Prevalence of obsessive-Compulsive symptoms and the level of fear due to COVID-19 pandemic among the undergraduate medical students in a tertiary care unit in Southern India.

Background: The emergence of COVID-19 and its consequences is causing widespread fears, anxiety, and worries. To overcome the transmission of COVID-19, people resorted to compulsive behaviors. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to assess the prevalence of obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCSs) due to COVID-19 pandemic, the prevalence of level of fear due to COVID-19 pandemic, and to assess the factors associated with OCSs due to COVID-19 pandemic among the undergraduate medical students of in tertiary unit in Southern India. Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted in 250 undergraduate medical students (both MBBS and BDS, from 1st to 4th year) in the institute. Students who had consented in the study were included as study participants. The Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale and Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19 S) were used in assessing OCSs and the level of fear due to COVID-19. Chi-square test and multiple logistic regression were used to compute the factors associated with OCS. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 21 ± 1.313 years. The prevalence of OCS in undergraduate medical students was 36 (14.4%), and the level of FCV-19 was 107 (42.8%). Male students (17.8%, 44.2%) had higher OCSs and levels of fear as compared to female students (13.6%, 42.4%). Students with FCV-19 were three (adjusted odds ratio-3.418, 95% confidence interval-1.596, 7.319) times more likely to manifest OCSs while factors such as age, gender, and course were not significantly associated with OCS. Conclusion: Psychological counseling for undergraduate students should be pivotal, especially during pandemics and outbreaks.

Working conditions mediate the association between social class and physical function in older age in Sweden: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Global demographics are changing as societies all over the world are aging. This puts focus on maintaining functional ability and independence into older age. Individuals from lower social classes are at greater risk of developing limitations in physical function later in life. In this study, we investigated the mediating role of working conditions in the association between occupation-based social class and physical function measured as self-reported mobility limitations and objectively measured physical impairment in older age. METHODS: Two Swedish surveys, linked at the individual level, were used (n = 676-814 depending on the outcome). Follow-up time was 20-24 years. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed with adjustments for age, sex, level of education, mobility, and health problems at baseline. This was followed by analyses of the size of the mediating effect of working conditions. RESULTS: Working conditions seem to mediate 35-74% of the association between social class and physical impairment in older age. The pattern of mediation was primarily driven by passive jobs, i.e., low psychological demands and low control, among blue-collar workers. Working conditions did not mediate the association between social class and self-reported mobility limitations in older age. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicate that working conditions are important in combating the social gradient in healthy aging, contributing to the evidence regarding the magnitude of impact exerted by both the physical and psychosocial work environment separately and in conjunction.