• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.156-162
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• 1994

Objectives: Eyeblinking varied depending on individual cognitive abilities or personality traits thought to related to brain mechanisms of sensory modulation. This study explored whether personality traits are related to the rate of eye blinks and how eyeblink and evoked potential augumenting-reducing(EPAR) interact Methods: Forty four students were studied with EPAR topography to explore how eyeblinks, personality and EPAR interact The Zuckerman Sensation Seeking Scale(SSS) and Eysenck Personality Questionnaire(EPQ) were used as personality measured by a stimulus response program during EP study. Results: Rate of blink increased as intensity of light increased. The General(GEN), Thrill and Adventure Seeking(TAS), Experience Seeking(ES) and Disinhibition(DS) subscales in SSS and Extraversion-Introversion(E) subscale in EPQ showed significant negative correlations with number of eyeblinks in the hightest intensity of light, whereas Neuroticism(N) subscales in EPQ showed a positive correlation. Correlation between number of eyeblinks with the brightest light and EPAR slope varied topographically. The strongest positive correlation was noted in right posterior temporal area. Conclusion: High sensation seekers blinked significantly fewer times than lower sensation seeker did. Higher personality correlations with eyeblink than with EP may imply that the eyeblink works as a primary filter since it is more directly related to central mechanisms of sensory modulation than EP. The right posterior temporal area may play an important role in modulation of visual stimuli.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.122-127
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• 2006

Objective : We examined the putative association between the psychological symptoms and hypoxemia in hospitalized pneumoconiosis patients. Methods : One hundred and nine hospitalized pneumoconiosis patients were divided into two groups according to their level of hypoxemia (PaO2); hypoxemic group consisted of 47 patients with PaO2 lower than 80 mmHg, and comparative group consisted of 62 patients with higher than 80 mmHg. All of them were interviewed with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D), and completed the Symptom Checklist-90items-Revised (SCL-90-R) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The medical data (PaO2, PaCO2, Hb, and Hct), number of hospital days and socio-demographic data as well as scores of the three psychological measurements were compared between the two groups. Results : Hypoxemic patients with lower PaO2 showed higher scores in the HAM-D (p=0.01) and stateanxiety subscale of the STAI (p<0.05). Values of hemoglobin and hematocrit were negatively correlated with levels of trait-anxiety (p<0.05). Thirty patients (27.5%) of total subjects suffered from depression (higher than 18 in the HAM-D), and 46.8% of hypoxemic patients were depressed, whereas 12.9% of comparative group patients were depressed (p=0.01). Conclusion : These results suggest that depression and anxiety might be associated with the hypoxemic mechanism in pneumoconiosis patients.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.108-114
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• 2014

Objective : The correlation between age of onset and symptoms/severity of panic disorder has not yet been determined. The aim of this research is to determine the different clinical features of panic disorder according to the age of onset. Methods : Patients diagnosed with panic disorder were placed into two groups according to onset of age. The subjects were checked for 13 different panic symptoms presented in the DSM-IV. The investigation was also executed by severity, the anxiety sensitivity index, the scale for depression and anxiety. Results : The early onset group had significantly higher frequencies than the late onset group in the areas of "choking feeling" and "derealization or paresthesia". It was found that only "choking feeling" was statically significant as a risk factor of early onset panic disorder. Among the objective anxiety scale, the subscale of psychological anxiety was higher in the early onset group compared to the late onset group. Conclusion : "Choking feeling" was the only panic symptom that showed a significant difference in accordance with onset age. Earlier onset patients tend to experience a more frequent "choking feeling," which is related to respiratory symptoms. This could mean that earlier onset patients are more likely to have higher psychological anxiety.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.171-176
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• 2016

Background: Much has been done to examine the psychological impact of cancer treatment, but it remains unclear to what extent anxiety and depression is related to symptom prevalence. The present study concerned the characteristics and frequency of distress as related to symptom prevalence in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy in Malaysia. Materials and Methods: Participants were 303 consecutive adult cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy in an academic medical center. The short form Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale (MSAS-SF), which covers three domains of symptoms (global distress, physical- and psychological symptoms) was used to cross-sectionally measure symptom frequency and associated distress via self-reporting. One-way ANOVA and t-tests were used to test mean differences among MSAS-SF subscale scores. Results: Complete data were available for 303 patients. The mean number of symptoms was 14.5. The five most prevalent were fatigue, dry mouth, hair loss, drowsiness and lack of appetite. Overall, symptom burden and frequency were higher than in other published MSAS-SF studies. Higher symptom frequency was also found to be significantly related to greater distress in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Conclusions: Patients undergoing chemotherapy suffer from multiple physical and psychological symptoms. Better symptom control or palliative care is needed. Greater frequency of reported symptoms may also indicate a subconscious bid by patients for care and reassurance - thus tailored intervention to manage distress should be offered.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.20
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• pp.8735-8740
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• 2014

Background: Previous studies for non-communicable disease cotrol, including cancer, have mostly relied on health literacy in adults. However, limited studies are available for adolescents. This study aimed to assess the status and determinants of health literacy in in-school adolescents in Guangdong, China. Materials and Methods: A total of 3,821 students aged 13-25 years were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling. After the questionnaire of health literacy was answered, the total scores for health knowledge (18 questions), skills (5 questions) and behaviors (14 questions) were determined. The total scores for health literacy and each subscale were recoded into adequate and inadequate subgroups, and logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with each outcome variable. Results: The prevalence of adequate health literacy was 14.4%, and the prevalences for adequate knowledge, skills and behavior were 22.4%, 64.7% and 6.6%, respectively. Students coming from prestigious schools and having parents with higher education had higher odds of having adequate knowledge, skills and behaviors. Female students had higher odds of having adequate knowledge and behaviors. Students in grade 7-8 had higher odds of having adequate knowledge and skills. The health knowledge was positive associated with health skills (odds ratio [OR] =2.1, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.7-2.5) and behaviors (OR=3.0, 95%CI 2.3-4.0), and health skills were positive associated with health behaviors (OR=2.6, 95%CI 1.8-3.8). Conclusions: Further efforts should be made to increase adolescents' health knowledge and behaviors, especially for low grade and male students in non-prestigious schools.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.8
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• pp.3533-3536
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• 2014

Background: Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women in the world. Health-related quality of life (HRQL) at treatment endpoint in cancer clinical trials is widely considered to be increasingly important. The aim of this review was to provide a literature-based assessment of the validity, reliability and responsiveness of breast cancer-specific HRQL instruments in women breast cancer patients. Materials and Methods: The databases consulted were Medline, PubMed, and Embase. The inclusion criteria required studies to: (1) involve use of HRQL measures; (2) cover women with breast cancer under standard treatment (surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and targeted therapy); (3) involve the validity, reliability, or responsiveness of HRQL; (4) deal with validation of breast cancer-specific HRQL instruments. Results: A total of 16 studies were identified through the literature search that met the 4 inclusion criteria. Some seven instruments were assessed among these 16 studies: EORTC QLQ-BR23, FACT-B, FACT-ES, HFRDIS, LSQ-32, QLICP-BR, and SLDS-BC. EORTC QLQ-BR23, FACT-B, LSQ-32, QLICP-BR, and SLDS-BC are more general breast cancer-specific HRQL instruments. FACT-EB is the endocrine subscale combined with FACT-B in order to measure the side effects and putative benefits of hormonal treatment administered in breast cancer patients. HFRDIS is the HRQL measure focusing on hot flash concerns. Conclusions: This paper provides an overall understanding on the currently available breast cancer-specific HRQL instruments in women breast cancer patients.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.127-135
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• 2010

Objectives : This study was conducted to compare between hallucination group and delusion group in patient with schizophrenia, using Brain $^{99m}Tc$-ECD PECT. Methods : Among 16 patients with less than 3 schizophrenic episodes, 8 patients whose initial symptom was hallucination were assigned to the hallucination group, and other 8 patients with initial sumptom of delusion were assinged to the hallucination group. All of the patients clinically evaluated using the PANSS and BPRS. Both groups of patients and 8 healthy subjects underwent $^{99m}Tc$-ECD PECT. Results : Score of thinking disturbance subscale of BPRS were significantly lower in the hallucination group than the delusion group. In SPECT analysis, the hallucination group showed significantly increased perfusion in some areas of the right temporal lobe, bilateral limbic lobes and left parietal lobe compared to delusion group. Both group had a reduced rCBF in some areas of the frontal lobe. Conclusion : The hallucniation group, compared with the delusion group, showed significantly increased regional cerebral blood flow in some regions. Therefore, this data suggests that different neural substrates may affect the process of auditory hallucination and delusion.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.130-139
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• 2016

Objectives The objective of this study is to investigate differences of clinical characteristics between a healthy female control group and female panic disorder (PD) patients with early sexual abuse history (PD+S) and without early sexual abuse history (PD-S). Methods We examined data from 83 patients diagnosed with PD and 20 healthy control subjects. We divided the patients with PD into PD+S (32 patients) and PD-S (51 patients) to compare demographic and clinical characteristics. The following instruments were applied: the Stress coping strategies, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Panic Disorder Severity Scale, the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-Revised (ASI-R), the Albany Panic and Phobia Questionnaire (APPQ) and the NEO-neuroticism. Results Compared to the PD-S, the PD+S group showed higher scores in neuroticism and the APPQ. And, in the PD+S group, the scores of neuroticism were correlated with the ASI-R and APPQ subscale scores and the APPQ total scores were associated with the scores of BDI. Conclusions This study shows that female PD+S patients have higher scores in neuroticism and the APPQ than the PD-S group, and these factors are associated with the panic-related symptoms severity. It emphasizes the need of specific strategies considering the childhood abuse history such as early sexual abuse in clinical approach among patients with PD.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.89-95
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• 2009

Objective : This study examined changes in the depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation among Air Force conscripts during their Basic Military Training. Methods : Study participants were 500 Air Force conscripts. The study reviewed participants' self-reports on depression, symptoms of anxiety, and suicidal ideation at weeks 2, 4, and 6 of their training. Results : At weeks 2 and 4 of training, participants' mean BDI, BAI, and SCL-90-R depression and anxiety subscale scores were within the mild ranges. However, at week 6, those mean scores were in the normal ranges. The mean scores for the BDI, the BAI, and the depression and anxiety subscales of the SCL-90-R at weeks 2 and 4 were significantly elevated over the corresponding scores for week 6 (each F=8.78, df=2, p<0.01 ; F=22.16, df=2, p<0.01 ; F=11.08, df=2, p<0.01 ; F=3.42, df=2, p<0.05). Suicidal ideation, revealed by the mean BSIS score, fell within the normal range (F=9.94, df=2, p<0.01) throughout the study period. Conclusions : These results suggest that conscripts' initial levels of psychological distress in the form of depression and anxiety are slightly elevated, but most adapt to this distress during basic training. Therefore, more attention must be paid to the early stages of conscripts' basic training in order to address these concerns.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.1251-1254
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• 2015

Background: To compare prevalence of anxiety in ovarian cancer patients following primary treatment to that of normal women and to examine predicting factor. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 56 ovarian cancer patients who had primary surgical treatment within the past five years (cancer group) and 56 age-matched women who attended an outpatient clinic for check-ups (non-cancer group) were recruited from June 2013 to January 2014. The hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS), was used to determine anxiety level of the participants with the score of ${\geq}11$ suggestive of anxiety. The prevalence of anxiety symptoms and mean HADS scores for anxiety were compared between the study groups. For those with ovarian cancer, associations of demographic and clinical factors with anxiety was examined. A p-value of <0.05 was considered significant. Results: Participants in the non-cancer group had higher rate of medical comorbidity, higher salary, and more frequent university education. The prevalence of anxiety was not different between the groups, at 7.1% each. The mean HADS scores for anxiety subscale were not significantly different between the groups, 5.0 in the cancer group vs 6.1 in the non-cancer group (p=0.09). On multivariable analysis, no demographic or clinical factors significantly associated with anxiety were identified. For the cancer group, no association between any particular factors and anxiety was demonstrated. Conclusions: The prevalence of anxiety in women with ovarian cancer following primary treatment was comparable to that of normal women seeking routine check-up.