{"title":"The mental health status of Turkish healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic: Risk and protective factors.","authors":"Elvan Ulucan Özkan, Seval Bekiroğlu","doi":"10.24869/psyd.2025.64","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24869/psyd.2025.64","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>During the pandemic, healthcare professionals were at high risk for both virus transmission and the development of mental disorders. This study aimed to analyse the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of healthcare professionals working in various healthcare institutions in Turkey.</p><p><strong>Subject and methods: </strong>Between June 1st and 15th 2020, a convenient sample of 343 Turkish healthcare professionals (doctors, nurses, dentists, social workers/psychologists, health technicians, and administrative staff) via online Google Forms. Participants completed a structured questionnaire (32 questions), the Turkish version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The pandemic affected the mental health of almost half of healthcare professionals (47.8 %, GHQ-28 ≥ 5,). The factors significantly affecting the GHQ-28 total score include gender, age, psychiatric medication use, finding adequate workplace measures, workplace psychosocial support, needing psychosocial support, exclusion/stigma, weekly working hours and increased workload. These factors are associated with increased somatic symptoms, anxiety, insomnia, depression and social functioning impairment.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The study highlights the importance of these factors in understanding and managing the mental health issues of healthcare professionals, particularly those on the front lines staff during the times of global health crises.</p>","PeriodicalId":20760,"journal":{"name":"Psychiatria Danubina","volume":"37 1","pages":"64-75"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144294837","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Muhamed Lepuzanović, Osman Sinanović, Edin Bašagić, Vildana Aziraj-Smajić, Dževada Kapić, Mirsad Muftić
{"title":"Restless legs syndrome in pregnancy: A systematic review of prevalence.","authors":"Muhamed Lepuzanović, Osman Sinanović, Edin Bašagić, Vildana Aziraj-Smajić, Dževada Kapić, Mirsad Muftić","doi":"10.24869/psyd.2025.16","DOIUrl":"10.24869/psyd.2025.16","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Restless legs syndrome is a neurological disease from the spectrum of movement disorders, with psychiatric comorbid symptoms and manifestations. Women are affected twice as often as men, and the frequency in the population is 4-10%, while during pregnancy the prevalence triples. This research was conducted as a result of a search and selection of studies on the prevalence of RLS in pregnancy, which include works published in domestic and foreign journals and searches of PubMed, PubMed Central, Web of Science, Scopus and Embase. A primary search of medical databases found 316 publications. In this secondary process, due to the lack of access to the abstract or full text, and due to the poor quality of the articles, 11 relevant publications were finally found and included in this systematic review. The total number of respondents included in this research is 7033, aged 19-45. The lowest prevalence was 4.9% in Japan, and the highest prevalence was 54.7% in Saudi Arabia. In this review, the overall mean frequency of restless legs syndrome during pregnancy was 24.69%. Furthermore, in our ongoing research conducted in 2022 on restless legs syndrome, we recorded a frequency of 26.5% in a population of 266 pregnant women in the third trimester of pregnancy. The frequency of restless legs syndrome is high among the population of pregnant women, and according to its etiology, clinical manifestations and comorbid manifestation, this disorder represents a close link between psychiatry, neurology and gynecology. For this reason, pregnant women should pay extra attention to the early detection of this disorder, which can significantly affect a pregnant woman's daily energy level, poor sleep and daytime sleepiness, and more frequent symptoms of anxiety and depression.</p>","PeriodicalId":20760,"journal":{"name":"Psychiatria Danubina","volume":"37 1","pages":"16-21"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144294835","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Integrative psychotherapists working with eco-anxiety: Using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to explore their experiences.","authors":"Jaz Henry, Vaitsa Giannouli","doi":"10.24869/psyd.2025.76","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24869/psyd.2025.76","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Despite a recent surge in mental health research discussing the concept of eco-anxiety, very little qualitative research has been conducted investigating therapist or client experiences, or possible responses to it in psychotherapy. This research aimed to address this gap by conducting a qualitative exploration of the experience of Integrative psychotherapists experiencing and working with clients who present with eco-anxiety.</p><p><strong>Subjects and methods: </strong>Semi-structured interviews examined the experiences of 8 Integrative psychotherapists. IPA analysis followed with the assistance of 'Atlas.ti Web'.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>7 themes were identified and these themes encompassed what kind of anxiety eco-anxiety represents, what emotions co-occur with the experience of eco-anxiety, how eco-anxiety is upheld, and what responses eco-anxiety elicited in participants and in their clients. Eco-anxiety was reported as an existential anxiety that raises questions about mortality and is a response to a threat to human meaning-making as well as survival. The major emotions and feelings accompanying eco-anxiety were hopelessness, upheld by the awareness of the systemic nature of the ecological crisis, grief, both due to awareness of current losses in biodiversity and for future losses in the natural environment, anger, induced and perpetuated by political inactivity, and guilt stemming from action-value misalignment and participation in an uncaring system. Stigma was seen as worsening eco-anxiety by inducing a sense of alienation.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Working to accept eco-anxiety as a rational response, avoid pathologizing it, and acknowledging the ecological crisis through group participation and open conversation in psychotherapy are important markers in destigmatising eco-anxiety, and fostering meaning-making and agency in clients affected by it.</p>","PeriodicalId":20760,"journal":{"name":"Psychiatria Danubina","volume":"37 1","pages":"76-87"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144294829","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Post-earthquake psychiatric manifestations in Gaziantep - Turkey: An evaluation of clinical features within the first month following the Kahramanmaraş twin earthquakes.","authors":"Halil İbrahim Öztürk, Süleyman Dönmezler","doi":"10.24869/psyd.2025.55","DOIUrl":"10.24869/psyd.2025.55","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among earthquake survivors who sought psychiatric consultation at outpatient clinics in the aftermath of the Kahramanmaras Twin Earthquakes (Mw 7.8 and Mw 7.5).</p><p><strong>Subjects and methods: </strong>This observational study targeted a demographic impacted by seismic events within the first month, specifically all patients who self-presented at our outpatient clinic. The primary outcome variable was the diagnosis at the time of consultation according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5). Additional outcome variables explored included the frequency of re-experiencing the traumatic event, avoidance of internal and external reminders, experiencing phantom earthquake syndrome, hyper-vigilance, negative affectivity, hallucinations, and delusions.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The study involved 331 individuals, predominantly female (67.4%), with a mean age of 41.2 years. Most had 10.9 years of education and lived with families. A small proportion (1.8%) reported physical injuries from the earthquake, while 58.7% reported housing problems. The majority experienced no loss or injuries of acquaintances, friends, or relatives (80.4% and 81%, respectively). Co-morbid medical conditions were present in 14% (hypertension) and 7% (diabetes mellitus) of participants. At the consultation, 53% were diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder, primarily trauma and stress related, depressive, and anxiety disorders.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The findings underscore the significant mental health impact of earthquakes and highlight the need for immediate and targeted mental health interventions in the aftermath of such events. The study also emphasises the importance of recognising and addressing the mental health needs of vulnerable groups in post-disaster settings.</p>","PeriodicalId":20760,"journal":{"name":"Psychiatria Danubina","volume":"37 1","pages":"55-63"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144294832","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yaşar Kapıcı, Dilek Örüm, Kadir Bıyıklı, Sezer Markirt, Atilla Tekin
{"title":"Comparison of frontal QRS-T angle and inflammatory parameters in patients with major depressive disorder and healthy controls.","authors":"Yaşar Kapıcı, Dilek Örüm, Kadir Bıyıklı, Sezer Markirt, Atilla Tekin","doi":"10.24869/psyd.2025.30","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24869/psyd.2025.30","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Major depressive disorder (MDD) is known as risk factor for developing cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to evaluate the risk of cardiovascular disease in drug-naive patients diagnosed with MDD by evaluating frontal QRS-T angle (fQRS-T) and laboratory parameters.</p><p><strong>Subjects and methods: </strong>Fifty-nine MDD patients (28 females, 31 males) and 61 healthy controls (HC) (39 females, 22 males) were included in the study. Electrocardiography (ECG), lipid parameters, hemogram, and biochemistry values of the participants were taken. Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) was used to determine the severity of MDD. Monocyte lymphocyte ratio (MLR), neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet lymphocyte ratio (PLR), monocyte high density cholesterol (HDL-C) ratio (MHR), and C-reactive protein albumin ratio (CAR) were calculated.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The mean age was 34.54±7.10 years in the MDD group and 32.80±6.78 years in the HC group. The fQRS-T value (p<0.001) was significantly higher in the MDD group than in the HC group. MLR (p<0.001), NLR (p<0.001), and PLR values (p<0.001) were significantly higher in the MDD group than in the HC group. A significant positive correlation was found between MLR, NLR, PLR, HDRS and fQRS-T angle in the MDD group. According to the linear regression analysis for fQRS-T, NLR positively and significantly predict fQRS-T [F=34.700, p<0.001, adjusted R square=0.635].</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This current study is the first to show that there is a significant positive relationship between NLR, MLR, PLR levels and depression severity and fQRS-T angle in patients diagnosed with MDD.</p>","PeriodicalId":20760,"journal":{"name":"Psychiatria Danubina","volume":"37 1","pages":"30-37"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144294821","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The symbiotic relationship in a case of hysterical psychosis.","authors":"Flavia di Michele","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":20760,"journal":{"name":"Psychiatria Danubina","volume":"37 1","pages":"108-109"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144294838","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A spiritual view to the fate of people who died in earthquakes.","authors":"Hüseyin Çaksen","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":20760,"journal":{"name":"Psychiatria Danubina","volume":"37 1","pages":"116-117"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144294818","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Karla Laškarin, Sandra Vuk Pisk, Vladimir Grošić, Igor Filipčić
{"title":"Catatonic stupor or dissociative disorder? - A case report.","authors":"Karla Laškarin, Sandra Vuk Pisk, Vladimir Grošić, Igor Filipčić","doi":"10.24869/psyd.2025.102","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24869/psyd.2025.102","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":20760,"journal":{"name":"Psychiatria Danubina","volume":"37 1","pages":"102-104"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144294819","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}