Caracterización de los determinantes sociales de la salud del envejecimiento activo en estudios enfocados a la calidad de vida: mapeo sistemático

El aumento demográfico de adultos mayores se está presentando acompañado de condiciones socioeconómicas y de salud desfavorables, que afectan su calidad de vida. Esta situación puede paliarse a través del marco del envejecimiento activo, el cual aporta lineamientos alternativos que pueden resultar eficaces para contrarrestarlos. La Organización Mundial de la Salud establece que el envejecimiento activo tiene seis Determinantes Sociales de la Salud (DSS) que han sido abordados desde diferentes áreas por la comunidad científica. El objetivo del presente trabajo fue identificar y caracterizar el tipo de estudios enfocados a la calidad de vida, desde el envejecimiento activo, y clasificarlos de acuerdo con los DSS. Se revisaron las bases de datos Ebscohost, Scopus, Oxford, Redalyc y Sage Journals. Los descriptores utilizados fueron “envejecimiento activo” y “calidad de vida”, en inglés y español. La búsqueda del mapeo sistemático comprendió enero 2015 a marzo 2022. Se localizaron 91 artículos en los que se evaluó la calidad de vida, desde la perspectiva del envejecimiento activo y la mayoría (81.3 %) fueron estudios transversales. Se identificaron 3 intervenciones psicológicas, con evaluación antes y después de las sesiones, abordando los DSS relacionados con los factores personales, como salud psicológica, percepción positiva con la actividad física y función cognitiva. Así mismo, los factores conductuales, como estilos de vida para la prevención de riesgo de caídas y mejora de la vida en general, que podrían condicionar la calidad de vida. El principal alcance temático de los estudios fue la vinculación existente entre la calidad de vida y los DSS relacionados con los factores personales y con el entorno social. Se requieren más estudios interdisciplinarios que ayuden a generar políticas públicas que impacten favorablemente en este sector poblacional.

Evaluation of a psychoeducational intervention including emotional intelligence to increase treatment adherence in rheumatoid arthritis (A pilot study)

Our objective was to perform two studies: a cross-sectional study in order to identify the main psychological variables associated to treatment adherence in rheumatoid arthritis and an intervention based on psychoeducation to assess its impact on the variables identified in the first study. We measured treatment adherence, self-efficacy, beliefs about medication, emotional intelligence and disability along with personal and disease variables in the cross-sectional study and the same variables were measured in the intervention before and after the program and 3 months later in 2 groups (an experimental group and an active control group). In the cross-sectional study (N=33) we found that the variables most associated with treatment adherence were emotional clarity (r=0.352, p<0.05) and emotional repair (r=0.363, p<0.05). In the intervention, we divided the patients into 2 groups: the control group (N=7) and the intervention group (N=10). At the end of the study and at follow-up, we found a significant increase in adherence and self-efficacy in the intervention group, when compared with the control group. Emotional clarity was increased only in the post-test, and at follow up a decrease in beliefs of concern about medication was found. Psychoeducational programs based on information about the disease and its treatment together with emotional management are effective in increasing treatment adherence in the long term.

Impacto psicológico de la pandemia COVID-19 en cinco países de Latinoamérica

Introducción: El distanciamiento social y la cuarentena han probado tener efectos negativos en la salud mental de las poblaciones, a saber: miedo, ansiedad, depresión y sintomatología de estrés postraumático. La resiliencia emerge como variable amortiguadora del impacto. El objetivo del estudio fue comparar el impacto psicológico del COVID-19 en varios países latinoamericanos. Método: se obtuvo una muestra de 1184 participantes de México, Cuba, Chile, Colombia y Guatemala; cuya edad osciló entre 18 y 83 años (M = 38.78, DT = 13.81). Se aplicó una encuesta sobre síntomas médicos asociados al COVID-19 con tres instrumentos para evaluar: (1) síntomas de depresión, ansiedad y estrés, (2) impacto del evento y (3) resiliencia. Resultados: Las personas más jóvenes, con mayor cantidad de síntomas médicos y con mayores puntajes de impacto del evento tienden a presentar mayor sintomatología depresiva,ansiosa y estrés, siendo el impacto del evento el predictor más determinante. La resiliencia fue el predictor protector contra la depresión, ansiedad y estrés. Conclusiones: Los resultados muestran las diferencias en la respuesta psicológica ante la pandemia del COVID-19 en cada país, y sugieren la necesidad del desarrollo de políticas públicas enfocadas en la prevención y la promoción de la salud integral ante emergencias sanitarias.

Adaptación del cuestionario de personalidad resistente en población mexicana

Introducción: El concepto de personalidad resistente tal como lo propone Kobasa queda definido por tres dimensiones, a saber: compromiso, control y reto. Moreno-Jiménez y cols., (2014) diseñaron y validaron el Cuestionario de Personalidad Resistente (CPR) en trabajadores españoles y este instrumento se ha adaptado y validado en diferentes países latinoamericanos; sin embargo, en México no se validado psicométricamente. Objetivo: El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar las propiedades psicométricas de la adaptación del CPR en adultos mexicanos. Metodología: Se contó con una muestra no aleatoria de 357 adultos que reportaron estar sanos. Se adaptó el CPR a la forma de enfrentar la vida cotidiana. Resultados: En el análisis factorial confirmatorio se estimaron tres modelos, de ellos el que mostró mejores índices de ajuste fue el trifactorial (control, implicación y reto) con un factor de segundo orden (personalidad resistente), la consistencia interna del CPR fue aceptable y la validez de constructo indicó correlaciones positivas de las dimensiones del CPR con las variables positivas y correlaciones negativas con variables de ansiedad y disfunción social. Conclusiones: Los resultados encontrados indican que el CPR tiene características psicométricas satisfactorias y que puede utilizarse para medir personalidad resistente (reto, control e implicación) en adultos mexicanos.

Precautionary Behaviors during the Second and Third Phases of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Comparative Study in the Latin American Population

The population's behavioral responses to containment and precautionary measures during the COVID-19 pandemic have played a fundamental role in controlling the contagion. A comparative analysis of precautionary behaviors in the region was carried out. A total of 1184 people from Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Cuba, and Guatemala participated through an online survey containing a questionnaire on sociodemographic factors, precautionary behaviors, information about COVID-19, concerns, maintenance of confinement, and medical symptoms associated with COVID-19. Cubans reported the highest scores for information about COVID-19. Colombians reported less frequent usage of precautionary measures (e.g., use of masks), but greater adherence to confinement recommendations in general, in contrast to the low levels of these behaviors in Guatemalans. Chileans reported greater pandemic-related concerns and the highest number of medical symptoms associated with COVID-19. These findings allow a partial characterization of the Latin American population's responses during the second and third phases of the COVID-19 pandemic and highlight the importance of designing and managing public health policies according to the circumstances of each population when facing pandemics.

Psychological responses to COVID-19 in a Mexican population: an exploratory study during second and third phases

This work constitutes an exploratory study during the second and third phases of COVID-19 in Mexico, characterized by local transmission and untraceable cases, respectively, with an incidental sample of 666 participants. The 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale was used to assess depression, anxiety and stress associated to COVID-19. Additionally, the Impact of the Event Scale-Revised was applied to assess the impact of the event, and the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale was employed to assess resilience. Participants' levels of traumatic impact (21.7%), severe depression (7%), severe anxiety (9.4%) and severe stress (5.4%) were revealed to be lower than other populations. Comparison of means and effect size η²_p of the data shows that women and young people (18-39 years) suffer the greatest negative effects. Individuals with higher levels of resilience experience fewer psychological consequences confirming its importance in the face of the adversities. These findings provide valuable information on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic in the Mexican population, allowing a comparative analysis at an international level which can be helpful in the development of appropriate sanitary policies.

Using hypnoanalysis and guided imagery to identify and manage emotional aspects of multiple sclerosis

BACKGROUND

To date, no studies have used hypnosis to examine and manage the potential emotional causes of multiple sclerosis (MS) in the scientific field; therefore, we decided to compare the effectiveness of hypnoanalysis and guided imagery for determining and manage these emotional causes.

METHODS

Fifteen participants with severe MS were included and assigned into 2 groups: hypnoanalysis and guided imagery. In the hypnoanalysis group, the participants underwent 10 hypnotic sessions to understand events related to the cause of the disease, which were restructured (the events were modified by adding the psychological resources that each involved person needed); in addition, other techniques were used to investigate the causes and solutions according to the participants' unconscious. The guided imagery group received 10 group sessions of body relaxation and guided imagery, which were recorded for practice at home. Outcome measures, namely, disability (the Expanded Disability Status Scale, EDSS), quality of life (QoL, measured with the SF-36) and number of relapses, were evaluated 4 months previous the intervention, at baseline, post-intervention, and 3 months later.

RESULTS

Hypnoanalysis revealed that stressful events and psychoemotional maladaptive patterns acted as causal, detonating, or aggravating factors of disease, and psychoemotional changes were the most frequent and varied solutions. No changes were observed in disability between the two groups. The guided imagery group showed an improvement in 2 subscales of QoL when compared with the hypnoanalysis group (which disappeared at the follow-up); this difference is probably due to the increased number of sessions and probably due to psychoemotional maladaptive patterns being more frequently mentioned than difficult circumstances in life and/or unsolved past events. However, the techniques used in hypnoanalysis were effective in understanding the potential emotional causes of MS, which showed high intra- and inter-participant consistency.

CONCLUSIONS

The daily use of guided imagery overcame the restructuring of negative past events to improve QoL in patients with MS.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ACTRN12618002024224 (retrospectively registered).

Association between personal, medical and positive psychological variables with somatization in university health sciences students

OBJECTIVE

To measure personal, medical and psychological positive and negative variables and to determine their relation with somatization in a sample of health sciences students. Subjects and methods: A total of 594 (34.43%) of the 1725 health science students of a public university answered an online survey with personal and medical information as well as the following psychological variables: phsychological well-being, five facets mindfulness questionnaire (FFMQ), life satisfaction, depression, and academic stress. Additionally, the presence of 11 somatic symptoms and 11 diseases during the last year was measured. Results: Most students were women (74.06%) who were 19.96 ± 4.28 years old. The global frequency of somatization in the previous year was 66.59%, and the presence of any measured disease 14.75%. With the multivariate analysis, self-acceptance was the most related variable (negatively) with somatization, followed by the sum of diseases, female gender, academic stress, smoking, and depression, in a model with an R-value of 0.634, self-acceptance was also the most related variable (negatively) with depression, being this last the most related variable with academic stress. Conclusions: After analyzing all variables considered in this study, self-acceptance was the most related variable with somatization and depression; this highlights the importance of strengthening the acceptance of the self in the student population in order to prevent these conditions and their consequences.

Perception of risk as a mediator between personality and perception of health: test of a model

Background

This research article addresses the relationships among personality, risk perception, and health perception. The personality construct has been one of the main topics of research in psychology throughout history and is understood as the set of traits or cognitive, affective and behavioral characteristics that an individual possesses. Important relationships have been found that show the impact of personality on people’s health as well as the impact of health conditions on the configuration of personality. This research investigates the perception of risk as a mediating trait between personality and perception of health.

Materials and methods

To achieve this, a cross-sectional study was conducted in which 398 Colombians from all regions of the country were evaluated. The NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and Health Risk Perception Test (HRPT) tests were used.

Results

The data were analyzed with multiple regression and path analysis. The findings using multiple regression show that neuroticism and the personal meaning of risk affect the perception of health; however, using path analysis, model fit with the proposed model was not achieved with no mediator effect of perception of risk.

Conclusion

It is necessary to focus on relationships between neuroticism and perception of health in future research.