scholarly journals Assessing anxiety, depression and insomnia symptoms among Ebola survivors in Africa: A meta-analysis

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. e0246515
Author(s):  
Jeremiah W. Acharibasam ◽  
Batholomew Chireh ◽  
Hayelom G. Menegesha

Background During health disaster events such as the current devastating havoc being inflicted on countries globally by the SARS-CoV-19 pandemic, mental health problems among survivors and frontline workers are likely concerns. However, during such health disaster events, stakeholders tend to give more precedence to the socio-economic and biomedical health consequences at the expense of mental health. Meanwhile, studies show that regardless of the kind of disaster/antecedent, all traumatic events trigger similar post-traumatic stress symptoms among survivors, families, and frontline workers. Thus, our study investigated the prevalence of anxiety, depression and insomnia symptoms among survivors of the 2014–2016 Ebola virus disease that plagued the West African sub-region. Methods We systematically retrieved peer-reviewed articles published between 1970 and 2019 from seven electronic databases, including Google Scholar, MEDLINE, PsychInfo, PubMed, Scopus, Springer Link, Web of Science on Ebola and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. A comprehensive hand search complemented this literature search. Of the 87 articles retrieved, only 13 met the inclusion criteria for this meta-analysis. Results After heterogeneity, influence, and publication bias analysis, our meta-analysis pooled proportion effects estimates showed a moderate to a high prevalence of anxiety (14%; 99% CI: 0.05–0.30), depression (15%; 99% CI: 0.11–0.21), and insomnia (22%; 99% CI: 0.13–0.36). Effect estimates ranging from (0.13; 99% CI: 0.05, 0.28) through to (0.11; 99% CI: 0.05–0.22), (0.15; 99% CI: 0.09–0.25) through to (0.13; 99% CI: 0.08–0.21) and (0.23; 99% CI: 0.11–0.41) to (0.23; 99% CI: 0.11–0.41) were respectively reported for anxiety, depression and insomnia symptoms. These findings suggest a significant amount of EVD survivors are struggling with anxiety, depression and insomnia symptoms. Conclusion Our study provided the first-ever meta-analysis evidence of anxiety, depression, and insomnia symptoms among EVD survivors, and suggest that the predominant biomedical health response to regional and global health disasters should be complemented with trauma-related mental health services.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 249-258
Author(s):  
Thalia Audina

Background: The Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia, apart from having an impact on physical health, also has an impact on psychological or mental health. Psychological impacts during the pandemic include post-traumatic stress disorder,  depression,  anxiety,  frustration,  fear of infection, insomnia, and feeling helpless. Aim: This study was conducted to determine the impact of Covid-19 on mental health, as well as to find out strategies in dealing with these impacts so that they survive in the Covid-19 pandemic era. Methods: This study uses literature with the object of mental health research during the Covid-19 pandemic, several journal sources and related articles are reviewed and grouped. Results: This study shows that Covid-19 has an impact on mental health by people in various parts of the world. In Indonesia, mental health problems, such as anxiety, depression, trauma due to the Covid-19 pandemic are also being felt in real terms at this time. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic has a major impact on mental health. The government's strategy and community participation are expected to be able to face mental health challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic.



2021 ◽  
pp. 152483802110484
Author(s):  
Aino Suomi ◽  
Annalese Bolton ◽  
Dave Pasalich

Background Birth parents of children in the statutory child protection system have disproportionally high rates of trauma exposure and mental health problems, however, little is known about the extent to which this population display symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or Complex PTSD. This study provides a systematic review and meta-analysis of the PTSD rates in parent samples involved in the child protection services. Method Articles were identified by searching PSYCINFO, Medline, CINAHL, and PILOTS. The search included terminology pertaining to parents, trauma, and child protective services and we included all peer-reviewed articles that reported a valid measure of PTSD and child protection service involvement. Results Fifteen studies were included in the review with a combined prevalence estimate for PTSD based on 11 studies ( n = 4871) was 26.0% (95% CI 20.0–32.0%) for mothers, and estimate based on three studies ( n = 2606) was 13.0% (95% CI 7.0%–18.0%) for fathers and 23.0% (95% CI 17.0–29.0) for all parents based on 7848 responses. Four studies that did not report prevalence rates, reported sample mean scores for PTSD that were consistently higher than in general population. Factors associated with parents’ PTSD symptoms included mental health co-morbidities, victimization of physical and sexual violence, and perpetration of child abuse. Conclusion There are high rates of PTSD in parents involved in the protective system, thus more targeted efforts are needed to identify and adequately address trauma symptoms of parents as part of child protection interventions.



2003 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 5-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Panos Vostanis

Children exposed to violence are at high risk of developing a range of mental health problems, predominantly post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression (Yule, 1999). Children in war zones can be affected not only directly but also indirectly, for example through their basic health needs not being met, the loss of family members, disruption of social networks, internal displacement and their parents’ responses.



2014 ◽  
Vol 204 (5) ◽  
pp. 361-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grete Dyb ◽  
Tine K. Jensen ◽  
Egil Nygaard ◽  
Øivind Ekeberg ◽  
Trond H. Diseths ◽  
...  

BackgroundAlthough youths in many countries have been exposed to terrorism, few studies have examined early risk and protective factors for the subsequent development of mental health problems.AimsTo investigate the levels of post-traumatic stress in survivors of the 2011 massacre on Ut⊘ya Island compared with the general population in Norway, and to identify predictive factors.MethodFour hundred and ninety survivors were invited to participate. Structured face-to-face interviews were performed 4–5 months after the attack.ResultsThere were 325 study participants (response rate 66%). Survivors had been highly exposed to danger and loss. Post-traumatic stress levels were more than six times higher in survivors than in the general population. Predictors were female gender, minority ethnic status, high level of trauma exposure, pain, the loss of someone close and social support.ConclusionsSurvivor characteristics that can be assessed in the early aftermath of a terrorist attack strongly predict the subsequent mental health problems of exposed youths. The highly elevated symptoms observed were largely attributable to the traumatic experience and reflect the mental health costs of the terrorist attack.



2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-201
Author(s):  
Herbert C. Covey ◽  
Leah McCoy Grubb ◽  
Robert J. Franzese ◽  
Scott Menard

The present study investigates how adolescent exposure to violence (AEV), in the form of parental physical abuse, witnessing parental violence, and exposure to violence in the neighborhood, is related to adult anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, controlling for more general adolescent violent victimization and for self-reports and parent reports of mental health problems in adolescence, on a national household-based probability sample of individuals who were adolescents in the mid-1970s and who were followed through early adulthood in the early 2000s. The results suggest that AEV is associated with mental health problems in adolescence but not, controlling for other variables, in adulthood, but there is continuity in mental health problems associated with AEV from adolescence to adulthood.



Author(s):  
Fred N. H. Parker ◽  
Nicola T. Fear ◽  
S. A. M. Stevelink ◽  
L. Rafferty

Abstract Purpose Auditory problems, such as hearing loss and tinnitus, have been associated with mental health problems and alcohol misuse in the UK general population and in the US Armed Forces; however, few studies have examined these associations within the UK Armed Forces. The present study examined the association between auditory problems and probable common mental disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol misuse. Methods 5474 serving and ex-service personnel from the UK Armed Forces were examined, selected from those who responded to phase two (data collection 2007–09) and phase three (2014–16) of a military cohort study. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the association between auditory problems at phase two and mental health problems at phase three. Results 9.7% of participants reported ever experiencing hearing problems alone, 7.9% reported tinnitus within the last month alone, and 7.8% reported hearing problems with tinnitus. After adjustment, hearing problems with tinnitus at phase two was associated with increased odds of probable common mental disorders (AOR = 1.50, 95% CI 1.09–2.08), post-traumatic stress disorder (AOR = 2.30, 95% CI 1.41–3.76), and alcohol misuse (AOR = 1.94, 95% CI 1.28–2.96) at phase three. Tinnitus alone was associated with probable post-traumatic stress disorder (AOR = 1.80, 95% CI 1.03–3.15); however, hearing problems alone were not associated with any outcomes of interest. Conclusions The association between auditory problems and mental health problems emphasises the importance of the prevention of auditory problems in the Armed Forces: through enhanced audiometric screening, improved hearing protection equipment, and greater levels of utilisation of such equipment.



Author(s):  
Verena Rass ◽  
Bogdan-Andrei Ianosi ◽  
Laura Zamarian ◽  
Ronny Beer ◽  
Sabina Sahanic ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose To assess patient characteristics associated with health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) and its mental and physical subcategories 3 months after diagnosis with COVID-19. Methods In this prospective multicentre cohort study, HR-QoL was assessed in 90 patients using the SF-36 questionnaire (36-item Short Form Health Survey), which consists of 8 health domains that can be divided into a mental and physical health component. Mental health symptoms including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorders were evaluated using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-5 (PCL-5) 3 months after COVID-19. Using descriptive statistics and multivariable regression analysis, we identified factors associated with impaired HR-QoL 3 months after COVID-19 diagnosis. Results Patients were 55 years of age (IQR, 49–63; 39% women) and were classified as severe (23%), moderate (57%), or mild (20%) according to acute disease severity. HR-QoL was impaired in 28/90 patients (31%). Younger age [per year, adjOR (95%CI) 0.94 (0.88–1.00), p = 0.049], longer hospitalization [per day, adjOR (95%CI) 1.07 (1.01–1.13), p = 0.015], impaired sleep [adjOR (95%CI) 5.54 (1.2–25.61), p = 0.028], and anxiety [adjOR (95%CI) 15.67 (3.03–80.99), p = 0.001) were independently associated with impaired HR-QoL. Twenty-nine percent (n = 26) scored below the normal range on the mental health component of the SF-36 and independent associations emerged for anxiety, depression, and self-reported numbness. Impairments in the physical health component of the SF-36 were reported by 12 (13%) patients and linked to hypogeusia and fatigue. Conclusion Every third patient reported a reduction in HR-QoL 3 months after COVID-19 diagnosis and impairments were more prominent in mental than physical well-being.



10.3823/2601 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mayana Rodrigues de Melo Alves ◽  
Jéssica Luma Marques Freitas ◽  
Modesto Leite Rolim Neto

Background Current studies underline and enable the international scientific community to reflect on migrant needs to restart, mostly without fluency in the language from the country of destination, without a way of proving his/her knowledges and abilities, with an incomplete family core, without cultural references that until that moment defined him/her as belonging to a specific group, with defined and meaningful habits, full of symbolic representations. Iams Conduct an analysis on the implications of migration in refugees’ mental health, and the link between these implications and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Method Indexed journals in MEDLINE and LILACS databases hosted in Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde (BVS), as well as papers hosted in Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) Periodicals Portal. Searches were carried using the following DeCS descriptors: “Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic”, "Refugees” e “Mental Health”. Results The 10 studies included in the present review were carried in Australia, Denmark, Ethiopia, Turkey, Uganda, Israel, South Korea and Papua New Guinea, and were published in 2014 (2), 2015 (6), and 2017 (2). Regarding the subject, 50% of the articles concentrate information regarding PTSD and mental health problems, while the remaining half deals with psychosocial effects of mass conflict on refugees. Meta-analysis concludes that a considerable percentage of refugees suffer from psychiatric disorder, I-squared (variation in ES attributable to heterogeneity) = 96,46%; Estimate of between-study variance Tau^2= 0.02. Test of ES=0 : z= 17.75 p= 0.00. Conclusion Exposure to traumatic events such as public executions and other extreme acts of violence, murder of family members, family and friends’ death due to starvation, homelessness, are closely related to PTSD prevalence in refugees. Acculturation and family’s prolonged estrangement are predictors of depressive symptoms in refugees and both exposure to a new culture and adaptation to new laws and norms of welcoming countries act as stressors and aggravators of depressive symptoms.  



2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-45
Author(s):  
Giacomo Gualtieri ◽  
Fabio Ferretti ◽  
Alessandra Masti ◽  
Andrea Pozza ◽  
Anna Coluccia

Background: Parental incarceration can produce serious effects on the offspring’s mental health. The presence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in prisoners’ offspring is understudied and the few literature data showed heterogeneous evidence, with some studies suggesting that about 25% of prisoners’ offspring have PTSD and other reporting much lower prevalence rates around 2-3%. There is no systematic review and meta-analysis about PTSD in prisoners’ offspring. Objectives: The present systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to provide a first quantitative synthesis of the prevalence of the PTSD diagnosis in prisoners’ offspring. Moderator variables of the effect sizes were assessed, including offspring’s and parents’ gender, offspring’s generational cohort (children/adolescents versus adults), reasons for parental incarceration (political/war versus crime), and country type (Western versus Non-Western countries). Methods: A systematic review and a meta-analysis were conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines. Studies were included if they assessed the presence of a PTSD diagnosis in child, adolescent or adult offspring of prisoners through a diagnostic classification system, a clinician-administered interview or a self-report questionnaire, if they reported data necessary to calculate the effect sizes or the authors were available to provide them. Studies might have been based upon any design except review, single-case, case series, and case reports. Outcomes might have been measured at any time after parental incarceration. Parental imprisonment was defined as any kind of custodial confinement of a parent by the criminal justice system, including being held as a prisoner of war or for political reasons. Independent reviewers searched published/unpublished studies through electronic databases and additional sources and extracted the data. A random-effect meta-analysis was carried out by calculating the effect sizes as event rates. Heterogeneity was examined by the I2 and the Q statistics. Moderators were assessed through meta-regressions. Results: Six studies (2512 participants) were included. Fifteen percent of prisoners’ offspring had PTSD, as shown by a significant mean effect size of 0.14 without evidence of publication bias (95% CI: 0.081 – 0.249, p< 0.001). There were no significant differences on the mean effect sizes between the studies on adults and those on children/adolescents [Q(1) = 0.00, p = .999], between the studies on parents incarcerated for political/war reasons and those for crime [Q(1) = 0.00, p = .979], and between the studies conducted in Western and non-Western countries [Q(1) = 0.854, p = .355]. While offspring’s gender was not related to the effect sizes [β = -0.01, 95% CI: -0.02 – 0.02, p = .452], parents’ gender was significantly and positively associated with the effect sizes suggesting that in studies with higher percentages of incarcerated mothers, the prevalence of offspring’s PTSD was higher [β = 0.01, 95% CI: 0.0 – 0.01, p = .019]. Conclusion: PTSD is a serious mental health condition among prisoners’ offspring, particularly when mothers are incarcerated. The present findings point out the importance of thorough assessment and timely intervention/prevention strategies implemented by professionals of mental health settings and detention systems. The cross-sectional design of the studies does not allow causal conclusions to be drawn about the effect of parental incarceration as a risk factor for PTSD. Other variables related to parental incarceration may explain these findings. This limitation points out the importance of further longitudinal research.



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