1,720,983 research outputs found

    Insomnia during pregnancy and the covid-19 pandemic: A case report

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    L’insonnia è un fattore di rischio per la depressione e i disturbi mentali. La pandemia dovuta al Covid-19 è stata associata a un allarmante aumento dell’insonnia. Questo caso clinico ha lo scopo di descrivere un intervento digitale di terapia cognitivo comportamentale per l’insonnia (CBT-I) adattato per la gravidanza durante la pandemia. Viene descritto il caso di una donna di 38 anni con insonnia. La valutazione ha previsto un colloquio clinico psicologico, un’intervista semi-strutturata sul sonno, diari del sonno e questionari. È stato eseguito un protocollo CBT-I comprendente 5 sessioni di 45 minuti ciascuna. L’intervento eseguito è stato efficace nel ridurre i sintomi dell’insonnia e ha mostrato risultati positivi per quanto riguarda la sintomatologia depressiva, i livelli di stress e le difficoltà nella regolazione delle emozioni. Questi risultati sono stati confermati anche ai follow-up. I risultati a favore dell’efficacia della CBT-I per l’insonnia in gravidanza sono stati confermati, evidenziando inoltre, l’importanza di considerare le emozioni durante il trattamento. Si suggeriscono futuri studi clinici di alta qualità che valutino l’efficacia della CBT-I adattata in grandi campioni di madri in gravidanza per guidare i cambiamenti nell’assistenza ginecologica primaria per la gravidanza, specialmente nel periodo post-pandemicoInsomnia is a key risk factor for depression and mental disorders, both in general and during peripartum. Covid-19 pandemic outbreak was associated with an alarming increase of insomnia symptoms. This case report aims to describe a digital Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) intervention adapted for pregnancy during the pandemic situation. This article describes the case of a 38 years old woman with significant problems in initiating and maintaining sleep. The intervention was conducted online. The assessment included a clinical psychological interview, semi-structured interview about sleep, sleep diaries and validated questionnaires. Adapted CBT-I protocol was performed including 5 sections lasting 45 minutes each. The case-report description follows CAse REport (CARE) guidelines. The intervention was effective in reducing insomnia symptoms as highlighted by questionnaires and sleep diaries. Furthermore, results showed positive findings with regard to depression symptomatology, stress levels and difficulties in emotion regulation. These positive results were confirmed at post-partum follow ups. Evidence-based CBT-I protocol was applied with relevant benefits for the patient. Furthermore, it was stressed the importance of considering emotions during psychotherapy. High-quality clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of adapted CBT-I in large samples of expecting mothers are suggested to guide changes in gynecological primary care for pregnancy, especially for the post-pandemic time

    Validation study of the Italian version of the Sleep Hygiene Index

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    Sleep hygiene rules are a set of behavioural and environmental recommendations that promote healthy and good quality sleep, playing a role in insomnia disorder. The Sleep Hygiene Index (SHI) is a self-report questionnaire developed to evaluate the practice of sleep hygiene behaviours with adequate psychometric properties in different samples. The present study aimed to translate the original version of the SHI into the Italian language and evaluate the psychometric properties of this instrument in the Italian adult population. After the translation of the SHI from the original English version into the Italian version, factorial structure, internal consistency, as well as convergent and discriminant validity were estimated. The principal component analysis showed a four-factor solution for the SHI, accounting for 52.03% of the total sample variance (F1 = 25.65%, F2 = 10.00%, F3 = 8.48% and F4 = 7.90%). Factor 1 comprised items regarding arousal; Factor 2 comprised items regarding regular sleep habits; Factor 3 comprised items about sleep environment; and Factor 4 comprised items on sleep-disrupted behaviours. The Italian version of the SHI can be regarded as a reliable tool with adequate concurrent and predictive validity for assessing sleep hygiene in Italian adults with or without insomnia symptoms

    “Using digital media or sleeping ... that is the question”. A meta-analysis on digital media use and unhealthy sleep in adolescence

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    This systematic review with meta-analysis aims to examine the relation between different aspects of digital media use and sleep health patterns. Eligible studies had to be longitudinal and with adolescents' sample. Multiple search strategies were applied until January 28, 2023 in order to identify relevant research published in peer-reviewed journal articles or available grey literature. A final set of 23 studies (N = 116,431; 53.2% female; Mage at baseline = 13.4 years) were included. The quality of the studies, assessed with an adapted version of the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale, was high with a consequent low risk of bias. Meta-analytic results showed that tradi-tional media use (r =-0.33 [-0.44;-0.22]), social media use (r =-0.12 [-0.22;-0.01]), prolonged use (r = -0.06 [-0.11;-0.01]), and dysfunctional use (r =-0.19 [-0.29;-0.09]) are negatively related to adolescents' sleep health at a later time point. Conversely, sleep patterns were not related to social media use (r =-.05 [-0.10; 0.00]) and utilization time (r =-0.13 [-0.30; 0.04]), but they were related to dysfunctional use of media (r = -0.22 [-0.33; -0.10]). Overall, this review highlights the presence of a vicious cycle between digital media use and sleep health in adolescence

    Sleep characteristics in the italian pediatric population: A systematic review

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    Objective: During childhood sleep duration, quality and patterns evolve and change greatly and relate strongly to healthy development. This systematic review aims to summarize the literature on sleep characteristics in the Italian pediatric population, adopting a cultural perspective. Method: Pubmed, PsycINFO and Medline databases were systematically searched. Eligible studies had to: include Italian children and adolescents; report data for one or more sleep-related variables; be published in English or Italian. Results: Twenty-nine studies were selected including 18551 Italian children or adolescents. Studies were categorized by age group: infancy and toddlerhood (0-3 years); preschool and school age (3-12 years); adolescence (12-18 years) and mixed age groups. Overall, studies showed that the Italian pediatric population present shorter sleep duration and longer sleep onset latency compared to international recommendations. Furthermore, data indicate high prevalence of dysfunctional sleep habits, such as late bed-time (all age groups), involvement of parents during bed-time (infancy and toddlerhood), and high variability between sleep times on week-days vs. weekends (adolescence). Nevertheless, most studies lacked comprehensive data on sleep patterns, focusing instead on isolated variables. Conclusion: These results suggest a strong trend among Italian children and adolescents towards unhealthy sleep patterns. Comprehensive data are still lacking and large studies evaluating a broad range of sleep characteristics in Italian pediatric populations are needed. Data strongly suggest that Italian Pediatric Primary Care should place higher focus on sleep problems and implement clinical protocols directed towards improving sleep patterns in children and adolescents

    Efficacy of interventions for improving health in patients with multiple sclerosis on insomnia symptoms and sleep quality: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials

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    Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) often experience reduced health-related quality of life and mental health comorbidity. The prevalence of insomnia disorder and sleep quality impairments in MS patients ranges from 47% to 62%. Nevertheless, these problems often remain underdiagnosed and undertreated. This review systematically and critically assesses evidence from randomized clinical trials which evaluated the efficacy of different clinical interventions targeting mental and general health in patients with MS on insomnia symptoms and sleep quality. Pubmed, PsycINFO and Medline databases were systematically searched. Eligible studies included adults ≥ 18 years with MS diagnosis; were randomized clinical trials; and reported pre and post-treatment data for primary or secondary outcomes. Nine studies were selected including 755 adults with an MS diagnosis. Studies evaluated the efficacy of various treatments: psychological interventions (5); pharmacotherapy, including medications for fatigue, cannabis extract and melatonin (3); energy conservation therapy (1). Preliminary support was found for psychological interventions and cannabis extract. This work highlights the important need for more high-quality randomized controlled trials for interventions targeting insomnia in MS patients

    The Longitudinal Interplay between Sleep, Anthropometric Indices, Eating Behaviors, and Nutritional Aspects: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

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    Sleep is fundamental for adolescents’ healthy development but undergoes dramatic changes in quantity and quality due to the conflict between biological and social rhythms. Insufficient sleep has been associated with worse physical health status and irregular eating behaviors in adolescents. This review aims to systematically synthesize the longitudinal associations between adolescents’ sleep dimensions (i.e., duration, timing, quality, and insomnia symptoms) and physical health indicators (i.e., anthropometric indices, fat percentage, and risk of obesity), eating behaviors, and nutritional aspects (i.e., type of diet related to the intake of specific foods and nutrients, amount and timing of food consumption, energy expenditure). A total of 28 longitudinal studies were included. The meta-analytic results showed that longer sleep duration, better sleep quality, and lower insomnia symptoms were associated with lower BMI and fat percentage and that shorter sleep duration (<7 h) and lower sleep quality were associated with a higher risk of obesity. Conversely, anthropometric indices were not related to sleep over time. Limited literature examined the bidirectional association between adolescents’ sleep and their eating behaviors and nutritional aspects. Such knowledge sheds new light on the role of sleep for adolescents’ health, highlighting the need to examine further the interplay between these variables

    Clinical characterization of children and adolescents with ADHD and sleep disturbances

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    Sleep disturbances (SD) are commonly reported concerns among parents and caregivers of children and adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). While it is widely acknowledged that SD can worsen various aspects of children and adolescents’ well-being (e.g., academic performance and emotional/behavioral state), a comprehensive clinical characterization of ADHD and SD is currently lacking. To address this gap, 136 children and adolescents diagnosed with ADHD (aged 6 to 14 years) were retrospectively selected by reviewing electronic health records of hundreds of patients with neuropsychiatric disorders referred to the children’s hospital. Participants were divided into two groups based on the presence of SD, assessed via a parent-report questionnaire (94 ADHD without SD and 42 ADHD with SD). Standardized measures of adaptive behavior, academic performance, ADHD-related and emotional/behavioral symptoms were collected. Results documented that the group of ADHD with SD obtained worse scores in specific aspects of adaptive behavior (conceptual and practical domains), academic performance (text comprehension, writing), ADHD symptoms (inattention) and emotional/behavioral difficulties (especially, mood/emotional regulation and stress) compared to those with ADHD without SD. In addition, our results established a relationship between sleep problems and diverse clinical aspects of children and adolescents with ADHD, while controlling for age, cognitive level, gender, ADHD symptoms severity, and Body Mass Index. From a clinical perspective, our study suggests that the presence of SD in patients with ADHD may serve as an indicator for strengths and weaknesses in this population, even demonstrating an independent relationship with specific clinical dimensions. Implications to improve clinical diagnostic and therapeutic interventions are discussed

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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