Background: Mental resilience refers to the capacity to overcome the negative effects of setbacks and associated stress on performance. In the face of stressors, lack of mental resilience may even cause psychopathology, such as depression. While all combatants are exposed to stressors, female combatants face additional challenges compared with their male counterparts. Resilience is often measured using retrospective self-reports, which do not consider ecological fluctuations across situations and environments. A mobile ecological momentary monitoring allowed us to study gender differences in factors contributing to resilience.

Objective: We aimed to characterize gender differences in resilience trajectory in combatants using ecological momentary assessments (EMA).

Methods: 156 Combatants (98F, 58M) completed mood EMA daily for two weeks using a mobile app. In addition, resilience, QOL and mental health questionnaires were administered three times in four weeks. Stepwise regression models were used to predict resilience after 2-4 weeks.

Results: Female combatants reported higher levels of anxiety and lower resilience, self efficacy and QOL, as well as higher mood variability over time (t(149)=4.9, p<.0001). In addition, while for females, baseline anxiety, self-efficacy and mood EMA all contributed to resilience prediction (37% of variance explained), baseline anxiety was the sole predictor for males (explaining 28% of variance).

Conclusion: Gender differences in resilience were found in combatants who participate in the same occupation. These results emphasize the importance of considering the inclusion smartphone-delivered EMA tools in QOL models.

No significant relationships.

The job of an engine driver appeared ideal for research studies because of its extremely high responsibility coupled with a high level of permanent concentration.

The main elements of the study focused on applying the EQ-5D (Quality of Life Questionnaire), SVF 78 (Stress Processing Questionnaire) and FBL-R (Freiburg Complaint List; revised version).

It turned out hat exactly fifty percent of all train drivers regret having chosen their job and judged their professional strain very high (p< 0.001). The SVF 78 reveals the following: persons of the First Group achieved much higher values in the scales regarding “escape” (p=0.029), “mental preoccupation after work” (p=0.003), “resignation” (p=0,011) and in the total amount of negative strategies (p=0.004), while Group 2 presents only higher values in the scale concerning the “playing down” (p=0.039) effect.

There were also a wide-ranging differences between the two groups, especially in the scales about “general state of health” (p< 0.001), “cardiovascular complaints” (p< 0.001), “pain” (p< 0.001), “sensory perception” (p< 0.001), “emotional reactivity” (p=0.001) and “total sum of complaints” (p< 0.001). The EQ-5D showed that train drivers who are content about the choice of their job judge their quality of life much higher than those regretting their choice (p< 0.001).

The results make clear that the dissatisfaction about the chosen job has negative effects on both the physical and psychological well-being.

Evaluation of QOL, stress and coping strategies of people with psychiatric disorders after a one-year training course for social and occupational reintegration.

The main elements of the study focused on the SVF 120 (Stress Processing Questionnaire) and PLC (Quality of Life with Chronic Disease questionnaire).

In total a number of 20 people were enrolled in the study. Mean age of the participants was 33.4 years. The reintegration programme showed a retention rate of 100%. The PLC questionnaire showed no statistically significant results (p>0.050). The SVF 120 showed a slightly better score after one year regarding social encapsulating (p= 0.056) and trivializing (p = 0.021). After the one-year training course 60% of the participants could be reintegrated in an occupational activity and 40% could achieve a better social status.

Our results showed that participant of the programme used stress coping strategies morte than before the course. Reintegration data make clear that training courses of people with psychiatric disorders can achieve valuable results.

Depression is common in patients suffering from somatic diseases particularly chronic, life threatening and disabling diseases such as renal impairment requiring hemodyalisis. It contributes to further deterioration of the quality of life. The goal of consultation psychiatry is to advise screening and early interventions for this most often treatable disorder.

To assess and compare presence and severity of depression, and subjective assessment of QOL between patients on hemodialysis and healthy subjects.

This study included 80 subjects age between 19 and 82 (× 49.6 ± 14.2) on continuous hemodyalis and 40 subjects from the general population of Zenica. Assessment instruments used: Beck Depression Inventory – BDI; SF36- QOL, and sociodemographic questionnaire.

The subjects in the experimental group had significantly higher (p<0.05) average score on BDI, 17.1 ± 9.4, corresponding to mild to moderate depression compared with the subjects in control group who scored an average of 8.5 ± 7.0 (range 2-39), which corresponds to absence of depression. Comparison of results on a scale for assessing the quality of life SF 36, indicates that the subjects in the control had a higher average score or higher quality of life compared to the experimental group.

The research results indicate a significant difference in the presence of depressive symptoms and in the subjective assessment of QOL in patients on hemodialysis compared to healthy subjects. This justifies routine screening for depression in this group of patients.

The incidence of breast cancer has surpassed cervical cancer in India and it has now become the most common cancer in women. Multiple randomised studies have reported low α/β value in the range of 3–4 for breast cancer, which predict a potential radiobiological advantage for hypofractionated radiotherapy resulting in such schedules becoming standard in many centers with reduction in overall treatment time. Volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) is a novel technique of delivering radiotherapy that reduces treatment delivery time, requires less monitor units (MU) and offers good conformity. The mean dose to normal tissue may be minimised using this technique although there will be inferior sparing if we consider the low-dose volume such as V5, the effect of which is not quantifiable yet.

Reporting acute toxicity, cosmetic effects, and quality of life in patients of early breast cancer treated with adjuvant hypofractionated VMAT with SIB.

The records of 44 patients registered at the hospital between August 2014 and December 2015 were included in this analysis. Acute toxicities were analysed using CTCAE v4.03. Cosmetic outcomes were assessed using Harvard scale, while quality of life outcomes were assessed using EORTC scales and Health Related quality of life (HRQOL) questionnaires (QLQ-C30 and QLQ-BR23).

No grade ≥2 skin toxicities were recorded. Breast pain was recorded as Grade 1 in 13·8% patients and Grade 1 fatigue in 18·2%. The maximum haematological abnormality grade recorded was Grade 1. Cosmesis was assessed at the baseline, 6 months, 1 year and 2 years. A total of 88·6% of the patients had an Excellent or good cosmesis at the baseline, which was similar even at 6 months, at 88·7%, improved further at 1 year to 90·9%. At 6 months post radiotherapy, high functional scale QOL scores were noted.

The technique is associated with minimum acute toxicity, good to excellent cosmesis and acceptable quality of life.

Previous studies have found that social cohesion and trust (SCT) were associated with psychological well-being and physical health. In this study, we investigated the associations between SCT and mental and physical health among community-dwelling elderly in a town in southern Taiwan.

The study population consisted of 149 community-dwelling elderly aged 65 years and older (68 men, 81 women; mean age, 75.4 ± 6.1 years) residing in the town of Dashe in southern Taiwan. Activities of daily living (ADL), SCT, depression, subjective quality of life (QOL), current medical status, past medical history, and health behaviors were assessed in face-to-face interviews. Objective neurobehavioral functions were assessed using the timed up & go (TUG) test, functional reach test, and handgrip test.

Scores for ADL and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) were significantly correlated with SCT, and SCT was significantly correlated with all subjective QOL items. In addition, a strong correlation was observed between SCT and relationship with friends. Values for SCT (median ≥ 20) were significantly associated with both subjective sense of health (median ≥ 68) and subjective happiness (median ≥ 73) after adjusting for age, sex, and ADL.

SCT is an important variable that influences self-rated health and happiness, independently of ADL, age, and sex. When assessing geriatric psychological function, SCT should be examined more carefully, given its association with subjective sense of health and happiness, depression, and physical function.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) presents a major health problem with its steadily increasing incidence in Western countries, and persistent high fatality rates worldwide. The well-recognized complexity and toxicity of its treatment as well as inadequate care and limited resources in mainland China exacerbate the difficulty of maintaining quality of remaining life of patients living with this illness. The goal of this comprehensive literature review was to identify promising clinical interventions for improving quality of life (QOL) of people with advanced HCC in mainland China.

A comprehensive literature review was performed in China Academic Journals (CAJ), Cochrane, and PubMed databases. The review was confined to studies of randomized controlled trials (RCT) for adults, in Chinese and English, from 1980 to 2012.

A total of 676 studies in Chinese and 391 studies in English were identified. Eighteen RCTs were selected for the final review, among which three were conducted in mainland China.

Nurse-led home-based comprehensive interventions using a collaborative care approach addressing multiple dimensions of QOL show promise for enhancing clinical outcomes for people with advanced HCC in mainland China. Education and psychosocial support combined with symptom management early in the illness trajectory and ongoing close attention to physical symptoms, emotional distress, as well as spiritual well-being are crucial for maintaining QOL of people with advanced HCC. Telephone monitoring appears to be a feasible way in rural as well as urban areas. Families are advised to be part of overall interventions. It is warranted that promising interventions aiming at improving QOL for advanced cancer patients reported in Western literature be further tested in mainland China.

Looming cognitive styles (LCS) bias the velocity of potential threats and have been implicated in anxiety and depression vulnerability. This study aims to explore their contribution to impaired quality of life (QOL), beyond that of depression and anxiety, in a cancer cohort.

In a cross-sectional design, an ambulatory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cohort completed a psychological battery that included the Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories, the SF-36 Health Survey, the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACT), the Looming Cognitive Style Questionnaire (LCSQ), and the Looming Cancer measure.

The Looming Cancer measure correlated significtly with overall QOL (FACT-G, p = 0.005). This effect was largely due to the contribution of emotional QOL (Mental Component Score: SF-36, p = 0.001; FACT-emotional, p = 0.001) and functional QOL (FACT-functional, p = 0.001). Looming, unlike anxiety and depression, did not correlate with a worse physical QOL (Physical Component Score: SF-36, FACT-physical). Looming did not impact on social QOL. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that looming predicted 5.4% of the varience on the FACT-emotional, 5.1% on the Mental Component Score (SF-36), and 9.3% on the mental health subscale (SF-36), above and beyond the varience predicted by a constellation of psychosocial factors (including age, marital status, education, income) and the combined effect of depression and anxiety

LCS predicts worse emotional and functional QOL, above and beyond the contribution of anxiety, depression, and other psycho-social variables. This suggests that it makes a unique contribution to a worse QOL. Nevertheless, the looming construct still remains primarily a research tool in psycho-oncology at this time.