Psychosomatics

The COVID-19 pandemic caused far-reaching societal changes, including significant educational impacts affecting over 1.6 billion pupils and 100 million education practitioners globally. Senior school leaders were at the forefront and were exposed to particularly high demands during a period of "crisis leadership". This occupation were already reporting high work-related stress and large numbers leaving the profession preceding COVID-19. This cross-sectional descriptive study through the international COVID-Health Literacy network aimed to examine the well-being and work-related stress of senior school leaders (n = 323) in Wales (n = 172) and Northern Ireland (n = 151) during COVID-19 (2021-2022)...

OBJECTIVE: People with functional somatic symptoms have difficulties in various stages of the emotion regulation (ER) process (1). As an adaptive and flexible use of ER strategies is a core tenet of emotional health, having difficulties in this area is often assumed to be the key mechanism behind functional somatic symptoms. Following a dimensional population-based sampling approach, we investigated emotion regulation abilities across a broad range of people and tested possible associations with somatic symptom reporting, habitual ER use as well as various subclinical constructs (such as alexithymia and anxiety)...

OBJECTIVE: Aim: To investigate changes in the indicators of somatic and mental health of instructor-officers in higher educational institutions with specific learning environment under stress. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Materials and Methods: The research involved instructor-officers of the National Academy of Internal Affairs (Ukraine, n = 86) with different teaching experiences: up to 10 years (group 1, n = 22), from 10 to 20 years (group 2, n = 31), over 20 years (group 3, n = 33)...

OBJECTIVE: Aim: To investigate the impact of negative factors of professional activities in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and martial law in Ukraine on the somatic and mental health of instructor-officers with different teaching experiences. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Materials and Methods: The research involved 131 instructor-officers with different teaching experiences. Three groups of instructor-officers were formed: Group 1 - instructors with up to 10 years of teaching experience (n = 30), Group 2 - instructors with 10 to 20 years of experience (n = 47), Group 3 - instructors with more than 20 years of experience (n = 54)...

BACKGROUND: Autoinflammatory diseases (AIDs) are rare, mostly genetic diseases that affect the innate immune system and are associated with inflammatory symptoms. Both paediatric and adult patients face daily challenges related to their disease, diagnosis and subsequent treatment. For this reason, a survey was developed in collaboration between the FMF & AID Global Association and the Erlangen Center for Periodic Systemic Autoinflammatory Diseases. METHODS: The aim of the survey was to collect the personal assessment of affected patients with regard to their current status in terms of diagnostic timeframes, the interpretation of genetic tests, the number of misdiagnoses, and pain and fatigue despite treatment...

INTRODUCTION: Stress affects many adolescents and is associated with physical and mental health symptoms that can have a negative impact on normative development. However, there are very few evidence-based, specific treatment approaches. The aim of the study was to investigate an eight-session group intervention using components of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) enriched with elements of CBT (psychoeducation, problem solving) and art therapy, compared to a waitlist control (WLC) group, regarding its efficacy in reducing stress and associated symptoms...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

OBJECTIVE: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a severe psychiatric symptom worldwide, and the coexistence of MDD with metabolic syndrome (MetS) is common in clinical practice. However, gender differences in comorbid MetS in first-episode and drug-naïve (FEDN) MDD patients have not been reported. Here, we explored potential gender differences in the prevalence and clinical correlates of comorbid MetS in FEDN MDD patients. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of 1718 FEDN MDD patients was conducted...

OVERVIEW: Allostatic load represents the cumulative toll of chronic mobilization of the body's stress response systems, as indexed by biomarkers. Higher levels of stress and disadvantage predict higher levels of allostatic load, which, in turn, predict poorer physical and mental health outcomes. To maximize the efficacy of prevention efforts, screening for stress- and disadvantage-associated health conditions must occur before middle age-that is, during childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

OBJECTIVE: Examine the independent associations and interaction between early-life adversity and residential ambient air pollution exposure on relative buccal telomere length (rBTL). METHODS: Experiences of abuse, neglect, household challenges, and related life events were identified in a cross-sectional sample of children ages 1-11 years (n = 197) using the 17-item Pediatric ACEs and Related Life Event Screener (PEARLS) tool. The PEARLS tool was analyzed both as a total score and across established domains (Maltreatment, Household Challenges, and Social Context)...

OBJECTIVE: An emerging literature suggests that sleep may play an important role in moderating the association between discrimination and mental health problems among adolescents. However, few if any studies have considered this topic among adults. Addressing this knowledge gap, the current study examined multiple sleep parameters as moderating variables in the association between discrimination and mental health problems among adults. METHODS: Participants were 874 adults residing in small towns and semi-rural contexts within the Southeastern region of the United States (Mage = 41 years, SD = 7; 57% female; 31% Black, 69% White; 52% income-to-needs <2)...

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) emerges as a complex psychosomatic condition, notable for its considerable suicidality and mortality rates. Increasing evidence suggests the efficacy of Chinese herbal medicine in mitigating depression symptoms and offsetting the adverse effects associated with conventional Western therapeutics. Notably, clinical trials have revealed the adjunctive antidepressant potential of Kaiyu Zhishen Decoction (KZD) alongside Western medication...

INTRODUCTION: Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) is associated with several psychiatric disorders. Previous research on IGD has predominantly focused on Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Games (MMORPGs), considered to be pro-social games as they foster interpersonal relationships necessary for in-game progress. Sociotropy is a personality trait characterized by a cognitive approach to dealing with interpersonal relationships. Individuals with high sociotropy have a strong desire for approval from others...

The mental health of refugees is influenced by a variety of pre-, peri- and postmigratory factors. It remains largely unclear how social determinants influence the utilization of psychiatric-psychotherapeutic treatment. We applied a questionnaire survey to 189 refugees from a clinical sample in a psychiatric hospital and from a control sample, which was not in treatment. The influence of social factors on psychopathology and utilization of care was analyzed by means of a CHAID algorithm. The total sample was highly stressed (54% PTSD and 41...

BACKGROUND: The concept of cultural scripts has proven to be very useful for describing depression-like psychological complaints in different cultural regions of the world. The article presents the galaxy model and its implementation in the model of cultural scripts theoretically for the first time and connects these with cultural psychological value research. A new, extensive series of research projects aims to investigate post-trauma -related psychological complaints in various regions of the world...

OBJECTIVES: An exploration of the interrelationships between central psychodynamic constructs in adolescents with mental health problems was conducted. METHODS: 230 adolescents (Mage=18.0±1.9) were assessed using the Structure and the Conflict Questionnaire of the Operationalized Psychodynamic Diagnosis System in Childhood and Adolescence and the Defense Style Questionnaire for Adolescents. RESULTS: Controlling for the influence of gender, age, and socioeconomic status, low to moderate associations were revealed between increased psychodynamic conflict levels and immature defense styles (r=0...

Background: Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) describes chronic disturbances in self-organization (i.e. affect dysregulation; negative self-concept; severe difficulties in relationships) which are frequently observed in survivors of prolonged, repeated or multiple traumatic stressors. So far, evidence of psychodynamic treatment approaches for CPTSD is scarce. Methods: In this single-centre observational pilot study, symptom change during a 6-week psychodynamic inpatient treatment in a multimodal psychosomatic rehabilitation centre was evaluated using repeated measures analyses of variance (ANOVAs)...

With the proposal of the "biological-psychological-social" model, clinical decision-makers and researchers have paid more attention to the bidirectional interactive effects between psychological factors and diseases. The brain-gut-microbiota axis, as an important pathway for communication between the brain and the gut, plays an important role in the occurrence and development of inflammatory bowel disease. This article reviews the mechanism by which psychological disorders mediate inflammatory bowel disease by affecting the brain-gut-microbiota axis...

OBJECTIVE: The role of inflammation and neuroimmune mechanisms, which have been documented in various neuropsychiatric disorders including the seizure subtype of functional neurological disorder, remains unclear in functional movement disorders (FMD). To explore these mechanisms, we analyzed selected inflammatory markers in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in patients with FMD. METHODS: We compared CSF markers in 26 patients with clinically established FMD (20 females; mean (SD) age 43...