INTRODUCTION: Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease with a global prevalence of approximately 2% and significant psychiatric comorbidity. There is a great deal of existing literature assessing different aspects of psychology in psoriasis. We aimed to conduct an in-depth review of current evidence linking psoriasis to personality traits and psychiatric comorbidities, as well as factors that put these patients at risk of psychopathology. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A search of the PubMed database identified 1632 articles. We included articles studying psychological comorbidity in patients with psoriasis, looking especially at personality characteristics, and data linking psoriasis with increased risks of psychological distress, depression, anxiety and suicidality. In particular, we also evaluated subgroups in psoriasis found to be at risk. RESULTS: Patients with psoriasis are more likely to be alexithymic, lack body awareness and possess a Type D personality. Alcohol, but not illicit drug use, disorders are also more common in patients with psoriasis. Patient groups who are especially at risk of psychological distress include women, younger patients, patients with a younger age of disease onset, those who self-assess their psoriasis to be severe, and those with lesions on visible or sensitive areas. Adopting motivational interviewing skills and incorporating the use of learning materials during consultations have been found to be useful. CONCLUSION The knowledge of personality characteristics, "at-risk" groups, and early recognition of psychological distress among patients with psoriasis can help clinicians provide better holistic care and encourage a change in patients' behaviour.
Affective Symptoms ; epidemiology ; psychology ; Age Factors ; Age of Onset ; Alcoholism ; epidemiology ; psychology ; Anxiety ; epidemiology ; psychology ; Comorbidity ; Depression ; epidemiology ; psychology ; Humans ; Mental Disorders ; epidemiology ; psychology ; Motivational Interviewing ; Personality ; Psoriasis ; epidemiology ; psychology ; Sex Factors ; Stress, Psychological ; epidemiology ; psychology ; Substance-Related Disorders ; epidemiology ; psychology ; Suicidal Ideation ; Type D Personality

Globus pharyngeus or globus sensation is the painless sensation of a lump in the throat and may be described as a foreign body sensation, a tightening or choking feeling. It is often associated with persistent clearing of the throat, chronic cough, hoarseness, and catarrh. Its etiology remains unclear ; however, laryngopharyngeal reflux may play a role in a subset of patients. Psychogenic problems have often been thought to cause or trigger the globus sensation. Personality studies have found higher levels of alexithymia, neuroticism, and psychological distress (including anxiety, low mood, and somatic concerns) and lower levels of extraversion in patients presenting with globus. Globus patients with laryngopharyngeal reflux exhibited weaker psychological symptoms than non- laryngopharyngeal reflux globus patients, and globus patients who did not respond to proton pump inhibitor had significantly higher anxiety scores. In cases with negative clinical investigations and consistent globus symptom, other treatment strategies, including speech therapy, antidepressants, and cognitive-behavioral therapy, should be considered.
Affective Symptoms ; Airway Obstruction ; Antidepressive Agents ; Anxiety ; Common Cold ; Cough ; Extraversion (Psychology) ; Foreign Bodies ; Hoarseness ; Humans ; Laryngopharyngeal Reflux ; Pharynx ; Proton Pumps ; Sensation ; Speech Therapy

PURPOSE: Alexithymia, defined as a deficit in the ability to recognize and describe one's own feelings, may be related to the development and maintenance of obsessive-compulsive symptoms. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met polymorphism and alexithymia in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We recruited 244 patients with OCD (169 males, 75 females). Alexithymia was assessed using the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), and genotyping of the COMT Val(158)Met polymorphism was evaluated. RESULTS: Patients with the COMT Val/Val genotype had significantly higher total and "difficulty identifying feelings" (DIF) subdimension scores than those with the Val/Met or Met/Met genotypes. Patients with the COMT Val/Val genotype had significantly higher "difficulty describing feelings" (DDF) subdimension scores than those with the COMT Val/Met genotype. However, there were no differences in the scores for the "externally oriented thinking" (EOT) subdimension among the three genotypes. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that the high-activity Val allele of the COMT Val(158)Met polymorphism is associated with increased alexithymic traits in patients with OCD. The present finding suggests that alexithymia is an endophenotype of OCD that is mediated by the COMT Val(158)Met polymorphism.
Adult ; Affective Symptoms/*diagnosis/genetics/psychology ; Alleles ; Catechol O-Methyltransferase/*genetics ; Female ; Genotype ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder/*diagnosis/genetics/psychology ; Phenotype ; *Polymorphism, Genetic ; Republic of Korea

Through document analysis, high trait anger as the hazard factor for the occurrence of many diseases was proposed. The high trait anger should be the main personality characteristics and important pathogenic condition for anger induced diseases. It is expected to find out more effective treatment and prevention pathways for anger induced diseases.
Affective Symptoms ; etiology ; psychology ; Anger ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Personality ; Risk Factors

Affective Symptoms ; drug therapy ; etiology ; Female ; Fluoxetine ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; MELAS Syndrome ; complications ; psychology ; Middle Aged ; Serotonin Uptake Inhibitors ; therapeutic use ; Stroke ; complications ; psychology

OBJECTIVETo carry out a preliminary study on the emotional problems and parenting locus of control among children with anxiety disorders.

METHODSA total of 110 children with simple anxiety disorders (AD group) and 113 normal children (control group) from September to December 2005 were enrolled. Children were asked to complete the Depression Self-Rating Scale for Children (DSRSC), the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED), and the Parenting Locus of Control Scale (PLOC).A total of 197 valid scales were returned.

RESULTSThe scores of somatic, generalized anxiety, separation anxiety, social phobia anxiety, school phobia anxiety, total anxiety, and total depression were all higher in the AD group than in the control group (P<0.01). The score of "education effects" for parents was significantly higher in the AD group than that in the control group (P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONSChildren with anxiety disorders tend to have more emotional problems and poorer parental education effects.

Adolescent ; Affective Symptoms ; etiology ; Anxiety Disorders ; psychology ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Internal-External Control ; Male ; Parenting

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore suicidal ideation among adolescents and to identify the factors that may increase the likelihood of suicidal ideation among adolescents. The factors included depression, individuality, relatedness, cognitive deconstruction, social desirability, and alexithymia. METHODS: The data were collected from March 4 to May 29, 2009 from 1,519 adolescents who were conveniently selected from five different middle and high schools in Seoul. The data were analyzed and interpreted using descriptive statistics, correlation, and stepwise multiple linear regression with the SPSS/WIN program. RESULTS: The major findings of this study were: 1) More than 30% of the participants had a history of having suicidal ideation while 6.3% had attempted suicide. 2) Suicidal ideation was positively related to depression, alexithymia, and cognitive deconstruction and negatively related to relatedness and social desirability. 3) Regression analysis showed 29% of variance in suicidal ideation can be explained by depression, individuality, cognitive deconstruction, living with father, living alone, and living with relatives. CONCLUSION: Adolescents with depression, higher individuality, cognitive deconstruction, and not living with their parents require more attention to prevent suicide. It is necessary to develop programs to prevent adolescents' suicide.
Adolescent* ; Affective Symptoms ; Depression ; Fathers ; Humans ; Individuality ; Linear Models ; Parents ; Psychology* ; Seoul ; Social Desirability ; Suicidal Ideation* ; Suicide ; Suicide, Attempted

OBJECTIVES: The conversion of medical colleges into medical schools has been attempted by the Korean government since 2005. The aim of this study was to compare psychological characteristics of undergraduate and graduate medical students before and after changes in the medical educational system. METHODS: Four hundred-and-twenty-eight medical students participated in this study; 247 were undergraduates and 181 were graduate students. The participants completed psychological assessments including the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), the Symptom Checklist-90-Revision (SCL-90-R), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Alexithymia Scale. RESULTS: Overall, undergraduate medical students demonstrated significantly higher scores than the graduate medical student on three of MMPI subscales (F, depression, and social introversion) and two of SCL-90-R subscales (somatization and obsessive-compulsive). When comparing the four groups (male undergraduate, female undergraduate, male graduate, female graduate) using analysis of covariance and controlling for age as a covariate, there were significant differences between male graduate and male undergraduate medical students in the same subscales except somatization, whereas there were no significant differences between female groups. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that male graduate medical students may have better mental health states and less psychological problems than undergraduate medical students even after controlling for age. However, these differences were not found between female groups. Although every score of all items was within normal range regardless of group, distinctive differences between male graduate and undergraduate students were revealed for some psychological profiles such as depression, social introversion, and obsessive-compulsive traits.
Affective Symptoms ; Depression ; Female ; Humans ; Introversion (Psychology) ; Male ; Mental Health ; MMPI ; Reference Values ; Schools, Medical ; Students, Medical

PURPOSE: This study examined the effects of an insight-oriented nursing program on schizophrenic patients' insight, positive and negative syndromes, and depression. METHOD: A non-equivalent control group non-synchronized design was utilized. For this research, a total of 34 subjects were selected at a psychiatric hospital in Daegu during the period ranging from Oct. 1st, 2005 to Feb. 11th, 2006 (experimental group=17, control group=17). RESULT: After the treatment, between the experimental and control groups, there wasa significant difference in the level of SUMD(t=-4.52, p=.000) and positive syndrome(t=6.97, p=.013), but no significant difference in the negative syndrome(t=-1.81, p=.079) and depression(t=2.23, p=.145). CONCLUSION: The results of this study show that the insight-oriented nursing program works well for schizophrenic patients. Therefore, it is recommended that this program should be used in clinical practice as an effective nursing intervention for schizophrenic patients.
Adult ; Affective Symptoms/*psychology ; Depression/psychology ; Female ; Humans ; Interviews as Topic ; Male ; Models, Nursing ; *Patient Education as Topic ; Program Evaluation ; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales ; Schizophrenia/*nursing/therapy

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that influence the functional status of patients with heart failure. METHOD: A descriptive, correlational study design was used. The participants in this study were 260 patients with heart failure who were admitted at Y University and U University in Seoul, Korea. Between September 2005 and December 2005 data was collected by an interview using a questionnaire and from medical records. The Functional status was measured with KASI. Physical factors (dyspnea, ankle edema, chest pain, fatigue, and sleep dysfunction), psychological factors (anxiety and depression), and situational factors (self-management compliance and family support) were examined. RESULT: In general, the functional status, anxiety, depression, self-management compliance, and family support was relatively not good. The level of fatigue was highest and the level of ankle edema was lowest for physical symptom experiences. In regression analysis, functional status was significantly influenced by dyspnea(23%), age(13%), monthly income(7%), fatigue(3%), ankle edema(2%), depression(1%), and length of stay in the hospital(1%). These factors explained 50% of the variables in the functional status. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that psycho-physiological symptoms management should be a focus to improve the functional status in patients with heart failure.
Affective Symptoms ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Health Status ; Heart Failure/*diagnosis/*psychology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; Patient Compliance ; Psychology ; Questionnaires ; Sickness Impact Profile ; Socioeconomic Factors