The anxiety response of patients with severe psychiatric disorders to the recent public health crisis.

BACKGROUND: The devastating health, economic, and social consequences of COVID-19 may harm the already vulnerable groups, particularly people with severe psychiatric disorders (SPDs). The present study was conducted to investigate the anxiety response of patients with SPDs during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A total of 351 patients with SPDs [Schizophrenia Spectrum (SSD), Bipolar (BD), Major Depressive (MDD), and Obsessive-Compulsive (OCD) Disorders] and healthy controls in Guilan province, Iran, throughout 2021-2022 were included in this cross-sectional analytical study. The anxiety response consisted of four concepts: COVID-19-related anxiety, general health anxiety, anxiety sensitivity, and safety behaviors. We conducted an unstructured interview and provided sociodemographic and clinical information. Also, the participants were asked to complete four self-report measures of the Corona Disease Anxiety Scale, the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-Revised, the Short Health Anxiety Inventory, and the Checklist of Safety Behaviors. RESULTS: Analysis of variance showed a significant difference between the groups of patients with SPDs and the control group in COVID-19-related anxiety (F = 6.92, p = 0.0001), health anxiety (F = 6.21, p = 0.0001), and safety behaviors (F = 2.52, p = 0.41). No significant difference was observed between them in anxiety sensitivity (F = 1.77, p = 0.134). The Games-Howell test showed that the control group obtained a higher mean than the groups of people with BD (p < 0.0001), SSD (p = 0.033), and OCD (p = 0.003) disorders in COVID-19-related anxiety. The patients with MDD (p = 0.014) and OCD (p = 0.01) had a higher mean score than the control group in health anxiety. Tukey's test showed that the mean of safety behaviors of the control group was significantly higher than the OCD group (p = 0.21). No significant difference was found between the groups of patients with MDD, BD, SSD, and OCD in terms of COVID-19-related anxiety, health anxiety, and safety behaviors. CONCLUSION: Anxiety response to health crisis is different in groups with SPDs and control group. The findings of this study suggest that although health anxiety is present in many of these patients during the pandemic, their anxiety response to the health crisis may be less than expected. There can be various explanations, such as pre-existing symptoms, low health literacy, and possible co-occurring cognitive impairment. The results of this study have many practical and policy implications in meeting the treatment needs of this group of patients during public health crises and indicate that their needs may not be compatible with the expectations and estimates that health professionals and policymakers already have.

Metabolic syndrome in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Objective: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a collection of chemical and clinical risk factors. Patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) might be at risk of MetS. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and clinical correlates of MetS in an Iranian clinical sample of patients with OCD. Methods: We included 107 patients with OCD in a cross-sectional study. Demographic and clinical characteristics including OC symptoms, duration of treatment, age of onset, medications history, and comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders were collected. Results: The prevalence of MetS was 39.2%. Abdominal obesity was the most frequent component of MetS (68.2%), followed by low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (50.5%). High serum triglycerides, high fasting serum glucose, high systolic blood pressure, and high diastolic blood pressure were observed in 47.7, 20.6, 18.7, and 9.3% of patients, respectively. Patients with MetS were older, married, had a low education level, had a high body mass index, and had no aggressive OC symptoms. MetS was not associated with psychiatric disorders comorbidities, age of onset, and duration of treatment. Conclusion: The results of this study were in line with the results of other studies that reported the poor health status of patients with OCD. A large number of patients are affected or are at risk of developing MetS. These patients need medical care along with the usual OCD treatments.

Emotional Intelligence and Its Relationship With General Health Among the Students of University of Guilan, Iran.

BACKGROUND: Particularly, this concept has used for examination of its empact on health of various people groups. Given the importance of students' health, this study investigated the relationship between emotional intelligence and general health. OBJECTIVES: The concept of emotional intelligence has attracted growing interest from researchers working in various fields. This study investigated the relationship between emotional intelligence and general health. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 136 students were selected from the University of Guilan, north of Iran, using simple random sampling. The subjects completed the Schutte self-report emotional intelligence test and general health questionnaire. RESULTS: The results showed a significant correlation between emotional intelligence and general health. Also, results indicated that emotional perception and emotional utilization are predictors of general health. CONCLUSIONS: The findings reflect that emotional intelligence can play an important role in general health.