scholarly journals Telomere shortening as a stress biomarker in children and adolescents affected by natural disasters

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Débora M. Miranda ◽  
Sabrina S. Magalhães ◽  
Daniela V. Rosa ◽  
Luiz A. De Marco ◽  
Jonas J. de Paula ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Biological Marker ◽  
Psychosocial Impact ◽  
Reliable Change Index ◽  
Stressful Situation ◽  
Telomere Shortening ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
Climate Events ◽  
Traumatic Symptoms

ABSTRACTNatural disasters have a substantial psychosocial impact. A known biological marker of stress is telomere shortening. In this study, we tested the change in behavior symptoms and telomere length and its shortening in two-time points for about fifteen months, in populations that suffered extreme climate events, comprising flood or drought events. As expected, we observed telomere shortening in children and adolescents after a stressful situation which was directly associated with the worsening of externalizing symptoms and post-traumatic symptoms using a reliable change index. Beyond the psychosocial impact, natural events seem to affect the biology of individuals in development. These findings can help to understand vulnerabilities related to stress impact and to point target populations whose mitigation actions should be addressed in case of a disaster.

scholarly journals Emotional Distress Following Childbirth: An Intervention to Buffer Depressive and PTSD Symptoms

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 214-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paola Di Blasio ◽  
Sarah Miragoli ◽  
Elena Camisasca ◽  
Angela Maria Di Vita ◽  
Rosalia Pizzo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Post Partum ◽  
Stressful Situation ◽  
Negative Experience ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Posttraumatic Symptoms ◽  
Preventive Actions ◽  
Negative Thoughts ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
Traumatic Symptoms

Childbirth for some women is a negative experience associated with depressive and post-traumatic symptoms. The preventive actions focusing on helping mothers to cope with negative emotions experienced after childbirth are strongly recommended. It is also recommended both to intervene early and on all women to avoid the risk that these symptoms can worsen in the months after childbirth. The intervention described in the current study is focalized on the elaboration of post-partum negative thoughts and emotion through a writing task, with the purpose to help new mothers to reflect, understand, evaluate and, thus, reformulate the stressful situation with new beliefs and emotions. 176 women aged from 19 to 43 years (M = 31.55, SD = 4.58) were assessed for depression and PTSD in the prenatal phase (T1). In about 96 hours after childbirth they were randomly assigned to either “Making Sense condition” (MS: in which they wrote about the thoughts and emotions connected with delivery and childbirth) or “Control-Neutral condition” (NC: in which they wrote about the daily events in behavioural terms) and then reassessed for depression and PTSD (T2). A follow up was conducted 3 months later (T3) to verify depression and posttraumatic symptoms. The results showed that depressive symptoms decreased both at 96 hours and at 3 months as a result of making-sense task. Regarding the posttraumatic symptoms the positive effect emerged at three months and not at 96 hours after birth.

Post-traumatic Headache in Children and Adolescents

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Doll ◽  
Paul Gong ◽  
Michael Sowell ◽  
Lauren Evanczyk
Keyword(s):  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Post Traumatic

scholarly journals Across the COVID-19 Waves; Assessing Temporal Fluctuations in Perceived Stress, Post-Traumatic Symptoms, Worry, Anxiety and Civic Moral Disengagement over One Year of Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. 5651
Author(s):  
Alessio Gori ◽  
Eleonora Topino
Keyword(s):  
Perceived Stress ◽  
State Anxiety ◽  
Moral Disengagement ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Well Being ◽  
First Year ◽  
Effective Interventions ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
One Year ◽  
Traumatic Symptoms

This study aimed at investigating the psychological effect of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy by analysing the trends of perceived stress, post-traumatic symptoms, state anxiety, worry, and civic moral disengagement in four different moments from March 2020 to March 2021. The study involved a total of 1827 Italian participants (30% men and 70% women; Mage = 34.72; SD = 12.40) divided into four groups to which an online survey was administered. The first group completed the survey in March 2020, the second one in August 2020, the third one in November 2020, and the fourth one in March 2021. Results highlighted significant decreases in post-traumatic symptoms and a significant increase in civic moral disengagement over the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The levels of perceived stress, worry, and state anxiety remained constant. The correlations between the variables at different times were also explored, as well as gender differences over the year. The COVID-19 emergency has had significant effects on the mental state of the population, with important repercussions for individual and collective well-being during but probably also after the pandemic. This study offers a clear snapshot of the psychological outcomes over one COVID-19 pandemic year, providing important information that may contribute to tailor more effective interventions for mental health.

scholarly journals TERT rs2736100 and TERC rs16847897 genotypes moderate the association between internalizing mental disorders and accelerated telomere length attrition among HIV+ children and adolescents in Uganda

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Allan Kalungi ◽  
Eugene Kinyanda ◽  
Jacqueline S. Womersley ◽  
Moses L. Joloba ◽  
Wilber Ssembajjwe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Telomere Length ◽  
Cellular Aging ◽  
Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽  
Moderating Effects ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Single Nucleotide ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
Component Gene

Abstract Background Internalizing mental disorders (IMDs) (depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder) have been associated with accelerated telomere length (TL) attrition; however, this association has not been investigated in the context of genetic variation that has been found to influence TL. We have previously reported an association between IMDs and accelerated TL attrition among Ugandan HIV+ children and adolescents. This study investigated the moderating effects of selected single nucleotide polymorphisms in the telomerase reverse transcriptase gene (TERT) (rs2736100, rs7726159, rs10069690 and rs2853669) and the telomerase RNA component gene (TERC) (rs12696304, rs16847897 and rs10936599) on the association between IMDs and TL, among Ugandan HIV+ children (aged 5–11 years) and adolescents (aged 12–17 years). Results We found no significant interaction between IMDs as a group and any of the selected SNPs on TL at baseline. We observed significant interactions of IMDs with TERT rs2736100 (p = 0.007) and TERC rs16847897 (p = 0.012), respectively, on TL at 12 months. Conclusions TERT rs2736100 and TERC rs16847897 moderate the association between IMDs and TL among Ugandan HIV+ children and adolescents at 12 months. Understanding the nature of this association may shed light on the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying advanced cellular aging in IMDs.

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