Anxiety, depression, somatization and psychological distress before and 2-6 years after a late termination of pregnancy due to fetal anomalies.

BACKGROUND: For many women, a late termination of pregnancy (TOP) can be an enormous psychological burden. Few studies have investigated the long-term psychological impact of late TOP. METHODS: N = 90 women answered a questionnaire containing questions about anxiety, depression and somatization (Brief-Symptom Inventory, BSI-18) shortly before (T1) and 2-6 years after (T4) their late termination of pregnancy. RESULTS: Prior to the late TOP, 57.8% of participants showed above-average levels of overall psychological distress (66.7% anxiety, 51.1% depression, 37.8% somatization). This number decreased significantly over time for all scales of the BSI-18. 2-6 years later, only 10.0% of women still reported above-average levels (17.8% anxiety, 11.1% depression, 10.0% somatization). CONCLUSIONS: Our results support those of previous research showing that late TOP has a substantial psychological impact on those experiencing it in the short-term. In the long-term, most women return to normal levels of psychological distress, although some still show elevated levels. Limitations of the study include monocentric data collection, drop-out between T1 and T4, and the relatively wide range of two to six years after TOP. Further research should be conducted in order to identify factors that impact the psychological processing of the experience.

[Effects of Wearing Face Masks to Prevent Infectious Diseases On Children's and Adolescents' Well-Being and Behavior: An Interview Study]. / Auswirkungen des Tragens von Gesichtsmasken zur Prävention von Infektionskrankheiten auf das Befinden und Verhalten von Kindern und Jugendlichen: Eine Interviewstudie.

AIM: To investigate the effects of wearing masks in terms of well-being, behavior and psychosocial development on children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Expert interviews were conducted with educators (n=2), teachers from primary and secondary education (n=9), adolescent student representatives (n=5) as well as paediatricians from primary care (n=3) and the public health service (n=1), transcribed and subjected to thematic analysis using MAXQDA 2020. RESULTS: The most frequently reported short- and medium-term direct effects of mask-wearing were primarily in terms of limited communication due to a reduction in hearing and facial expressions. These restrictions in communication had consequences for social interaction and teaching quality. It is assumed that there will be effects on language development and social-emotional development in the future. A reported increase in psychosomatic complaints as well as anxiety, depression and eating disorders was attributed more to the conglomerate of distancing interventions than to just wearing of masks. Vulnerable groups were children with developmental difficulties, those with German as a foreign language, younger children, and shy and quiet children and adolescents. CONCLUSION: While the consequences of mask-wearing for children and adolescents can be described quite well for different aspects of communication and interaction, effects on aspects of psychosocial development cannot be clearly identified yet. Recommendations are made primarily for dealing with the limitations in the school setting.

Psychosocial Occupational Exposures and Mental Illness.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is to investigate the exposure-risk relationship between psychosocial occupational stress and mental illness. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review with meta-analyses as an update of a systematic review published in 2014. The study protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42020170032). Literature searches were carried out in the MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Embase databases. All procedural steps were performed independently by two reviewers; discordances were solved by consensus. All of the included full texts were subject to a methodological appraisal. Certainty of evidence was determined with the GRADE procedure. RESULTS: The pooled risk of depression was found to be approximately doubled in workers exposed to high job strain, which is defined as high work demands combined with low job control (effect estimate [EE] = 1.99, 95% CI [1.68; 2.35], heterogeneity [I2] = 24.7%, n = 8). In particular, high work demands are associated with incident depression (ES = 13.8 [1.19; 1.61], I2 = 69.0%, n = 9) and with incident anxiety disorder (ES = 1.79 [1.44; 2.23], I2 = 48.1%, n = 5). There were only a small number of methodologically adequate studies available on burnout, somatoform disorders, suicidal ideation, and suicide. Thus, no pooled risk estimates were calculated, although some individual studies showed a considerably increased risk. CONCLUSION: Psychosocial occupational stress is clearly associated with depression and anxiety disorders.

[Impact of wearing face masks in public to prevent infectious diseases on the psychosocial development in children and adolescents: a systematic review]. / Beeinflussung der psychosozialen Entwicklung von Kindern und Jugendlichen durch das Tragen von Gesichtsmasken im öffentlichen Raum zur Prävention von Infektionskrankheiten: Ein systematischer Review.

BACKGROUND: Wearing face masks in public is recommended under certain circumstances in order to prevent infectious diseases transmitted through droplets. AIM: The objective was to compile all German and English research results from peer-reviewed journal articles using a sensitive literature search on the effects of mask-wearing for preventing infectious diseases on the psychosocial development of children and adolescents. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted considering different study designs (search period up until 12 July 2021). The risk of bias in the studies was determined using a risk of bias procedure. A descriptive-narrative synthesis of the results was performed. RESULTS: Thirteen studies were included, and the overall risk of bias was estimated to be high in all primary studies. There are some indications from the included surveys that children, adolescents, and their teachers in (pre)schools perceived facial expression processing as impaired due to mask wearing, which were confirmed by several experimental studies. Two studies reported psychological symptoms like anxiety and stress as well as concentration and learning problems due to wearing a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic. One survey study during the 2002/2003 SARS pandemic examined oral examination performance in English as a foreign language and showed no difference between the "mask" and "no mask" conditions. DISCUSSION: Only little evidence can be derived on the effects of wearing mouth-nose protection on different developmental areas of children and adolescents based on the small number of studies. There is a lack of research data regarding the following outcomes: psychological development, language development, emotional development, social behavior, school success, and participation. Further qualitative studies and epidemiological studies are required.