Odds Of Mental Distress Research Articles

Association between physical activity, sedentary time, participation in organized activities, social support, sleep problems and mental distress among adults in Southern Norway: a cross-sectional study among 28,047 adults from the general population

BackgroundIdentification of modifiable factors associated with poor mental health is crucial to develop targeted and effective intervention strategies for prevention of mental distress and illness in the general population. Thus, the aim of the present study was to examine the association between low level of leisure-time physical activity, high sedentary time, low participation in organized activities, low social support, sleep problems, and mental distress in a large sample of Norwegian adults.MethodsA cross-sectional study was completed by 28,047 adults (≥18 years old) in southern Norway by filling out an online self-report questionnaire. Multivariable binary logistic regression models, stratified according to gender and adjusted for age and perceived financial situation, were used to examine possible associations between unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, participation in organized activities, social support, and mental distress.ResultsOur results showed an increased odds of having mental distress among men reporting low leisure-time physical activity (OR: 1.18; 95%CI: 1.03–1.37), high sedentary time (1.32; 1.16–1.51), low involvement in organized activities (1.43; 1.25–1.64), low social support (2.55; 2.18–2.99), and sleep problems (7.29; 6.35–8.37) compared to the rest of the male population. For women, the results showed increased odds of mental distress among those reporting high sedentary time (1.25; 1.11–1.39), low involvement in organized activities (1.60; 1.42–1.80), low social support (2.71; 2.39–3.06), and sleep problems (5.78; 5.15–6.50) compared to the rest of the female population. For both men and women, results also indicated that mental distress was increased among younger adults and among those reporting financial difficulties compared to the rest of the population.ConclusionOur results showed an association between unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, low participation in organized activities, low social support and mental distress, and that the strength of the association varied substantially. These findings provide increased knowledge about the relationship between modifiable lifestyle factors and mental health which should have implications for future public health efforts.

Job Strain and Mental Health Among Older Adults: Results From the National Health Interview Survey

Increased life expectancy and retirement age have contributed to a gradual aging of the US workforce. Extant literature has identified job strain (e.g. job demands, work-related stressors etc.) as a risk factor for both physical and mental health outcomes in working populations. However, there is comparatively less evidence examining job strain and mental health among older working adults. We utilized National Health Interview Survey data (2015), which contained detailed information on work conditions, to investigate the relationship between fear of job loss and self-rated mental health among working adults at 25-54 and 55+ years of age. We fit multiple logistic regression models that accounted for the complex survey design. Mental health was assessed using the K6 screening instrument that measures nonspecific psychological distress. In the sample of 16,291 working adults, 11.6% worried about job loss and 13.3% reported moderate/severe mental distress. Overall, we found that the odds of poor self-rated mental health among those who reported fear of job loss were 2.35 times that of respondents with perceived job security after adjusting for age, sex, educational attainment, race and/or ethnicity, body mass index, and smoking behaviors (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 2.01-2.75). Age-stratified results showed that perceived job insecurity corresponds with a 2.33 odds of mental distress among workers aged 25-54, and a 2.44 odds of mental distress among older workers. Our findings highlight the importance of age dynamics in mental health for working adults and suggest that job strain presents a persistent challenge for the wellbeing of workers.

Mental distress among adolescent and young adult (AYA) and adult cancer survivors.

e19116 Background: Mental distress is associated with poor treatment adherence and adverse psychosocial outcomes, and cancer survivors, especially adolescent and young adults (AYA), may experience greater distress than older adults and the general population. We tested this hypothesis by examining the association between AYA vs. adult cancer survivors vs. the general population without a history of cancer, and mental distress. Methods: Using the 2014-2017 National Health Interview Surveys, 2,516 AYA cancer survivors (aged 15 – 39 years) were identified. We then used propensity score matching (matched on sociodemographics, comorbidities, smoking status and visit to mental health professional in past year) to create 2,516 older cancer survivors (aged ≥ 40 years); and 2,516 adults without cancer (general population) as the comparison groups. Mental distress (outcome of interest) was measured using the validated Kessler nonspecific mental/psychological distress (K6) scale. The 6-item K6 scale examines how frequently within the past 30 days an individual felt nervous, hopeless, restless or fidgety, worthless, sad, and that everything was an effort. Responses were summed to yield a score ranging between 0 and 24 and classified as none/low (0≤K6 < 5), moderate (5≤K6 < 13), and severe (K6≥13) mental distress. Two separate weighted multinomial logistic regression models estimated the odds of mental distress in study population (AYA vs. adult cancer survivors; and AYA vs. general population), adjusting for known covariates. Results: Mental distress was more prevalent among AYAs than adult cancer survivors (moderate: 24.0% vs 18.3%; and severe: 5.7% vs 4.2% [ P= .0002]); and the general population (moderate: 24.3% vs 16.7%; and severe: 6.1% vs 5.3% [ P< .0001]). Similarly, prevalence was higher among adult cancer survivors than the general population (moderate: 16.8% vs 13.6%; and severe: 3.2% vs 2.7% [ P= .0002]). In the multivariable multinomial analyses, AYAs had greater odds of mental distress (aORmoderate = 1.44; 95% CI 1.09, 1.89; and aORsevere = 1.77; 95% CI 1.21, 2.58) vs. adult cancer survivors. AYAs also had greater odds of mental distress vs. the general population (aORmoderate = 1.39; 95% CI 1.08, 1.79), but no significant difference in severe distress. Conclusions: About 1-in-4 AYA cancer survivors report some mental distress, and distress is more prevalent among this younger age group than older adults with cancer and the general population. Psychosocial care may be especially needed in this younger population to mitigate adverse psychosocial outcomes.

Investigation into the metric properties of the workplace social capital questionnaire and its association with self-rated health and psychological distress amongst Greek-Cypriot registered nurses: cross-sectional descriptive study

BackgroundSocial capital can been described as an individual or a collective attribute, with structural and cognitive components, and a bonding, bridging and linking typology. While extensively studied in the community, studies in occupational settings are sparse by comparison. Furthermore, there is no uniformity in its measurement. This study investigated the construct validity of a Workplace Social Capital questionnaire (WSC), originally developed in the Finnish Public Sector occupational cohort, in a different socio-cultural setting (Cyprus), language (Greek) and occupational group (Registered Nurses). It also explored its criterion concurrent validity according to observed association with self-rated health and psychological distress.MethodsParticipants were 10% of all registered nurses (N = 362) who responded to the 8-item WSC scale during a nationwide educational programme. A unidimensional model was compared with the postulated two-factor (structural vs cognitive) and three-factor model (bonding, bridging, linking) in Confirmatory Factor Analyses. The association with self-rated health (0–100 Visual Analogue Scale) and mental distress (GHQ-12 ≥ 4) was assessed in linear and logistic regression models.ResultsA bonding (Cronbach’s a = 0.76), bridging (a = 0.78) and linking (a = 0.89) structure explained 77.6% of the variance and was a better fit as indicated by goodness of fit indices. Elevated odds of mental distress and poorer self-rated health were observed among participants with the lowest levels of perceived workplace social capital. In adjusted models, associations appeared stronger with bonding social capital (adjOR of mental distress = 2.71 95% CI = 1.08, 6.79) while those with the highest scores rated their health higher by 8.0 points on average (95% CI = 2.1, 13.8). Low linking social capital was also associated with poorer health but no consistent associations were observed with bridging.ConclusionWhile associations appeared stronger with bonding and linking, this may reflect a weakness of the measure to fully capture bridging social capital. Even though, this aspect might need strengthening, the WSC showed good metric properties in a different setting, language and occupational group. Cross-national and cognitive validation studies are needed.

PLHIV are more likely to have mental distress: evidence from a comparison of a cross-section of HIV and diabetes patients at Tertiary Hospitals in Nigeria

ABSTRACTHIV is now regarded as a chronic disease because of the availability of treatment. However, it is not well known if there are differences (clinically and in magnitude) between the mental health status of PLHIV and people living with other chronic diseases. The aim of this study was to compare the mental health status of patients attending antiretroviral clinics to patients attending diabetes clinics at tertiary hospitals in Ogun State, Nigeria. A comparative hospital-based cross-sectional study of mental distress among 639 HIV-positive and 639 diabetic patients was carried out. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to control for confounders and to predict the probability of mental distress in PLHIV. The mean age of the participants was 44.87 (± 13.83) years and it had a range of 63 years (17 to 80). The prevalence of mental distress was higher among HIV-positive participants (46.79%) than diabetic participants (33.02%) (p < 0.0001). HIV-positive participants had greater odds of mental distress than diabetics (odds ratio = 1.78; 95% CI = 1.41–2.25). HIV-positivity, female sex, lower levels of education, being unemployed, poorer housing conditions and separated, widowed or divorced were associated with higher odds of mental distress (p < 0.05). Mental distress was predicted by HIV-positivity, occupation and current marital status. HIV infection and social inequalities are independent risk factors for mental distress. The odds of having mental distress is higher among PLHIV compared with diabetic patients. Addressing social inequalities might be the critical factor in the control of mental distress among PLHIV.Abbreviations: ART: Anti-retroviral therapy; CI: Confidence interval; YLD: Years Lived with Disability; GHQ: General Health Questionnaire; HIV/AIDS: Human Immunodeficiency Virus/ Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; LMIC: Low and middle-income countries; MH: Mantel-Haenszel; PLHIV: People living with HIV; ROC: Receiver operating characteristic

The Prevalence and Factors Associated with Mental Distress among College Students in Southern Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Although mental health problems affect the general population, students are highly vulnerable to psychological disorders. Mental distress among students is a cause of concern as it may impair their behavior and diminish learning, which could negatively affect their academic performance. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the prevalence and the factors associated with mental distress among college students in Southern Ethiopia. Institution based cross-sectional study was conducted among 280 regular students of Hawassa College of Health Sciences. Mental distress was measured using a Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20). The data were entered into Epi-Info version 3.5.4 and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 20. Multivariable logistic analysis was performed following bivariate analysis to adjust for the effect of confounders. The prevalence of mental distress among the study subjects was found to be 59 (22.30%). Female students were 2.08 times more likely to have mental distress as compared to male students (AOR =2.08 [95% CI: 1.14-3.82]). The odds of mental distress among third-year students was 60% lower compared to second-year students [AOR = 0.40; 95 % CI, (0.19, 0.87)]. Students who were from Amhara ethnic group were 3.37 times more likely to have mental distress as compared to students from Sidama ethnic group [AOR=3.37;95%CI (1.13-10.09)]. Moreover, students who had Grade Point Average of below 60% were 4.69 times more likely to be mentally distressed as compared to those students who scored Grade Point Average of greater or equal to 60% (AOR= 4.69; 95% CI,[ 2.46, 8.96). The finding suggests the importance of providing mental health counseling support for students as part of the teaching and learning process. More research to further explore the multiple factors influencing students' mental health condition should also be conducted.