Browsing by Subject "ahdistuneisuus"
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(2016)Goals. Inflammation has been found to be associated with psychological symptoms. Especially in regard to depression, there is broad evidence that depressed people have higher levels of inflammation. Higher inflammation has also been linked to poorer response to SSRI-medication. Anxiety has been found to have stronger association to experienced pain than depression and in earlier studies references to an independent association between anxiety and inflammation has emerged. The purpose of this study was to explore if a connection between anxiety and inflammation can be found and what factors are possibly contributing to that connection. Goal was to find factors that can help maintain and improve individual's quality of life and ability to work. Methods. Data used in this study belonged to the biomarker project (project 4), which was part of the second stage of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) longitudinal study. The mean age of participants was 57.32 (sd. 11.55) years. As a measure of inflammation serum levels of cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) were collected from the blood of participants. Anxiety was measured by Spielberger Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The association between anxiety and inflammation was explored by a linear regression analysis. Sociodemographic factors and also a broad range of other factors related to inflammation and anxiety were controlled in the models. In addition the possible moderating role of inner self-control was studied by a hierarchical linear regression analysis. The sub factor cognition control of the self-control scale was used as a measure of inner self-control. Results and conclusions. When inflammation was predicted only by anxiety, anxiety was a statistically significant predictor and this association remained significant after sociodemographic factors were controlled. When broad range of other controlled variables was included in the model a connection between anxiety and inflammation could not be found. It seems that the association between anxiety and inflammation is mainly due to other factors. Especially the amount of chronic conditions attenuated the association. Inner self-control did not have a statistically significant effect to the connection between anxiety and inflammation. The best predictor for inflammation in this study was body mass index and also other health behavior related factors had a significant role. In regard to the wellbeing of an individual and individual's ability to work, weight control and healthy lifestyle choices are crucial.
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(2017)Objectives. Previous research has found associations between both cognitive ability and anxiety and school performance and anxiety. The nature of these associations is not yet clear however. On one hand, it has been speculated that the optimal development of emotion regulation requires cognitive skills and that performing well at school could protect one from anxiety e.g. through increased feelings of competence. On the other hand, anxiety may interfere with cognitive performance by directing attention to negative thoughts and impair school performance e.g. through absences from school. The objective of this study was to investigate the associations between anxiety, cognitive ability and school performance in 12- and 17-year-old youth. Of additional interest were the longitudinal changes in anxiety and cognitive ability in a 5-year follow-up. Methods. The data in this study consisted of the youth who participated in the 12- and 17-year follow-ups (N = 451) of the longitudinal study of Glycyrrhizin in Licorice (GLAKU). Anxiety was assessed using an Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) questionnaire completed by parents when the participants were 12. When participants were 17, they completed an Achenbach Youth Self Report (YSR) questionnaire. The cognitive ability of the participants was assessed using two subtests of verbal reasoning and two subtests of visual reasoning of Wechsler Intelligence Scale. Information about school performance was gained from parent evaluations. The associations between anxiety, cognitive ability and school performance were examined with negative binomial, logistic and linear regression models. Results and conclusions. In accordance with the diverse and partly controversial results of previous research this study also found the complexity of the associations between cognitive ability and anxiety: On one hand, lower anxiety was associated with better cognitive ability in cross-sectional designs. On the other hand, higher anxiety at the age of 12 was associated with improved performance IQ in a 5-year follow up. However, this association was found only among girls and for boys anxiety had an impairing effect on the development of performance IQ. These results suggest that early support should be targeted especially towards boys with anxiety in order to protect their cognitive development.
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(2017)Objectives. Previous research has found associations between both cognitive ability and anxiety and school performance and anxiety. The nature of these associations is not yet clear however. On one hand, it has been speculated that the optimal development of emotion regulation requires cognitive skills and that performing well at school could protect one from anxiety e.g. through increased feelings of competence. On the other hand, anxiety may interfere with cognitive performance by directing attention to negative thoughts and impair school performance e.g. through absences from school. The objective of this study was to investigate the associations between anxiety, cognitive ability and school performance in 12- and 17-year-old youth. Of additional interest were the longitudinal changes in anxiety and cognitive ability in a 5-year follow-up. Methods. The data in this study consisted of the youth who participated in the 12- and 17-year follow-ups (N = 451) of the longitudinal study of Glycyrrhizin in Licorice (GLAKU). Anxiety was assessed using an Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) questionnaire completed by parents when the participants were 12. When participants were 17, they completed an Achenbach Youth Self Report (YSR) questionnaire. The cognitive ability of the participants was assessed using two subtests of verbal reasoning and two subtests of visual reasoning of Wechsler Intelligence Scale. Information about school performance was gained from parent evaluations. The associations between anxiety, cognitive ability and school performance were examined with negative binomial, logistic and linear regression models. Results and conclusions. In accordance with the diverse and partly controversial results of previous research this study also found the complexity of the associations between cognitive ability and anxiety: On one hand, lower anxiety was associated with better cognitive ability in cross-sectional designs. On the other hand, higher anxiety at the age of 12 was associated with improved performance IQ in a 5-year follow up. However, this association was found only among girls and for boys anxiety had an impairing effect on the development of performance IQ. These results suggest that early support should be targeted especially towards boys with anxiety in order to protect their cognitive development.
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(2015)This review focuses on neurotrophic factors, especially CDNF, and Amyotropic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This review finds out which neurotrophic factors have been studied in clinical trials of ALS and what kind of results have been got. Neurotrophic factors are important for development and function of neurons because they prevent apoptosis of neurons. They also play role in differentiation, development and migration of neurons. It is also known that many of the neurotrophic factors have protective and restorative properties. ALS is a rare neurodegenerative disease which causes the destruction of motor neurons and leads to death in three years. The disease degenerate the upper and lower motor neurons. Symptoms are muscle weakness, muscle atrophy, cramps and problems with swallowing. At the moment there is no cure for ALS so it is important to study neurotrophic factors that could prevent the progression of the disease and perhaps to protect or repair destroyed motor neurons. This is why it is important to study potential of CDNF in ALS. The experimental part consists of three different parts. The purpose of the first part study was to determine the distribution of CDNF after intraventricular delivery at different time points. CDNF was labeled with 125I (125I-CDNF). The distribution was determined by gammacounter and autoradiography. To determine the stability of the injected 125-I CDNF we performed SDS-PAGE. The second part studied the diffusion volume of CDNF after intraventricular injection with seven wild type mice. After stereotaxic surgery CDNF-immunohistochemistry staining from coronal sections was done. The last experimental part studied the effect of single intracerebral injection of CDNF on motivation, locomotor activity, anxiety and depression with male and female mice. Light-dark box, open field, rotarod, forced swim test (FST), elevated plus maze and fear conditioning were carried out with male mice. After behavioural tests mice were sacrified for HPLC-analysis. Light-dark box and IntelliCage were carried out with female mice before c-fos staining. Gammacounter and autoradiography shows that 125I-CDNF distributes widely after intracerebroventricular injection. It spread throughout to the brain and also all the way to the spinal cord after one and three hours from injection. After 24 hours 125I-CDNF was cleared so the CDNF signal was very weak. SDS-PAGE showed the stability of radioactive CDNF. CDNF increased locomotor activity and decreased anxiety in male mice. But a statistically significant difference appeared in forced swim test and fear conditioning test. HPLC-analysis supported these results partly. CDNF also increased motivation of female mice in IntelliCage experiment. C-fos staining was observed in CDNF group and PBS group so quantitative analysis should be done from these sections so that reliable conclusions could be done. However, because CDNF distributed to spinal cord and it showed some effect on locomotor activity, motivation and depression it might be potential for ALS disease.
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(2017)Objectives. Anxiety and physical inactivity are associated with significant personal and societal disadvantages worldwide. Previous research suggests that physical activity is associated with decreased symptoms of anxiety among healthy adults, adults with a chronic illness, and individuals diagnosed with an anxiety disorders. Increasing amount of studies also suggests that physical exercise can be an evidenced-based intervention for anxiety symptoms among people with anxiety disorders. Few studies have used direct measures of physical activity instead of self-report measures. The objective of this study was to determine the association between regular physical activity and anxiety and examine if the relationship remains after controlling possible moderating variables, BMI, depression and health status. In addition, the aim was to examine how using self-report measures and direct measures affects to these results. Method. The study sample (n = 284, 54.9 % women, mean age = 54,4 years) was a part of the Midlife Development in the United States follow-up study material. Physical activity was assessed by Actiwatch activity monitoring system and by self-report measures. Anxiety was assessed by the trait version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The relations between physical activity and anxiety were examined using linear regression. Results and conclusions. There were no significant relationship between physical activity and anxiety. However, low moderate exercise predicted higher anxiety levels almost significantly. This relation didn't remain after controlling the effects of the possible moderating variables, BMI, depression and health status. Relationship between direct and self-report measures of physical activity was weak. Results found in this study are conflicting with the information from previous studies in which significant relationship between physical activity and anxiety has been found. However, small sample size, limitations regarding the measurement tools of physical activity and high mean age of the sample may have influenced these results. In accord with previous studies, these findings suggest that there are some problems regarding the reliability of self-report measures when measuring physical activity. Future research is needed to clarify relations between physical activity and anxiety.
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(2019)Objectives. Reciprocal interaction between a parent and a child can face many challenges due to preterm birth. Not only is the preterm infant developmentally immature for social interaction, but also the parent may find it challenging to interact with the preterm child. Even though the preterm child would greatly benefit from parents’ support, it can be difficult for an anxious parent to support a child adequately, further harming the development of the preterm child. The aim of the current study was to examine how maternal anxiety after preterm birth affects later interaction between parents and the preterm child and the development of the preterm child at 2–3 years of age. Also, the associations between interaction and screen time and child’s development were examined. Methods. Participants of the study were 27 preterm children who were born at 30,20 (±2,27) weeks of gestation. Mothers assessed their anxiety after the preterm birth with a STAI -self valuation questionnaire at the time of the gestational age of 35 and 40 weeks. Later at the 2–3 year follow-up mothers, fathers or both parents estimated interaction with a questionnaire that examined the amounts of language and music actions at home and child’s screen time. Also, child’s development was assessed with Bayley-III. The associations were examined with Pearson correlation and Spearman order correlation coefficients. Results and conclusions. The results show that maternal anxiety after preterm birth is acutely very common and half of the mothers were moderately anxious. When anxiety seemed more chronic instead of short-lived, maternal anxiety after preterm birth was associated with less interaction at 2-3 years of age. In homes of less anxious mothers, parents and children’s siblings played more music and premature children spent more time watching television or otherwise spending time with smart devices than in the homes of more anxious mothers. In this study, the higher amount of child’s screen time was associated with poorer socio-emotional development. Screen time’s effect on socio-emotional development can be even more harmful with prematurely born children since they often suffer from developmental deficits and challenges in reciprocal interaction. Even though it seems that less anxious mothers mean well and want to offer more stimuli for their preterm children, they may not help the child by offering him or her more screen time. The results add to previous knowledge about screen time’s associations with poorer socio-emotional development for the first time with preterm children.
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(2019)Objectives. Reciprocal interaction between a parent and a child can face many challenges due to preterm birth. Not only is the preterm infant developmentally immature for social interaction, but also the parent may find it challenging to interact with the preterm child. Even though the preterm child would greatly benefit from parents’ support, it can be difficult for an anxious parent to support a child adequately, further harming the development of the preterm child. The aim of the current study was to examine how maternal anxiety after preterm birth affects later interaction between parents and the preterm child and the development of the preterm child at 2–3 years of age. Also, the associations between interaction and screen time and child’s development were examined. Methods. Participants of the study were 27 preterm children who were born at 30,20 (±2,27) weeks of gestation. Mothers assessed their anxiety after the preterm birth with a STAI -self valuation questionnaire at the time of the gestational age of 35 and 40 weeks. Later at the 2–3 year follow-up mothers, fathers or both parents estimated interaction with a questionnaire that examined the amounts of language and music actions at home and child’s screen time. Also, child’s development was assessed with Bayley-III. The associations were examined with Pearson correlation and Spearman order correlation coefficients. Results and conclusions. The results show that maternal anxiety after preterm birth is acutely very common and half of the mothers were moderately anxious. When anxiety seemed more chronic instead of short-lived, maternal anxiety after preterm birth was associated with less interaction at 2-3 years of age. In homes of less anxious mothers, parents and children’s siblings played more music and premature children spent more time watching television or otherwise spending time with smart devices than in the homes of more anxious mothers. In this study, the higher amount of child’s screen time was associated with poorer socio-emotional development. Screen time’s effect on socio-emotional development can be even more harmful with prematurely born children since they often suffer from developmental deficits and challenges in reciprocal interaction. Even though it seems that less anxious mothers mean well and want to offer more stimuli for their preterm children, they may not help the child by offering him or her more screen time. The results add to previous knowledge about screen time’s associations with poorer socio-emotional development for the first time with preterm children.
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(2022)Tavoitteet. Tämä kandidaatintutkielma tarkastelee kognitiivisen kuntoutuksen muotoja ja hyötyjä änkytyksen sekä siihen liittyvän ahdistuneisuuden kuntoutuksessa. Tavoitteena on selvittää, miten kognitiivista kuntoutusta toteutetaan ja miten se vaikuttaa änkytykseen ja psyykkisiin oireisiin. Aiemmat tutkimukset ovat osoittaneet, että änkyttävillä henkilöillä on korostunut riski ahdistuneisuuteen ja jopa 66 prosenttia änkyttävistä aikuisista kärsii ahdistuneisuushäiriöstä. Ahdistuneisuudella on myös huomattu olevan negatiivinen vaikutus puheen sujuvuuden kuntoutustulosten pysyvyyteen. Änkytyksen hallinta- ja sujuvuuden säätelymenetelmät saattavat jopa ylläpitää änkytykseen ja ahdistuneisuuteen liittyvää turvakäyttäytymistä sekä korostunutta itsetarkkailua. Änkytykseen liittyvä ahdistuneisuus vaikuttaa laajasti myös elämänlaadun kokemukseen. Menetelmät. Tutkimusmenetelmänä käytettiin integroivaa kirjallisuuskatsausta. Aineisto kerättiin sähköisen aineistohaun avulla Scopus ja Pubmed -tietokannoista. Hakulauseke muodostettiin englanninkielisistä termeistä stutter (änkytys), cognitive OR comprehensive (kognitiivinen tai kokonaisvaltainen) ja intervention (interventio) sekä näiden synonyymeistä ja taivutusmuodoista. Poissulku- ja mukaanottokriteerien perusteella tutkimusaineistoksi muodostui kymmenen vuosina 2010–2021 julkaistua tutkimusartikkelia. Näistä yksi poimittiin mukaan manuaalisesti. Aineisto analysoitiin systemaattisesti. Tulokset ja johtopäätökset. Aineiston kognitiivisissa interventioissa sovellettiin kognitiivis-behavioraalisia menetelmiä psykoterapiassa änkytyskuntoutuksen rinnalla, lasten leikkiterapiassa sekä internetpohjaisissa ohjelmissa. Lisäksi interventioihin lukeutui kognitiiviseen terapiaan liittyvä altistusterapia, elokuvaterapia sekä kokonaisvaltainen änkytysterapiainterventio CSP (Comprehensive Stuttering Program). Interventioissa huomattiin positiivisia vaikutuksia yksilön itsearvioissa ja negatiivisten arvioiden pelossa, asenteissa ja havaitsemisprosesseissa. Lisäksi ahdistuneisuus ja välttämiskäytös väheni ja kokemus elämänlaadusta parani. Vaikutukset änkytyksen määrään ja vaikeusasteeseen olivat vaihtelevia tai niitä ei todettu. Poikkeuksena CSP- sekä altistusterapiainterventioissa änkytyksen todettiin helpottuneen pitkäaikaisesti.
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(2017)This literature review focuses on the diagnostic criteria for selective mutism and its treatment. Selective mutism occurs in 0.3-1 % of the population. Its key features are anxiety and a consistent failure to speak in certain social situations despite speaking in others. The duration of the disturbance is at least one month. In the ICD-10 disease classification it is categorized as a disorder of social functioning with onset specific to childhood and adolescence. In the DSM-5 classification selective mutism is categorized as an anxiety disorder. Its comorbidity with other anxiety disorders, especially social phobia, is high. There are no international treatment recommendations for selective mutism, but individually designed cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy is preferred. If psychotherapy is insufficient, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine may be considered. It is important to identify selective mutism as it has a major impact on one’s quality of life and ability to function. It also causes social disadvantages and weakens academic capacity and self-esteem. Sometimes selective mutism is interpreted as extreme shyness and the disorder remains undiagnosed. Increasing awareness of selective mutism among those working with the young and families is important in order to identify the disorder and start appropriate treatment as early as possible. Early treatment is important because it can improve the prognosis and reduce the human suffering caused by the disorder.
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(2018)Aims. Individuals can be divided into three chronotypes based on their preferred timing of sleep and activity: morning-, neither- and evening-type. Evening-type has been associated with many health-related risks and higher depressive and anxiety symptoms (DA symptoms), but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In adolescence evening-type becomes more common, DA symptoms increase and physical activity decreases. The aim of this study is to examine the mediational associations between chronotype, exercise and DA symptoms in adolescence. Furthermore, the differences between genders are examined. Methods. The data used was from a Finnish cohort study SleepHelsinki!. 997 16‒17-years old adolescents (63.8% girls) participated in the study. Chronotype was assessed with MCTQ. BDI-II and GAD-7 were used to assess DA symptoms respectively. The amount of exercise was measured as hours per month. Mediation analysis with bootstrapping was used to examine the indirect associations between variables. Results and Conclusions. Evening-type was associated with higher DA symptoms, but exercise did not mediate this association when sleep loss, smoking and alcohol consumption were taken into consideration. Instead chronotype mediated the association between exercise and DA symptoms. According to these results the amount of exercise is not that relevant in the association. Instead more important is to concentrate on the type of exercise and to enhance the lifestyle of evening-types in other ways e.g. increasing social support considering gender differences.
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(2018)Aims. Individuals can be divided into three chronotypes based on their preferred timing of sleep and activity: morning-, neither- and evening-type. Evening-type has been associated with many health-related risks and higher depressive and anxiety symptoms (DA symptoms), but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In adolescence evening-type becomes more common, DA symptoms increase and physical activity decreases. The aim of this study is to examine the mediational associations between chronotype, exercise and DA symptoms in adolescence. Furthermore, the differences between genders are examined. Methods. The data used was from a Finnish cohort study SleepHelsinki!. 997 16‒17-years old adolescents (63.8% girls) participated in the study. Chronotype was assessed with MCTQ. BDI-II and GAD-7 were used to assess DA symptoms respectively. The amount of exercise was measured as hours per month. Mediation analysis with bootstrapping was used to examine the indirect associations between variables. Results and Conclusions. Evening-type was associated with higher DA symptoms, but exercise did not mediate this association when sleep loss, smoking and alcohol consumption were taken into consideration. Instead chronotype mediated the association between exercise and DA symptoms. According to these results the amount of exercise is not that relevant in the association. Instead more important is to concentrate on the type of exercise and to enhance the lifestyle of evening-types in other ways e.g. increasing social support considering gender differences.
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(2016)Objectives. There is a lack of knowledge concerning the contribution of the character traits to the association of work stress and over-commitment with common mental health problems. Primary school teachers are a large, homogenous occupational group that has been related to higher work stress levels and common mental health problems, although to a lesser amount of actual mental disorders. The aim of the study is to examine the extent to which the association between work stress, over-commitment and their interaction with common mental health problems can be attributed to the character traits among primary school teachers. Methods. The data consists of 76 (87% females) primary school teachers from 34 schools randomly selected to a study taking part in the capital area of Finland in 2013-14. There were 1-6 teachers who responded from each school (participation rate 4-33%). Common mental health problems were measured by GHQ-12 (psychological distress) and cognitive anxiety from a state anxiety scale of EMAS (highest tertile vs. two lowest). Work stress and over-commitment (the upper tertile vs. the rest) were measured according to original Siegrist's Effort-Reward-Imbalance Questionnaire. Character traits Self-directness, Cooperativeness, and Self-Transcendence were measured by Cloninger's TCI-questionnaire and each character was dichotomized at median to indicate a higher and lower category of the trait. The control variables were age, working hours and job contract type. The data were analyzed by means of Poisson regression (prevalence ratios, PR, and 90% confidence intervals) and relative rates. Results. Of teachers 30% had common mental health problems. The teachers with high over-commitment in comparison with those with low over-commitment had more often psychological distress (PR=2.5, p=0.018) and cognitive anxiety (PR=2.8, p=0.004). Although work stress was not independently associated with common mental health problems, it was related to the increased psychological distress among those with high over-commitment. Controlling for self-directedness attenuated the association of over-commitment with psychological distress and cognitive anxiety by 29% and 47%, respectively. After all adjustments, an independent association of Self-Directness with cognitive anxiety remained (PR=0.3, p=0.024). The other two character traits didn't have an independent impact on common mental health problems among the primary school teachers, but with the concurrent low self-directedness, low cooperativeness and low Self-Transcendence were related to over-commitment and increased level of cognitive anxiety. Both low cooperativeness and low self-transcendence were related to psychological symptoms. Conclusions: The primary school teachers had higher prevalence of common mental health problems, if they had low self-directedness and were over-committed to their work. Enhancing self-directedness may help in decreasing common mental health problems among overcommitted teachers. In the future the associations of the trait profiles with over-commitment and mental health symptoms should be studied with the larger longitudinal data.
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(2016)Intellectual disability is a disability characterized by varying degrees of intellectual functioning limitations. Approximately one third of people with intellectual disabilities have problems regulating emotions and behavior management problems. In general, people with intellectual disabilities are offered psychodynamic individual therapy, psychodynamic group therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, counselling and systematic family therapy as an intervention. The purpose of this thesis was to examine the suitability and effectiveness of the mindfulness-based interventions for people with intellectual disabilities. As a point of interest was the effects of mindfulness-based interventions for decreasing aggression, depression and anxiety. This thesis also examined the effects of effectiveness in mindfulness-based interventions when staff members working with people with intellectual disabilities and parents of people with intellectual disabilities had mindfulness training and practice. Furthermore, the effects of mindfulness-based interventions for people with intellectual disabilities to have a greater self-determination and mindfulness-based intervetions as cost-effective interventions was discussed. The studies show sings of the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions for decreasing aggression, depression and anxiety with people with intellectual disabilities. Trainig staff led to benefits for people with intellectual disabilities, decreased use of physical restraint for aggressive behaviour and increased job satisfaction. Training parents led to reduced stress and improved parent–child interactions. Despite the long duration of mindfulness intervention and its cost mindfulness-based interventions are still cheaper for society. This is caused by the positive effects of mindfulness therapy, such as reduced acts of violence with people with intellectual disabilities and because of that costs of staff’s lost days of work and cost of medical and rehabilitation because of injury caused by people with intellectual disabilities were reduced. In addition to these positive effects offering mindfulness-based interventions to people with intellectual disabilities, mindfulness might be useful for people with intellectual disabilities to have a greater self-determination in everyday life. The use of restriction measures for calming people with intellectual disabilities is considered as a factor that weakens their delf-determination. As people with intellectual disabilities being able to calm themselves the use of restriction measures would be decreased.
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(2022)Objective: Some of those who have been infected by COVID-19 develop long-term symptoms. WHO defines the post COVID-19 condition as appearing typically within 3 months from the infection and lasting at least 2 months. The COVID-19 pandemic is known to have globally weakened the mental health of the population and there tends to be mental health symptoms during the acute phase of the disease as well. The aim of this study was to investigate, how long-term COVID-19 symptoms associate with mental health of the patients. The depression and anxiety levels perceived 6 months after the acute phase were compared between patients suffering from long-term COVID-19 symptoms and patients without any long-term symptoms. Methods: The data were gathered as a part of the RECOVID-research project organized by University of Helsinki and HUS Helsinki University Hospital. The data of this study consists of 140 patients who had COVID-19 with differing required levels of care in the acute phase of the infection. These levels of care were either intensive care, regular hospital care or no hospital care. The patients were divided into two groups based on whether there appeared any long-term COVID-19 symptoms after 3 months from the acute phase (37.1%, average age 56.2 years), or not (62.9%, average age 52.7 years). The connection between observed long-term COVID-19 symptoms after 3 months from the acute phase and observed depression and anxiety at the 6-month time point were analysed with a general linear model. Results and conclusions: Mood related symptoms and long-term COVID-19 symptoms perceived 3 months after the acute illness were associated with more symptoms of depression and anxiety when 6 months had passed after the acute phase. Furthermore, increased age was found to have a statistically significant association with to less severe levels of anxiety at 6 months. However, the levels of care required during the acute phase did not associate with depression and anxiety at the 6-month time point. In line with previous studies, long-term COVID-19 symptoms were associated with prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms. More research is needed to investigate the causes and the length of these symptoms for developing the mental health services provided to COVID-19 patients.
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(2022)Objective: Some of those who have been infected by COVID-19 develop long-term symptoms. WHO defines the post COVID-19 condition as appearing typically within 3 months from the infection and lasting at least 2 months. The COVID-19 pandemic is known to have globally weakened the mental health of the population and there tends to be mental health symptoms during the acute phase of the disease as well. The aim of this study was to investigate, how long-term COVID-19 symptoms associate with mental health of the patients. The depression and anxiety levels perceived 6 months after the acute phase were compared between patients suffering from long-term COVID-19 symptoms and patients without any long-term symptoms. Methods: The data were gathered as a part of the RECOVID-research project organized by University of Helsinki and HUS Helsinki University Hospital. The data of this study consists of 140 patients who had COVID-19 with differing required levels of care in the acute phase of the infection. These levels of care were either intensive care, regular hospital care or no hospital care. The patients were divided into two groups based on whether there appeared any long-term COVID-19 symptoms after 3 months from the acute phase (37.1%, average age 56.2 years), or not (62.9%, average age 52.7 years). The connection between observed long-term COVID-19 symptoms after 3 months from the acute phase and observed depression and anxiety at the 6-month time point were analysed with a general linear model. Results and conclusions: Mood related symptoms and long-term COVID-19 symptoms perceived 3 months after the acute illness were associated with more symptoms of depression and anxiety when 6 months had passed after the acute phase. Furthermore, increased age was found to have a statistically significant association with to less severe levels of anxiety at 6 months. However, the levels of care required during the acute phase did not associate with depression and anxiety at the 6-month time point. In line with previous studies, long-term COVID-19 symptoms were associated with prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms. More research is needed to investigate the causes and the length of these symptoms for developing the mental health services provided to COVID-19 patients.
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(2018)Goals: Social relationships and social support are considered to have significant impact on people’s mental health. Significance of social support is highlighted in psychotherapy, as confidential therapeutic relationship between a client and a therapist is seen as one of the most important factors predicting effectiveness of the therapy. Accordingly, opportunity for the patient to get social support outside of the therapy may be beneficial for the success of the therapy. The aim of this study was to examine if self-reported social support predicts changes of work ability in psychotherapy and whether the prediction varies in different therapies. Methods: This study is part of the Helsinki Psychotherapy Study and is based on it’s study population, where 326 patients suffering either mood or anxiety disorder were randomly assigned to short-term solution-focused therapy (SFT), short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy (SPP) or long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy (LPP). Participants were divided to groups of strong and weak social support by the mediation of the total score of the Brief Inventory of Social Support and Integration (BISSI). Effectiveness of therapies in different groups was evaluated by changes in work ability assessed with five different methods in five-year follow-up. Results and conclusions: Self-reported social support had different impact on work ability in different therapy groups. The most significant and completely new finding was that patients with weak social support benefited from SFT more than LPP in the beginning of the follow-up and more than SPP at the end of the follow-up. Also in the group of weaker social support short therapies had a faster response than long therapy and LPP better results than SPP in long-term follow-up. In the group of better social support similar differences occurred only when both length and type of therapy were different. This study suggests that prediction varies in different therapies, but differences inside therapy groups are lesser than expected. Amount of researches of the subject is very limited and more research is needed.
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(2018)Aims: First-episode schizophrenia spectrum disorders are associated with widespread cognitive impairment. Anxiety and depression symptoms are common in first-episode schizophrenia spectrum patients, but as far as is known a sense of mastery reflecting positive psychological resources has not been previously studied in this group of patients. The aim of this study was to find out whether anxiety and depression symptoms as well as sense of mastery are related to cognitive performance in first-episode schizophrenia spectrum patients. Methods: The study was based on a sample of data collected in the Helsinki Psychosis Study, which included first-episode schizophrenia spectrum patients (N=40) and matched population controls (N=62). Cognitive performance was evaluated by several commonly known tasks, anxiety and depression symptoms with a BPRS-E interview and sense of mastery with Pearlin and Schooler's mastery scale. The relationship between anxiety and depression symptoms as well as sense of mastery and cognitive performance was studied with Spearman’s correlation coefficients and linear regression analyses where gender, age, and years of education were controlled for. Findings and conclusions: In the first-episode schizophrenia spectrum patients, more severe anxiety symptoms were associated with better performance in a task requiring immediate verbal memory. When gender, age, and years of education were controlled for, anxiety symptoms were no longer related to memory performance. Depression symptoms and sense of mastery were not related to cognitive performance. In the controls, increase of anxiety and depression symptoms and a decrease in the sense of mastery impaired the performance in a task requiring immediate and/or delayed verbal memory. The cognitive performance of first-episode schizophrenia spectrum patients seems to be explained by other factors than anxiety and depression symptoms or sense of mastery, but these factors may, however, play an important role in the quality of life in patients.
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(2021)Objective: Social anxiety and alcohol use disorders frequently occur together. In addition, these disorders are known to be comorbid with other anxiety disorders and somatic diseases. Recent studies have found conflicting results concerning the association. Aim for this study was to examine the association between social anxiety and alcohol use disorder and its uniqueness as well as causality. Better understanding of the association helps developing more focused interventions. Methods: The data in this study was acquired from freely available National Comorbidity Survey data. It is originally collected in The United States 1990-1992 and 2001-2002. It consists of 5001 non-institutionalized adults aged 15-54. Logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the associations between social anxiety and alcohol use disorder. Uniqueness and causality were examined by adjusting time, age and other anxiety disorders in logistic regression analysis. Results: Social anxiety had a unique association with alcohol use disorders and the association was found to be causal. Other anxiety disorders were not associated with alcohol use disorders. Results consisted while other anxiety disorders and age were adjusted. When data was split to two different age groups, associations were only found in younger sample. Conclusion: Results show that there are a causal and unique association between social anxiety and alcohol use disorders. Prevention of social anxiety may have an additional effect on preventing later alcohol use disorders in younger population.
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(2016)Over the last few years, there has been growing interest among researchers in the relationship between the gut’s microbiota and psychiatric disorders. Recent studies have shown that changes in the gut's microbiota are associated with many psychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorders, and Parkinson's disease. Therefore, it has been proposed that microbiota's imbalance or dysbiosis might be a potential risk factor for these disorders. The purpose of this review was to collect together results of studies that have examined the communication between central nervous system and the gut's microbiota. In particular, the aim was to consider the role of the gut microbiota in psychiatric disorder’s etiology and pathogenesis. So far, most of the research has been conducted on rodents, but there are some human studies as well. In a typical study design researchers have assessed probiotic treatment's effect on behavior that contributes to stress, anxiety or depression. Animal experiments indicate that the alterations in gut microbiota can induce changes in the anxiety, stress, and depression symptoms. However, the gut microbiota has direct effects on systems that are also known to be integrally affiliated with psychiatric disorders. These include the immune, stress and neurotransmitter system. It seems that the relationship between psychiatric disorders and the microbiota is primarily explained by a variety of mediating mechanisms. Better understanding of these mechanisms could enable a more efficient treatment and prevention of psychiatric disorders in the future. The significance of the gut microbiota in terms of human well-being is still mostly unknown, as majority of the knowledge so far is based on indirect evidence.
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(2018)Aims. Stalking is a phenomenon that has various effects on the stalking victim’s life. Previous studies have shown that the effects on the victim may be very heterogeneous. This dissertation will introduce how stalking occurs and the factors that mediate the effects of stalking. The deleterious effects of stalking and cyberstalking are reported. Furthermore, the impact of harmful stereotypes and attitudes on the psychopathology and symptomatology of the victims is examined. However, the interpretation of the results of the studies is not unequivocal due to the methodological challenges, that are considered. Methods. The selection of the studies was executed by performing a literature search from various databases (Finna, PubMed and PsycINFO) on the terms stalking, victimization, and stalking + victimization. Furthermore, a manual search was performed by which studies that were included in meta-analyses were selected if applicable. Results and conclusions. According to the studies selected in this dissertation, the victims of stalking are more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression than non-victims. Moreover, many of the victims report symptoms indicative of post-traumatic stress disorder. In addition, stalking may affect the general, occupational and social functioning of the victims. The victims have reported not being able to go to work or being afraid of social interactions. The effects of stalking may also reflect on the somatic well-being of the victim in that the victims have reported tiredness, insomnia and a loss of appetite. The stereotypes and attitudes regarding stalking may exacerbate the victims’ experience. Blaming the victim or underestimating the victim’s experience may aggravate the effects of stalking, because self-blame has been found to have a negative relationship with depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder and increasing self-blame may worsen the situation. By unifying the methodological components of stalking research, the heterogeneity of the studies and the need for specifically aimed therapeutic interventions can be addressed.
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