Mental and Social Health Are Inseparable from Physical Health.

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic causes concern among patients with autoimmune and rheumatic disease (ARD) due to increased risk of infection and heightened isolation from social distancing.1ObjectivesExamine how mean patient-reported outcome (PRO)...

Introduction: The proper nutrition and adequacy of the diet plan are necessary conditions for maintaining the health of children, especially in the school age, due to their greater vulnerability, forming a high percentage of the population, and higher effectiveness of health-treatment interventions. Not paying attention to such important issue can endanger the physical and mental health as well as the development of students, the treatment of which is difficult and sometimes impossible (Soheili, 2006, p. 344; Jacobson, 1977, p. 1051-1053; Walker, 1991, p. 1596-1579; and Pasdar et al., 2014, p. 541). In addition to being associated with the growth and development, diet can reduce or exacerbate some of the health problems associated with this age group such as bone health, tooth decay, eating disorders, obesity, constipation, malnutrition, and iron deficiency anemia (Soheili, 2007, p. 41-36; and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2008). Materials and Methods: The research method was correlational. The statistical population of this study included all mothers who lived in Raz and Jirgalan (North Khorasan) and had a high-school student (1139 people). The statistical sample size of this study was 290 individuals using Morgan Table. They were randomly selected using a classified sampling method with a certain volume. The information required in the present study was collected through the use of the nutrition questionnaire, the standard questionnaire of social and mental health as well as the interview technique and the use of secondary data. To process the data collected from the interviews and completed questionnaires, SPSS23 and LISREL8.01 statistical software and descriptive and analytical statistical tests such as Spearman correlation test, multivariate regression test, and one-way analysis of variance were used. Discussion of Results and Conclusions: The results of the study showed a significant relationship between the maternal nutrition at home and the level of mental health, anxiety, social dysfunction, depression, participation, cohesion, acceptance and flourishing, and social adaptation of children. It was shown that 19 percent of changes in mental health and 25 percent of changes in social health can be explained by nutrition. In the structural equation model, the effect of nutritional variables on mental and social health components was confirmed. It can be concluded that the choice of food basket by the mother of the family has played an important role in reducing psychological and social disorders in the study population. To explain the research findings, it can be said that the health of people in the society is determined by a range of personal, economic, social, and environmental factors. Therefore, a correct understanding of the factors affecting this dimension can play an effective role in the growth of the society. The World Health Organization defines health in a broader sense than the physical health by defining a healthy person as a person who is physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually healthy. Therefore, by considering man as an organized and multidimensional whole, it can be said that all dimensions of human existence are related to each other and the change in one dimension of his existence may affect other dimensions. Since nutrition is the main factor affecting the health of the body, the type and style of nutrition are also important. In the dimensions of social health, since human beings are multidimensional beings, all the dimensions of our existence affect each other and are affected. As the nutrition style could affect the physical and mental health, so it can affect other dimensions of this system. According to the definition of the World Health Organization, social health is one of the components of health and considering a systematic and general perspective of human beings, it can be said that people with physical and mental health can also have social health.

Background and Aim: Physical activity plays a crucial role in maintaining overall health by reducing the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Regular exercise also improves mental well-being, boosts immunity, and enhances overall quality of life. This study examines the relationship between physical activity levels and health status among older adults attending a senior university in Mianyang, Sichuan Province, China. With China's aging population increasing, understanding the impact of physical activity on health is crucial for improving the quality of life among the elderly. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 282 participants aged 60 and above, using stratified random sampling. Data were collected via a structured questionnaire covering demographics, physical activity levels, and health status. Validity (0.85) and reliability (0.88) were ensured. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, multiple regression, and Pearson correlation. Results: Most participants were male (46.81%), aged 61-70 years (46.81%), married (46.10%), and had primary education (73.76%). Moderate-to-high levels of physical activity significantly improved physical, mental, social, and spiritual health. A positive correlation was found among different health dimensions, highlighting the interrelated nature of health. Conclusion: This study examines the relationship between physical activity levels and health outcomes in older adults. The results show that moderate and vigorous physical activity has a significant positive impact on physical, mental, social, and psychological health. Specifically, compared to inactive participants, those engaging in moderate or vigorous physical activity experience significant reductions in physical frailty, psychological decline, and social health deterioration. Ordered multinomial logistic regression analysis reveals that both vigorous physical activity (PhyA=1) and moderate physical activity (PhyA=2) have negative regression coefficients for all health statuses with significant p-values, indicating a positive effect on health outcomes. In terms of correlations, physical health, mental health, social health, and psychological health are significantly positively correlated, with correlation coefficients of 0.657 between physical and mental health, 0.606 between physical and social health, and 0.588 between physical and psychological health. However, these correlations vary by activity level. At inactive levels, no significant correlations were found between health statuses. At moderate intensity levels, a significant positive correlation between mental and social health was observed, while at vigorous activity levels, no significant correlations between health statuses were found. Additionally, the study examines how various factors such as gender, age, marital status, education, occupation, income, BMI, caregiver status, and participation in senior clubs relate to physical activity levels. The results show that retirees (59.93%) engage more in vigorous physical activity, while farmers (a higher proportion) participate more in moderate-intensity physical activity.

HighlightsWhat are the main findings?Clinicians exhibited significant differences in physical health, mental health, social health, and overall health scores, with mental health scores being the lowest, particularly among younger physicians.Age, years of practice, professional title, health status, sleep duration, and exercise duration are significantly associated with the health of clinical physicians.Physical health serves as the foundation, influencing both physiological and social well-being, which together are related to a physician’s overall health status.What are the implications of the main findings?The health status of clinical physicians, particularly their mental health, warrants special attention.Improving physicians’ health requires equal attention to physical, mental, and social well-being—all three are essential.Objectives: This study employs structural equation modeling to investigate the health status of clinicians in tertiary medical institutions and its influencing factors. Methods: A questionnaire-based survey was conducted on 743 clinicians from five hospitals selected through random sampling, collecting data on their physical health, mental health, social health, and overall health. The analysis examined influencing factors and their interrelationships. Results: The results revealed significant differences (p < 0.001) in physicians’ scores across physical, mental, social, and overall health, with mental health scoring the lowest (58.85). Factors such as age, years of service, professional title, medical conditions, sleep duration, and exercise duration were significantly associated with clinicians’ health status. Among the 108 physicians (14.5%) diagnosed with medical conditions, mental health scores were significantly lower (p < 0.05). Clinicians aged 25~45 years, with 4~10 years of experience, and holding the title of Associate Chief Physician generally scored lower. Physicians with longer sleep duration and exercise duration scored higher in mental and social health. Structural equation modeling analysis revealed that physical health is significantly and positively related to social health (p < 0.001). Good physical health is positively related to positive emotions and negatively related to negative emotions. Social support is positively correlated with cognitive function and negatively correlated with negative emotions; meanwhile, enhanced social adaptation shows a significant positive association with both cognitive function and emotional state. Conclusions: This study recommends paying particular attention to the health status of clinicians, especially the mental health of young physicians. It is suggested that comprehensive interventions be implemented across the three dimensions of physical, social, and psychological to enhance psychological resilience and perceptions of well-being.

The present study examines the efficacy of expressive writing among Chinese undergraduates. The sample comprised of 74 undergraduates enrolled in a 9-week intervention (35 in experimental class vs. 39 in control class). The writing exercises were well-embedded in an elective course for the two classes. The 46-item simplified Chinese Self-Rated Health Measurement Scale, which assesses psychological, physical and social health, was adopted to measure the outcome of this study. Baseline (second week) and post-test (ninth week) scores were obtained during the classes. After the intervention on the eighth week, the self-reported psychological, social and physical health of the experimental class improved. Psychological health obtained the maximum degree of improvement, followed by social and physical health. Furthermore, female participants gained more psychological improvement than males. These results demonstrated that the expressive writing approach could improve the physical, social and psychological health of Chinese undergraduates, and the method can be applied in university psychological consulting settings in Mainland China.

An international group of clinicians and researchers formed a consortium to advance mental and social health among people seeking musculoskeletal specialty care: The International Consortium for Mental and Social Health in Musculoskeletal Care (I-MESH). As a first step to organize the work of the consortium, we sought to identify important, appropriate, and feasible interventions to address mental and social health. Members of I-MESH responded to a list of 10 queries intended to elicit mental and social health priorities. Open text answers were analyzed by 2 researchers to elicit individual themes. A modified RAND/UCLA Delphi Appropriateness process was conducted of 32 candidate social and mental health priorities using a 15-person panel of I-MESH members, using 2 rounds of independent voting with intervening discussion via surveys and video teleconferences. Panelists rated each potential priority for importance, feasibility, and appropriateness on a 9-point Likert scale. Top level priorities scored both mean and median greater than 7 in all 3 categories. Second level priorities scored a median 7 or greater on the final scoring in all 3 categories. Candidate priorities were organized into 9 themes: viable business model, coordination of specialty and non-specialty care, actionable measurement, public health/cultural interventions, research, adequate and timely access, incorporating assessment in care, strategies to develop the patient-clinician relationship, communication strategies that can directly enhance health, and support for mental and social health. Twelve top level (met mean and median criteria) and 17s level priorities (met median criterion) were identified. Implementing evidence-based strategies to efficiently diagnose, prioritize, and begin addressing mental and social health opportunities has the potential for notable impact on both musculoskeletal and overall health. It is our hope that the results of this Delphi panel will generate enthusiasm and collaboration for implementing the mounting evidence that social and mental health are integral to musculoskeletal health.

Background: Ageing is a natural process which brings along a number of changes in physical, psychological, hormonal as well as social conditions of an individual. To address ever growing needs of geriatric population, the first step is to identify and assess those needs. Objective of the study was to assess psychological, social and physical healthcare needs of elderly population and to determine the factors associated with it. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 250 elderly Individuals 60 years and above residing in rural area of north Kerala. Wards were selected by simple random sampling and from wards study subjects were selected by consecutive sampling. Data was collected from the study subjects by direct interview. Results: Mean age of the participant’s was 69.3±7.6 years. Majority (79%) of the study participants were having comorbidities. Majority of the study participants had good physical (84%), psychological (57%) and social health (58%). Physical health, psychological health and social health was significantly associated with marital status and living arrangement and also with each other. Psychological and social health was also associated with gender. Unmet need for vision problems was 68.7% and for hearing problems it was 85.97%. Conclusions: Majority of the study participants had good physical, psychological and social health. Physical, psychological and social health was found to be significantly associated with each other. Marital status and living arrangement were significantly associated with physical, psychological and social health. Psychological and social health was significantly associated with gender.

Background: Attention to adolescent health is one of the Millennium Development Goals. Adolescent health planning to achieve an acceptable level of health and prevention of waste of capital should be based on attention to all aspects of health and performing needs assessment. Objective: This study aims to determine the health needs of male adolescents in Iran and the factors associated with their needs. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. Participants were boys studying in the first and second year of high school in the fields of mathematics, experimental sciences, humanities, and technical sciences at public, non-profit, and gifted &amp; talented schools in Rasht, Iran. The sampling was done using a multi-stage cluster sampling method. Data were collected by using a demographic form and the Male Adolescent Health Needs-Assessment Scale. Results: The boys’ Mean±SD scores of physical, sexual, mental, and social health needs was 49.65±0.15, 11.39±0.12, 89.28±0.29 and 47.3±0.24, respectively. Majority of them obtained excellent scores in physical (76%) and mental health (94%) needs and a good score in social health (81.3%) need, while they earned a moderate score in sexual health need (57.8%). Liner regression analysis results showed that the physical health need of boys had a statistically significant relationship with the type of study school (P= 0.001); their sexual health need with age (P= 0.002), type of study school (P= 0.015), mother’s education (P= 0.025), and mother’s occupation (P= 0.005); their mental health need with the type of study school (P= 0.009), birth rank (P= 0.048), father’s job (P= 0.021), and mother’s job (P= 0.022); and their social health need with the type of study school (P= 0.001). Conclusion: Most important health needs of male adolescents in Iran is sexual health need followed by social, physical and mental health needs. The most important factors related to their health needs are type of study school, mother’s job and education, birth rank, and father’s job. The results of this study can be effective and useful in designing and implementing need-based interventions to promote male adolescents’ health.

Statistical groupings of mental and social health measurements correlate with musculoskeletal capability – A cross sectional study

Autistic people have more physical health problems than non-autistic people. We were interested in whether autistic people experience more discomfort in their bodies than non-autistic people and whether certain psychological traits contribute to that. A survey was completed online by older adolescents and adults, 51 of whom were autistic, 32 of whom thought they might be autistic but were not diagnosed and 119 who were not autistic. They completed measures of somatic symptoms (daily experience of pain, discomfort, dizziness), alexithymia (difficulty identifying and expressing feelings), interoception (how much people are aware of their bodies) and intolerance of uncertainty (how people handle doubt or uncertainty), and reported any physical or mental health conditions. We found that the autistic participants had more physical and mental health conditions than the non-autistic participants, but even when we took account of this, they experienced higher levels of somatic symptoms. We looked at which psychological factors influenced levels of somatic symptoms across the whole sample, and found that alexithymia, intolerance of uncertainty, having physical health problems, being female and the number of mental health conditions predicted somatic symptoms, while interoception and autism diagnosis did not. The findings suggest that people may be more likely to experience physical discomfort if they are female, and have difficulty identifying and expressing feeling and difficulty tolerating doubt. As these psychological factors are more prominent in autism, we think this is important for physical and mental health providers to know about, so that these psychological factors can be considered when assessing and treating autistic people.

Policy Recommendations to Promote Integrated Mental Health Care for Children and Youth.

An aggregate analysis shows that undertaking fewer work and leisure trips during the pandemic had negative effects on mental health, but reducing trips to grocery shops, pharmacies and parks had the opposite effect, but there is a lack of studies on the effects of behaviour change on mental health using a disaggregate analysis. Beside mental health, a lockdown is assumed to cause social isolation, which is hypothesised to also deteriorate social health due to reducing one’s time spent socialising. This study fills these research gaps and examines the effects of behaviour change on social and mental health during the pandemic. Travel restraints have been relaxed and tightened several times, but no study has investigated the behaviour changes and discrepancies in social and mental health between Malaysia’s strict and relaxed periods. Around 438 respondents reported their behaviour changes during two different travel restraint periods and before the pandemic. This study confirms that the relaxation period caused a significant increase in the number of discretionary trips in Malaysia; however, the increase in discretionary trips did not have any significant effects in improving mental and social health. A disaggregate analysis showed that grocery shopping and socialising trips had negative effects on mental health, as opposed to previous studies using an aggregate analysis. Socialising trips, however, helped to improve the social health conditions.

Time use and spatial influence on transport-related social exclusion, and mental and social health

Comparison of baseline PROMIS-10 scores of mental and physical health of patients with low back pain evaluated by physiatrists and orthopedic spine surgeons.

Global pandemic perspectives: public health, mental health, and lessons for the future