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Fulltext The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on physical and mental health of Asians: A study of seven middle-income countries in Asia

Wang C, Tee M, Roy AE, Fardin MA, Srichokchatchawan W, Habib HA, et al.

PLoS One, 2021;16(2):e0246824.
PMID: 33571297 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0246824

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted the economy, livelihood, and physical and mental well-being of people worldwide. This study aimed to compare the mental health status during the pandemic in the general population of seven middle income countries (MICs) in Asia (China, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam). All the countries used the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) to measure mental health. There were 4479 Asians completed the questionnaire with demographic characteristics, physical symptoms and health service utilization, contact history, knowledge and concern, precautionary measure, and rated their mental health with the IES-R and DASS-21. Descriptive statistics, One-Way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and linear regression were used to identify protective and risk factors associated with mental health parameters. There were significant differences in IES-R and DASS-21 scores between 7 MICs (p<0.05). Thailand had all the highest scores of IES-R, DASS-21 stress, anxiety, and depression scores whereas Vietnam had all the lowest scores. The risk factors for adverse mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic include age <30 years, high education background, single and separated status, discrimination by other countries and contact with people with COVID-19 (p<0.05). The protective factors for mental health include male gender, staying with children or more than 6 people in the same household, employment, confidence in doctors, high perceived likelihood of survival, and spending less time on health information (p<0.05). This comparative study among 7 MICs enhanced the understanding of metal health in the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Matched MeSH terms: Stress, Psychological/diagnosis
Construct validity and internal consistency reliability of the Malay version of the 21-item depression anxiety stress scale (Malay-DASS-21) among male outpatient clinic attendees in Johor

Rusli BN, Amrina K, Trived S, Loh KP, Shashi M

Med J Malaysia, 2017 10;72(5):264-270.
PMID: 29197880 MyJurnal

BACKGROUND: The 21-item English version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) has been proposed as a method for assessing self-perceived depression, anxiety and stress over the past week in various clinical and nonclinical populations. Several Malay versions of the DASS-21 have been validated in various populations with varying success. One particular Malay version has been validated in various occupational groups (such as nurses and automotive workers) but not among male clinic outpatient attendees in Malaysia.
OBJECTIVE: To validate the Malay version of the DASS-21 (Malay-DASS-21) among male outpatient clinic attendees in Johor.
METHODS: A validation study with a random sample of 402 male respondents attending the outpatient clinic of a major public outpatient clinic in Johor Bahru and Segamat was carried out from January to March 2016. Construct validity of the Malay-DASS-21 was examined using Exploratory Factor Analysis (KMO = 0.947; Bartlett's test of sphericity is significant, p<0.001) through Principal Component Analysis and orthogonal (varimax) rotation with Kaiser Normalization to confirm the psychometric properties of the Malay-DASS- 21 and the internal consistency reliability using Cronbach's alpha.
RESULTS: Construct validity of the Malay-DASS-21 based on eigenvalues and factor loadings to confirm the three factor structure (depression, anxiety, and stress) was acceptable. The internal consistency reliability of the factor construct was very impressive with Cronbach's alpha values in the range of 0.837 to 0.863.
CONCLUSIONS: The present study showed that the Malay- DASS-21 has acceptable psychometric construct and high internal consistency reliability to measure self-perceived depression, anxiety and stress over the past week in male outpatient clinic attendees in Johor. Further studies are necessary to revalidate the Malay-DASS-21 across different populations and cultures, and using confirmatory factor analyses.

Matched MeSH terms: Stress, Psychological/diagnosis*
Fulltext The Impact of Poor Nutrient Intakes and Food Insecurity on the Psychological Distress among Community-Dwelling Middle-Aged and Older Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Malek Rivan NF, Yahya HM, Shahar S, Ajit Singh DK, Ibrahim N, Mat Ludin AF, et al.

Nutrients, 2021 Jan 25;13(2).
PMID: 33503860 DOI: 10.3390/nu13020353

This study aimed to investigate the impact of food insecurity and poor nutrient intake on the psychological health of middle-aged and older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. A sub-sample of 535 individuals aged 52 years and above, from the earlier cohort and interventional studies (n = 4) from four selected states in Peninsular Malaysia, were recruited during the COVID-19 outbreak (April to June 2020). Telephone interviews were conducted by trained interviewers with a health sciences background to obtain participants' information on health status, physical activity, food security, and psychological health (General Health Questionnaire-12; normal and psychological distress). Univariate analyses were performed for each variable, followed by a logistic regression analysis using SPSS Statistics version 25.0. Results revealed food insecurity (OR = 17.06, 95% CI: 8.24-35.32, p < 0.001), low protein (OR = 0.981, 95% CI: 0.965-0.998, p < 0.05), and fiber intakes (OR = 0.822, 95% CI: 0.695-0.972, p < 0.05) were found to be significant factors associated with the psychological distress group after adjusting for confounding factors. The findings suggested that food insecurity and insufficiencies of protein and fiber intakes heightened the psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Optimal nutrition is vital to ensure the physical and psychological health of the older population, specifically during the current pandemic.

Matched MeSH terms: Stress, Psychological/diagnosis
Fulltext Psychological problems and psychosocial predictors of cigarette smoking behavior among undergraduate students in Malaysia

Saravanan C, Heidhy I

Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2014;15(18):7629-34.
PMID: 25292039

BACKGROUND: Cigarette smokers have their own motivation and justification to smoke. For example, smoking reduces their stress or enhances their pleasure. This study aimed to identify the (a) prevalence of cigarette smokers among undergraduates in Malaysia, (b) gender differences in nicotine dependence among current smokers, (c) differences in psychological problems (depression, anxiety and stress) based on the status of smoking cigarettes (current, former and non-smokers) and (d) extent to which precipitating factors (tension reduction, addiction, automatism, handling, social interaction, pleasure, and stimulation) predict the smoking behavior among current smokers.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study 780 undergraduate students participated from a private university in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor state in Malaysia. The Depression, Stress and Anxiety Scale, Modified Reason for Smoking Scale and Fagerstrom Nicotine Dependence Test were used to measure psychological problems, predictors of smoking behavior and nicotine dependency among current smokers.

RESULTS: The results showed that 14.7%(n=106) of the students were smokers. Current smokers exhibited more psychological problems (depression, anxiety and stress) compared to former and non-smokers. Addiction, tension reduction, pleasure and automatism were predictors of smoking behavior among the current smoking students. Step wise regression analysis showed that smoking behavior was highly predicted by nicotine dependency or addiction. Smoking students were motivated to smoke cigarettes as they believed that it reduced their tension and enhance pleasure.

CONCLUSIONS: Hence, there is a need for health promotion and anti-tobacco prevention as cigarette smokers experience more psychological problems. Nicotine dependency or addition was one of the major causes for smoking behavior among the student population in Malaysia.

Matched MeSH terms: Stress, Psychological/diagnosis*
Predictors of parenting stress among Malaysian mothers of children with Down syndrome

Norizan A, Shamsuddin K

J Intellect Disabil Res, 2010 Nov;54(11):992-1003.
PMID: 20868445 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2788.2010.01324.x

Having children with intellectual disability can be stressful for most parents. Currently there are very few studies focusing on parenting stress among mothers of children with Down syndrome (DS) in Asia. The present study examined the level of parenting stress experienced by Malaysian mothers of children with DS and evaluated the child and maternal factors that contributed to parenting stress based on Hill's ABC-X Model (Hill 1949).

Matched MeSH terms: Stress, Psychological/diagnosis*
The relation of childhood trauma to suicide ideation in patients suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder with lifetime suicide attempts

Khosravani V, Kamali Z, Jamaati Ardakani R, Samimi Ardestani M

Psychiatry Res, 2017 09;255:139-145.
PMID: 28549337 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2017.05.032

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relations of childhood trauma (CT) and obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptom dimensions to suicide ideation in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Seventy OCD outpatients with lifetime suicide attempts and 60 controls were included. Participants completed the Scale for Suicide Ideation (SSI), the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF), the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS), the Dimensional Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (DOCS) and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21). Among OCD patients, 97.1% had current suicide ideation. OCD patients revealed higher scores on CT, suicide ideation, depression and anxiety than controls. The CT history of sexual abuse (SA) and OC symptom dimension of unacceptable thoughts explained suicide ideation. It was concluded that SA and unacceptable thoughts may contribute to high suicidality and have important implications for the assessment and treatment of suicide risk in OCD patients with lifetime suicide attempts.

Matched MeSH terms: Stress, Psychological/diagnosis
Fulltext The effectiveness of psychoeducation and systematic desensitization to reduce test anxiety among first-year pharmacy students

Rajiah K, Saravanan C

Am J Pharm Educ, 2014 Nov 15;78(9):163.
PMID: 25525278 DOI: 10.5688/ajpe789163

To analyze the effect of psychological intervention on reducing performance anxiety and the consequences of the intervention on first-year pharmacy students.

Matched MeSH terms: Stress, Psychological/diagnosis