scholarly journals Mental Health and Quality of Life of Women One Year after Maternal Near-Miss in Low and Middle-Income Countries: The Case of Zanzibar, Tanzania

Author(s):  
Sisay Alemu ◽  
Tanneke Herklots ◽  
Josue Almansa ◽  
Shadya Mbarouk ◽  
Esther Sulkers ◽  
...  

Women who experienced a maternal near-miss are at risk of mental health complications and lower quality of life, but long-term consequences are largely unknown. The aim of this study is to assess whether mental health symptoms and quality of life change over time and to examine associations with risk factors among post-partum women. In this cohort study, women with maternal near-miss were matched to women without or with mild complications at Mnazi Mmoja Hospital in Zanzibar. Depressive and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, and quality of life were measured at three, six, and twelve-months follow-up. A linear mixed-effects model was used for data analysis. Postpartum women in Zanzibar reported low levels of depressive and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. While depressive symptoms and quality of life trajectories were similar among women with and without maternal near-miss, differences for trajectories of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and physical quality of life were found. Social support, perinatal loss, and intercurrent illness were strongly associated with both depressive symptoms and quality of life in this group of Islamic women. These findings suggest that social support, embedded in the cultural context, should be considered in helping women cope with mental health issues in the aftermath of severe maternal complications.

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. e030668 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grace McKeon ◽  
Zachary Steel ◽  
Ruth Wells ◽  
Jill M Newby ◽  
Dusan Hadzi-Pavlovic ◽  
...  

BackgroundFirst responders (police, fire and ambulance officers) are at a significantly increased risk of experiencing poor mental health, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. These conditions are associated with high rates of cardiovascular disease, in part due to low levels of physical activity (PA) and high levels of sedentary behaviour. Using a person’s social support system may be an effective solution to help increase PA levels to improve mental and physical health outcomes. We will examine the efficacy of a group-based online intervention in increasing PA in first responders and their support partners, iteratively codesigned with advisors with lived experience of mental illness among first responders.MethodsThis study will recruit a convenience sample of self-identified sedentary first responders and their self-selected support partners to a 10-week PA programme delivered through a private Facebook group. We will deliver education on predetermined topics related to PA and diet and provide participants with an activity tracker (Fitbit). A stepped-wedged design will be applied to compare multiple baselines to intervention and follow-up phases within subjects. Five cohorts of n=20 will be recruited, with each cohort randomised to a different baseline length. Our primary outcome will be psychological distress (Kessler-6). Secondary outcomes include feasibility, self-report and objective PA data (Simple Physical Activity Questionnaire and Fitbit accelerometry), depression and anxiety (Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 items), post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms (PTSD Checklist for DSM-5), quality of life Assessment of Quality of Life-6 dimensions, sleep quality (The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), suicidal ideation (Suicidal Ideation Attributes Scale) and social support for exercise. The mobile data collection platform MetricWire will be used.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval was obtained from the University of New South Wales, Deupty Vice-Chancellor Research, Human Research Ethics Committee on 3 June 2019, HC180561. Findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals and disseminated at national conferences.Trial registration numberACTRN12619000877189.


Author(s):  
M Sadeghi khorashad ◽  
E Rezaieyan ◽  
A Abdolahnezhad

Introduction: Firefighters are at high risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and that Quality of Life (QoL) is seriously compromised in individuals who have PTSD. This study was designed to assess the relationship between post-traumatic stress disorders and quality of life among firefighters. Materials and Methods: In this analytical and cross-sectional study, all firefighters in Birjand city were selected by census method (N = 96) in 2018. PTSD and QoL status was assessed by the Persian version of the Mississippi (Eshel) and WHOQOL-BREF questionnaires, respectively. Using Cronbach's α, the Iranian version of these two scales' internal reliability has been reported to be 0.92 and more than 0.7, respectively. Data analysis using SPSS software version 21 and independent T-test, ANOVA, Tukey's test, and Pearson correlation coefficient were used for statistical analysis. Results: The results showed that most firefighters (70.5%) were suffered from moderate PTSD symptoms (79.2± 11.7). Based on the self-report scale, 53.7% of the firefighters rated their quality of life as Good, and 43.2% of the firefighters were satisfied with their health. Statistical analysis showed that there is a statistically significant inverse relationship between PTSD score and areas of mental health (P = 0.03), social relations (P = 0.002), and environmental health (P = 0.004). Between PTSD score and physical health, no statistically significant relationship was found (P = 0.08). Conclusion: This study has proven a high rate of PTSD among firefighters and its negative correlation with the quality of their life. However, most firefighters rated their health and quality of life as good. Implementing strategies to combat mental disorders among firefighters improves the quality of their life and increases their job productivity.


2009 ◽  
Vol 194 (6) ◽  
pp. 479-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil Greenberg ◽  
Simon Wessely

SummaryPeople who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are likely to find that their quality of life is substantially impaired. However, unlike other diagnoses, in order for clinicians to make a diagnosis of PTSD people have to be able to accurately recall the details of a traumatic incident. Yet recent evidence suggests that recall of such incidents is often unreliable. Clinicians should therefore exercise caution to avoid making inaccurate diagnoses.


2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (29_suppl) ◽  
pp. 215-215
Author(s):  
Areej El-Jawahri ◽  
Harry VanDusen ◽  
Lara Traeger ◽  
Joel Fishbein ◽  
Tanya Keenan ◽  
...  

215 Background: Patients undergoinghematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) experience a steep deterioration in quality of life (QOL) and mood during hospitalization for HCT. The impact of this deterioration on patients’ long-term QOL and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms is unknown. Methods: We conducted a prospective longitudinal study of patients hospitalized for HCT. At baseline (day-6), day+1, day+8, and 6 months post-HCT, we assessed QOL (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Bone Marrow Transplantation [FACT-BMT]) and mood (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [HADS]). We used the PTSD Checklist to assess for PTSD symptoms at 6 months. We used multivariable linear regression models to identify predictors of QOL and PTSD symptoms at 6 months post-HCT. Results: We enrolled 97% (90/93) of consecutively eligible patients undergoing autologous (n = 30), myeloablative allogeneic (n = 30), or reduced intensity allogeneic (n = 30) HCT. Overall, patients’ QOL at 6 months (mean FACT-BMT: 110, 95%CI [104-116]) recovered to baseline pre-transplant values (mean FACT-BMT: 110, 95% CI [107-115]). At 6 months, 28.4% of participants met provisional diagnostic criteria for PTSD, and 43.3% had clinically significant depression. In multivariable regression analyses adjusting for baseline QOL, mood, other covariates, change in QOL and depression scores during hospitalization for HCT predicted impaired QOL (DQOL β = 1.13, P < 0.0001, D HADS-depression β = 2.51, P = 0.001) and PTSD symptoms (DQOL β = 0.50, P < 0.0001, DHADS-depression β = 1.22, P < 0.0001) at 6 months post-HCT. Conclusions: While patients’ overall QOL at 6 months post-HCT returned to baseline values, a significant proportion met provisional diagnostic criteria for PTSD and depression. The decline in QOL and increase in depressive symptoms during hospitalization for HCT were the most important predictors of long-term QOL impairment and PTSD symptoms. Future studies should evaluate whether interventions to improve QOL and reduce psychological distress during HCT may improve long-term QOL and reduce the risk of PTSD symptoms.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federica Sancassiani ◽  
Claudia Carmassi ◽  
Ferdinando Romano ◽  
Matteo Balestrieri ◽  
Filippo Caraci ◽  
...  

Introduction: The aim of the study was to measure the lifetime prevalence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among women of an Italian community sample, the comorbidity of PTSD with mood and anxiety disorders and the burden attributable to PTSD in worsening the Quality of Life (QoL). Methods: Community survey on a sample of 1961 adult women randomly selected. Tools: psychiatric clinical interview ANTAS partially derived from the SCID-DSM-IV, administered by psychologists or medical doctors; Short Form Health Survey (SF-12); Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ). Results: Lifetime prevalence of PTSD in women was 1.3%, (1.4% in<45 years aged, 1.3% in >44 years aged; p=0.8). In order of risk of comorbidity, PTSD was associated with: Bipolar Spectrum Disorders (MDQ+), Panic Disorders (PD) and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). People with PTSD showed an SF-12 mean score lower than women of the same sample without PTSD (standardized by gender and age), with a mean difference (attributable burden) of 3.9±0.9 similarly to MDD and Eating Disorders and higher than PD. Among the analyzed nonpsychiatric diseases, Multiple Sclerosis and Carotid Atherosclerosis showed a higher burden in impairing QoL than PTSD; Wilson’s Disease showed a similar burden and Celiac Disease was found less impairing on QoL than PTSD. Conclusion: The attributable burden in worsening women’ perceived QoL due to a lifetime diagnosis of PTSD was found comparable to those caused by MDD, Eating Disorders or by neurological condition such as Wilson’s Disease. The comorbidity of PTSD with Bipolar Spectrum Disorders was remarkable, even further studies are needed to clarify the direction of causality.


2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liqun Huang ◽  
Xiaohua Xu ◽  
Lingjie Zhang ◽  
Danwen Zheng ◽  
Yuntao Liu ◽  
...  

Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the most common psychiatric sequelae among novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of PTSD symptoms, PTSD-related factors, and its relationship with quality of life at long-term follow-up in hospitalized COVID-19 survivors.Methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken to evaluate the health consequences of hospitalized COVID-19 survivors. All participants were interviewed face-to-face through a series of questionnaires: a researcher-developed symptom questionnaire, the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist–Civilian Version, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item, and the 36-item Short Form.Results: A total of 574 participants were enrolled with an average age of 57 years. The median follow-up time post-discharge was 193.9 days (SD = 15.32). Among the participants, 77.9% of survivors presented with at least one symptom, where fatigue or muscle weakness (47.9%) was reported the most frequently, followed by chest distress (29.4%) and sleep difficulty (29.4%). The prevalence of PTSD was 11.15% [95% confidence interval (CI): 8.56, 13.73] with a cut-off score of 44. Factors such as respiratory symptoms [odds ratio (OR): 3.53; 95% CI: 1.68–7.42], anxiety (OR: 14.64; 95% CI: 7.09–30.21), and sleep difficulty (OR: 2.17; 95% CI: 1.14–4.16) were positively related to PTSD. Those COVID-19 survivors with potential PTSD had significantly lower quality of life than those without (P &lt; 0.05).Conclusion: Our study illustrated that a significant number of COVID-19 survivors were suffering from physical or mental distress to varying degrees at 6 months post-discharge. People with PTSD were more likely to experience persistent respiratory symptoms and sleep difficulty, as well as anxiety and a decreased quality of life. Such survivors require greater attention to their mental health, particularly the PTSD symptoms at the early phase, which may play an important role in the recovery of both the physical and psychological health of COVID-19 survivors.


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