapy regime. Independent sample student t-test/Mann Whitney test were used to compare continuous variables between two groups. Paired sample test/Wilcoxon signed rank test were used for within groups.

RESULTS: There was a significant reduction in pain, improved functional abilities and proprioception in BM group when compared to conventional treatment group with 0.01 level of statistical significance.

CONCLUSION: It may be concluded that practice of BM had an added effect to conventional standard physiotherapy regime in reduction of pain, improvement of proprioception and functional abilities among individuals with chronic non-specific mechanical neck pain.

PMID:34391312 | DOI:10.1016/j.jbmt.2021.06.015

J Bodyw Mov Ther. 2021 Jul;27:692-697. doi: 10.1016/j.jbmt.2021.04.012. Epub 2021 Apr 22.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Constipation and sleep disturbances commonly affect elderly population results in compromised physical and mental health. Mind-body interventions like yoga not only address the mental and physical health but also promote healthy ageing. This study evaluates the effect of 3 months yoga intervention on the sleep and constipation related quality of life (QoL) among the elderly.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ninety six participants aged between 60 and 75 who did not had any history of yoga practice for past 1 year and having a zubrod score of 0-2 were randomized in to yoga (n = 48) or waitlisted control (n = 48). The yoga group received yoga interventions at a frequency of 3 sessions per week for 3 months. Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Patient Assessment of Constipation QoL (PAC-QOL) were used to assess the improvement. Intention to treat analysis method was used to include the drop-out participants.

RESULTS: Eighty one participants (Yoga = 48, waitlisted control = 33) completed the study. Wilcoxon’s sign rank test has shown that the yoga group had statistically significant changes in most of the parameters in PSQI and PAC-QOL (P ≤ 0.05). Mann Whitney test revealed that yoga group has better improvement in the sleep quality and constipation related QOL (P ≤ 0.05) compared to the controls.

DISCUSSION: The results signify yoga can ease old age related issues like constipation and insomnia. This is encouraging for inclusion of yoga as a daily practice regimen to improve the constipation and sleep related quality of life in elderly population.

PMID:34391308 | DOI:10.1016/j.jbmt.2021.04.012

J Bodyw Mov Ther. 2021 Jul;27:710-716. doi: 10.1016/j.jbmt.2021.05.018. Epub 2021 May 18.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to determine whether muscle strength of the lower limb and trunk during the acute phase after stroke are predictors of motor function and disability 90 days after hospital discharge.

METHODS: This prospective study used a nonconcurrent design to evaluate stroke patients at two time points: a) first 72 h: hip abduction and ankle dorsiflexion (HAAD) score, trunk sitting control, clinical evaluation, demographic profile, and stroke severity using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS); b) 90 days after hospital discharge: modified Rankin scale (mRS). The participants were divided into two groups: good outcome (mRS 0-2) and worse outcome (mRS>2), and the differences between them were assessed statistically. Clinical and demographic variables were included in the multiple logistic regression analysis. The ROC curve was used to illustrate the clinical sensitivity and specificity of the HAAD score cutoff for the outcomes.

RESULTS: Thirty-seven patients were included: 16 with mRS≤2 and 21 with mRS>2. Patients in the worse outcome group were older (p = 0.02) and presented with higher NIHSS scores (p = 0.002), lower HAAD scores (p < 0.001), higher pain sensation (p = 0.04), greater altered perception (p = 0.008), and no trunk control in the sitting position (p = 0.004). A lower HAAD score (OR = 0.09; 95%CI: 0.14-0.53; p < 0.001) and the absence of trunk control in the sitting position (OR = 0.55; 95%CI:0.54-0.95; p < 0.001) were associated with unsatisfactory outcomes.

CONCLUSION: A HAAD score <6 and the absence of trunk control while sitting during the first 72 h are predictors of worse long-term disability in stroke patients.

PMID:34391311 | DOI:10.1016/j.jbmt.2021.05.018