This study compared the effects of 6 and 12 sessions of relaxation training on emotional distress, short-term memory, and sustained attention in primary school children.
To examine the relationships between self-esteem, body-esteem, emotional intelligence, and social anxiety, as well as to examine the moderating role of weight between exogenous variables and social anxiety, 520 university students completed the self-report measures. Structural equation modeling revealed that individuals with low self-esteem, body-esteem, and emotional intelligence were more likely to report social anxiety. The findings indicated that obese and overweight individuals with low body-esteem, emotional intelligence, and self-esteem had higher social anxiety than others. Our results highlight the roles of body-esteem, self-esteem, and emotional intelligence as influencing factors for reducing social anxiety.
We examined the moderating effects of exercise habit strength on the relationship between emotional distress and short-term memory in primary school children.
Given that the prevalence of social anxiety in obese individuals is high, it is necessary that we increase our knowledge about the related factors that cause social anxiety in obese individuals. The present study sought to examine the role of body esteem as a mediator between sedentary behaviour and social anxiety. The participants were 207 overweight and obese individuals who completed the self-report measures. The structural equation modelling displayed that obese individuals with sedentary behaviour and poor body esteem were more likely to show social anxiety. Body esteem partially mediated between sedentary behaviour and social anxiety. Our results highlight the role of sedentary behaviour and body esteem as promising avenues for reducing social anxiety in obese individuals.
Positive social interaction with peers was said to facilitate cognitive and intellectual development leading to good academic performance. There was paucity of published data on the effect of social management (SM) emotional intelligence (EI) on academic performance. We conducted this study to examine their relationship in the undergraduate medical students in a public medical school in Malaysia. This was a cross-sectional study using the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) to measure the SM. The first and final year medical students were invited to participate. Students answered a paper-based demography questionnaire and completed the online MSCEIT in privacy. Independent predictors were identified using multivariate analyses. A total of 163 (84 first year and 79 final year) medical students completed the study (at a response rate of 66.0%). SM score (B = -.10 95% CI -.175 to -.015, p = .021) was significantly related to the continuous assessment (CA) marks (adjusted R(2) = .45, F13,137 = 10.26, p
Many studies have shown that the prevalence of psychological distress among medical students during medical training is higher than that in general population. A few studies have shown that the prevalence of psychological distress among medical students before the onset of medical training was similar to general population. This study aimed to investigate psychological health of medical students before and during medical training. A one-year prospective study was done on successful applicants who undergo the first year of medical training for 2010/2011 academic session. The stress, anxiety and depression were measured by the DASS-21 at five intervals; during interview (Time 0), two months (Time 1), four months (Time 2), six months (Time 3) and final examination (Time 4) of the first year medical training. The prevalence of unfavourable stress, anxiety and depression before the onset of medical training was 4.1%, 55.6% and 1.8%, respectively. The prevalence of unfavourable stress during medical training ranged between 11.8% and 19.9%. The prevalence of anxiety during medical training ranged between 41.1% and 56.7%. The prevalence of depression during medical training ranged between 12% and 30%. Mean scores of stress and depression before (Time 0) and during medical training (Time 1-4) were significantly different (p
Developed economies are at the forefront of facing the brunt of non-communicable diseases (NCD). The majority of the health expenditures are routed in managing obesity and mental disorder-related patients, and there is a fall in the productivity of the distressed and NCD prone labour. Several indicators of stress are used in literature to assess its implications. However, empirically no database has maintained the longitudinal data of national stress level. This study focused on constructing the socioeconomic antecedent of non-communicable stress which is leading to several NCDs. For this Multiple Indicator and Multiple Causes (MIMIC) model is utilized for 151 countries between 2008 and 2018. The results show that macroeconomic conditions, trade, and environmental quality follow fundamentals in explaining stress. While, national stress index is a significant source of smoking and mental disorder prevalence.
Mental health practitioners in many developing countries are faced with high job demands and a lack of institutional support. Given their high levels of work-related stress, it is important to identify mechanisms that help them to maintain psychological well-being and job satisfaction. Recent research has focused on the role that positive orientation (POS) may play in mediating the negative impact of stress on individual well-being. The present study investigated whether POS predicts mental health practitioners' perceived levels of stress, mental health and job satisfaction. If POS measures a person's tendency to take a positive attitude to life and their ability to cope with difficulties, a high POS could be linked to reduced levels of stress and increased levels of job satisfaction and well-being. This study examined associations between self-reported POS and psychological outcomes in a sample of 100 Malaysian mental health practitioners. The results showed that POS significantly predicted job satisfaction positively and mental health issues and perceived stress negatively, even when socio-demographic variables were controlled. Overall, we found a strong effect of POS on individual functioning across the sample of mental health practitioners. Our results have implications for improving practitioner wellbeing and job satisfaction.
Burnout syndrome is a condition marked by emotional exhaustion, deterioration in motivation and lack of commitment, resulting from long-lasting workplace stress, characterized by exhaustion, negative feelings towards one's work and reduced professional efficacy. Healthcare workers are at particularly high risk for burnout due to high levels of stress. Our objectives were to determine the prevalence of burnout syndrome among doctors in Sabah and factors associated with it. This multi-centre cross-sectional study was carried out among doctors working in five Sabah main hospitals. Data were collected by using self-administered questionnaires consisting of basic socio-demographic information and Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI). Overall, a total of 523 doctors consented to participate in this study. The prevalence of personal burnout, work-related burnout, and patient-related burnout among doctors were 57.1%, 48.8%, and 30.4% respectively. Chi-square analysis showed factors that were associated to personal burnout and work-related burnout, were marital status, duration of service and position in the service. Duration of service was the only factor associated with patient-related burnout. The prevalence of burnout syndrome in Sabah should not to be overlooked and more researches are indicated to look into prevention of burnout syndrome in Malaysian setting.
The impact of psoriasis on quality of life may have implications for the sexual function of patients. We aimed to determine the frequency of sexual difficulties and associated factors among adult patients with psoriasis. This cross-sectional study involved 13 673 patients notified to the Malaysian Psoriasis Registry. Sexual function was defined based on the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI). Sexual difficulties were reported among 9.5% of subjects with significant predictors identified as younger age, male gender, married status, ethnicity, nail involvement, face and neck involvement and severity of disease. Smokers were more likely to report experiencing sexual difficulties. However, the presence of either ischemic heart disease, diabetes mellitus, hypertension or dyslipidemia was associated with lower odds of sexual issues due to psoriasis. Clinicians should be aware of factors associated with sexual health in psoriasis to implement targeted interventions. Further studies need to be conducted to delineate the different aspects of sexual function and the magnitude of the problem.
This study aims to identify the influencing factor towards the intention to donate blood using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) model among healthcare workers (HCWs). A random sample of 400 HCWs from the population received the survey via a web-based link. The hypothesised model was tested using structural equation modelling. The median (interquartile range) age of respondents was 31.0 (11.0) years with female accounting for 75.5% (n = 302). Overall, 60.3% (n = 241) have donated blood. The final structural model showed a good fit of the data: CFI = 0.972; TLI = 0.976; RMSEA = 0.052; SRMR = 0.064. Perceived behavioural control and age significantly influenced the HCW's intention to donate blood. The final model explained 43% of the total variance in intention to donate blood. The findings provide a vital message to focus on some barriers and motivational factors of blood donation behaviour among HCWs.
Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in alcohol-metabolizing genes - ADH1B (Arg47His), ADH1C (Ile350Val) and ALDH2 (Glu504Lys) have been extensively associated with flush reaction and alcoholism. Therefore, we investigated the association of these three SNPs with alcohol-induced reactions (AIRs), alcoholism risk, personality and anthropometric traits among Malaysian university students. AIRs, Self-Rating of the Effects of Alcohol (SRE) and Ten-Item Personality were surveyed, anthropometric measurements and DNA samples were taken. Among 264 valid drinkers (111 males, 153 females; 229 ethnic Chinese, 35 ethnic Indians), the minor allele frequencies for ADH1B, ADH1C, ALDH2 among Chinese/Indians were .45/.07, .33/.40, .32/.41, respectively; distribution of ADH1B alleles significantly different between ethnicities. Current/former experiences of flushing, hives, heart palpitations after alcohol consumption; and sleepiness, headache reactions, early and overall SRE were significantly different between ethnicities and genders, respectively. Overall SRE score was associated with ADH1C and ALDH2 alleles. 'Openness to Experiences' was associated with ALDH2 genotypes and alleles; Glu/Glu or Glu carriers showed significantly higher means. ADH1B Arg/Arg and Arg carriers showed significantly higher total body and subcutaneous fats but association was abolished after controlling for ethnicity. In conclusion, gender and ethnicity, but not alcohol-metabolizing gene variants, play a role in influencing the manifestation of AIRs.
Patients with psoriasis may have increased risk of psychological comorbidities. This cross-sectional study aimed at determining associations between sociocultural and socioeconomic factors with the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS) scores and the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) scores. Adult patients with psoriasis were recruited from a Dermatology outpatient clinic via convenience sampling. Interviews were conducted regarding socio-demographic factors and willing subjects were requested to complete the DASS and DLQI questionnaires. The Pearson χ2 test, Fisher's exact test and multivariate logistic regression were used for statistical analysis to determine independent predictors of depression, anxiety, stress and severe impairment of quality of life. Unadjusted analysis revealed that depression was associated with Indian ethnicity (p = .041) and severe impairment of quality of life was associated with Indian ethnicity (p = .032), higher education (p = .013), higher income (p = .042), and employment status (p = .014). Multivariate analysis revealed that Indian ethnicity was a predictor of depression (p = .024). For stress, tertiary level of education (p = .020) was an independent risk factor while a higher monthly income was a protective factor (p = .042). The ethnic Indians and Malays were significantly more likely than the ethnic Chinese to suffer reduced quality of life (p = .001 and p = .006 respectively) and subjects with tertiary education were more likely to have severe impairment of quality of life (p = .002). Our study was unique in determining sociocultural influences on psychological complications of psoriasis in a South East Asian population. This has provided invaluable insight into factors predictive of adverse effects of psoriasis on psychological distress and quality of life in our patient population. Future studies should devise interventions to specifically target at risk groups in the development of strategies to reduce morbidity associated with psoriasis.
Study site: Dermatology clinic, University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
We examined the effect of diabetes knowledge and attitudes on self-management and quality of life (QoL) of people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We employed a cross-sectional study design. A total of 137 female and 129 male participants with T2DM completed the diabetes knowledge scale (DKN), Diabetes Integration Scale-19 (ATT19), Summary of Diabetes Self-care Activities (SDSCA) scale, and Diabetes Quality of Life (DQoL) scale, measuring diabetes knowledge, attitudes, self-management, and QoL respectively. The SDSCA scale measures diet, exercise, blood glucose monitoring, and foot care. The DQoL scale measures satisfaction and impact of QoL. An initial path model that tested the inter-relationships of the study variables was first identified based on previous research. Then, the path model was tested using Mplus 7.3. In the final model, diabetes knowledge was a significant predictor of attitudes and self-management in terms of blood glucose monitoring and foot care. Attitudes was a significant predictor of impact of QoL. Self-management in terms of blood glucose monitoring was a significant predictor of impact of QoL and diet was a significant predictor of satisfaction and impact of QoL. Exercise and foot care aspects of Self-management were significant predictors of satisfaction and impact of QoL respectively. The final model showed a good fit to the data: RMSEA = .045 (90% CI: .009, .071; Clfit = .601), CFI = .950, SRMR = .058. The findings suggest a theoretical basis to direct the development of appropriate health programs and interventions for improving QoL in people with T2DM and warrant replication in diverse samples.
Study site: Diabetes Clinic, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM), Kelantan, Malaysia
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has affected the well-being of individuals worldwide. Due to the scarcity of information in the Malaysian context, this study aimed at investigating the changes in well-being before and during the Movement Control Order (MCO) in Malaysia and its association with mental health status. This cross-sectional study was part of a Malaysian non-probabilistic online survey on psychosocial well-being in Malaysia, under the Personal and Family Coping with COVID-19 Global South Research Consortium. A total of 543 respondents (≥18 years old) were recruited using snowball sampling. A validated self-administered questionnaire for assessing sociodemographic characteristics, well-being, anxiety, boredom, and loneliness was circulated on social media platforms (such as Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp) and emails. Paired samples t-test, chi-square test, and multinomial logistic regression analyses were applied during data analysis. Results revealed significant changes in the mean scores of well-being, anxiety, boredom, and loneliness before and during MCO (p
Total lockdown caused deleterious mental health to many, resulting from a sudden change in daily routine, working and self-isolation at home, and job and income losses. Therefore, the current study aims to assess the social determinants of self-reported psychological distress in Malaysian adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Snowball and purposive sampling approaches were adopted to enroll potential respondents. Respondents were required to self-report gender, age, ethnicity, educational attainment, marital status, number of dependents, and the presence of clinically diagnosed psychological disorders. Psychological distress during the pandemic was assessed using 21-item of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21). The findings revealed that respondents with primary/secondary educational attainment were 1.962 times (95% CI: 1.018-3.781, p= 0.044) more likely to suffer from depression than those with tertiary educational attainment. Conversely, the Malaysian Indians had significantly lower odds for depression compared to Malaysian Malays (AOR = 0.538, 95% CI: 0.302-0.957, p= 0.035). Likewise, females were found to have significantly greater odds for anxiety (AOR = 2.369, 95% CI: 1.317-4.260, p= 0.004) and stress (AOR = 1.976, 95% CI: 1.007-3.879, p = 0.048) than males. Being single was at significantly higher odds for anxiety (AOR = 2.032, 95% CI: 1.133-3.646, p= 0.017) during the pandemic. This study highlights the urgency to address the escalated psychological distress in Malaysian adults during the pandemic.
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a frequently occurring skin disorder in Asia that substantially impacts the social, financial, and psychological lives of individuals. However, there is uncertainty regarding the psychological instruments for this domain. Hence, this review systematically assessed the existing measurement instruments used, developed, and/or validated for the measurement of psychological outcomes in Asian adult patients with AD as well as the scope of those assessment tools (e.g. validity and reliability). Electronic searches were performed using six databases (inception to February 2020) to identify studies. Thematic analysis of 44 included studies revealed that the commonly employed tools to assess the quality of life were the Dermatology Life Quality Index followed by the Skindex-16 questionnaire, the European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions, and the Quality of Life Hand Eczema Questionnaire. Similarly, the Patient Health Questionnaire, Self-rating depression scale (SDS), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were frequently employed to assess depressive symptoms. Additionally, symptoms of anxiety were frequently assessed through Interaction Anxiousness Scale and the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Although a variety of psychological assessment measures have been used in research, data on their reliability and validity is limited. Also, information on the cultural applicability of these instruments is scantier. More research is needed to ascertain the suitability of tools for use in clinical practice.
Patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) have an increased risk of psychological distress. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine factors associated with psychological burden, quality of life (QoL) and patient satisfaction among adults living with CSU. Participants completed the self-administered Urticaria Activity Score-7 (UAS-7), Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS 21), Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), and Short Assessment Patient Satisfaction (SAPS) questionnaires. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine the independent predictors of depression, anxiety, stress, QoL and patient satisfaction. From a total of 115 subjects with a median age of 42.6 years, range (19-89 years). 60.9% subjects reported moderate-to-severe CSU, 26.1% reported symptoms of depression, 54.8% had anxiety, 40.0% had stress, and 36.5% reported severely impaired QoL. The median UAS-7 score was 20 (IQR 11-27) while the median score of DLQI was 8 (IQR 4-13). The median score of SAPS was 20 (IQR 17-21). Low-income and severe disease were the significant predictors for depression while severe disease was predictive of impaired QoL and depression. Subjects who were diagnosed at older ages and those who required medical leave due to flares of CSU were less likely to be satisfied with their care. (192 words).
This scoping review describes the research-based mindfulness intervention on anxiety, distress, and depression. The search strategy retrieved articles published in English from 2014 to 2019 and were retrieved across Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct, CINAHL, and Google Scholar. The PRISMA-Scr checklist is a tool to evaluate the quality of the articles. The selection criteria initially included all original articles in English, with 1,527 that were related to mindfulness intervention for anxiety, distress, and depression. A total of 490 full texts were retrieved, and after the abstracts were reviewed, 124 full-text articles were included for eligibility, and the final eight studies were determined. The articles were reviewed and screened for relevance to mindfulness intervention in reducing anxiety, distress, and depression among those with chronic diseases. The results have shown that mindfulness intervention reduces anxiety, distress, and depression among patients with chronic diseases. The review contributes further insight into the fact that mindfulness intervention is also appropriate for other conditions to facilitate reducing psychological symptoms.