Monday 4 April 2022

Quality of life and fear of cancer recurrence in patients and survivors of non-Hodgkin lymphoma

  

Title of publication

Quality of life and fear of cancer recurrence in patients and survivors of non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Abstract 

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is a common haematological cancer that is comprised of approximately 30 subtypes, of which Waldenström Macroglobulinemia (WM) is a rare incurable form. It is typically managed using a watch-and-wait strategy that can contribute to illness uncertainty which may result in fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) and poor health-related quality of life (QOL). However, few studies have examined the correlates of FCR and QOL in NHL patients, including WM patients. One-hundred males and 92 females with a mean age of 62.7 years who were an average of 6.8 years from diagnosis completed the online questionnaire which asked about demographics, medical history, QOL, FCR, stress, anxiety and depression. Few NHL patients reported significant stress or affective distress, most had moderate-high QOL and 41% experienced recent FCR, relative to published cut-off scores. Poorer QOL was related to depression symptoms, FCR, higher illness burden (i.e. comorbidity) and fewer personal resources (i.e. unemployed), whereas FCR was related to shorter time since diagnosis and more depressive symptoms. Results suggest that FCR and depressive symptoms may adversely impact QOL, whereas a recent cancer diagnosis and depression-related pessimism may contribute to FCR.

Full text

Full text: NA. 

Cite

Ellis, S., Brown, R. F., Thorsteinsson, E. B., Pakenham, K. I., & Perrott, C. (2021, online first). Quality of life and fear of cancer recurrence in patients and survivors of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Psychology, Health & Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2021.1913756 










Antenatal depression and the experiences of Australian women in the maternity system during the COVID-19 pandemic

  

Title of publication

Antenatal depression and the experiences of Australian women in the maternity system during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract 

The mitigation efforts of COVID-19 have led to significant changes to the delivery of routine healthcare globally. In Australia, the way maternal health services have been delivered since the beginning of the pandemic has also changed. Maternity care and support are known to influence maternal mental health. One hundred and eighty-eight English-speaking pregnant women residing in Australia were recruited using social media advertising between September and November 2020 as part of a larger study. Participants were aged between 19 and 42 (M = 31.05, SD = 4.68). Compared with previous Australian prevalence rates of around 7% for antenatal depression, rates in this study were 15.9% overall and 19% for those in Melbourne. Antenatal depression was positively associated with COVID-19 distress in relation to having a baby during a COVID-19 outbreak r(186) = 0.30, p < 0.001. It is suggested that increased vigilance with screening and assessment will be required to identify and support mothers who are not coping during the pandemic.

Full text


Cite

Frankham, L. J., Thorsteinsson, E. B., & Bartik, W. (2021). Antenatal depression and the experiences of Australian women in the maternity system during the COVID-19 pandemic. Open Journal of Depression, 10, 155-167. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojd.2021.104010 

  

Title of publication

The association between loneliness, mental wellbeing, and self-esteem among adolescents in four Nordic countries

Abstract 

Positive mental health is central to adolescent well-being. The present study examines the prevalence of loneliness and positive mental health indicators (mental well-being and self-esteem) in four Nordic countries and associations between loneliness, mental well-being, and high self-esteem. This study is based on data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study which was conducted in 2018 in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Sweden. Participants were 5883 15-year-old boys and girls. To examine the associations between loneliness, mental well-being, and self-esteem, structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied. In the comparison of Nordic countries, the prevalence of loneliness was highest among Finnish and Icelandic adolescents. High mental well-being and high self-esteem were most prevalent in Denmark and Sweden. In general, boys scored higher on positive mental health indicators and girls on loneliness. Loneliness was also a strong indicator of low mental well-being and low self-esteem in all Nordic countries. Loneliness is not only associated with mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, but it is also a risk factor for adolescents’ positive mental health. Positive mental health is important for healthy maturation and there is a need to develop initiatives to reduce adolescent loneliness and so support positive development.

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Cite

Lyyra, N., Thorsteinsson, E. B., Eriksson, C., Madsen, K. R., Tolvanen, A., Löfstedt, P., & Välimaa, R. (2021). The association between loneliness, mental wellbeing, and self-esteem among adolescents in four Nordic countries. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18, Article 7405. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18147405 

Perceptions of gender equality among Icelandic year 10 adolescents

 

Title of publication

Perceptions of gender equality among Icelandic year 10 adolescents: Population studies 1992, 2006, and 2014

Abstract 

The aim of this research is to outline, for the first time, the changes in attitudes towards gender equality among 10th graders in Iceland based on data obtained from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) in 1992, 2006, and 2014. The sampling proportions were high (85.1% in 1992, 43.2% in 2006, and 77.9% in 2014), thereby reflecting parameters (population values) rather than statistics (sample values). Boys and girls are viewing gender roles as being more equal with time, while, concurrently, girls tend to have more gender-equal attitudes than boys. The present paper provides an unparalleled examination of changes in attitudes towards gender equality. After a backlash in adolescents’ attitudes, revealed in the 2006 study, there are positive signs of more gender-equal attitudes in the 2014 results.

Full text


Cite

Thorsteinsson, E. B., Hjálmsdóttir, A. S., & Bjarnason, T. (2021). Perceptions of gender equality among Icelandic year 10 adolescents: Population studies 1992, 2006, and 2014. Adolescents, 1, 294-305. https://doi.org/10.3390/adolescents1030022 

Mental health literacy of depression and postnatal depression

 

Title of publication

Mental health literacy of depression and postnatal depression: A community sample

Abstract 

Objectives: The present experiment aimed to explore the mental health literacy of postnatal depression (PND) in a community sample. 

Method: Five hundred and twenty Australians (427 females) participated in an experimental study. Participants were randomly presented with one of three vignettes describing a ‘depressive’ episode and then completed an online questionnaire examining mental health literacy and the capacity to recognise PND and its risk factors as well as the ability to source appropriate information. 

Results: Generally, the ability to recognise PND and the overall mental health literacy of the sample were high. Causation, however, was often misattributed to biological or environmental/social factors. PND recognition was found to be significantly affected by perception of the attachment relationship presented in two of the vignettes. 

Conclusion: Perception of attachment impacts PND recognition and this may negatively impact help seeking behaviours.


Resources



Cite

Thorsteinsson, E. B., Loi, N. M., & Moulynox, A. L. (2014). Mental health literacy of depression and postnatal depression: A community sample. Open Journal of Depression, 3, 101-111. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojd.2014.33014 

Monday 13 January 2020

Comorbidity: Symptoms, conditions, behaviour and treatments

Title of publication

Comorbidity: Symptoms, conditions, behaviour and treatments (edited book).

https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783030325442

Citation:

Brown, R. F., & Thorsteinsson, E. B. (Eds.). (2020). Comorbidity: Symptoms, conditions, behaviour and treatments (1 ed.): Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32545-9

About

This book introduces a new theory on the substantial comorbidity that exists between many illnesses and disorders and concurrent symptoms such as pain, impaired sleep and fatigue. The specific illnesses and disorders discussed include obesity, diabetes mellitus type-II, medical illnesses including cardiovascular disease and sleep-disordered breathing, insomnia, disordered eating such as binge-eating disorder and night-eating syndrome, affective distress (anxiety and depression), and comorbidities that are linked to eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. The book posits that the comorbidities are the result of a complex bio-psycho-behavioral mechanism that includes circadian rhythm dysfunction. It examines the statistical and methodological (e.g. measurement) problems that can complicate the understanding of comorbidity and explores a broad range of novel, existing, and repurposed therapy approaches that could have utility in treating comorbid disorders.

This book will be of great value to academics as well as practitioners working in the field of psychiatry, health psychology and medicine more broadly.


Link

https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-32545-9#about


Table of contents

Chapter 1. Comorbidity: What Is It and Why Is It Important?

Comorbidity refers to any distinct clinical entity that coexists with or occurs during the clinical course of another illness or condition. In other words, it refers to the co-occurrence of two or more distinct illnesses, disorders or conditions in a single individual. As a result of the comorbidity, some disorders tend to occur together more often than they occur alone. For example, anxiety, depressed mood and impaired sleep often co-occur, and in this instance, the co-occurrence appears to be the rule rather than the exception.



Chapter 2. Models of Comorbidity

Most existing theories of disease comorbidity provide only a broad overview of the manner in which comorbidity is likely to arise, although these broad overarching theories have, for the most part, not been tested empirically. Further, there are few comorbidity theories that are comprehensive yet specific enough to help guide the exploration of the relationships between specific comorbid disorders and the likely role played by intervening factors. As a result, we know little about the extent to which comorbidity is relevant to our understanding of single disorders and conditions; the mechanisms likely to underpin the development of the comorbidities; and the nature of the interactions between specific risk factors and comorbid disorders.



Chapter 3. Overweight/Obesity and Concurrent Disorders, Symptoms, Behaviour, and Body Temperature

Overweight/obesity tends to co-occur with disturbed sleep and disordered eating (e.g. binge-eating, night-eating), although the precise mechanism/s underpinning the relationships is unclear. However, overweight/obese people are more likely to eat late at night than normal-weight people, thus, late night-eating (or binge-eating, which often occurs at night) may at least partly explain the observed relationship between overweight/obesity and impaired sleep in affected individuals. For example, night-eating and binge-eating are related to impaired sleep (e.g. longer sleep onset latency) and weight gain in obese people, and clinically, obese people are at an increased risk of a binge eating disorder and/or night eating syndrome diagnosis. A similar profile of sleep deficits is evident in overweight/obese people, binge-eaters, and night-eaters, and impaired sleep (e.g. longer sleep onset latency, shorter sleep duration) is associated with overweight/obesity, night-eating, and binge-eating. Thus, it is possible that the sleep problems experienced by overweight/obese people are at least in part due to the indirect effects of late night-eating and/or binge-eating on sleep, although it is less clear exactly how this might occur. Several psychological and biological mechanisms are examined as potential explanations of the relationship between disordered eating, overweight/obesity, and impaired sleep, including an elevated nocturnal body temperature.



Chapter 4. Overview of the Comorbidity Between Medical Illnesses and Overweight/Obesity

Overweight and obesity are major contributors to the total global burden of chronic diseases due to the consequences of their associated comorbid conditions which can affect all systems of the body. These comorbidities are often considered to be consequence of the excess weight with unidirectional causality; however, causality is almost certainly multidirectional with roles for both physical and psychological factors. In this chapter, an overview of overweight- and obesity-related medical illnesses, categorised according to the body systems affected, is provided. Some focus is directed towards the role of the metabolic syndrome in these illnesses. The importance of causality of comorbid conditions at early, middle and late stages of disease is emphasised, as interventions targeting causalities at each of these times are likely to have the greatest impact on lessening the burden of overweight and obesity on affected individuals.



Chapter 5. Comorbid Eating Disorders

Anorexia nervosa is defined by persistent restriction of energy intake, intense fear and rumination about gaining weight, and disturbance in self-perceived weight or shape, which results in behaviour that prevents weight gain or results in weight loss.



Chapter 6. Comorbid Psychiatric Illnesses

Comorbidity among psychiatric illnesses is common, as is comorbidity between psychiatric and physical illnesses. Current knowledge of psychiatric comorbidity points to several possible underlying factors, notably an overlap in their definitions and symptoms; unidirectional and bidirectional causation; disordered sleep; and a range of shared risk factors. Psychiatric illness may lead to poorer self-care and sleep problems, whereas being physically ill may impact upon an individual’s psychological wellbeing. An integration of the various causal models that have been proposed to explain the comorbidities is discussed, incorporating different socio-psychological and biological factors to explain the development of depression and anxiety. These issues are detailed in the following chapter with a focus on depression. Implications for treatment are also discussed.



Chapter 7. Arousal States, Symptoms, Behaviour, Sleep and Body Temperature

Autonomic arousal (or affective states, e.g. stress, anxiety), symptoms (e.g. fatigue, pain), sleep-disrupting behaviour (e.g. physical inactivity, electronic device use, TV watching, shift work) and medications are linked to impaired sleep and, in many cases, overweight/obesity. Further, in many cases, the phenomena are linked to an elevated BT, and in some cases, a high nocturnal BT, although there is a lack of specific research pertaining to nocturnal BT and the relationship between BT and chronic pain. A relative hyperthermia at night is known to interfere with sleep onset, possible via a phase-shift in the sleep-wake cycle. However, an elevated BT can additionally lead to activation of the inflammatory response system (e.g. cytokine secretion), which may represent another possible mechanism by which the aforementioned states, symptoms, disorders and behaviour can develop.



Chapter 8. Design, Statistical and Methodological Considerations: Comorbidity

Research of disease comorbidity and symptom co-occurrence raises several issues relating to study design and analytical techniques that require careful consideration. In this chapter, we first address methodological issues that are of particular relevance in comorbidity research, including symptom overlap and the resultant double counting of symptoms; the pitfalls and advantages of removing overlapping scale items; and the utility of creating latent variables or ‘symptom groups’. We then discuss the advantages and limitations of employing various study designs in the context of comorbidity research and make recommendations for maximising the scientific rigour of statistical analyses whilst ensuring that ethical standards are met. Finally, we highlight analytical techniques that are relatively novel and/or less commonly utilised in studies of comorbidity, and how these techniques might advance research in this field.



Chapter 9. Typing It All Together

Comorbidity is common, affecting one-third or more of the global population; and recent co-prevalence estimates suggest that its presence is increasing. It is associated with substantial chronic illness burden, disability, high mortality, and high ongoing costs to the individual and the community, reflecting its substantial impact within and beyond the health care system. Thus, unravelling the causes of comorbidity currently ranks among the top priorities in clinical practice. However, there are currently few protocols and clinical practice guidelines that can be used to assist clinicians in treating comorbid conditions in a coordinated way. Instead, the guidelines and protocols have tended to focus on single disorders and they generally fail to take comorbidities into account. This has resulted in the comorbid disorders being treated as if they are isolated clinical entities, with each condition managed separately, often by different clinicians. Therefore, there is a clear need to develop new clinical practice guidelines and therapeutic approaches that do take comorbidity into account; especially in patients with highly prevalent and highly comorbid disorders.












Monday 2 December 2019

Workplace incivility and outcomes in Australian and Singaporean employees

Title of publication

Workplace incivility and work outcomes: Cross-cultural comparison between Australian and Singaporean employees

Abstract 

Workplace incivility is a common issue experienced by employees around the globe. However, research has found cultural variability in how workplace incivility is perceived and interpreted. Studies have shown that employees from high power distance societies tend to be more accepting of workplace mistreatment than employees from low power distance societies. Adopting Conservation of Resources (COR) theory and national culture as theoretical frameworks, we tested a moderated mediation model that linked the experience of workplace incivility, burnout/exhaustion, job satisfaction and work withdrawal between Australian and Singaporean white-collar employees. Data were collected through an online survey of 301 Australian and 303 Singaporean employees. Results indicated that workplace incivility contributed to burnout/exhaustion, which in turn predicted employees’ job dissatisfaction and work withdrawal. Specifically, Australians were more negatively affected by workplace incivility than Singaporeans. The findings suggest the need to consider employees’ national culture/ethnicity when examining relationships between mistreatment in different workplaces and the outcomes.

Cite

Loh, J., Thorsteinsson, E. B., & Loi, N. (2019 first online). Workplace incivility and work outcomes: Cross-cultural comparison between Australian and Singaporean employees. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resourceshttps://doi.org/10.1111/1744-7941.12233

Quality of life and fear of cancer recurrence in patients and survivors of non-Hodgkin lymphoma

   Title of publication Quality of life and fear of cancer recurrence in patients and survivors of non-Hodgkin lymphoma Abstract  Non-Hodgki...