Differences In Psychological Health Research Articles

Psychological health among adult offspring of lesbian parents at a time of anti-LGBTQ+ oppression

ABSTRACT This study investigates potential differences in psychological health (i.e. life satisfaction, anticipated future life satisfaction, distress), social well-being, and experiences of victimisation among adult offspring born to lesbian parents when compared with participants from a nationally representative sample surveyed in the same historical context of renewed anti-LGBTQ+ oppression. The research involved 75 adult offspring (M = 30.93, SD = 0.93; sex assigned at birth: 39 female and 36 male; gender identity: 73 cisgender and 2 gender nonbinary; sexual orientation: 51 heterosexual and 24 sexual minority) of the first generation conceived through donor insemination by lesbian parents. These offspring were matched with 75 participants of a U.S. probability sample based on several factors, including age, race/ethnicity, education, sex assigned at birth, gender identity, and sexual orientation. The comparison group is presumed to have been raised by heterosexual parents. After applying Bonferroni’s correction to minimise the risk of Type I errors resulting from multiple comparisons, no significant differences emerged in the study variables between the two samples. Despite a climate of renewed anti-LGBTQ+ oppression, adult offspring of lesbian parents were doing well, possibly due to unique socialisation processes in childhood when their parents taught them to be resilient even in the face of socio-environmental challenges.

Profiles of Professional Wellbeing and Turnover Intentions Among Australian Early Childhood Educators

ABSTRACT Research Findings: To explore distinct professional-wellbeing subgroups and variations in turnover intentions, we examined the factor structure of the Early Childhood Professional Wellbeing Questionnaire (McMullen et al., 2020), which was completed online by 368 Australian early childhood educators. Based on educators’ scores on the Belonging and Connection, Impact Evaluation and Safety factors, we identified five professional-wellbeing subgroups who varied in job satisfaction, consideration of resigning, and intention to leave the field. Subgroup differences suggest that a decreased sense of safety from high to average as well as a below-average sense of belonging, connection and safety contribute to turnover intentions. Also, educators with low professional wellbeing have a poor sense of belonging and connection, a negative view of their professional impact and weak job satisfaction. Practice or Policy: Further studies exploring early childhood educator wellbeing subgroup differences in psychological health and attitudes to teaching and learning, the impact of external factors including professional roles and leadership support and broader systemic influences, as well as variation in the effects of wellbeing interventions are needed. Such research will provide a useful framework for developing policies and practices that address the complex, multifaceted nature of educators’ wellbeing and help combat threats to their wellbeing.

Differences in Psychological Health and Weight Loss after Bariatric Metabolic Surgery between Patients with and without Pain Syndromes

PurposeChronic pain and obesity often co-occur, negatively affecting one another and psychological wellbeing. Pain and psychological wellbeing improve after bariatric metabolic surgery (BMS), however, it is unknown whether psychological wellbeing improves differently after weight loss between patients with and without chronic pain. We investigated whether weight loss is associated with greater psychological wellbeing and functioning change after BMS, comparing patients with and without preoperative pain syndromes.MethodsDepression, health-related quality of life, self-esteem, self-efficacy to exercise and controlling eating behaviours, physical activity, and food cravings were measured before and 24 months after BMS among 276 patients with obesity. The presence of preoperative chronic pain syndromes was examined as a moderator for the relationship between 24-month weight loss and changes in psychological outcomes.ResultsChronic pain syndromes were present among 46% of patients. Weight loss was associated with greater improvement in health-related quality of life, self-efficacy to exercise and controlling eating behaviours, self-esteem and greater amelioration in food cravings. Pain syndromes only moderated negatively the relationship between the postoperative weight loss and change in self-efficacy to control eating behaviours (b = -0.49, CI [-0.88,-0.12]).ConclusionPatients with and without chronic pain showed similar improvements in weight and psychological wellbeing and behaviours after BMS. The relationship between weight loss and the improvement of self-efficacy to control eating behaviours was weaker among patients with chronic pain syndrome. Further work, measuring pain severity over time, is needed to shed light on the mechanism underlying pain and postoperative change in psychological wellbeing and weight loss.Graphical

Characteristics of non-drinking adolescents: a longitudinal Swedish study

ABSTRACT This study investigated whether non-drinking adolescents (n = 195), with no previous experience with alcohol, differed over time from drinking adolescents (n = 406). Potential differences in psychological health (mental well-being, psychosomatic symptoms, conduct problems), social interaction frequencies (new friends, time spent with friends and social interaction through a screen device), psychoactive substance use, and positive attitudes towards alcohol was investigated. Additionally, the study examined whether these attributes in 9th grade could predict total abstinence two years later. Non-drinkers were consistently characterized by fewer social interactions, less positive attitudes towards alcohol, a lower probability of using other drugs, and fewer conduct problems from 14 to 17 years, which may imply a more introverted personality function. This study contributes insights into predicting factors linked to alcohol abstinence in adolescence, particularly the characteristics of non-drinking adolescents in a society where a declining trend of alcohol consumption is emerging.

PSYCHOSOCIAL EFFECTS OF COVID-19 AMONG GENERAL POPULATION OF KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA

The human population has been drastically affected by the COVID19 pandemic, contributed to different psychological and social issues including health anxiety, depression, stress, and limited social interaction among the general population. The main theme of the present study was to evaluate/examine psychological problems caused by COVID-19, primarily focusing on anxiety, depression, stress levels and social impact in both COVID-19-affected and healthy populations. Utilizing the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) for data collection, this study compared individuals infected with COVID-19 to those who were not. Primary data was collected from 200 participants selected through non-probability consecutive sampling from the general population of KPK, comprising both males and females aged 15 years and above. Findings of the study confirmed elevated levels of anxiety, depression, and stress among COVID-19-infected individuals. The study demonstrated significant disparities in anxiety, depression, and stress levels between COVID-19-infected and healthy respondents. Those with COVID-19 show increased clinical depression, anxiety, and stress, aligning with previous studies indicating higher anxiety, stress, and depression in hospitalized patients. Moreover, the findings regarding gender differences in psychological health, with females revealing higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress compared to males. The conclusion from the study revealed that females are more vulnerable to psychological problems. Based on the study findings of this empirical work it is recommended to conduct further empirical work involving a larger and more diverse population to deepen our understanding of these psychological challenges and develop effective strategies for psychological health support.

Quality of life and depression among patients with high myopia in Nigeria: a cross sectional study.

To evaluate the quality of life (QOL) and level of depression among participants with high myopia in Nigeria and the demographic factors associated with these outcomes. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 100 adult participants with high myopia (defined as refractive error ≤-5.00 D or worse, and uncorrected visual acuity worse than 6/18 in the better seeing eye) attending ophthalmology centres in Nigeria from 2 October 2021 to 30 August 2022. The means and standard deviations were calculated for each of the four domains of World Health Organization Quality of life scale (WHOQOL-BREF) using the transformed scores. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scale was used to assess the level of depression. The highest and the lowest mean scores of WHOQOL-BREF domains were found for the psychological and physical health domains (mean percentage scores were 67.0 [95% confidence intervals (CI) 64.1-68.9] and 55.3 (95%CI 51.8-58.8, P<0.001), respectively. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed significant differences in physical health with educational status (higher among those with tertiary education: mean difference 0.9, 95%CI -0.2-2.1; P=0.049), differences in psychological health with working status (higher among those who were working 1.2, 95%CI 0.3-2.1; P=0.012). Also, the result showed a statistically significant association between environmental health and marital status (higher among non-married: 1.7, 95%CI -0.9-2.3; P=0.012) while overall health was associated with place of residence (higher in urban areas: 2.3, 95%CI 1.2-3.5; P=0.024). For depression, one in every nine participants reported major depressive symptom, mostly younger people (aged 16-29 vs 30-49y: 17.0% vs 0, P=0.019), and slightly more women than men (14.3% vs 0, P=0.064). There were significant negative correlations between the depression scores and psychological health (r=-0.48, P<0.001), physical health (r=-0.29, P=0.002), social and relationship (r=-0.49, P<0.001), environmental (r=-0.48, P<0.001) and overall health (r=-0.49, P<0.001). People with high myopia have a relatively moderate QOL, but poor physical health, particularly the younger age group, and women who are more likely to experience clinically relevant depression. Eye care professionals should consider possible referrals for counselling for people with high myopia.

Psychosocial health of patients engaging in medical aid in dying and their family members: A prospective descriptive analysis.

12032 Background: Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) allows patients (pts) with a terminal illness and less than 6 months prognosis to request a prescription that will end their life. MAID is controversial; opponents argue that negative psychological health underlies the choice, and that participation adversely effects pts and FMs. This is the first study to prospectively examine psychological health of pts and Family Members (FMs) who engaged in MAID and compare this to the psychological health of pts and FMs who did not utilize MAID. Methods: Pts and FMs were recruited prospectively from End-of-Life Washington (largest non-profit, public MAID advocacy/assistance organization in Washington State) from September 2022-January 2023 to a self-report, longitudinal study. Pts, FMs or the dyad were enrolled. Results of this study are compared to previously published results: *means (standard deviation, SD) taken from *Singer, et al. 2021; **Frikkel, et al. 2021; ^Robinson, et al. 2016 and ~Trevino, et al. 2013. + indicates no significant difference between MAID and non-MAID subjects at p &gt; .05 level. Results: 16% (8/51) of eligible pts and 49% (20/41) of eligible FMs were recruited. 55% (n = 11) of FMs were spouses. There was no difference in sex and subjects were mostly white (pts 87.5%; FMs 95%) with college or higher degrees (pts 62.5%; FMs 85%). Most pts reported having cancer (n = 6 [75%]; neurologic condition, n = 1 [12.5%]; cirrhosis, n = 1 [12.5%]); most FMs also reported their pt had cancer (n = 17 [85%]; neurologic condition, n = 3 [15%]). There were no differences in psychological health between terminal cancer pts and FMs who engaged in MAID and advanced cancer pts &amp; FMs who did not (see table). Conclusions: In this study, FMs and pts participating in MAID appear to have rates of negative psychological states that are in the low to moderate range. These rates appear similar to pts with advanced cancer and their FMs who are not engaging in MAID. Future research should study larger, heterogeneous populations earlier in the illness trajectory. [Table: see text]

Psychological distress and symptom-related burnout in asthma during the COVID-19 pandemic.

People with asthma may be particularly vulnerable to pandemic-related psychological distress, and research is needed to understand the impact of the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic on their health and well-being. We sought to study the well-being of people with asthma relative to non-asthmatic controls during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also investigated asthma symptoms and COVID-19-related anxiety as potential mediators of distress. Participants completed self-report measures of psychological functioning, including anxiety, depression, stress, and burnout. Controlling for potential confounds, multiple-regression analyses examined differences in psychological health between people with and without asthma. Mediator analyses investigated the role of asthma symptoms and COVID-19-related anxiety in this relationship. 234 adults (111 with asthma, 123 without) participated in an online survey from July to November 2020. During this time, people with asthma reported higher levels of anxiety, perceived stress, and burnout symptoms compared to controls. Elevations in burnout symptoms were found beyond general anxiety and depression (sr2 = .03, p < .001). Reported symptoms typical in both asthma and COVID-19 partially mediated this relationship (Pm = .42, p < .05). People with asthma reported unique psychological challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic including elevated burnout symptoms. Experience of asthma symptoms played a key role in vulnerability to emotional exhaustion. Clinical implications include increased attention to asthma symptom burden within the context of heightened environmental stress and restricted healthcare access.

Is ceasing self-injury enough? Differences in psychological health between people reporting behavioral cessation of non-suicidal self-injury and those who consider themselves to have stopped self-injuring.

This study examined the overlap between considering oneself to have stopped nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and the actual cessation of the behavior in terms of days self-injured in the last month and last year, and how these operationalizations are associated with constructs related to NSSI recovery. A cross-sectional survey including measures of coping, emotion dysregulation, psychological distress, general self-efficacy, and self-efficacy in resisting NSSI was answered by 144 adults aged 17-81 years (Mage [SD] = 21.43 [7.32]). Having self-injured for ≥5 days in the last year was overly inclusive of individuals who currently considered themselves as having stopped NSSI (39.02%). Considering oneself to have stopped NSSI was associated with better emotion regulation (Cohen's d = 0.45), and higher general self-efficacy and higher self-efficacy to resist NSSI (d = 0.59-0.64) than behavioral cessation. Not actually engaging in NSSI was only associated with self-efficacy to resist NSSI in risk contexts, such that fewer days self-injured in the last year increased confidence (partial η2 = 0.085). Accounting for whether an individual considers themselves as having stopped NSSI or not may complement estimates of behavioral cessation, and strengthen outcomes associated with NSSI recovery.

Recruiting "clean" chronic insomnia participants: the unicorn of sleep research.

Recruiting "clean" chronic insomnia participants: the unicorn of sleep research.

An empirical study of the psychological health of married and unmarried persons

The article presents the data of an empirical study aimed at identifying the differences and features of psychological health in people who are married and unmarried. The authors explain psychological health as a necessary psychological state that affects the quality of human life. The results of the study can serve as a theoretical basis in family psychology. The proposed recommendations can be used by practical psychologists in working with people of different marital status. The main methodology of our research was the work of I. V. Dubrovina. She first introduced the concept of “psychological health” in Russian science. E. Kleinenberg, an American sociologist, first introduced the concept of “life solo” describing the lonely life of an individual. In the study, we rely on the concept of “positive loneliness”. The results of the study revealed that there are differences in psychological health between persons of different marital status, married and unmarried; married men and women have no differences in psychological health; and unmarried men and women have significant differences, but they are few. In general, the married and married have better psychological health than the unmarried and unmarried. Marriage has a positive effect on psychological well-being. Key words: psychological health, marriage, well-being, loneliness.

Cross-Cultural Differences in Psychological Health, Perceived Stress, and Coping Strategies of University Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction: COVID-19 has affected the entire world, including university students. Students are likely to experience COVID-19 related stress that might adversely affect their psychological health and result in various coping strategies. Aims: This study’s objectives were to examine cross-cultural differences and the relationships between stress, psychological health, and coping among university students during the pandemic. Furthermore, the study explored whether coping strategies mediated the relationship between psychological health and perceived distress for this population. Methods: University students (n = 703) were recruited via convenience sampling from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Participants completed an online quantitative questionnaire consisting of demographics, the Perceived Stress Scale, the General Health Questionnaire, and the Brief-COPE. Results: Perceived psychological distress was significantly associated with poorer general psychological health and both were associated with dysfunctional coping. For all countries, psychological health mediated the relationship between perceived distress and dysfunctional coping. Students from individualistic cultures reported higher stress and poorer psychological health when compared to those from collectivistic countries. The latter tended to engage in more emotion-focused and problem-focused coping and used more dysfunctional coping strategies than the former. Conclusions: Future research should explore other mediators and moderators that affect university students’ responses to pandemics and should include longitudinal studies with larger samples. Findings emphasize the need for providing university students with mental health support during and after COVID-19. It is important to develop and research empirically based strategies for reducing their stress and psychological distress through effective and culturally appropriate coping strategies.

Disrupting Monolithic Thinking about Black Women and Their Mental Health: Does Stress Exposure Explain Intersectional Ethnic, Nativity, and Socioeconomic Differences?

Guided by the intersectionality framework and social stress theory, this study provides a sociological analysis of Black women's psychological health. Using data from the National Survey of American Life (N=2972), we first examine U.S. Black women's psychological health through the intersections of their ethnicity, nativity, and socioeconomic status. Next, we assess the extent to which stress exposure (e.g., discrimination, financial strain, and negative interactions with family members) explains any discovered status differences in psychological health among Black women. Results reveal that foreign-born Afro-Caribbean women living in the United States experience a mental health advantage vis-á-vis their U.S.-born African American female counterparts. In addition, college-educated African American women experience fewer depressive symptoms but similar rates of lifetime PTSD relative to African American women without a college education. Last, though stress exposure was associated with poor mental health, it did not explain status differences in mental health. Overall, this study reveals that Black women, despite shared gendered and racialized oppression, are not a monolithic group, varying along other dimensions of stratification. The results suggest that other stress exposures and psychological resources should be explored in future work examining status differences in mental health among Black women.

Quality Of Life And Coping In Parents Raising Children With Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) In Nepal

Introduction: Quality of Life (QoL) and Coping are important components of mental health, especially important to parents raising children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). Children with DMD face difficulties due to their disability and create special challenges for parents.&#x0D; Material And Method: The study aimed to assess QoL, demographic variables and coping strategies of parents raising children with DMD in Nepal. A descriptive cross-sectional design was adopted to collect data from 32 parents (mothers = 15, 47%; fathers =17, 53%) through purposive sampling. Socio-demographic pro-forma, World Health Organization's Quality of Life Questionnaire-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) and Brief COPE Inventory were assessed.&#x0D; Results: The results revealed parents scores were below cutoff &lt;60, indicating probable poor quality of life. QOL was moderately positively correlated with coping strategies and highly positively correlated with emotion-focused coping. There were significant differences in psychological health of parents in reference to their occupation, and in reference to their hospital born children. Parents in government job had better psychological health and parents into private business significantly used emotion-focused coping. Mutual caregivers had significantly better psychological health. Parents without health related problems significantly adopted problem focused coping and emotion focused coping.&#x0D; Conclusion: These findings will help stakeholders to understand DMD children and their impact on QOL and coping of parents and will facilitate to develop appropriate psychosocial intervention programs for the parents for the effective management of their children and their psycho-social wellbeing.

Quality of Life and Mental Health in Mothers and Fathers Caring for Children and Adolescents with Rare Diseases Requiring Long-Term Mechanical Ventilation.

(1) Parents caring for children and adolescents with rare diseases fear the long-term progression of the child’s disease and the loss of their parental role. The aim of this study was to examine the quality of life, mental health and associated protective factors of mothers and fathers caring for children with rare diseases requiring mechanical long-term ventilation. (2) In a cross-sectional design, data on quality of life, mental health, coping mechanisms, social support and family functioning from n = 75 affected families were collected using standardized psychometric questionnaires. (3) Mothers compared to fathers were significantly more impaired in their quality of life and mental health. Protective factors significantly associated with the respective outcomes for mothers were coping mechanisms, social support and family functioning, whereas for fathers solely the latter was found to be significant. Multiple regression analyses showed that family functioning may be the most important predictor of quality of life and mental health. (4) The results support the need for family-oriented care in parents of children with rare diseases. To reach optimal efficiency, health care providers should not only screen parents for psychosocial impairment but also provide interventions that consider gender-specific differences in psychological health.

FAMILIES CREATED THROUGH EGG DONATION: PARENTAL PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH IN EARLY CHILDHOOD

This study examined mothers’ and fathers’ psychological health in families who had conceived a child using egg donation (ED). Data are reported from phase two of a longitudinal study, when children were aged five. Cross-sectional design using standardized questionnaires. Questionnaire data were obtained from 66 families who had a child through egg donation, and a comparison group of 46 families who had a child through IVF with own-gametes. The average ages of mothers were 47.06 years (ED) and 42.24 years (IVF); fathers’ average ages were 48.08 years (ED) and 45.11 years (IVF). Questionnaires assessing parental psychological health (Trait Anxiety Index, Edinburgh Depression Scale), stress associated with parenting (Parenting Stress Index), marital quality (Golombok Rust Inventory of Marital State), social support (Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support) and resilience (Brief Resilience Scale) were completed by mothers and fathers. Independent-samples t-tests and Mann-Whitney U-tests were used to analyse the data. Preliminary results found that mothers and fathers in both groups scored within the normal range for all questionnaire measures of psychological health. No significant differences were found between ED and IVF mothers in reported levels of anxiety, depression or resilience. ED mothers reported significantly lower couple relationship quality than IVF mothers (t(93) = 2.97, p=.004). However, when mother’s age was controlled for, the test was no longer significant. ED mothers reported significantly higher parenting stress than IVF mothers (U= 1070.5, p=.02) and significantly lower levels of perceived social support than IVF mothers (U= 1037, p=.007). No significant differences were found between ED and IVF fathers in reported levels of couple relationship quality, perceived social support or resilience. ED fathers reported significantly higher levels of parenting stress (U= 766.5, p=.01), anxiety (t(88.95)= 2.45, p=.016) and depression (U= 798.5, p=.03) than IVF fathers. However, group differences in depression were no longer significant after controlling for father’s age. Egg donation parents appear to be functioning within the normal range with regards to parental psychological health. However, egg donation mothers reported lower couple relationship quality, higher parenting stress and lower social support, and egg donation fathers experienced greater parenting stress, anxiety and depression, relative to their IVF counterparts. It is notable that ED mothers’ lower couple relationship quality and ED fathers’ higher levels of depression appear to be related to the older age of egg donation parents, rather than their use of egg donation per se. Possible explanations for the differences in psychological health between the ED and IVF parents will be discussed.

Gender, Victimization, and Adolescent Psychological Health in the Context of Migration

Although gender has become a key dimension in migration research, previous scholarship has largely focused on adult rather than child migrants. Even less attention has been paid to the role of gender in migration-related child health. By comparing rural migrant and urban-born adolescents in the largest city in south China, this study assessed gender differences in psychological health and whether such differences were informed by socially induced victimization stressors and stress-moderation mechanisms related to the social relationships that link migrants to their host cities (local ties) and home villages (translocal ties). Victimization was more strongly correlated with suboptimal psychological health in girls versus boys across the migrant and urban-born samples. Local and translocal ties directly increased the psychological health and buffered the deleterious effect of victimization for migrant girls; yet, the roles of these ties were less notable in migrant boys. These results indicate gendered susceptibility to social stress in migrant adolescents.

Psychological Health of Older Women in Hong Kong: Do Demographic Characteristics Make a Difference?

Background: The aging population of Hong Kong is rapidly growing. Although older adults enjoy a relatively long life expectancy, their psychological health is ranked near the bottom in the world. Objectives: This study assessed the psychological health of older women in Hong Kong and compared it with that of older men. It also aimed to examine if demographic characteristics have similar effects on the psychological health of older women and men. Methods: A standardized questionnaire was administered in face-to-face interviews with 554 participants (288 women and 266 men), aged 70 years or above. Psychological health was measured by the general health questionnaire-30 (GHQ-30), center for epidemiologic studies-depression (CES-D) scale, and life satisfaction index (LSI). Chi square test was performed to examine gender differences in psychological health and determine the relationship between demographic characteristics and psychological health of the elderly. Results: Compared with older men, a greater proportion of older women were at risk of mild psychiatric problems (22.1% vs. 12.3%, P < 0.001), depression (38.6 vs. 18.8%, P < 0.001), and dissatisfaction with life (38.5% vs. 21.5%, P = 0.002). The correlation of psychological health with age, marital status, and educational attainment was not similar among older women and men. Conclusions: Health promotion programs should be implemented to reduce health inequalities among men and women. Effectiveness of programs can be enhanced by targeting the elderly whose psychological health is most vulnerable.

Comparison of anxiety and depression status between office and manufacturing job employees in a large manufacturing company: a cross sectional study.

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to investigate whether type of work is associated with anxiety and depression using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Additionally, we investigated the impact of number of working hours on anxiety and depression.MethodsA total of 1774 workers participated and completed the HADS to determine their levels of anxiety and depression. All subjects were employed at one of two manufacturing plants for the same company. Of all participants, 222 were employed in office jobs and 1552 in manufacturing jobs.ResultsResults of multivariate logistic regression analysis including age, sex, body mass index, smoking status, alcohol consumption, regular exercise, factory region, and working hours, indicated that employment in an office job was associated with a 2.17-fold increase in the odds of anxiety compared to a manufacturing job (odds ratio [OR] = 2.17; 95 % confidence interval [CI], 1.24–3.80). Office jobs were also associated with a 1.94-fold increase in the odds of depression (OR = 1.94; 95 % CI, 1.34–2.82). In addition, number of hours worked was significantly associated with depression, and working hours significantly modified the effect of office job employment on the risk of depression.ConclusionsOffice job workers had higher levels of anxiety and depression than those working in manufacturing jobs. Our findings suggest that occupational physicians should consider the organizational risks faced by office job employees, and consider the differences in psychological health between office and manufacturing job workers when implementing interventions.

Psychological health and menopause-specific quality of life of Malaysian women with type 2 diabetes.

Anxiety and depression are more common among females and those experiencing diabetes and menopause. Menopausal symptoms experienced by women can vary tremendously from population to population; therefore, there is a need to investigate these symptoms and associated risk factors in different communities. This study investigated the differences in psychological health and menopause-specific quality of life (MENQOL) between women with and without diabetes type 2 (T2DM) in Malaysia. Women with T2DM (n=320) were matched by age range to controls without T2DM (n=320). Data were collected from March 2012 to January 2013. Delusions Symptoms States Inventory (DSSI) instrument was used to identify symptoms of depression and anxiety. Women with diabetes had higher depressive (11.8% versus 8.4%) and anxiety (8.4% versus 6.6%) symptoms compared to women without diabetes. In both groups, the most common menopausal symptom was aches (muscles and joints). Women without diabetes had significantly higher scores for the sexual domain compared to women with diabetes (4.20 versus 3.21, p=0.001). The odds that a postmenopausal woman with diabetes was depressed or anxious on the DSSI scale increased significantly when the MENQOL score on the physical, vasomotor, and psychosocial domains increased by one unit. Both diabetes and psychological problems have negative impact on MENQOL. Our findings support the view of screening postmenopausal women with diabetes for depressive and anxiety, to improve overall quality of life.