scholarly journals IMPROVED QUALITY OF LIFE OF PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS AND NONPSYCHOTIC MENTAL DISORDERS

2019 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Svitlana Savka

Introduction: Somatic pathology of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) combined with nonpsychotic mental disorders (NMD) leads to deterioration in the quality of life. The aim: We aimed to examine the quality of life of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and nonpsychotic mental disorders. Materials and methods: We formed two clinical groups of observation of the patients with rheumatoid arthritis and nonpsychotic mental disorders. First group (GA) included participants with duration of RA for 1-5 years, second group (GB) included those with duration of RA for 5-10 years. For assessment we used the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD), Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HRSA) and the Quality of Life Index developed by J.E. Mezzich (QLI). All patients received basic treatment, as well as antidepressants, anxiolytics, vitamin therapy and psychotherapy, depending on the form of nonpsychotic mental disorders. Results: Study of the life quality showed that for the examined patients the quality of life was significantly lower in comparison with the control group. Mainly, for GA partners the overall assessment of life quality after treatment improved by 12,1% and the positive effect was probable. The greatest positive changes for the first group included increasing of physical well-being points by 2,5 and psychological/emotional well-being – by 2,1 points(p<0,05). Mainly, for GB patients overall quality of life improved by 14,9%. Major positive changes were identified in psychological/emotional well-being - 2,93 points, physical well-being by 2,47 points, self-care and independent functioning by 2,09 points, and disability which increased by 2,06 points (p <0,05) Conclusions: The patients with rheumatoid arthritis and nonpsychotic mental disorders have a significant decline in quality of life based on all indicators. The general assessment of the life quality of the first basic clinical group surveyed was 62,2 ± 1,33, while for the second basic clinical group surveyed – 57,0 ± 1,47. The increase in the duration of the RA disease significantly weakens the general working capacity by 0,83 points p<0,05, self-service and independence of the patients by 0,80 points, p<0,05, psychological and emotional well-being by 0,75 points, p<0,05, interpersonal interaction at 0,91 points, p<0,05.The overall quality of life of the patients with duration of RA for 1-5 years and NMD after treatment was 74,1% ± 0,93, for the patients with duration of RA for 5-10 years and NMD after treatment was 71,9% ± 1,20 (p <0,05).

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-185
Author(s):  
Branko Ristić ◽  
Borjanka Batinić

Introduction: Perception of emotions is an important aspect of social functioning and the quality of life, and its deficit has been consistently found in people with schizophrenia. Aim: To obtain better understanding of the relationship and predictability between the perception of emotions, social functioning and the quality of life in people with schizophrenia. Method: The sample comprised 64 respondents (the clinical and the control group consisting of 32 subjects each, equal in terms of gender, age and education). Perception of emotions was measured using the test of speed and accuracy of perception of facial expression, while social functioning and the quality of life were measured via self-assessment questionnaires. The research was exploratory and non-experimental correlational. Results: In both the clinical and control groups, the perception of emotions is positively correlated with social functioning and the quality of life. Still, the direction of predictivity remains unclear due to the complexity of relationships. Compared to the control group, there was a deficit in the domains of perception of emotional expression, social functioning and the quality of life in the clinical group. The deficit in the perception of emotions in patients with schizophrenia is global and affects all emotions, while it is most pronounced when it comes to the emotions of surprise and anger. Conclusions: The obtained findings indicate that the understanding of the lack of functioning in people with schizophrenia should be sought, among other things, in the relation between the perception of emotions, social functioning and the quality of life in order to gain a better insight into choosing the proper line of treatment with the aim of improving the overall well-being of the patients.


2003 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Flávio M F Xavier ◽  
Marcos P T Ferraz ◽  
Norton Marc ◽  
Norma U Escosteguy ◽  
Emílio H Moriguchi

OBJECTIVES: Senescence for some elderly people is a phase of with development and satisfaction, whereas for others is a negative stage of life. The determinants of a good quality of life in old age vary from person to person. The aims of this study were to identify: 1) the prevalence of octogenarian people who evaluate their current life as being mainly characterized by a positive quality and 2) which were the domains that they identified as being the determinants of this positive quality. A same parallel study was conducted with subjects who evaluated senescence as a preponderantly negative experience. METHODS: A random and representative sample of 35% of the octogenarian people, living residing in the community, was selected among the dwellers of the city of Veranópolis, state of Rio Grande do Sul. A semi-structured questionnaire on quality of life quality was applied as well as the scale of depressive symptoms Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and the index of general health Cumulative Illness Rating Scale (CIRS). RESULTS: Slightly more than half of the studied sample (57%) defined their current quality of life with positive evaluations, whereas 18% presented a negative evaluation of it. A group 0f 25% defined their current lives as neutral or having both values (positive and negative). Those who were dissatisfied presented more health problems according to the CIRS and more depressive symptoms when evaluated by the GDS. Satisfied subjects ones had different reasons to justify this state, however, the dissatisfied had mainly the lack of health as a reason for their suffering. The main source of reported daily well-being was the involvement with rural or domestic activities. Among the interviewed, lack of health was the main source for not presenting well-being, although there was interpersonal variability regarding what each subject considered as loss of health. CONCLUSION: Possibly, for the elderly subjects a negative quality of life is equivalent to loss of health and a positive life quality is equivalent to a greater range of categories such as activity, income, social life and relationship with the family, categories which differed from subject to subject. Therefore, health seems to be a good indicator of negative quality of life, though an insufficient indicator of successful elderliness.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-210
Author(s):  
A. G. Solopova ◽  
E. E. Achkasov ◽  
A. D. Makatsariya ◽  
V. S. Moskvichyova ◽  
A. E. Ivanov

Aim: to assess the psycho-emotional profile in patients with vulvar lichen sclerosus.Materials and methods. We examined 57 patients with a diagnosis of vulvar lichen sclerosus, the average age of 35.0 ± 0.6 (from 18 to 45) years. The control group included 45 healthy women without dystrophic changes in the external genital organs, who applied for a routine examination. The following methods were used to analyze the psycho-emotional profile: WAM questionnaire (well-being, activity, mood), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI).Results. In patients with vulvar lichen sclerosus a decrease in indicators “well-being” (24.3 ± 1.7 versus 52.4 ± 5.6 scores) and “mood” (28.7 ± 3.6 versus 58.1 ± 6.1 scores) was revealed; “activity” was changed slightly (41.2 ± 3.2 against 47.4 ± 4.9 scores). Depressive (75.4 % versus 15.6 %) and anxiety (68.4 % versus 20 %) disorders were also more common in this group. Significant deterioration in the quality of life in patients was confirmed by a DIQL (18.79 ± 4.98 scores).Conclusion. Psycho-emotional profile of patients with vulvar lichen sclerosus is characterized by a change in most of the analyzed parameters. The presence of anxiety-depressive disorders can aggravate both the general somatic state and the course of the underlying disease. So activities aimed at improving the quality of life should be included in the rehabilitation of these patients.


2010 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 2301-2313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Modugno ◽  
Sara Iaconelli ◽  
Mariagrazia Fiorlli ◽  
Francesco Lena ◽  
Imogen Kusch ◽  
...  

Most medical treatments of Parkinson's disease (PD) are aimed at the reduction of motor symptoms. However, even when motor improvements are evident, patients often report a deterioration of their daily lives. Thus, to achieve a global improvement in personal well-being, not only drugs, but also complementary therapies, such as physical exercise, occupational and speech therapy, and active music therapy, have been used. We hypothesized that theater could reduce clinical disability and improve the quality of life of PD patients (primary end points) more efficiently than other complementary therapies because (1) in order to impersonate a character, patients are forced to regain the control of their bodies; and (2) while being part of a group, patients have a high degree of social interaction. The need to regain the control of their bodies and their social functioning is very likely to deeply motivate patients. To assess this hypothesis, we ran a randomized, controlled, and single-blinded study that lasted 3 years, on 20 subjects affected by a moderate form of idiopathic PD, in stable treatment with L-dopa and L-dopa agonists, and without severe sensory deficits. Ten patients were randomly assigned to an active theater program (in which patients were required to participate), while the others underwent physiotherapy (control group), the most common nonpharmacological treatment for PD rehabilitation. Patients of both groups were evaluated at the beginning of each year, using five clinical rating scales (Unified ParkinsonParkinson'ss Disease Rating Scale [UPDRS], Schwab and England Scale, ParkinsonParkinson'ss Disease Quality of Life [PDQ39] Scale, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale). The theater patients showed progressive improvements and, at the end of the third year, they showed significant improvements in all clinical scales. Conversely, the control patients did not exhibit significant ameliorations with time. Thus, the present study provides the first scientific evidence that active theater, coupled with conventional medical treatments, represents a valid complementary therapeutic intervention for PD treatment.


2013 ◽  
Vol 154 (14) ◽  
pp. 531-537
Author(s):  
István Sal ◽  
Éva Susánszky ◽  
Ildikó Papp

Introduction: Examining the quality of life has a great importance in the treatment of chronic patients. Aim: The aim of the authors was to assess the national status on the basis of the database of the Hungarostudy Health Panel using statistical evaluation. Methods: Three validated questionnaries in the test-battery served as instruments: the shortened version of the WHO Well-being Questionnaire, the Shortened Beck’s Depression Scale Rating and the Illness Intrusiveness Rating Scale. Results: It was found that in accordance with international data, the quality of life index of Hungarian diabetic patients was significantly worse than that of the non-diabetic population. Conclusions: International data also show that the decline in quality of life is correlated with a decline of cooperation and life expectancy of diabetic patients. This explains why methods of behavioral medicine focusing on improving life quality are of great importance, that have not yet been considered currently in psychoeducation. Referring to international examples the authors make a proposal on an extensive survey among Hungarian diabetic patients with the help of validated disease-specific questionnaires and using Transtheoretical Model in order to make education more efficient. Orv. Hetil., 2013, 154, 531–537.


2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 54 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Zhuang ◽  
Y. Ma ◽  
L. Wang ◽  
H. Zhang

Background Patients with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (nsclc) experience great pain and stress. Our study aimed to explore the effect of early palliative care on quality of life in patients with nsclc.Methods A total of 150 patients were randomly divided into two groups: control group with conventional care and study group with early palliative care. The quality of life (qol) rating scale and self-rating scale of life quality (sslq) were used to analyze the patients’ quality of life. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-D/A (hads-d/a) and Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (phq-9) were used to analyze the patients’ mood. Pulmonary function indexes of peak expiratory flow (pef), functional residual capacity (frc), and trachea-esophageal fistula 25% (tef 25%) were analyzed using the lung function detector.Results The qol and sslq scales scores of patients receiving early palliative care were significantly higher than those in the control group (p < 0.05). Moreover, the questionnaire results of the hads-d/a and phq-9 were better in patients receiving palliative care than in the control group (p < 0.05 or p < 0.01). In addition, analytical results of pulmonary function showed that the levels of pef, frc, and tef 25% in patients assigned to early palliative care were remarkably higher than those in the control group (p < 0.01 or p < 0.001).Conclusions These data demonstrate that early palliative care improves life quality, mood, and pulmonary function of nsclc patients, indicating that early palliative care could be used as a clinically meaningful and feasible care model for patients with metastatic nsclc.


2020 ◽  
pp. 33-38
Author(s):  
E. Yu. Gan ◽  
L. P. Evstigneeva

Purpose of the study. Assessing the association between the life quality of patients with Sjogren’s Disease and ongoing therapy with various disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs.Material and methods. The study was conducted on the basis of the regional rheumatology center of the consultative diagnostic clinic of the Sverdlovsk Regional Clinical Hospital No. 1. This work is based on the results of a simultaneous study of 74 patients with primary Sjogren’s Disease (SD), distributed in three comparison groups receiving various disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs chlorambucil, methotrexate and hydroxychloroquine. The diagnosis of SD was carried out according to European-American criteria AECGC (2002) [18]. In order to analyze the quality of life of patients with SD, the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF‑36) was used. Statistical data processing was carried out using Statistica 7.0 program.Results. Assessment of the quality of life of patients with SD, which is an integrative criterion of human health and well-being, revealed the absence of statistically significant differences (p > 0.05) on eight scales and two health components of the SF‑36 questionnaire in the analyzed groups that differ in the treatment of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs chlorambucil, methotrexate and hydroxychloroquine.Conclusions. The obtained data indicate an equivalent quality of life in SD patients treated with different disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs methotrexate, chlorambucil and hydroxychloroquine, and therefore hydroxychloroquine can be considered as an alternative basic therapy in patients with SD with certain limitations and contraindications methotrexate and chlorambucil.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 2187
Author(s):  
Omrit Feldman ◽  
Eran Goldstien ◽  
Benjamin Rolnik ◽  
Ariel B. Ganz ◽  
Shahar Lev-Ari

Stuttering is a speech disorder that can cause disturbances in the timing and flow of speech. In addition to being a communication disorder, stuttering is often accompanied by a reduction in the quality of life and has impacts on social status, mental well-being, self-acceptance, and the chances of integration into the labor market. The Inquiry Based Stress Reduction (IBSR) program, developed in the United States by Byron Katie in 1986, is the clinical application of “The Work” method (Thework.com) and represents an emerging mindfulness and cognitive-reframing method. IBSR has been demonstrated to improve mental health and well-being in adults and may alleviate psychological and psychosocial symptoms of stuttering. The purpose of this trial was to examine the effect of a 12-week IBSR intervention on the overall stuttering experience and indicators of anxiety, psychological flexibility, and well-being among adults who stutter (AWS). This study was a randomized controlled clinical trial. Participants were randomized to IBSR (n = 28) and control (n = 28) groups. Validated questionnaires of overall stuttering experience (OASES-A), anxiety (STAI), psychological flexibility (PFQ), and satisfaction with life (SWLS) were completed before, after, and one month after the intervention. An intention-to-treat approach was implemented for analysis. Our results show that participants in the IBSR intervention group exhibited a greater improvement in their overall stuttering experience as compared to the control group, as well as in general information on stuttering awareness and perception, reactions to stuttering, communication in daily situations, and quality of life. In addition, we found a greater reduction in anxiety levels and an increase in satisfaction-with-life scores in the IBSR group. These results indicate that IBSR can improve the overall stuttering experience.


Author(s):  
Ansam Barakat ◽  
Matthijs Blankers ◽  
Jurgen E Cornelis ◽  
Nick M Lommerse ◽  
Aartjan T F Beekman ◽  
...  

Abstract Background This study evaluated whether providing intensive home treatment (IHT) to patients experiencing a psychiatric crisis has more effect on self-efficacy when compared to care as usual (CAU). Self-efficacy is a psychological concept closely related to one of the aims of IHT. Additionally, differential effects on self-efficacy among patients with different mental disorders and associations between self-efficacy and symptomatic recovery or quality of life were examined. Methods Data stem from a Zelen double consent randomised controlled trial (RCT), which assesses the effects of IHT compared to CAU on patients who experienced a psychiatric crisis. Data were collected at baseline, 6 and 26 weeks follow-up. Self-efficacy was measured using the Mental Health Confidence Scale. The 5-dimensional EuroQol instrument and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) were used to measure quality of life and symptomatic recovery, respectively. We used linear mixed modelling to estimate the associations with self-efficacy. Results Data of 142 participants were used. Overall, no difference between IHT and CAU was found with respect to self-efficacy (B = − 0.08, SE = 0.15, p = 0.57), and self-efficacy did not change over the period of 26 weeks (B = − 0.01, SE = 0.12, t (103.95) = − 0.06, p = 0.95). However, differential effects on self-efficacy over time were found for patients with different mental disorders (F(8, 219.33) = 3.75, p < 0.001). Additionally, self-efficacy was strongly associated with symptomatic recovery (total BPRS B = − 0.10, SE = 0.02, p < 0.00) and quality of life (B = 0.14, SE = 0.01, p < 0.001). Conclusions Although self-efficacy was associated with symptomatic recovery and quality of life, IHT does not have a supplementary effect on self-efficacy when compared to CAU. This result raises the question whether, and how, crisis care could be adapted to enhance self-efficacy, keeping in mind the development of self-efficacy in depressive, bipolar, personality, and schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders. The findings should be considered with some caution. This study lacked sufficient power to test small changes in self-efficacy and some mental disorders had a small sample size. Trial registration This trial is registered at Trialregister.nl, number NL6020.


GYMNASIUM ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol XXI (1) ◽  
pp. 87
Author(s):  
Daniel-Lucian Dobreci ◽  
Adina Camelia Șlicaru

The main purpose of this study was to evaluate to what extent shock wave therapy (ESWT) can influence the quality of life of patients with scapular-humeral periarthritis (PSH). The study included 30 male and female PSH sufferers who had previously undergone various therapies without any success in disease progression. The VAS scale, the Roles-Maudsley score, and the Flanagan Life Quality Scale with seven points on the rating scale recommended by Andrews and Crandall were used to evaluate patient evolution. ESWT sessions were held on a seven-day session for 12 weeks. Between ESWT meetings each patient followed a home medical gymnastics program. Following the study, ESWT treatment had a good effect on the progression of PSH patients in terms of pain reduction and disappearance, as well as regaining mobility of the affected shoulder. The conclusion of this studio is that shock wave therapy can help improve the quality of life of PSH patients.


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