Posttraumatic stress symptoms and postpartum anxiety among palestinian women: the mediating roles of self-esteem and social support.

BACKGROUND: Women are estimated to develop several mental disorders during pregnancy and/or for up to a year postpartum, with anxiety and depression being the most common co-morbidities. Postpartum anxiety is less well studied compared with postpartum depression in the Palestinian context in terms of risk factors, mental health outcomes and protective factors. PURPOSE: The aim of the current study was to investigate whether self-esteem and social support mediated the association between posttraumatic stress symptoms and postpartum anxiety among Palestinian women. METHODS: Berlin Social Support Scales, Postpartum Specific Anxiety Scale, Impact of the Event Scale, and Rosenberg self-esteem scale were administered to 408 Palestinian women recruited from health centers in northern of the West Banks/ Palestine using a convenience sample. RESULTS: The findings of our study revealed that postpartum anxiety positively correlated with posttraumatic stress symptoms (r = .56, p < .01), and negatively correlated with social support (r = - .30, p < .01), and self-esteem (r = - .27, p < .05). Moreover, posttraumatic stress symptoms negatively correlated with social support (r = - .24, p < .01), and self-esteem (r = - .25, p < .01). Results of structural equation modeling (SEM) showed a good fit of the hypothesized model. CONCLUSIONS: Given this, it is recommended to conduct similar studies with diverse samples in the Palestinian society. It would also be useful for health professionals who work with Palestinian pregnant women (i.e., mental health providers, nurses, midwives, physicians) to assess self-esteem and social support in an effort to identify women who may be at greater risk of developing postpartum anxiety. It may also be worthwhile to develop and implement interventions during pregnancy which serve to enhance a women's sense of self-esteem during this particularly stressful period.

Metabolic syndrome and related risk factors among adults in the northern West Bank, a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of cardiometabolic risk factors that includes central obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidaemia and hypertension. The aim of this study was to establish the prevalence of MetS and its associated risk factors among adult Palestinians using the International Diabetes Federation definition. METHODS: A total of 1348 subjects ages 18-65 y were recruited in a cross-sectional study that was conducted in 2018-2019 in the northern West Bank. RESULTS: A total of 1082 subjects participated; 51.7% were men. The prevalence of MetS was high (44.9%), and higher among women (46.1%) than men (44.2%) (p<0.001). The prevalence increased significantly with increasing age and body mass index (BMI) in both genders (p<0.001). However, metabolically obese but normal weight individuals (MONW) (8.4%) were also identified, with a slight increase among women (9.4%) compared with men (7.5%) (p=0.56). MetS was more likely to be prevalent among participants with increased fasting blood sugar (5.8 times), increased triglyceride (7.4 times), increased blood pressure (4.5 times) and BMI ≥25 (19.9 times) (p<0.001). The prevalence of MetS was higher among rural (50.3%) vs urban (39.3%) residents and refugees (33.8%). CONCLUSIONS: With increasing age and obesity, clustering of MetS components increased remarkably in both genders. Effective prevention and treatment strategies for MetS and its risk factors should be developed targeting different ages and genders.