Redox Status, Dose and Antioxidant Intake in Healthcare Workers Occupationally Exposed to Ionizing Radiation.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between blood redox status, dose and antioxidant dietary intake of different hospital staff groups exposed to low doses of ionizing radiation (LDIR) (Interventional Radiology and Cardiology, Radiation Oncology, and Nuclear Medicine) and non-exposed. Personal dose equivalent (from last year and cumulative), plasma antioxidant markers (total antioxidant capacity, extracellular superoxide dismutase activity, and glutathione/oxidized glutathione ratio), oxidative stress markers (nitrites and nitrates, and lipid peroxidation) and dietary intake (antioxidant capacity using ORAC values) were collected and analyzed from 28 non-exposed healthcare workers and 42 healthcare workers exposed to LDIR. Hospital staff exposed to LDIR presented a redox imbalance in blood that seems to correlate with dose. Workers from the Nuclear Medicine Unit were the most affected group with the lowest value of plasma antioxidant response and the highest value of plasma thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, TBARS (indicator of lipid peroxidation) of all four groups. Cumulative personal dose equivalent positively correlated with nitrites and negatively correlated with total antioxidant capacity in blood. The diet of healthcare workers from Nuclear Medicine Unit had higher ORAC values than the diet of non-exposed. Therefore, occupational exposure to LDIR, especially for the Nuclear Medicine Unit, seems to produce an imbalanced redox status in blood that would correlate with cumulative personal dose equivalent.

Early intervention with cognitive behavioral therapy reduces sick leave duration in people with adjustment, anxiety and depressive disorders.

Background: Early intervention in workers diagnosed with mental disorders is associated with a lower incidence of relapse and shorter sick leave. However, no studies have been carried out on the effect of early intervention using an evidence-based therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), on people with sick leave.Aims: The objectives of the present study are to study whether the type of intervention (early or late) will affect the total duration of the sick leave, the partial duration of the sick leave, the duration of the psychotherapy and the time until return to work after the psychotherapy ends. The sample was composed of 167 participants who were on sick leave for adjustment disorders, anxiety disorders or depressive disorder.Results: The participants who had early intervention with CBT had a significantly shorter duration of total sick leave and partial sick leave, and a shorter time until returning to work after the psychotherapy ended than those who had late intervention. There were no statistically differences in the duration or efficacy of the psychotherapy.Conclusion: We can suggest that providing early access to CBT significantly reduces the length of sick leave in patients with mental disorders.

Reducing the time until psychotherapy initiation reduces sick leave duration in participants diagnosed with anxiety and mood disorders.

BACKGROUND: Sick leave in patients with a mental disorder is characterized by having a long duration. Studies suggest that the time until a patient on sick leave for a common mental health disorder initiates evaluation and treatment by a healthcare professional is an important factor in the duration of the sick leave. However, in these studies, the intervention was not performed by a mental health specialist. The aim of this study was to find out whether the length of sick leave was associated with the time before initiating psychotherapy, age, time until returning to work after psychotherapy ends, and duration of psychotherapy. In a further analysis, we examined whether the model composed of age, duration of psychotherapy, and time before initiating psychotherapy predicted the length of sick leave. METHOD: The sample consisted of 2,423 participants, 64.1% (n = 1,554) women and 35.9% (n = 869) men, who were on sick leave for anxiety disorders or depressive disorder. RESULTS: The total duration of the sick leave of participants diagnosed with depression and anxiety was positively associated with the time before beginning psychotherapy. Time before beginning psychotherapy predicted the length of sick leave when the variables age and duration of psychotherapy were controlled. CONCLUSION: It is necessary to reduce the time until beginning psychotherapy in people on sick leave for common mental disorders.