Temporal dynamics of insight in body dysmorphic disorder: An ecological momentary assessment study.

Individuals with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) often lack insight into the nature of their perceived appearance flaws that are slight, if they exist at all. Despite the generally held assumption that insight fluctuates over time within individuals with BDD, its temporal instability and associated features remain unstudied. We examined insight as a multidimensional, contextually embedded, and dynamic factor using ecological momentary assessment (EMA), further assessing affect and self-esteem as potentially associated states. Thirty individuals with BDD and 30 mentally healthy controls (HCs) completed 6 days of EMA (M = 8.54 assessments per day, N = 3075 assessments in total). Multilevel analyses revealed substantial intraindividual fluctuations of insight dimensions (across 30 min to hours) that were more pronounced for individuals with BDD than for HCs. Poorer insight correlated with higher negative affect, lower positive affect, and lower self-esteem at concurrent time points in the BDD group. Considering all predictors at the same time point, poorer insight was characterized by lower self-esteem and, partly, negative affect in the BDD group. Across time, self-esteem and insight influenced each other reciprocally, with comparatively stronger effects for the prediction of poorer insight by previously lower self-esteem. These findings demonstrate that insight is a highly variable phenomenon in BDD, further suggesting a clinically and etiologically relevant link between self-esteem and insight in symptom maintenance. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Testing the specificity of interpretation biases in women with eating disorder symptoms: An online experimental assessment.

OBJECTIVE: Cognitive biases, such as memory, attention, and interpretation bias, are thought to play a central role in the development and maintenance of eating disorders (EDs). The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the interpretation bias is ED-specific or can be generalized to comorbid disorder-related threats in women with high levels of ED symptoms. METHOD: In an online study, we measured interpretation bias using the modified Sentence Word Association Paradigm (SWAP), comparing women with (n = 39) and without (sub)threshold eating disorders (n = 56). We assessed endorsement and rejection rates as well as reaction times in response to a positive/neutral or a negative ED-specific, social anxiety-specific (SAD), or generalized anxiety-specific (GAD) interpretive word following an ambiguous sentence. RESULTS: In ambiguous situations, women with high ED symptoms selected more negative (p < .001) and fewer positive/neutral ED-related interpretations (p < .001). Negative interpretations were endorsed significantly faster (p < .001), while positive interpretations were rejected faster in this group (p < .001). These women also manifested negative SAD-specific interpretation bias patterns in reaction time measures. Nevertheless, ED severity was best predicted by the endorsement of negative ED-specific stimuli, whereas ED and SAD reaction time measures seemed to have a negligible effect. DISCUSSION: The results indicate that the interpretation bias might be ED-specific. The SWAP can be a useful tool for the further investigation of the etiological relevance of the interpretation bias as well as for the development of modification training interventions.

Preparation of control blood for external quality assessment of point-of-care international normalized ratio testing in the Netherlands.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to prepare control blood for an external quality assessment scheme (EQAS) for international normalized ratio (INR) point-of-care testing (POCT) in the Netherlands and to assess the performance of the participants. METHODS: Control blood was prepared from dialyzed pooled patient plasma and washed human erythrocytes. Samples of control blood were mailed to participants of the Netherlands EQAS from October 2006 through December 2012. RESULTS: Most participants used CoaguChek XS (Roche Diagnostics, Mannheim, Germany) devices for POCT. The median between-center coefficient of variation (CV) of the reported INR decreased from 4.5% in 2006 to 2.6% in 2012. A few participants used the ProTime Microcoagulation System (ITC, Edison, NJ) for POCT. The median CV (per year) of the INR with the latter system was 7.0% to 10.6%. CONCLUSIONS: The control blood samples were useful for external quality assessment in the Netherlands. The participants' performance with the CoaguChek XS system improved with time, demonstrating the value of external quality assessment.

[Ocular biometric values of the black African patient and theoretical consideration of the role of these values in various pathologies: analysis of 325 eyes]. / Valeurs biométriques de l'oeil du sujet africain de race noire et hypothèse du rôle dans certaines pathologies: à propos de 325 yeux.

INTRODUCTION: The international literature seldom refers to eye measurements of the black African patient. Therefore, the various patterns where biometry elements are used as constituents deserve reconsideration as they may not correspond to the eye of the black patient of our region. This study provides true measurements for the black African patient in Ivory Coast. It also establishes hypotheses by extrapolating the role of measurements in pathologies such as glaucoma. MATERIAL: and method: The study included 325 eyes of 217 male and female patients. All the patients underwent ocular keratometrics and echo biometrics to measure the depth of the anterior chamber, the width of the lens, and the total axial length with the ultrascan biometer using the contact method in A echometrics. RESULTS: The mean keratometry in women was significantly higher than in men (43.99 +/- 1.62 diopters vs 43.46 +/- 1.45 diopters). The anterior chamber was deeper in men (2.69 mm +/- 0.54 vs 2.53 mm +/- 0.48). The men's eyes were significantly longer, with an axial length of 23.26 mm +/- 1.07 vs 22.56 mm +/- 0.90. CONCLUSION: Significant biometric differences between men's and women's eyes, on the one hand, and between black African and white patients' eyes, on the other hand, can be observed. The reasons for these differences are several: they are natural, socioeconomic, and technical. If standard implant of a different power for black and white patients can be imagined, can we also infer that the biometrics of a black African patient predisposes him to a disorder such as glaucoma more than a white patient? Further in-depth studies could provide an answer to this question.