Sleep Disturbance as a Mediator of Lung Cancer Stigma on Psychological Distress and Physical Symptom Burden.

OBJECTIVE: This study tested sleep disturbance as a mediator through which stigma and discrimination predict psychological distress and physical symptom burden in adults with lung cancer. METHODS: Lung cancer patients on active oncological treatment ( N = 108; 74.1% stage IV) completed questionnaires on lung cancer stigma, sleep, distress, and physical symptoms at study entry and at 6- and 12-week follow-up. Mediation analyses were conducted to investigate whether stigma and discrimination predicted distress and physical symptoms at study entry and across 12 weeks through disrupted sleep. RESULTS: Higher discrimination ( b = 5.52, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.10-8.94) and constrained disclosure ( b = 0.45, 95% CI = 0.05-0.85) were associated significantly with higher sleep disruption at study entry. Sleep disruption, in turn, was associated with higher distress ( b = 0.19, 95% CI = 0.09-0.29) and physical symptoms ( b = 0.28, 95% CI = 0.17-0.40) at study entry. Sleep disruption significantly mediated relationships between higher discrimination and the outcomes of distress (indirect effect = 1.04, 95% CI = 0.13-1.96) and physical symptoms (indirect effect = 1.58, 95% CI = 0.37-2.79) at study entry. Sleep disruption also mediated relationships between constrained disclosure and the outcomes of distress (indirect effect = 0.85, 95% CI = < 0.01-0.17) and physical symptoms (indirect effect = 0.13, 95% CI = 0.01-0.25). CONCLUSIONS: Lung cancer patients evidenced pronounced sleep disruption, which mediated relationships between indicators of lung cancer stigma and distress and physical symptoms at study entry. Research is needed to test additional mechanisms through which lung cancer stigma predicts these outcomes longitudinally.

Measurement equivalence of the English and French versions of the self-efficacy to manage chronic disease scale: a Scleroderma Patient-Centered Intervention Network (SPIN) study.

PURPOSE: The Self-Efficacy to Manage Chronic Disease (SEMCD) scale is widely used, including in systemic sclerosis (SSc). The SEMCD has been validated in SSc, but the metric equivalence of the English and French versions has not been assessed (i.e., whether psychometric properties are equivalent across English and French). METHODS: Participants were adults from the Scleroderma Patient-Centered Intervention Network (SPIN) Cohort (N = 2159) who completed baseline measures in English (n = 1473) or French (n = 686) between May 2014 to July 2020. Analyses assessed internal consistency reliability via Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega, convergent validity via Pearson's correlations, structural validity via confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and differential item functioning via the Multiple-Indicator Multiple-Cause (MIMIC) model. RESULTS: Internal consistency reliability was high in English (α = .93, ω = .93) and French (α = .92, ω = .93). All correlations between the SEMCD and measures of health outcomes were moderate to large, statistically significant, and in the hypothesized direction in both languages. The CFA demonstrated that the one-factor model of self-efficacy, overall, fit reasonably well (CFI = .96, TLI = .93, SRMR = .03, RMSEA = .14). Standardized factor loadings were large (.76 to .88). Three items displayed statistically significant uniform DIF and all six displayed nonuniform DIF; all DIF was of minimal magnitude. Comparison of unadjusted and DIF-adjusted models indicated that DIF did not meaningfully impact total score (ICC = 0.999, r = 0.999). CONCLUSION: Scores from English- and French-speaking adults with SSc can be combined for analysis or compared.

Moderators of Loneliness Trajectories in People with Systemic Sclerosis During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A SPIN COVID-19 Cohort Longitudinal Study.

BACKGROUND: Many individuals with systemic sclerosis (SSc) are at heightened risk for COVID-19 related morbidity and isolation due to interstitial lung disease, frailty, and immunosuppressant use. Minimal research has explored loneliness predictors in individuals with chronic illnesses during COVID-19. This study evaluated moderators of loneliness trajectories in individuals with SSc during COVID-19. METHODS: Longitudinal data were analyzed across 30 timepoints from April 2020 to May 2022 from 775 adults in the Scleroderma Patient-centered Intervention Network (SPIN) COVID-19 Cohort. Hierarchical linear modeling evaluated cross-level moderators of loneliness trajectories, including marital status, baseline number of household members, number of virtual or telephone one-on-one or virtual group conversations, number of hours spent enjoying in-person household conversations or activities, and satisfaction with quality of in-person household conversations (all in the past week). Level-1 moderation analyses assessed effects of conversation, activity, and satisfaction means and slopes over time. RESULTS: Baseline values were not statistically significant moderators of loneliness trajectories. Higher mean (averaged over time) virtual or telephone one-on-one and in-person household conversations, in-person household activity, and in-person household conversation satisfaction were associated with lower loneliness trajectories (ps < .05). The relationship between in-person household conversation satisfaction and loneliness trajectory was statistically significantly but minimally attenuated over time (p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: For people with SSc, higher mean conversation, activity, and satisfaction variables were associated with lower levels of loneliness during the pandemic, but changes in these social variables were generally not predictive of changes in loneliness.

To Operate or Not to Operate? Reconstructive Surgical Burden and Quality of Life of Pediatric Patients with Facial Differences.

OBJECTIVE: The Craniofacial Condition Quality of Life Scale (CFC-QoL) was used to evaluate the relationship between surgical burden and quality of life (QoL). DESIGN: Patient-parent dyads completed the CFC-QoL which queries the following QoL domains: Bullying, Peer Problems, Psychological Impact, Family Support, Appearance Satisfaction, and Desire for Appearance Change. Stepwise multivariate linear regressions were performed for each QoL domain. SETTING: Urban tertiary care center. PATIENTS, PARTICIPANTS: Pediatric patients with facial differences, and their parents. INTERVENTION: Survey study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Demographic, diagnostic, and surgical characteristics were collected. Surgical burden was calculated as the standard deviation from the mean number of surgeries per diagnostic cohort. RESULT: Patients (N = 168) were majority female (57.1%) and Hispanic (64.3%). Diagnoses were cleft lip and/or palate (CLP,n = 99) or other craniofacial conditions (CFC,n = 69). Average patient age was 2.3 ± 5.6 years at first reconstructive surgery and 12.3 ± 3.4 years at study enrollment. Patients received an average of 4.3 ± 4.1 reconstructive surgeries.Worse Bullying was associated with higher surgical burden. Worse Peer Problems was associated with higher surgical burden, but only for children with non-CLP CFCs. Worse Family Support was associated with CFC diagnosis, female sex, and higher surgical burden. Worse Psychological Impact was associated with higher surgical burden. Worse Appearance Satisfaction was associated with younger age and with lower surgical burden. Greater Desire for Appearance Change was associated with older age, higher surgical burden, CLP diagnosis, female sex, and non-Hispanic ethnicity. Socioeconomic status did not predict QoL per patient self- or parent-proxy report. CONCLUSIONS: Higher surgical burden was associated with worse QoL outcomes in multiple domains.

Visual cues and food intake: A preregistered replication of Wansink et al. (2005).

Imagine a bowl of soup that never emptied, no matter how many spoonfuls you ate-when and how would you know to stop eating? Satiation can play a role in regulating eating behavior, but research suggests visual cues may be just as important. In a seminal study by Wansink et al. (2005), researchers used self-refilling bowls to assess how visual cues of portion size would influence intake. The study found that participants who unknowingly ate from self-refilling bowls ate more soup than did participants eating from normal (not self-refilling) bowls. Despite consuming 73% more soup, however, participants in the self-refilling condition did not believe they had consumed more soup, nor did they perceive themselves as more satiated than did participants eating from normal bowls. Given recent concerns regarding the validity of research from the Wansink lab, we conducted a preregistered direct replication study of Wansink et al. (2005) with a more highly powered sample (N = 464 vs. 54 in the original study). We found that most results replicated, albeit with half the effect size (d = 0.45 instead of 0.84), with participants in the self-refilling bowl condition eating significantly more soup than those in the control condition. Like the original study, participants in the self-refilling condition did not believe they had consumed any more soup than participants in the control condition. These results suggest that eating can be strongly controlled by visual cues, which can even override satiation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Evaluation of Measurement Properties and Differential Item Functioning in the English and French Versions of the University of California, Los Angeles, Loneliness Scale-6: A Scleroderma Patient-Centered Intervention Network (SPIN) Study.

OBJECTIVE: Loneliness has been associated with poorer health-related quality of life but has not been studied in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). The current study was undertaken to examine and compare the psychometric properties of the English and French versions of the University of California, Los Angeles, Loneliness Scale-6 (ULS-6) in patients with SSc during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: This study used baseline cross-sectional data from 775 adults enrolled in the Scleroderma Patient-Centered Intervention Network (SPIN) COVID-19 Cohort. Reliability and validity of ULS-6 scores overall and between languages were evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), differential item functioning (DIF) through the multiple-indicator multiple-cause (MIMIC) model, omega/alpha calculation, and correlations of hypothesized convergent relationships. RESULTS: CFA for the total sample supported the single-factor structure (comparative fit index [CFI] 0.96, standardized root mean residual [SRMR] 0.03), and all standardized factor loadings for items were large (0.60-0.86). The overall MIMIC model with language as a covariate fit well (CFI 0.94, SRMR 0.04, root mean square error of approximation 0.11). Statistically significant DIF was found for 3 items across language (ßitem2  = 0.14, P < 0.001; ßitem4  = -0.07, P = 0.01; ßitem6  = 0.13, P < 0.001), but these small differences were without practical measurement implications. Analyses demonstrated high internal consistency with no language-based convergent validity differences. CONCLUSION: Analyses demonstrated evidence of acceptable reliability and validity of ULS-6 scores in English- and French-speaking adults with SSc. DIF analysis supported use of the ULS-6 to examine comparative experiences of loneliness without adjusting for language.

Experimental and observational studies on alcohol use and dietary intake: a systematic review.

The scientific literature on links among alcohol use, total energy intake, cardiometabolic disease and obesity is conflicting. To clarify the link between alcohol use and cardiometabolic health, this systematic review (PROSPERO CRD42016039308A) uses PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines to synthesize how alcohol use affects dietary intake (carbohydrate, fat and protein intake) in humans. A search of Google Scholar, PsycINFO and PubMed from June 2016-March 2019 yielded 30 qualified studies. Experimental and observational studies allowed for inferences about effects of a single drinking occasion and of frequent drinking, respectively. Alcohol quantities were standardized according to the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. On average, methodological quality of the studies was medium strength. Results indicated that a single occasion of light and moderate drinking as well as frequent light and moderate drinking were linked to greater fat and protein intake, albeit the majority of studies did not detect differences in dietary intake due to these drinking behaviours. Frequent heavy drinking, on the other hand, was linked to less carbohydrate intake in the majority of studies. Overall, alcohol use does not appear to uniformly affect diet but instead appears to affect intake of specific macronutrients in a dose-dependent manner, most consistently decreasing carbohydrate intake with heavier use.

A Longitudinal Investigation of Internalized Stigma, Constrained Disclosure, and Quality of Life Across 12 Weeks in Lung Cancer Patients on Active Oncologic Treatment.

INTRODUCTION: Internalized lung cancer stigma (i.e., feelings of regret, shame, and self-blame about one's lung cancer) is related to poorer psychological outcomes. Less is known about how internalized stigma relates to physical and functional outcomes or how constrained disclosure (i.e., avoidance of or discomfort about disclosing one's lung cancer status to others) relates to well-being. Furthermore, no study has examined whether internalized stigma and constrained disclosure predict changes in well-being for lung cancer patients. This longitudinal study characterized relationships of internalized stigma and constrained disclosure with emotional and physical/functional outcomes. METHODS: Participants (N = 101, 52.4% male, 63.4% currently/formerly smoked) were lung cancer patients on active medical treatment who completed questionnaires on stigma and well-being at study entry and at 6- and 12-week follow-up. Multivariable linear regressions characterized relationships of internalized stigma and constrained disclosure with emotional and physical/functional well-being at study entry and across time. RESULTS: Participants who currently or formerly smoked reported higher levels of internalized stigma (but not constrained disclosure), compared to never smokers (p < 0.001). Higher internalized stigma and constrained disclosure were uniquely associated with poorer emotional and physical/functional well-being at study entry (all p < 0.05), beyond sociodemographic characteristics, time elapsed since diagnosis, and smoking status. Higher internalized stigma predicted significant declines in emotional well-being across 6 and 12 weeks (all p < 0.01) and declines in physical/functional well-being across 6 weeks (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Internalized lung cancer stigma and constrained disclosure relate to emotional and physical/functional maladjustment. Findings carry implications for provider- and patient-focused interventions to reduce internalized stigma and promote well-being.