Diabetes Self-Management and Education of People Living with Diabetes: A Survey in Primary Health Care in Muscat Oman

Background

Although the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in Oman is high and rising, information on how people were self-managing their disease has been lacking. The objective of this study was therefore to assess diabetes self-management and education (DSME) among people living with type 2 diabetes in Oman.

Methods

A questionnaire survey was conducted in public primary health care centres in Muscat. Diabetes self-management and education was assessed by asking how patients recognized and responded to hypo- and hyperglycaemia, and if they had developed strategies to maintain stable blood glucose levels. Patients'' demographic information, self-treatment behaviours, awareness of potential long-term complications, and attitudes concerning diabetes management were also recorded. Associations between these factors and diabetes self-management and education were analysed.

Results

In total, 309 patients were surveyed. A quarter (26%, n = 83) were unaware how to recognize hypoglycaemia or respond to it (26%, n = 81). Around half (49%, n = 151), could not recognize hyperglycaemia and more than half could not respond to it (60%, n = 184). Twelve percent (n = 37) of the patients did not have any strategies to stabilize their blood glucose levels. Patients with formal education generally had more diabetes self-management and education than those without (p<0.001), as had patients with longer durations of diabetes (p<0.01). Self-monitoring of blood glucose was practiced by 38% (n = 117) of the patients, and insulin was used by 22% (n = 67), of which about one third independently adjusted dosages. Patients were most often aware of complications concerning loss of vision, renal failure and cardiac problems. Many patients desired further health education.

Conclusions

Many patients displayed dangerous diabetes self-management and education knowledge gaps. The findings suggest a need for improving knowledge transfer to people living with diabetes in the Omani clinical setting.     

Lowering Cardiovascular Disease Risk for People with Severe Mental Illnesses in Primary Care: A Focus Group Study

Background

People with severe mental illnesses die early from cardiovascular disease. Evidence is lacking regarding effective primary care based interventions to tackle this problem.

Aim

To identify current procedures for, barriers to, and facilitators of the delivery of primary care based interventions for lowering cardiovascular risk for people with severe mental illnesses.

Method

75 GPs, practice nurses, service users, community mental health staff and carers in UK GP practice or community mental health settings were interviewed in 14 focus groups which were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed using Framework Analysis.

Results

Five barriers to delivering primary care based interventions for lowering cardiovascular risk in people with severe mental illnesses were identified by the groups: negative perceptions of people with severe mental illnesses amongst some health professionals, difficulties accessing GP and community-based services, difficulties in managing a healthy lifestyle, not attending appointments, and a lack of awareness of increased cardiovascular risk in people with severe mental illnesses by some health professionals. Identified facilitators included involving supportive others, improving patient engagement with services, continuity of care, providing positive feedback in consultations and goal setting.

Conclusion

We identified a range of factors which can be incorporated in to the design, delivery and evaluation of services to reduce cardiovascular risk for people with severe mental illnesses in primary care. The next step is determining the clinical and cost effectiveness of primary care based interventions for lowering cardiovascular risk in people with severe mental illnesses, and evaluating the most important components of such interventions.     

The Effect of Complex Interventions on Depression and Anxiety in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background

Depression and anxiety are very common in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and are associated with excess morbidity and mortality. Patients prefer non-drug treatments and clinical guidelines promote non-pharmacological interventions as first line therapy for depression and anxiety in people with long term conditions. However the comparative effectiveness of psychological and lifestyle interventions among COPD patients is not known. We assessed whether complex psychological and/or lifestyle interventions are effective in reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression in patients with COPD. We then determined what types of psychological and lifestyle interventions are most effective.

Methods and Findings

Systematic review of randomised controlled trials of psychological and/or lifestyle interventions for adults with COPD that measured symptoms of depression and/or anxiety. CENTRAL, Medline, Embase, PsychINFO, CINAHL, ISI Web of Science and Scopus were searched up to April 2012. Meta-analyses using random effects models were undertaken to estimate the average effect of interventions on depression and anxiety. Thirty independent comparisons from 29 randomised controlled trials (n = 2063) were included in the meta-analysis. Overall, psychological and/or lifestyle interventions were associated with small reductions in symptoms of depression (standardised mean difference −0.28, 95% confidence interval −0.41 to −0.14) and anxiety (standardised mean difference −0.23, 95% confidence interval −0.38 to −0.09). Multi-component exercise training was the only intervention subgroup associated with significant treatment effects for depression (standardised mean difference −0.47, 95% confidence interval −0.66 to −0.28), and for anxiety (standardised mean difference −0.45, 95% confidence interval −0.71 to −0.18).

Conclusions

Complex psychological and/or lifestyle interventions that include an exercise component significantly improve symptoms of depression and anxiety in people with COPD. Furthermore, multi-component exercise training effectively reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression in all people with COPD regardless of severity of depression or anxiety, highlighting the importance of promoting physical activity in this population.     

外伤性肝破裂患者腹腔镜下修补术后发生焦虑抑郁的危险因素分析

目的:探讨外伤性肝破裂患者腹腔镜下修补术后发生焦虑抑郁的危险因素。方法:应用前瞻性研究方法,采用一般资料问卷调查表、焦虑自评量表、抑郁自评量表对本院收治的150例外伤性肝破裂患者进行心理测评,分析术后焦虑和抑郁状态的发生情况。根据术后的状态分为三组,术后存在焦虑的患者为焦虑状态组(n=53),存在抑郁状态的患者为抑郁状态组(n=57),术后无焦虑抑郁状态的为对照组(n=40)。对焦虑和抑郁形成的危险因素进行多因素Logistic回归分析。结果:焦虑状态组(n=53)、抑郁状态组(n=57)及对照组(n=40)平均年龄、平均受教育年限比较差异无统计学意义(P0.05);而经济月收入、居住地、负面情绪、术前并发症、医保报销、家庭和睦、术前住院时间差异具有统计学意义(P0.05)。手术过程的手术时间、外循环时间、主动脉阻断时间、外循环百分比比较差异均无统计学意义(P0.05);而麻醉苏醒时间、ICU停留时间差异具有统计学意义(P0.05)。术后担忧的问题及需求(治疗需求和心理需求)比较差异均具有统计学意义(P0.05)。Logistic回归分析结果显示文化程度(OR=1.254)、负面情绪(OR=1.245)、家庭收入(OR=2.324)、手术疗效(OR=2.258)均为焦虑发生的危险因素;文化程度(OR=4.230)、负面情绪(OR=1.254)、家庭收入(OR=1.236)、手术疗效(OR=2.120)均为抑郁发生的危险因素。结论:外伤性肝破裂患者腹腔镜下修补术后焦虑抑郁的形成可能与患者的文化高低、负面情绪、手术疗效、家庭收入和术前并发症有关。     

Patient and Disease Characteristics Associated with Activation for Self-Management in Patients with Diabetes,Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease,Chronic Heart Failure and Chronic Renal Disease: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study

A substantial proportion of chronic disease patients do not respond to self-management interventions, which suggests that one size interventions do not fit all, demanding more tailored interventions. To compose more individualized strategies, we aim to increase our understanding of characteristics associated with patient activation for self-management and to evaluate whether these are disease-transcending. A cross-sectional survey study was conducted in primary and secondary care in patients with type-2 Diabetes Mellitus (DM-II), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Chronic Heart Failure (CHF) and Chronic Renal Disease (CRD). Using multiple linear regression analysis, we analyzed associations between self-management activation (13-item Patient Activation Measure; PAM-13) and a wide range of socio-demographic, clinical, and psychosocial determinants. Furthermore, we assessed whether the associations between the determinants and the PAM were disease-transcending by testing whether disease was an effect modifier. In addition, we identified determinants associated with low activation for self-management using logistic regression analysis. We included 1154 patients (53% response rate); 422 DM-II patients, 290 COPD patients, 223 HF patients and 219 CRD patients. Mean age was 69.6±10.9. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed 9 explanatory determinants of activation for self-management: age, BMI, educational level, financial distress, physical health status, depression, illness perception, social support and underlying disease, explaining a variance of 16.3%. All associations, except for social support, were disease transcending. This study explored factors associated with varying levels of activation for self-management. These results are a first step in supporting clinicians and researchers to identify subpopulations of chronic disease patients less likely to be engaged in self-management. Increased scientific efforts are needed to explain the greater part of the factors that contribute to the complex nature of patient activation for self-management.     

Vision-Related Quality of Life and Appearance Concerns Are Associated with Anxiety and Depression after Eye Enucleation: A Cross-Sectional Study

Aims

To investigate the association of demographic, clinical and psychosocial variables with levels of anxiety and depression in participants wearing an ocular prosthesis after eye enucleation.

Methods

This cross-sectional study included 195 participants with an enucleated eye who were attending an ophthalmic clinic for prosthetic rehabilitation between July and November 2014. Demographic and clinical data, and self-reported feelings of shame, sadness and anger were collected. Participants also completed the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire, the Facial Appearance subscale of the Negative Physical Self Scale, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Regression models were used to identify the factors associated with anxiety and depression.

Results

The proportion of participants with clinical anxiety was 11.8% and clinical depression 13.8%. More anxiety and depression were associated with poorer vision-related quality of life and greater levels of appearance concerns. Younger age was related to greater levels of anxiety. Less educated participants and those feeling more angry about losing an eye are more prone to experience depression. Clinical variables were unrelated to anxiety or depression.

Conclusions

Anxiety and depression are more prevalent in eye-enucleated patients than the general population, which brings up the issues of psychiatric support in these patients. Psychosocial rather than clinical characteristics were associated with anxiety and depression. Longitudinal studies need to be conducted to further elucidate the direction of causality before interventions to improve mood states are developed.     

The Association of Depression and Anxiety with Pain: A Study from NESDA

Chronic pain is commonly co-morbid with a depressive or anxiety disorder. Objective of this study is to examine the influence of depression, along with anxiety, on pain-related disability, pain intensity, and pain location in a large sample of adults with and without a depressive and/or anxiety disorder. The study population consisted of 2981 participants with a depressive, anxiety, co-morbid depressive and anxiety disorder, remitted disorder or no current disorder (controls). Severity of depressive and anxiety symptoms was also assessed. In separate multinomial regression analyses, the association of presence of depressive or anxiety disorders and symptom severity with the Chronic Pain Grade and location of pain was explored. Presence of a depressive (OR = 6.67; P<.001), anxiety (OR = 4.84; P<.001), or co-morbid depressive and anxiety disorder (OR = 30.26; P<.001) was associated with the Chronic Pain Grade. Moreover, symptom severity was associated with more disabling and severely limiting pain. Also, a remitted depressive or anxiety disorder showed more disabling and severely limiting pain (OR = 3.53; P<.001) as compared to controls. A current anxiety disorder (OR = 2.96; p<.001) and a co-morbid depressive and anxiety disorder (OR = 5.15; P<.001) were more strongly associated with cardio-respiratory pain, than gastro-intestinal or musculoskeletal pain. These findings remain after adjustment for chronic cardio respiratory illness. Patients with a current and remitted depressive and/or anxiety disorder and those with more severe symptoms have more disabling pain and pain of cardio-respiratory nature, than persons without a depressive or anxiety disorder. This warrants further research.     

慢性牙周炎患者洁刮治术后牙周微生物变化及意义

目的:研究洁刮治术后慢性牙周炎可疑致病微生物检出量与临床疗效的关系。方法:随机选取我院2012年1月至2014年5月慢性牙周炎患者36例,均采用洁刮治术治疗。分别于治疗前后检测患者牙周膜附着丧失量、牙周探诊深度、出血率以及微生物数量。结果:治疗前后比较,患者牙周探诊深度与探诊出血率差异具有统计学意义(P0.05),临床附着丧失量无统计学差异(P0.05);A组治疗后中间普氏菌数量显著高于治疗前(P0.05);牙龈卟啉单胞菌、齿垢密螺旋体和福赛氏类杆菌显著低于治疗前(P0.05);B组治疗前后细菌数量无统计学差异(P0.05);牙龈卟啉单胞菌C组牙周探诊深度变化显著高于D组(P0.05);齿垢密螺旋体C组探诊出血率变化显著低于D组(P0.05);福赛氏类杆菌C组牙周探诊深度和出血率与D组存在显著性差异(P0.05)。结论:牙龈卟啉单胞菌、齿垢密螺旋体和福赛氏类杆菌数量与洁刮治术后疗效密切相关,可作为微生物指标。     

Chewing over the Future: Khat Consumption, Anxiety, Depression, and Time Among Young Men in Jimma, Ethiopia

This article draws on qualitative and quantitative research to examine the relationship between the consumption of khat, symptoms of depression and anxiety and the experience of time among young men in urban Ethiopia. Young men claim that khat, a mild stimulant, both causes and alleviates symptoms of depression and anxiety. However, our quantitative data indicate that there is not a direct relationship between khat and symptoms of depression and anxiety. We analyze this apparent contradiction in terms of young men’s experiences of time. Long-term ethnographic research indicates that khat consumption and mental distress have a close relationship with young men’s temporal problems. In a context of high urban unemployment, young men struggle to negotiate overabundant amounts of unstructured time in the present and place themselves within a narrative in which they are progressing toward future aspirations. These temporal struggles generate symptoms of depression and anxiety. For young men, khat consumption functions to reposition them in relation to time, both in the present and the future. Ultimately, we argue that the relationship between khat and time has implications for the economic issues that underlie young people’s symptoms of depression and anxiety.     

Health Risks and Changes in Self-Efficacy Following Community Health Screening of Adults with Serious Mental Illnesses

Physical health screenings were conducted by researchers and peer wellness specialists for adults attending publicly-funded community mental health programs. A total of 457 adults with serious mental illnesses attended health fairs in 4 U.S. states and were screened for 8 common medical co-morbidities and health risk factors. Also assessed were self-reported health competencies, medical conditions, and health service utilization. Compared to non-institutionalized U.S. adults, markedly higher proportions screened positive for obesity (60%), hypertension (32%), diabetes (14%), smoking (44%), nicotine dependence (62%), alcohol abuse (17%), drug abuse (11%), and coronary heart disease (10%). A lower proportion screened positive for hyperlipidemia (7%). Multivariable random regression analysis found significant pre- to post-screening increases in participants’ self-rated abilities for health practices, competence for health maintenance, and health locus of control. Screening identified 82 instances of undiagnosed diabetes, hypertension or hyperlipidemia, and 76 instances where these disorders were treated but uncontrolled. These results are discussed in the context of how this global public health approach holds promise for furthering the goal of integrating health and mental health care.     

腹针疗法治疗冠心病介入术后合并焦虑抑郁障碍患者疗效及对患者焦虑、躯体症状的影响

摘要 目的：探讨腹针疗法治疗冠心病介入术后合并焦虑抑郁障碍患者疗效及对焦虑、躯体症状的影响。方法：选择2021年8月-2022年5月在广东省中医院诊治的冠心病介入术后合并焦虑抑郁障碍患者120例作为研究对象,根据1:1平行对照原则把患者分为试验组与对照组各60例。对照组给予常规治疗,试验组在对照组治疗的基础上给予腹针疗法治疗,试验组与对照组都治疗观察4周。结果：试验组与对照组治疗后的焦虑与抑郁评分明显低于治疗前,试验组明显低于对照组（P<0.05）。试验组与对照组治疗后的心绞痛积分明显高于治疗前,试验组明显高于对照组（P<0.05）。治疗后,两组中医症候积分较治疗前低,试验组也明显低于对照组（P<0.05）。试验组治疗期间的便秘、嗜睡、头晕、心动过速等不良反应发生率为3.3 %,对照组为21.7 %,试验组与对照组对比有明显差异（P<0.05）。结论：腹针疗法治疗冠心病介入术后合并焦虑抑郁障碍患者能促进缓解焦虑抑郁症状还可减少不良反应,改善心绞痛症状,降低中医症候积分。     

Depression and Risk of Mortality in People with Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective

To examine the association between depression and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in people with diabetes by systematically reviewing the literature and carrying out a meta-analysis of relevant longitudinal studies.

Research Design and Methods

PUBMED and PSYCINFO were searched for articles assessing mortality risk associated with depression in diabetes up until August 16, 2012. The pooled hazard ratios were calculated using random-effects models.

Results

Sixteen studies met the inclusion criteria, which were pooled in an overall all-cause mortality estimate, and five in a cardiovascular mortality estimate. After adjustment for demographic variables and micro- and macrovascular complications, depression was associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality (HR = 1.46, 95% CI = 1.29–1.66), and cardiovascular mortality (HR = 1.39, 95% CI = 1.11–1.73). Heterogeneity across studies was high for all-cause mortality and relatively low for cardiovascular mortality, with an I-squared of respectively 78.6% and 39.6%. Subgroup analyses showed that the association between depression and mortality not significantly change when excluding three articles presenting odds ratios, yet this decreased heterogeneity substantially (HR = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.39–1.61, I-squared = 15.1%). A comparison between type 1 and type 2 diabetes could not be undertaken, as only one study reported on type 1 diabetes specifically.

Conclusions

Depression is associated with an almost 1.5-fold increased risk of mortality in people with diabetes. Research should focus on both cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular causes of death associated with depression, and determine the underlying behavioral and physiological mechanisms that may explain this association.     

Systematic Review of Biofeedback Interventions for Addressing Anxiety and Depression in Children and Adolescents with Long-Term Physical Conditions

Children and adolescents with long-term physical conditions are at increased risk of psychological problems, particularly anxiety and depression, and they have limited access to evidence-based treatment for these issues. Biofeedback interventions may be useful for treating symptoms of both psychological and physical conditions. A systematic review of studies of biofeedback interventions that addressed anxiety or depression in this population was undertaken via MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases. Primary outcomes included changes in anxiety and depression symptoms and ‘caseness’. Secondary outcomes included changes in symptoms of the associated physical condition and acceptability of the biofeedback intervention. Of 1876 identified citations, 9 studies (4 RCTs, 5 non-RCTs; of which all measured changes in anxiety and 3 of which measured changes in depression) were included in the final analysis and involved participants aged 8–25 years with a range of long-term physical conditions. Due to the heterogeneity of study design and reporting, risk of bias was judged as unclear for all studies and meta-analysis of findings was not undertaken. Within the identified sample, multiple modalities of biofeedback including heart rate variability (HRV), biofeedback assisted relaxation therapy and electroencephalography were found to be effective in reducing symptoms of anxiety. HRV was also found to be effective in reducing symptoms of depression in two studies. A range of modalities was effective in improving symptoms of long-term physical conditions. Two studies that assessed acceptability provided generally positive feedback. There is currently limited evidence to support the use of biofeedback interventions for addressing anxiety and depression in children and adolescents with long-term physical conditions. Although promising, further research using more stringent methodology and reporting is required before biofeedback interventions can be recommended for clinical use instead or in addition to existing evidence-based modalities of treatment.