Psychometric validation of the desire thinking questionnaire in a Turkish adolescent sample: Associations with internet gaming disorder

BACKGROUND

Desire thinking is a conscious and voluntary cognitive process that consists of perseverative focus on information, memories, and prefiguration of images related to a desired target. The Desire Thinking Questionnaire (DTQ) is acknowledged as a reliable and valid tool to measure desire thinking in both adults and adolescents. The aim of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of the DTQ in Turkish adolescent sample.

METHODS

A convenience sample of 200 adolescents completed the Turkish version of the DTQ (DTQ-T) and an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was performed. Subsequently, a convenience sample of 701 adolescents completed the DTQ-T and a battery of questionnaires assessing personality traits, affect, boredom, impulsivity, and Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD). A Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was performed on the DTQ-T and validity was determined by examining correlations with other measures.

RESULTS

A 9-item two-factor structure was observed in the EFA. An 8-item two-factor structure was established in the CFA. Results demonstrated that the DTQ-T yields adequate levels of reliability and concurrent validity. Additionally, an examination of incremental validity showed that DTQ-T significantly predicted IGD when controlling for personality traits, affect, boredom, and impulsivity.

CONCLUSIONS

The 8-item DTQ-T was found to be a reliable and valid measure of desire thinking among Turkish adolescents. Desire thinking may be a feasible target for mental health workers to alleviate the symptoms of IGD.

An acute spondyloarthritis during successful treatment with dupilumab for severe atopic dermatitis

we report the case of a 44-year-old male affected by life-long, severe and recalcitrant form of atopic dermatitis (AD), with various atopic comorbidities. Multiple systemic therapies had been performed before our first observation, all interrupted for ineffectiveness. On May 2018, the patient recorded an Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) of 52, Peak Pruritus Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) of 8, and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) of 20. Blood exams showed a significant increased of total immunoglobulin E (IgE) plasma levels (5321 kUa/L; 0,00-100,00 kUa/L reference range).

Understanding fashion complexity through a systemic data approach

Nowadays, the role played by fashion industry in contributing to degradation of natural systems is increasingly acknowledged. Acting in terms of information flow from a systemic perspective does not represent a parametric adjustment, nor a reinforcement or a weakening of an existing cycle. It is the generation of a new cycle, that of information, in a place where it was not previously given, therefore inducing a different behavior in people. The structure of information flows can be an effective leverage point in the fashion system, if information is delivered where it was not before, causing people to change behavior. Adding or restoring information, in a fashion system where the information circulating is sometimes not linked to an ethical and social value, can therefore represent a powerful intervention, usually easier and cheaper than reconstructing physical infrastructures. The ambition of this paper is to offer a perspective that faces this complexity and align fashion with sustainability values through insights gained from data.

Mortality inequalities in Rome: the role of individual education and real estate market

Background

Several indicators at individual and area level have been used to stratify the population. The aim of this work was to investigate the association between real estate prices, education and health status in Rome.

Methods

We used the administrative cohort of residents in Rome at the 2011 census. We followed subjects aged 18+ from 2011 to 2016 using anonymous record linkage procedures with administrative databases. The census includes several individual information, comprising sex, age, education, and residential urbanistic zone. From mortality register we collected date and cause of death. Real estate prices (€/m2) were available for each urbanistic zone. We classified the population in five categories according to the quintile of the distribution (1=highest prices, 5=lowest prices). We used adjusted Cox regression models to estimate the hazard ratios (HRs) and 95%CIs.

Results

We selected 2,053,668 subjects, not living in institutions at the time of the census survey. Women were 54% of the population; the mean age was 52 years (sd 18), 22.5% had a high education (university degree) and 37% a low education (≤ junior high school). During the follow-up, 126,548 subjects died. As expected educational level was strongly associated with all-cause mortality (39% higher risk of low vs. high educated). The mortality risk increased with decreasing real estate prices, taking account of age and sex. Compared to subjects living in highest prices areas, those living in level 2 areas had a HR = 1.08 (95%CI: 1.06-1.10), those in level 3 had a HR = 1.14 (95%CI: 1.12-1.16), those in level 4 a HR = 1.16 (95%CI 1.14-1.18), and finally those living in the cheapest areas a HR = 1.22 (95%CI: 1.20-1.25). When we considered both education and real estate prizes, the HRs marginally decreased.

Conclusions

There is an independent association of both individual education and socioeconomic characteristics of the area of residence and all-cause mortality.

Key messages

There are strong socioeconomic inequalities in Rome. A simple indicator such as real estate prices can be used to tackle inequalities.

Antipsychotics and mortality among elderly with dementia: a population based study in the Lazio region

Background

Most dementia patients experience one or more behavioral and psychological symptoms (BPSD) at some time during their illness, in particular in the middle and later stages. Antipsychotic drugs (AP) are often prescribed off-label for treating BPSD, despite concerns about safety and limited efficacy. The impact of AP on short- and long-term mortality has not been fully assessed.

Objective

To assess the association between the use of APs and short- and long-term mortality in a cohort of dementia patients aged ≥ 65 years residing in the Lazio region.

Methods

We use data from regional health information systems to conduct a retrospective age, gender and comorbidity matched cohort study with a 1:3 matching ratio to pair dementia patients new AP users with non-users. For the exposed participants, the index date was defined as the date of the first drug prescription; the same date was used for non-users matched subjects. Patients were enrolled on 31/12/2016 and followed-up from the index date through 2018. Four cohorts were enrolled to analyze mortality at 30, 60, 180 and 65 days from the index date. Adjusted estimates were obtained with propensity score matching using the Greedy Nearest Neighbor Matching algorithm.

Results

We enrolled 34,625 individuals (67% females, mean age 82 years) distributed as follows: 30 days cohort, 4321 users vs 12,960 non-users; 60 days cohort, 4202 users vs 12,606 non-users; 180 days cohort, 3641 users vs 19,923 non-users; 365 days cohort, 2618 users vs 7854 non-users. Multivariate analyses showed a statistically significant excess mortality at 60, 180, and 365 days since the first prescription (HR: 1.83, HR: 1.63, and HR: 1.62, respectively).

Conclusions

This study showed that antipsychotics increase short- and long-term mortality risk in older adults with dementia. The prescription of AP should be carefully evaluated and, if it is the best option for patient and caregiver, stringently monitored.

Key messages

Antipsychotic medication use is associated with an increased all-cause mortality in elderly with dementia. The mortality risk increases in 60 days after starting their use and remains elevated at 1 year.

Pertussis in Latin America: Recent epidemiological data presented at the 2017 Global Pertussis Initiative meeting

The Global Pertussis Initiative (GPI) is an expert scientific forum that publishes consensus recommendations for pertussis monitoring, prevention, and treatment across many regions of the world. Here, we report on the regional 2017 GPI meeting on the Americas, focusing on Latin America. Information on current pertussis epidemiology, surveillance, vaccine strategies, diagnostic capabilities, disease awareness, and major local obstacles was presented by researchers from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Pertussis outbreaks have occurred during the last decade in the majority of participant countries and have been followed by improvements in surveillance. In the countries that introduced maternal immunization during pregnancy, a reduction in the infant case fatality rate has been detected. All countries need to maintain and improve pertussis surveillance to reach primary vaccination coverage >90%. Moreover, countries without maternal immunization programs should strongly consider them.

Visual motion and rapid auditory processing are solid endophenotypes of developmental dyslexia

Although a genetic component is known to have an important role in the etiology of developmental dyslexia (DD), we are far from understanding the molecular etiopathogenetic pathways. Reduced measures of neurobiological functioning related to reading (dis)ability, i.e. endophenotypes (EPs), are promising targets for gene finding and the elucidation of the underlying mechanisms. In a sample of 100 nuclear families with DD (229 offspring) and 83 unrelated typical readers, we tested whether a set of well-established, cognitive phenotypes related to DD [i.e. rapid auditory processing (RAP), rapid automatized naming (RAN), multisensory nonspatial attention and visual motion processing] fulfilled the criteria of the EP construct. Visual motion and RAP satisfied all testable criteria (i.e. they are heritable, associate with the disorder, co-segregate with the disorder within a family and represent reproducible measures) and are therefore solid EPs of DD. Multisensory nonspatial attention satisfied three of four criteria (i.e. it associates with the disorder, co-segregates with the disorder within a family and represents a reproducible measure) and is therefore a potential EP for DD. Rapid automatized naming is heritable but does not meet other criteria of the EP construct. We provide the first evidence of a methodologically and statistically sound approach for identifying EPs for DD to be exploited as a solid alternative basis to clinical phenotypes in neuroscience.

The importance of thinking styles in predicting binge eating

Impulsivity, Body Mass Index, negative emotions and irrational food beliefs are often reported as predictors of binge eating. In the current study we explored the role played by two thinking styles, namely food thought suppression and desire thinking, in predicting binge eating among young adults controlling for established predictors of this condition. A total of 338 university students (268 females) participated in this study by completing a battery of questionnaires measuring the study variables. Path analysis revealed that impulsivity was not associated with binge eating, that Body Mass Index and negative emotions predicted binge eating, and that irrational food beliefs only influenced binge eating via food thought suppression and desire thinking. In conclusion, thinking styles appear an important predictor of binge eating and they should be taken into consideration when developing clinical interventions for binge eating.

Impact of cobalt content in Na0.67MnxFeyCozO2 (x + y + z = 1), a cathode material for sodium ion batteries

Reducing the Co content in P2–Na_0.67Mn_xFe_yCo_zO₂ does not drastically affect the electrochemical performance.

Photo-inhibition of Aβ fibrillation mediated by a newly designed fluorinated oxadiazole

The interaction of oxadiazole3photo-stimulated with Aβ_1–40induces a structural modification responsible for fibrillogenesis inhibition.