Healthcare Workers and Patient Loss During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Interaction Between Grief, Viral Anxiety, and Depression.

Objective: Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) had a significant impact on the mental health of healthcare workers. Related assessments should be included in plans for future pandemics. We investigated the connections between grief, viral anxiety, depression, and preoccupation in the context of COVID-19 in healthcare workers, to determine which factors will need to be incorporated.

Adherence to Physical Distancing and Health Beliefs About COVID-19 Among Patients With Cancer.

Background: This study aimed to validate questionnaires on adherence to physical distancing and health beliefs about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among patients with cancer and explore their interaction with depression or viral anxiety among them.

Methods: Through an online survey, data from 154 cancer patients (female: 82.5%, breast cancer: 66.

What is the impact of one's chronic illness on his or her spouse's future chronic illness: a community-based prospective cohort study.

Background: Integrating a joint approach to chronic disease management within the context of a couple has immense potential as a valuable strategy for both prevention and treatment. Although spousal concordance has been reported in specific chronic illnesses, the impact they cumulatively exert on a spouse in a longitudinal setting has not been investigated. We aimed to determine whether one's cumulative illness burden has a longitudinal impact on that of their spouse.

Psychometric properties of the Korean version of questionnaires on adherence to physical distancing and health beliefs about COVID-19 in the general population.

Introduction: We aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Korean version of the questionnaires on adherence to physical distancing and health beliefs about COVID-19 in the general population in South Korea. In addition, we investigated how the various sections interacted with each other and with viral anxiety and depression, and ultimately affected adherence to physical distancing.

Methods: An anonymous online survey was conducted among members of the general population in South Korea between 10 and 18 January 2022.

Mood disorders increase mortality mainly through dementia: A community-based prospective cohort study.

Objective: The effects of mood disorders on mortality may be mediated by their effects on the risk of dementia, and interventions to reduce the occurrence of dementia may reduce their overall mortality. This study aimed to investigate the direct effects of depressive and bipolar disorders on the 6-year risk of mortality and also their indirect effects on mortality due to their effect on the risk of dementia.

Methods: A total of 5101 Koreans were selected from a community-based prospective cohort study, and 6-year risks of mortality and dementia in participants with depressive and bipolar disorders were estimated by Cox proportional hazard analysis.

Novel Alzheimer's disease risk variants identified based on whole-genome sequencing of APOE ε4 carriers.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease associated with a complex genetic etiology. Besides the apolipoprotein E ε4 (APOE ε4) allele, a few dozen other genetic loci associated with AD have been identified through genome-wide association studies (GWAS) conducted mainly in individuals of European ancestry. Recently, several GWAS performed in other ethnic groups have shown the importance of replicating studies that identify previously established risk loci and searching for novel risk loci.

Parasympathetic predominance is a risk factor for future depression: A prospective cohort study.

Background: Changes in parasympathetic activity have been associated with depression; however, it is not well understood whether these changes are a result of depression, or represent a compensatory mechanism protecting against it. We examined the association of autonomic nervous system activity with the risk of depression in euthymic individuals and those with subsyndromal depression using heart rate variability (HRV) analysis.

Methods: From a community-based longitudinal cohort, 464 subjects from the baseline assessment and 253 who completed the 5-year follow-up visit were included in the cross-sectional and prospective analyses, respectively.

Orexin Impairs the Phagocytosis and Degradation of Amyloid-β Fibrils by Microglial Cells.

Background: Intracranial accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) is a characteristic finding of Alzheimer's disease (AD). It is thought to be the result of Aβ overproduction by neurons and impaired clearance by several systems, including degradation by microglia. Sleep disturbance is now considered a risk factor for AD, but studies focusing on how sleep modulates microglial handling of Aβ have been scarce.

Renal function affects hippocampal volume and cognition: The role of vascular burden and amyloid deposition.

Aim: We determined if differences in renal function, even within normal levels, influenced hippocampal volume (HCV) and cognition.

Methods: Cognitively normal (CN) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) subjects with eGFR ≥ 60 ml/min/1.73m were selected from the ADNI database (N = 1,269) and divided into three groups (eGFR 60-75, 75-90 and ≥90).

An International Comparative Study on Driving Regulations on People with Dementia.

Over 40% of people with dementia drive, with a two to five times greater accident risk than controls. This has fueled public concerns about the risk of traffic accidents by drivers with dementia (DWD). We compared driving regulations on seniors and DWD between ten European and Asia-Pacific countries to identify key implications for national strategies.

The Effect of Escitalopram on Mood and Cognition in Depressive Alzheimer's Disease Subjects.

Background: Effective treatments to alleviate depression in Alzheimer's disease (AD) have been scarce.

Objective: To investigate the efficacy and tolerability of escitalopram in the treatment of depression in AD.

Methods: In this 12-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with open-label, 12-week extension, AD subjects over 50 years of age, with depression defined by Olin's provisional diagnostic criteria, were enrolled.

Large intracranial volume accelerates conversion to dementia in males and APOE4 non-carriers with mild cognitive impairment.

Background: It is unclear how brain reserve interacts with gender and apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4) genotype, and how this influences the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The association between intracranial volume (ICV) and progression to AD in subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and differences according to gender and APOE4 genotype, was investigated.

Methods: Data from subjects initially diagnosed with MCI and at least two visits were downloaded from the ADNI database.

Phentermine, sibutramine and affective disorders.

A safe and effective way to control weight in patients with affective disorders is needed, and phentermine is a possible candidate. We performed a PubMed search of articles pertaining to phentermine, sibutramine, and affective disorders. We compared the studies of phentermine with those of sibutramine.

Novelty-seeking and avoidant coping strategies are associated with academic stress in Korean medical students.

High levels of stress and depression in medical students is raising concern. In this study, we sought to identify coping strategies and other factors influencing academic stress in medical students. We enrolled 157 students from the University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Korea, in November, 2010.

A structural model of stress, motivation, and academic performance in medical students.

Objective: The purpose of the present study was 1) to identify factors that may influence academic stress in medical students and 2) to investigate the causal relationships among these variables with path analysis.

Methods: One hundred sixty medical students participated in the present study. Psychological parameters were assessed with the Medical Stress Scale, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Hamilton Depression Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, and Academic Motivation Scale.

The influence of personality and dysfunctional sleep-related cognitions on the severity of insomnia.

Previous findings suggest that personality traits and dysfunctional sleep-related cognitions may perpetuate insomnia, but findings concerning this have been scarce. Thus, we hypothesized that personality and sleep-related cognitions influence the severity of insomnia, and investigated the association personality and sleep-related cognitions had with various sleep-related parameters, including severity of insomnia. Forty-four patients with psychophysiological insomnia were assessed using The Temperament and Character Inventory, the Insomnia Severity Index, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, the Dysfunctional Belief and Attitudes toward Sleep Scale, the Pre-Sleep Arousal Scale and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.

The impact of temperament and character on the efficacy of nonpharmacologic treatment of primary insomnia.

Nonpharmacologic treatment, also known as cognitive behavioral treatment, is a first-line treatment of primary insomnia. We aimed to assess factors, including temperament and character, that were associated with responses to nonpharmacologic treatments of primary insomnia, that may assist physicians to recommend appropriate treatment. Outpatients diagnosed with psychophysiological insomnia (n = 99) were recruited between May 2009 and January 2010.

A case of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome presenting as paradoxical insomnia.

A 63-year-old female with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) presented with clinical features indistinguishable from paradoxical insomnia (PI). Her main complaint was chronic insomnia. Her subjective sleep latency was 2-3 h, subjective sleep time was less than 3 h, despite spending 8 h in bed, and she reported near constant awareness of her surroundings while lying in bed.

Treatment response and duration of maintenance treatment with adjunctive antidepressants in bipolar depression: A retrospective chart review.

Objective. The aim of this study was to investigate the treatment response and optimal maintenance period of antidepressants to minimize the risk of switching in bipolar depression in clinical practice. Methods.