INTRODUCTION: The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has dramatically affected global healthcare systems. We aimed to determine the response of our paediatric surgical fraternity to a disease that overwhelmingly affects adults.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study over 6 weeks during a federally mandated lockdown. Using snowball sampling, we recruited paediatric surgeons, trainees and medical officers from paediatric surgical units in Malaysia. The anonymous online questionnaire covered sociodemographic information, changes in patient care, redeployment, concerns regarding family members, and impact on training. Mental well-being was assessed using the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21). Kruskal-Wallis, ANOVA and multiple regression analysis was used, with significance level 0.05.
RESULTS: Of the 129 eligible participants, 100(77%) responded. Junior doctors had clinically higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. Age <30 years was significantly associated with anxiety. Junior doctors believed that redeployment led to loss of surgical skills (p<0.001) and trainees felt that clinical application of knowledge had reduced (p<0.020).
CONCLUSION: Specific to our paediatric surgical community, this study highlights areas of concern, particularly among junior doctors. It is likely that recurrent cycles of the pandemic will occur soon. These issues must be addressed to preserve the mental and emotional well-being of all health care workers.
INTRODUCTION: Sexual problems are common in the general population. Studies have shown that most of these sexual problems are related to their social lives, medical illnesses, and psychological status. Among the sexual problems in men, premature ejaculation (PE) is one of the most frequent, yet it is the least well-understood of the sexual dysfunctions of men.
AIM: To determine the prevalence of sexual problem particularly PE and erectile dysfunction (ED) among people living in urban areas and to investigate the characteristics associated with these sexual problems in a Malaysian population.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The PE which is defined as an intravaginal ejaculation latency time less than 2 minutes was assessed in the ED and non-ED group.
METHODS: The Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale is used as a measure of the psychological status [30]. The ED status was assessed using the International Index of Erectile Function questionnaire.
RESULTS: The prevalence of self-reported sexual problems for ED and PE were 41.6% and 22.3%, respectively. In those subjects with ED, 33.5% reported to have PE. Of the total of 430 subjects, anxiety was present in 8.1%, while depression was 5.3%. The prevalence of PE accounted for 25% anxiety and 14.6% for depression respectively in the population. EDs were associated with diabetes and hypertension (OR [95% CI]: 5.33 [2.33, 10.16], 3.40 [1.76, 6.57], P < 0.05), respectively, while factors associated with PE were anxiety and depression (OR [95% CI]: 1.29 [0.68, 2.45], 1.39 [0.69, 2.78]), respectively.
CONCLUSION: Prevalence of ED is associated with medical symptoms such as diabetes and hypertension and a rise in the prevalence of age while psychological distress such as anxiety and depression also contribute to a higher PE rate.
Ethnic variations in dementia rate have been reported worldwide. Understanding these differences is vital for aetiological research, clinical care and health service planning. While age and gender have been consistently implicated, the reasons behind interethnic variation remain unclear.
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there were gender-specific depressive symptom profiles or gender-specific patterns of psychotropic agent usage in Asian patients with depression.