Vital exhaustion and psychosocial health among offshore personnel working in the Philippines

The offshore environment is a high-risk and demanding workplace exposing crew members to various physical and psychological stressors. Health and safety programs are implemented to prevent accidents and promote well-being among personnel. This study aims to determine the association between vital exhaustion and psychosocial health among offshore workers in the Philippines. Quantitative non-experimental descriptive correlational design was used and standardized questionnaires namely: Maastricht Vital Exhaustion (MVEQ) and Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaires (COPSOQ III) were utilized to gather data from fifty-five respondents (54 male; Mage = 42.69). Majority of them are assigned in the maintenance and marine departments with an average offshore experience of 11.69 years. Offshore workers have low vital exhaustion (VE) levels and good psychosocial health (PH) scores. Highest recorded scores for PH fall under Influence and Development, Outcome Scales and Interpersonal relations and leadership. Lower mean scores in Further Parameters and Demands at work also translate to favourable PH. There was a significant relationship among four PH scales and VE levels of respondents. There was also a significant relationship between VE and the demographic profile of offshore workers in terms of job assignment and work type however there was no significant association between PH and all demographic variables considered in the study. Majority of the participants claimed that environmental conditions are well-designed and safety concerns are managed appropriately in the workplace. The responses from offshore personnel provide a clear picture of their overall health. The resilience and camaraderie among the all-Filipino crew played a major role in keeping their VE levels low and promoting good PH scores.

Association of Vital Exhaustion with Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Diseases, Quality of Life and Lifestyle in 41–44-Year-Old Muscovite Men

(1) Background: Vital exhaustion (VE) is no less of an important risk factor (RF) for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and cardiovascular events than the well-known RFs. Insufficient knowledge of the relationship between VE and CVD RF, quality of life, and lifestyle was the rationale for this study. (2) Methods: We examined 301 Muscovite men 41–44 years of age. The categorization of RFs for CVD was carried out in accordance with conventionally considered criteria. In order to evaluate the lifestyle and quality of life in study participants, we were offering them a self-filling questionnaire developed by I.A. Gundarov. The presence of VE signs was assessed using a 14-item short version of the Maastricht Vital Exhaustion Questionnaire scale (MVEQ). All study subjects were classified into three ordered groups depending on the distribution of VE indicators by tertiles: Group 1 consisted of men with a low VE (0–2 points), Group 2 included males with a medium VE score (3–5 points), and Group 3 comprised subjects with high VE scores (6–14 points). To analyze the obtained data, we used one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson’s chi-squaredtest (χ2), Goodman and Kruskal’s gamma, and linear regression analysis. (3) Results: We established that every third male (36.8%) had VE signs, while 10.6% of men had high VE levels. With an increase of VE in men, the frequency of arterial hypertension (AH) was increasing as well, and it was significantly higher in men with a high VE compared to their peers with a low VE (48.4% versus 33%; p = 0.03). A significant linear relationship was discovered between VE levels and excessive alcohol consumption (p = 0.001). The strongest linear associations were found between the VE level, and both psychosocial stress indicator and the amount of consumed ethanol. Self-assessment of personal happiness, job and sleep satisfaction, residential living conditions, and spiritual needs, as well as psychosocial stress indicator, total amount of consumed ethanol, and muscle strength (hand-grip dynamometry), were independent determinants of the VE level, and, collectively, they explained 46.6% of its variability. The greatest contribution to VE was made by the personal happiness level, explaining 25.5% of its variability. The proportions of the VE variance uniquely explained by various factors were as follows: 9.3% by the psychosocial stress, 4.9% by job satisfaction, 2.8% by sleep satisfaction, 2.3% by total consumption of ethanol, 1.6% by muscle strength, 1.1% by living conditions in the residential neighborhood, and just 0.8% by spiritual needs. (4) Conclusion: High VE levels in 41–44-year-old men are associated with AH, sedentary behavior, excessive alcohol consumption, and lower values of most indicators of both lifestyle and quality of life.

Compassion protects against vital exhaustion and negative emotionality

We investigated (i) the predictive relationships of compassion with negative emotionality (a marker of susceptibility to stress) and vital exhaustion (a marker of chronic stress response) and (ii) the effect of compassion on the developmental courses of negative emotionality and vital exhaustion over a follow-up from early adulthood to middle age. We used the prospective Young Finns data (n = 1031–1495, aged 20–50). Compassion was evaluated in 1997, 2001, and 2012; and vital exhaustion and negative emotionality in 2001, 2007, and 2012. The predictive paths from compassion to vital exhaustion and negative emotionality were stronger than vice versa: high compassion predicted lower vital exhaustion and lower negative emotionality. The effect of high compassion on lower vital exhaustion and lower negative emotionality was evident from early adulthood to middle age. Overall, high compassion appears to protect against dimensions of stress from early adulthood to middle age, whereas this study found no evidence that dimensions of stress could reduce disposition to feel compassion for others’ distress over a long-term follow-up.

Vital exhaustion and risk of myocardial infarction in male population aged 25- 64 years in Russia/Siberia. Epidemiological program WHO Monica-psychosocial

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Purpose To determine the effect of vital exhaustions (VE) on risk of myocardial infarction (MI) in male population aged 25-64 years in Russia/Siberia. Methods Within the framework of WHO program MONICA-psychosocial a representative sample of men 25-64 years was examined in 1994 year in Novosibirsk. Total sample of 657 males were measured for VE symptoms at baseline with the use of the MONICA - psychosocial Interview - Vital Exhaustion scale. The incidence of new-onset MI cases was revealed over 14-years of follow-up in frame budgetary issue # AAAA-A17-117112850280-2. Cox - proportional regression model was used for an estimation of hazard ratio (HR). Results Prevalence of VE in cohort of men with AH was 73.7%. 58% men had high level of VE and 15.7% - an average level of VE. The risk MI incidence over the first 5 years of follow-up in a group with VE was 2.7-fold higher compare o those without VE. Within 10 years HR = 2.25, within 14 years HR = 2,1 for males with VE (p for all <0.05). In the multivariate Cox regression model after controlling for social factors (education, occupation, marital status) and age, the influence of vital exhaustion on MI risk decreased but remained statistically significant HR = 1.16 (p <0.05). Marital status as divorced and primary degree (elementary school) increased risk of MI more significantly in men with VE. Conclusions Vital exhaustion is a predictor of higher risk of MI in middle-age men. Level of MI risk influenced by social gradient.

Sex Differences and Trends in Prevalence of Anxiety, Depression and Vital Exhaustion in Russia / Siberia from 1994 To 2017

Purpose: To determine gender differences in trends of anxiety, depression and vital exhaustion levels in an open population aged 25-64 years over long-term period - 23 years in Russia / Siberia (Novosibirsk). Methods: Within the framework of the screening in 1994-95 under the WHO MONICA-psychosocial (MOPSY) program (n = 1527, 43% males, mean age 44.85 ± 0.4 years), in 2003-2005 under the international project HAPIEE (n=1650, 34,9% males, mean age 54,25±0,2 years), in 2013-2016 (n=975, 43,8% males, mean age 34,5±0,4 years) and 2016-2017 гг.( n=663, 41,3% years 51,95±0,32 years) within the framework of the budgetary theme No. АААА-А17-117112850280-2, random representative samples of men and women in one of districts in Novosibirsk were examined. Anxiety traits studied by means of the Spielberger test. Depression and vital exhaustion assessed by MOPSY questionnaires. Results: 2/3 of the female population aged 25-64 years had high level of anxiety traits in 1994. It was highest in the younger age groups. High anxiety was found in less than half of the surveyed men, increasing with age. The maximum values of anxiety were noted in 2003-2005 in both genders. The decrease in the incidence of high anxiety which began in 2013-2016, remained only in the female part of the population aged 35-64y but in men the prevalence of anxiety returned to the levels of 1994. Depression occurred in more than half of the female population in 1994. The overall prevalence among men was less than 30%. At the same time, the frequency of major D in women was 4-fold higher compared with men (p <0.001). Trends in prevalence in 2017 were mixed: a reduction in moderate levels and an increase in major depression in the youngest and oldest age groups. The prevalence of high vital exhaustion in 1994 was 14.6% and 31% in men and women 25-64 years, respectively (p <0.001). An increase in high exhaustion from younger to older age groups was noted in both sexes. The downward trend in exhaustion in 2017 persisted only among women. At that moment for the first time men began to report high exhaustion more often than women over 23-year of follow-up (16.9% and 15.6% for men and women 35-64y, respectively; n.s.). Conclusion: The prevalence of affective states is higher in females in general population. Long-term trends in decreasing the prevalence of anxiety, depression and vital exhaustion were not sustainable and returned to levels of 1994.

Vital exhaustion in women with chest pain and no obstructive coronary artery disease: the iPOWER study

BackgroundMore than half of women with symptoms suggestive of myocardial ischaemia have no obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD), yet they face a higher risk of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. Both vital exhaustion (VE) and depression have been linked to adverse cardiovascular prognosis in patients with CAD. We aimed to assess whether symptomatic women with no obstructive CAD are more vitally exhausted compared with asymptomatic women. Furthermore, we investigated the overlap between the constructs of VE and depression.MethodsPrevalence and burden of VE was assessed in symptomatic women with no obstructive CAD (n=1.266) and asymptomatic women (n=2.390). Among symptomatic women, we also assessed chest pain characteristics and symptoms of Hospital Anxiety and Depression Questionnaire.FindingsMedian (IQR) VE score was 4 (1-9) and 2 (0–5) in symptomatic and asymptomatic women, respectively (age adjusted, p<0.001). The risk of severe VE was significantly higher in symptomatic women compared with asymptomatic women (OR 3.3, 95% CI 2.5 to 4.4), independent of age and risk factors, and was associated with symptom severity. VE and depression scores were correlated but principal component cluster analysis (PCCA) showed clear distinctiveness between the two constructs.ConclusionsWomen with chest pain and no obstructive CAD are more vitally exhausted compared with asymptomatic women. PCCA showed that VE is distinct from depression in symptomatic women.Clinical implicationsMental health screening focusing on depressive symptomatology in women with chest pain presenting with symptoms of mental and physical exhaustion may overlook VE in these patients.

The Fantasy of Youth in Philip Roth's Later Novels

I intend to explore Philip Roth’s strategy of affirming youth as core value among his major themes revealing the experience of aging, illness and loss by revealing its particular framing in the novels of his later work. I shall analyze the contexts that connect youth to vitality and survival, revisiting some key moments in the long imaginary biographies of his notorious characters David Kepesh and Nathan Zuckerman. Although central in Roth’s work, youth has been commonly investigated in connection to allegories that anchor the writer’s oeuvre in a territory marked by nostalgia, loss, and a sense of impending vital exhaustion. My aim is to isolate this issue more clearly and focus on its specificity rather than its connectivity.