scholarly journals Clustering fibromyalgia patients: A combination of psychosocial and somatic factors leads to resilient coping in a subgroup of fibromyalgia patients

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. e0243806
Author(s):  
Alexandra Braun ◽  
Dimitar Evdokimov ◽  
Johanna Frank ◽  
Paul Pauli ◽  
Nurcan Üçeyler ◽  
...  

Background Coping strategies and their efficacy vary greatly in patients suffering from fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). Objective We aimed to identify somatic and psychosocial factors that might contribute to different coping strategies and resilience levels in FMS. Subjects and methods Standardized questionnaires were used to assess coping, pain, and psychological variables in a cohort of 156 FMS patients. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) determined gene expression of selected cytokines in white blood cells of 136 FMS patients and 25 healthy controls. Data of skin innervation, functional and structural sensory profiles of peripheral nociceptive nerve fibers of a previous study were included into the statistics. An exploratory factor analysis was used to define variance explaining factors, which were then included into cluster analysis. Results 54.9% of the variance was explained by four factors which we termed (1) affective load, (2) coping, (3) pain, and (4) pro-inflammatory cytokines (p < 0.05). Considering differences in the emerged factors, coping strategies, cytokine profiles, and disability levels, 118 FMS patients could be categorized into four clusters which we named “maladaptive”, “adaptive”, “vulnerable”, and “resilient” (p < 0.05). The adaptive cluster had low scores in disability and in all symptom categories in contrast to the vulnerable cluster, which was characterized by high scores in catastrophizing and disability (p < 0.05). The resilient vs. the maladaptive cluster was characterized by better coping and a less pro-inflammatory cytokine pattern (p < 0.05). Conclusion Our data suggest that problem- and emotion-focused coping strategies and an anti-inflammatory cytokine pattern are associated with reduced disability and might promote resilience. Additional personal factors such as low anxiety scores, ability of acceptance, and persistence further favor a resilient phenotype. Individualized therapy should take these factors into account.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Braun ◽  
Dimitar Evdokimov ◽  
Johanna Frank ◽  
Paul Pauli ◽  
Nurcan Üceyler ◽  
...  

Background: Coping strategies and their efficacy vary greatly in patients suffering from fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). Objective: We aimed to identify somatic and psychosocial factors that might contribute to different coping strategies and resilience levels in FMS. Subjects and methods: Standardized questionnaires were used to assess coping, pain, and psychological variables in a cohort of 156 FMS patients. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) determined gene expression of selected cytokines in white blood cells of 136 FMS patients and 25 healthy controls. Data of skin innervation, functional and structural sensory profiles of peripheral nociceptive nerve fibers of a previous study were included into the statistics. An exploratory factor analysis was used to define variance explaining factors, which were then included into cluster analysis. Results: 54.9% of the variance was explained by four factors which we termed (1) affective load, (2) coping, (3) pain, and (4) pro-inflammatory cytokines (p < 0.05). Considering differences in the emerged factors, coping strategies, cytokine profiles, and disability levels, 118 FMS patients could be categorized into four clusters which we named maladaptive, adaptive, vulnerable, and resilient (p < 0.05). The adaptive cluster had low scores in disability and in all symptom categories in contrast to the vulnerable cluster, which was characterized by high scores in catastrophizing and disability (p < 0.05). The resilient vs. the maladaptive cluster was characterized by better coping and a less pro-inflammatory cytokine pattern (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Our data suggest that problem- and emotion-focused coping strategies and an anti-inflammatory cytokine pattern are associated with reduced disability and might promote resilience. Additional personal factors such as low anxiety scores, ability of acceptance, and persistence further favor a resilient phenotype. Individualized therapy should take these factors into account.


The Lancet ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 351 (9107) ◽  
pp. 950-953 ◽  
Author(s):  
J VANDISSEL ◽  
P VANLANGEVELDE ◽  
R WESTENDORP ◽  
K KWAPPENBERG ◽  
M FROLICH

Author(s):  
Bernadeta Lelonek-Kuleta ◽  
Rafał Piotr Bartczuk

AbstractResearch on esports activity usually captures it from the perspective of involvement in gaming. This study presents the results of the first research in Poland (N = 438) on esports betting (ESB). ESB is compared to other forms of e-gambling and involvement in pay-to-win games. The aim was to build a predictive model of gambling disorder among people betting on esports. A predictive model of gambling disorder based on ordinal regression was built, including sociodemographic variables, involvement in esports betting, involvement in other Internet activities connected to ESB, as well as psychological variables—motivation to gamble and coping strategies. The results showed that gambling disorder among esports bettors is associated with time spent on one game session, placing other forms of online gambling bets once a week or more often, and paying in pay-to-win games. Gambling disorder was also predicted by escape coping strategies and lower engaged strategies as well as financial and coping motivation to bet on esports results. The results show the crucial role of psychological factors (motivation, coping) in the development of esports betting addiction. Esports betting is an activity associated with both gambling and gaming—involvement in both activities explains the development of ESB addiction. There is a need for further research focused on the specificity of esports betting behavior to discover the direction of links among gaming, gambling, and esports gambling.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeanine Ahishakiye ◽  
Lenneke Vaandrager ◽  
Inge D. Brouwer ◽  
Maria Koelen

Abstract Background Mothers in low-income countries face many challenges to appropriately feed their children in the first year such as poverty, food insecurity and high workloads. However, even in the lowest income families there are mothers who succeed to feed their children according to the recommendations. In this paper, we explored the coping strategies that facilitate appropriate breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices among rural Rwandan mothers from birth to one year of a child’s life. Methods This qualitative longitudinal study recruited a purposive sample of 17 mothers who followed the infant and young child feeding recommendations (IYCF). They were selected from a larger study of 36 mothers. In-depth interviews were conducted with mothers of the total group (36 mothers) within the first week, at 4th, 6th, 9th and 12th months postpartum. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analyzed thematically. Results Coping strategies included improving mothers’ own diet for adequate breastmilk production, prioritizing child feeding over livelihood chores, livelihood diversification and mothers’ anticipatory behaviors such as preparing child’s food in advance. Some of those coping strategies were shifting overtime depending on the development of the children. Personal factors such as breastfeeding self-efficacy, religious beliefs and perceived benefits of breastfeeding were among the facilitating factors. Additionally, social support that mothers received from family members, other mothers in the community, Community Health Workers (CHWs) and health professionals played an important role. Conclusion In challenging contextual conditions, mothers manage to follow the recommended breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices through the interplay of active coping strategies, feeling to be in control and social support. Nutrition promotion interventions that aim to improve IYCF should consider strengthening mothers’ capability in gaining greater control of their IYCF practices and the factors facilitating their appropriate IYCF practices.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (15) ◽  
pp. 7981
Author(s):  
Alexander Høgsted Ahlmann ◽  
Shu Fang ◽  
Sussi Bagge Mortensen ◽  
Line Weis Andersen ◽  
Pernille Gejl Pedersen ◽  
...  

Small diameter (<6 mm) vessel grafts still pose a challenge for scientists worldwide. Decellularised umbilical artery (dUA) remains promising as small diameter tissue engineered vascular graft (TEVG), yet their immunogenicity remains unknown. Herein, we evaluated the host immune responses, with a focus on the innate part, towards human dUA implantation in mice, and confirmed our findings in an ex vivo allogeneic human setup. Overall, we did not observe any differences in the number of circulating white blood cells nor the number of monocytes among three groups of mice (1) dUA patch; (2) Sham; and (3) Mock throughout the study (day −7 to 28). Likewise, we found no difference in systemic inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine levels between groups. However, a massive local remodelling response with M2 macrophages were observed in the dUA at day 28, whereas M1 macrophages were less frequent. Moreover, human monocytes from allogeneic individuals were differentiated into macrophages and exposed to lyophilised dUA to maximize an eventual M1 response. Yet, dUA did not elicit any immediate M1 response as determined by the absence of CCR7 and CXCL10. Together this suggests that human dUA elicits a minimal pro-inflammatory response further supporting its use as a TEVG in an allogeneic setup.


Author(s):  
Sergei G. Levin ◽  
Ekaterina V. Pershina ◽  
Nickolay A. Bugaev-Makarovskiy ◽  
Irina Yu. Chernomorets ◽  
Maxim V. Konakov ◽  
...  

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