Presence of minor and major mental health impairment in adolescence and death from suicide and unintentional injuries/accidents in men: a national longitudinal cohort study

Abstract Background: With deteriorating eyesight, people often become dependent on others for many aspects of their daily lives. As a result, they feel less ‘in control’ and experience lower self-esteem. Lower sense of mastery and self-esteem are known to predict depression, but their roles in people with visual impairment have only marginally been investigated. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the influence of mastery and self-esteem on the relationship between visual acuity and mental health.Methods: A longitudinal cohort study was performed using data from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA), collected between 2001 and 2012. A community-based population of 2599 older adults (mean age 72 years) were included, who were randomly selected from population registers. Outcomes of interest were the Pearlin Mastery Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Center for Epidemiologic Studies – Depression scale and the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale – Anxiety subscale. Linear mixed models were used to establish the association between visual acuity and mental health over time.Results: Mean age was 72 years, 56% was female and 1.2% qualified as having low vision. Visual impairment was associated with a lower sense of mastery (β = -0.477, p < 0.001), lower self-esteem (β = -0.166, p = 0.008) and more depression (β = 0.235, p < 0.001). No significant association between visual acuity and anxiety was found. The relationship between visual acuity and depression was mediated by self-esteem (25%) and sense of mastery (79%).Conclusions: Vision loss was associated with depression. This association was mediated by self-esteem and sense of mastery. This provides us with new possibilities to identify, support and treat those at risk for developing depression by aiming to increase their self-esteem and sense of mastery.

Download Full-text

Technology Enabled Clinical Care (TECC): Protocol for Prospective-Longitudinal-Cohort Study of Smartphone Augmented Mental Health Treatment (Preprint)

JMIR Research Protocols ◽

10.2196/23771 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Natali Rauseo-Ricupero ◽

John Torous

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Mental Health Treatment ◽

Clinical Care ◽

Longitudinal Cohort Study ◽

Health Treatment ◽

Longitudinal Cohort ◽

Prospective Longitudinal ◽

Prospective Longitudinal Cohort

Download Full-text

Mastery and self-esteem mediate the association between visual acuity and mental health: a population-based longitudinal cohort study

10.21203/rs.3.rs-17498/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Hilde PA van der Aa ◽

Ivar M Maaswinkel ◽

Ger HMB van Rens ◽

Aartjan TF Beekman ◽

Jos WR Twisk ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Older Adults ◽

Visual Acuity ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Visual Impairment ◽

Self Esteem ◽

Longitudinal Cohort Study ◽

Longitudinal Cohort ◽

The Relationship ◽

Sense Of Mastery

Abstract Background With deteriorating eyesight, people often become dependent on others for many aspects of their daily lives. As a result, they feel less ‘in control’ and experience lower self-esteem. Lower sense of mastery and self-esteem are known to predict depression, but their roles in people with visual impairment remain unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the influence of mastery and self-esteem on the relationship between visual acuity and mental health. Methods A longitudinal cohort study was performed using data from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA). Data on vision was available from the fifth cycle (2001), with a mean follow-up of 5.9 years. A community-based population was studied, containing older adults from eleven municipalities in three culturally distinct geographical regions in the Netherlands. A total of 2599 older adults (aged 55 to 85 years at baseline) were included, who were randomly selected from population registers in 1992. The first (2001) and last (2012) included measurements contained 1961 and 1522 participants, respectively. Primary study outcomes were logMAR visual acuity, sense of mastery, self-esteem, depression and anxiety. Instead of standard questionnaire scores, latent trait scores (θ) were obtained through -) Item Response Theory (IRT-) analysis. Results Mean age was 72 years, with 56% females and 2% qualifying as low vision. Visual impairment was associated with a lower sense of mastery (β = -0.477, p < 0.001), lower self-esteem (β = -0.166, p = 0.008) and more depression (β = 0.235, p < 0.001). No significant association between visual acuity and anxiety was found. The relationship between visual acuity and depression was mediated partially by self-esteem (25%) and fully by sense of mastery (76%). Conclusions Vision loss was associated with depression. This association was mediated by self-esteem and sense of mastery. This provides us with new possibilities to identify, support and treat those at risk for developing depression by aiming to increase their self-esteem and sense of mastery.

Download Full-text

A longitudinal cohort study investigating inadequate preparation and death and dying in nursing students: Implications for the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

10.31234/osf.io/6pq38 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

John Galvin ◽

Gareth Richards ◽

Andrew P Smith

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Nursing Students ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Death And Dying ◽

Health Impact ◽

Longitudinal Cohort Study ◽

Longitudinal Cohort ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Time Point

Aims and objectivesTo investigate how changes in the levels of preparedness and experiences of death and dying influence nursing students’ mental health. BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic is likely to cause significant trauma in the nursing population. The lack of preparation, in combination with a substantial loss of life, may have implications for the longer-term mental health of the nursing workforce. Nursing students have, in many cases, been an important part of the emergency response.DesignA longitudinal cohort study was conducted with data collected at two time points. There was a seven-month time period between data collection.MethodsParticipants completed paper-based questionnaires measuring demographics, academic stressors, clinical stressors, and mental health. 358 nursing students at time point one and 347 at time point two (97% retention) completed the survey.ResultsInadequate preparation (OR: 1.783) and the inadequate preparation x death and dying interaction term (OR: 4.115) significantly increased risk of mental health problems over time. Increased death and dying alone did not increase mental health risk. ConclusionsThe results of this study suggest that it is not the increase in death and dying per se that causes mental health difficulties, but that it is instead the experience of high levels of death and dying in combination with inadequate preparation. The data are considered within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, with both inadequate preparation and the scale of death and dying being two significant stressors during the emergency period. Relevance to Clinical PracticeThis paper is an initial indication of the potential longer-term mental health impact of COVID-19 for nursing students.

Download Full-text