Quality of Life and Mental Health of Infertile Women Affected by Endometriosis: A Narrative Review

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 238-244
Author(s):  
Cristina Zarbo ◽  
Agostino Brugnera ◽  
Rita Secomandi ◽  
Ilario Candeloro ◽  
Chiara Malandrino ◽  
...  

Objective: Infertility has a severe impact on quality of life and mental health. This condition could be exacerbated by the existence of comorbid medical disease, like endometriosis. The aim of this critical narrative review is the examination of the state of the art about the quality of life and mental health in infertile women with endometriosis. Methods: We performed a rigorous and systematic search for studies on multiple electronic databases. A total of 6 papers were included in the review and were subjected to interpretative and critical narrative synthesis. Results and Discussion: Major findings are resumed in the following points: (a) infertile women with endometriosis when compared to infertile ones without endometriosis show higher depression, stress perception, and anxiety, and lower general quality of life; (b) quality of life specifically related to infertility is similar among women with and without endometriosis and seems to be related to personality and beliefs factors; (c) giving birth to a child is related to better mental quality of life; (d) during assisted reproductive treatment (ART) stimulation, infertile women with endometriosis have a decrease of dysmenorrhea and dyspareunia; (e) satisfaction of ART is related to the number of attempts, treatment accomplishment and pregnancy test outcomes. Clinical implications of these findings and suggestions for future researches were discussed. Conclusion: Concluding, it is crucial to assess the psychological factors related to endometriosis and infertility to reduce the impact of these diseases on quality of life and mental health, provide adequate support to these patients, improve their satisfaction and increase the change to get pregnant.

Author(s):  
Chia-Jung Lee ◽  
Yen Hsu

This study explored the technology learning model of the elderly in a senior learning center under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many senior learning centers were closed during the pandemic, and many of them adopted the mode of online education. However, problems such as decreased motivation and a lack of peer interaction still exist. To solve these problems, this study used the easy-to-implement calligraphy AR approach and E-book approach to conduct a quasi-experiment on the elderly of a calligraphy course offered by a senior learning center. The results show a higher learning motivation among the elderly who use calligraphy AR. The learning effectiveness and technology acceptance of the elderly in the E-book learning group were higher than those in the calligraphy AR group. The elderly mentioned that the E-book learning approach is more user-friendly. In general, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the suspension of classes in senior centers, education through the development of technology has stimulated the growth of education in advanced learning centers. Through this kind of scientific and technological learning method, it will bring a whole new experience to the elderly. It can improve the stress relief methods, mental health, and quality of life of the elderly during the COVID-19 emergency shutdown, and provide a novel calligraphy technique learning experience for the elderly. Therefore, we believe that the calligraphy AR learning approach and the calligraphy E-book learning approach are practical and may promote quality of life and mental health of the elderly during the emergency closures due to COVID-19, providing elderly attendees with a novel calligraphy technology learning experience.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Espetvedt Nordstrand ◽  
Christer Lunde Gjerstad ◽  
Odin Hjemdal ◽  
Are Holen ◽  
Tore Tveitstul ◽  
...  

This study examined the warzone stressors: killing in combat, experiencing personal threats, or traumatic witnessing during deployment in relation to psychological distress, alcohol consumption and quality of life at long-term follow-up. The study was conducted in two samples of Norwegian veterans who had served in Afghanistan (Study 1, N = 4,053) or in Lebanon (Study 2, N = 10,605), respectively. Data were collected through two postdeployment mental health surveys conducted by the Norwegian Armed Forces Joint Medical Services. Using linear regressions, we investigated the impact of warzone stressors on posttraumatic stress symptoms, depression, anxiety, insomnia, alcohol use, and quality of life. In study 1 (Afghanistan veterans), killing was not a significant predictor of psychological distress, alcohol use, or quality of life, when controlling for Personal Threats and Witnessing exposure. In study 2 (Lebanon veterans) killing remained a significant predictor (p < .001) of symptoms of posttraumatic stress, depression, and anxiety, after controlling for other warzone stressors. However, killing was not a significant predictor of alcohol use or quality of life in Study 2. In summary, killing in combat may be associated with increased reports of psychological distress, but there were distinct results in the two studies. Differences in mission statements, rules of engagement, and mental states during combat could explain the diverging outcomes. The results indicate that it may be erroneous to ubiquitously regard killing in combat as a moral stressor, and highlight the importance of clear rules of engagements that accounts for the “on the ground” reality of soldiers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. e30510212535
Author(s):  
Gabriel Kiaro Leite Nunes ◽  
Karinne Alice Santos de Araújo ◽  
Thais Ranielle Souza de Oliveira ◽  
Marcelina da Conceição Botelho Teixeira ◽  
Ieler Ferreira Ribeiro ◽  
...  

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about major changes in the lifestyle of the world population. Due to the lack of vaccines or a definitive treatment for disease, governments around the world have adopted social isolation and quarantine as methods to control the spread of the virus. Objective: Thus, the objective of this study was to discuss how social isolation and quarantine periods affected people's mental health and quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: An integrative literature review was carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic between March and September 2020, establishing the following guiding question: How did social isolation and quarantine affect the mental health and quality of life of the population in the COVID-19 pandemic? Results: The final sample consisted of nineteen (19) articles, two (2) addressed depression during the pandemic period, three (3) presented the pandemic and the relationship with sociodemographic aspects, five (5) analyzed mental health in the pandemic, four (4) reported the impact of COVID-19 on the population's style and quality of life and the last five (5) demonstrated the quality of human relationships and emotional aspects in the face of the pandemic. Conclusion: It was demonstrated that isolation and the quarantine period had a negative impact on the population's quality of life and long-term mental health.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna M. Hood ◽  
Hanne Stotesbury ◽  
Jennifer Murphy ◽  
Melanie Kölbel ◽  
April Slee ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Behavioral mitigation strategies to slow the spread of COVID-19 have resulted in sweeping lifestyle changes, with short and long-term psychological, well-being, and quality of life implications. The Attitudes About COVID-19 and Health (ATTACH) study focuses on understanding attitudes and beliefs whilst considering the impact on mental and physical health and the influence of broader demographic and geographic factors on attitudes, beliefs, and mental health burden. OBJECTIVE In this assessment of our first wave of data collection, we provide baseline cohort descriptives of ATTACH study participants in the United Kingdom (UK), United States of America (USA), and Mexico. Additionally, we assess responses to daily poll questions related to COVID-19 and conduct a cross-sectional analysis of baseline assessments collected in the UK between June 26 and October 31, 2020. METHODS The ATTACH study uses smartphone-app technology and online survey data collection. Participants completed poll questions twice daily related to COVID-19 and a monthly survey assessing mental health, social isolation, physical health, and quality of life. Poll question responses were graphed using 95% Clopper-Pearson (exact) tests with 95% confidence intervals. Pearson correlations, hierarchical linear regression analyses, and generalized linear models assessed relationships, predictors of self-reported outcomes, and group differences, respectively. RESULTS By October 31, 2020, 1405, 80, and 90 participants had consented to participate in the UK, USA, and Mexico, respectively. Descriptive data for the UK daily poll questions indicated that participants were generally following social distancing measures, but worry and negative impacts on families increased as the pandemic progressed. Although participants generally reported feeling that the reasons for current measures had been made clear, there was low trust that the government was doing everything in its power to meet public needs. In the UK, 1282 participants also completed a monthly survey (95% white, 72% female, 21% key or essential workers). Nineteen percent of UK participants reported a pre-existing mental health disorder, 31% reported a pre-existing chronic medical illness, and 35% were over 65. Fifty-seven percent of participants reported being more sedentary since the pandemic began, and 41% reported reduced access to medical care. Those with poorer mental health outcomes lived in more deprived neighborhoods, in larger households (ps < .05), had more pre-existing mental health disorders and medical conditions, and were younger than 65 years (all ps < .001). CONCLUSIONS Communities who have been exposed to additional harm during the COVID-19 pandemic were experiencing worse mental outcomes. Factors including having a medical condition, or living in a deprived neighborhood or larger household were associated with heightened risk. Future longitudinal studies should investigate the link between COVID-19 exposure, mental health, and sociodemographic and residential characteristics.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca C. Knibb ◽  
Aaron Cortes ◽  
Christopher Barnes ◽  
Carol Stalker

Background. The Scale for Psychosocial Factors in Food Allergy (SPS-FA) is based on the biopsychosocial model of health and was developed and validated in Chile to measure the interaction between psychological variables and allergy symptoms in the child. We sought to validate this scale in an English speaking population and explore its relationship with parental quality of life, self-efficacy, and mental health. Methods. Parents (n=434) from the general population in the UK, who had a child with a clinical diagnosis of food allergy, completed the SPS-FA and validated scales on food allergy specific parental quality of life (QoL), parental self-efficacy, and general mental health. Findings. The SPS-FA had good internal consistency (alphas = .61–.86). Higher scores on the SPS-FA significantly correlated with poorer parental QoL, self-efficacy, and mental health. All predictors explained 57% of the variance in SPS-FA scores with QoL as the biggest predictor (β=.52). Discussion. The SPS-FA is a valid scale for use in the UK and provides a holistic view of the impact of food allergy on the family. In conjunction with health-related QoL measures, it can be used by health care practitioners to target care for patients and evaluate psychological interventions for improvement of food allergy management.


2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
N Uriart. Beitia ◽  
P Guerr. Mora ◽  
M Penad. Abilleira

Abstract Study question Are there any differences relating to the perceived quality of life (QoL) and sexual satisfaction among infertile women? Summary answer There were no differences between women who already had a baby and those who did not relating to the perceived QoL and sexual satisfaction. What is known already Infertility is a medical disease with a high social component with a 16% prevalence. There have been many investigations regarding to the physical part of the infertility but the sexual and marital satisfaction has not been as intensively investigated. The importance of the psychological counseling in fertility treatments has already been proven, but the significance of sexual satisfaction on individual’s perception on QoL has not been as deeply studied. Study design, size, duration A transversal descriptive study was done. 313 heterosexual married women with fertility problems were recruited in collaboration with the Spanish patient association “Red Nacional de Infértiles”. The Fertility quality of life tool (FertiQoL) was selected to measure the perceived QoL and the Index of Sexual Satisfaction (ISS) was chosen to study the degree of sexual satisfaction. The data collection was made between January and February 2020 and all the information was gathered online. Participants/materials, setting, methods 313 women filled the questionnaire which had 4 different modules: A sociodemographic module (sex, age, studies, time trying to conceive, moment of treatment and offspring), two modules for each measurement instrument and a last module in which they could write their personal experiences regarding to the infertility journey. ANOVA and t-Student statistical analyses were done to compare the different independent variables. To see if FertiQoL could explain the sexual satisfaction a regression analysis was made. Main results and the role of chance To achieve 95% power (α = 0.05) and an effect size of 0.25, a minimum sample size of 210 was needed and a sample of 313 women was recruited. There were no statistical differences between women with previous offspring and those who did not in neither of the FertiQoL subscales (Emotional: 7,4 ± 3,884 vs. 7,34 ± 4,235; Mind/Body: 9,65 ± 5,098 vs. 8,66 ± 4,979; Relational: 16,88 ± 4,807 vs. 16,3 ± 4,956; Social: 10,52 ± 5,02 vs. 10,1 ± 4,801; Tolerability: 5,91 ± 4,114 vs. 6,65 ± 3,357; Environment: 12,71 ± 5,02 vs. 11,42 ± 4,963) nor in the ISS questionnaire (47,48 ± 6,488 vs. 47,22 ± 7,35). Regarding to the power of the FertiQoL instrument and the perceived QoL to predict the sexual satisfaction, the regression model showed that the sexual satisfaction could be explained in 26,3% of the cases by the relational and mind/body subscales of the FertiQol tool. This model showed the inherent relationship between marital and personal wellbeing in order to obtain a better sexual satisfaction. Limitations, reasons for caution As the study had a transversal design, no cause-effect relationships could be done. It would be desirable to establish a longitudinal study in order to determine a more accurate relationship between the studied variables. Wider implications of the findings: This study showed that the impact of infertility in women with secondary infertility diagnose could be at least as high as in women with primary infertility diagnose. FertiQoL would be a reasonable instrument to estimate the sexual satisfaction of infertile women. Sexology should be part of the infertility counselling programs. Trial registration number Not applicable


2020 ◽  
Vol 96 (2) ◽  
pp. 3-6
Author(s):  
M.C. Maccarone ◽  
G. Magro ◽  
U. Solimene ◽  
S. Masiero

Chronic Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) are age-related conditions, linked to functional impairment and decreased quality of life (QoL). As a result of the increased life expectancy in Europe, great attention has been focused on investigating the impact of these diseases on QoL. Thermal environment is a suitable place for providing interventions (mud therapy, bath, exercise, etc.) for chronic MSD patients. Our narrative review aims to assess if Spa therapy may improve QoL in patients with chronic MSDs. We searched randomized clinical trials and clinical trials screening PubMed and Google Scholar databases from 2016 up to March 2020. We included 14 trials testing Spa therapy interventions concerning osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic shoulder pain and fibromyalgia. In conclusion, even though limitations must be considered, evidence shows that Spa therapy, especially in combination with rehabilitation approach, can significantly improve QoL of patients with chronic MSDs.


2020 ◽  
pp. 0095327X2091992
Author(s):  
Eric Proescher ◽  
Darrin M. Aase ◽  
Holly M. Passi ◽  
Justin E. Greenstein ◽  
Christopher Schroth ◽  
...  

This study examined the impact of perceived social support on mental health and psychosocial functioning in combat veterans after military deployment, including veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and veterans with comorbid PTSD and alcohol use disorder. Veterans ( n = 139; female = 23) completed self-report and clinician-administered measures of social support, mental and physical health, functional impairment, and quality of life. The cohort was divided into high, medium, and low perceived social support based on averages of the total score from the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Relative to the low perceived social support group, the high perceived social support group reported fewer symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, and depression. The high perceived social support group also reported a more diverse and embedded social network, less disability, and better quality of life. Of note, the high and low perceived social support groups did not differ on age, gender, education, race ethnicity, or combat trauma exposure. These findings highlight that perceived social support may play an important role in the treatment of postwar veterans as they transition back to civilian life.


Sarcoma ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lesley Storey ◽  
Lorna A. Fern ◽  
Ana Martins ◽  
Mary Wells ◽  
Lindsey Bennister ◽  
...  

Background. Previous reviews of outcomes in specific sarcoma populations suggest patients have poor quality of life. In most of these reviews, there is a predominant focus on physical function rather than psychosocial outcome. The aim of this review was to describe the psychosocial impact of diagnosis and treatment on patients with all types of sarcoma. Methods. Searches were conducted through six electronic databases for publications of any study design using a validated patient-reported outcome measure reporting the psychosocial impact in this population. Results. Eighty-two studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Most (65%) were assessed of being of reasonable quality. The most common aspect of psychosocial wellbeing measured was quality of life (80%). Due to the heterogeneity of methods, outcomes, and populations, it was not possible to make definitive conclusions. It seems there is an improvement in the physical aspects of quality of life over time but not in psychosocial function or mental health. There was no change in mental health scores, but patients reported an improvement in adjusting to normal life. There are no differences according to the type of surgery patients receive, and psychosocial outcomes tend to be poorer than the general population. There is no consistency in identifying the factors that predict/influence psychosocial wellbeing. Conclusion. The published literature does not provide a clear understanding of the impact of sarcoma diagnosis and treatment on psychosocial wellbeing. Instead, the review demonstrates a need for well-designed studies in this area and a more consistent approach to the measurement of patient-reported outcomes, which include psychosocial domains. Recommendations for future research have been proposed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (20) ◽  
pp. 1188-1194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliana S Oliveira ◽  
Cathie Sherrington ◽  
Elizabeth R Y Zheng ◽  
Marcia Rodrigues Franco ◽  
Anne Tiedemann

BackgroundOlder people are at high risk of physical inactivity. Activity trackers can facilitate physical activity. We aimed to investigate the effect of interventions using activity trackers on physical activity, mobility, quality of life and mental health among people aged 60+ years.MethodsFor this systematic review, we searched eight databases, including MEDLINE, Embase and CENTRAL from inception to April 2018. Randomised controlled trials of interventions that used activity trackers to promote physical activity among people aged 60+ years were included in the analyses. The study protocol was registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42017065250.ResultsWe identified 23 eligible trials. Interventions using activity trackers had a moderate effect on physical activity (23 studies; standardised mean difference (SMD)=0.55; 95% CI 0.40 to 0.70; I2=86%) and increased steps/day by 1558 (95% CI 1099 to 2018 steps/day; I2=92%) compared with usual care, no intervention and wait-list control. Longer duration activity tracker-based interventions were more effective than short duration interventions (18 studies, SMD=0.70; 95% CI 0.47 to 0.93 vs 5 studies, SMD=0.14; 95% CI −0.26 to 0.54, p for comparison=0.02). Interventions that used activity trackers improved mobility (three studies; SMD=0.61; 95% CI 0.31 to 0.90; I2=10%), but not quality of life (nine studies; SMD=0.09; 95% CI −0.07 to 0.25; I2=45%). Only one trial included mental health outcomes and it reported similar effects of the activity tracker intervention compared with control.ConclusionsInterventions using activity trackers improve physical activity levels and mobility among older people compared with control. However, the impact of activity tracker interventions on quality of life, and mental health is unknown.


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