Effects of Yoga on Objective and Self-reported Health Indicators Among Female and Male Individuals...
StressPsychological1 moreThe purpose of this study is to determine whether inversions (specific yoga postures in which the heart is higher than the head) and other dynamic and static yoga postures affect heart rate variability, oxygen uptake, blood pressure, blood parameters and other objective measures of health, and a variety of subjective and objective measures of health in female and male individuals in Sweden.
Fostering Resilience in Physician Moms
StressPsychologicalPhysicians in general are at risk for burnout, and this risk is heightened among women, particularly mothers. In a randomized design, central hypotheses in this study are that mothers who attend our 12-week Relational Psychotherapy Mothers Group (RPMG) intervention will show significantly greater decreases in stress, depression, burnout, and associated risk biomarker indices, as compared to comparison controls (who would meet in unstructured gatherings, for an hour a week for 12 weeks). Additionally the investigators hypothesize that the gains would be maintained three months after the intervention is completed.
Effect of Mental Stress on Myocardial Perfusion in Women
Non-Obstructive Coronary AtherosclerosisMental stress-induced myocardial ischemia(MSIMI) has been recognized a significant clinical problem. Evidence has shown that individuals with MSIMI have 2 to 2.5 times higher risk to develop a major averse cardiovascular events over 3-5 years, compared to their counterparts who have no MSIMI. Nevertheless, investigations into the study of MSIMI among women who have chest pain but artery stenosis < 50% have been lacking. In this project, the investigators used positron emission tomography (PET) to evaluate perfusion defect during mental stress to diagnose MSIMI. Women with chest pain and coronary artery stenosis < 50% were included as the experimental group, age-matched healthy people as the control group, the aim of this study is to compare the incidence of MSIMI in the two groups. At the same time, the study also observe the change of MBF during mental stress and the relationship between MBF and MSIMI.
Impact of a Health and Mental Health Promotion Intervention Among Jordanians and Syrians.
Mental StressHypertension1 moreGiven the heightened risk of NCDs and mental health issues, it is critical for Jordanians and Syrian refugees to have access to prevention based health services. To address this need, the following project seeks to examine the capacity of Primary Care Health Centers to provide preventive services to empower patients to manage NCDs and potential mental health issues for those who are experiencing distress. The primary research question in this evaluation study is: Does prevention-based health and mental health services in primary health clinics improve health status of Jordanians and Syrian refugees? This research proposal will consist of three study conditions examining: Condition 1: an existing NCD preventive intervention consisting of 24 sessions, which are 45 minutes covering diabetes, hypertension, obesity, reproductive health, cardiovascular diseases, allergies and smoking; Condition 2: The existing NCD preventive intervention with 4 added mental health awareness sessions covering traumatic stress reactions, individual strategies for coping with stress and traumatic events and collective strategies for coping with stress and trauma; Condition 3: Treatment as usual A group randomized study will be conducted in three clinics with patients of the respective clinics. The clinics will be identified prior to the study based on similar demographics, service utilization and staff capacity. Once the three clinics are identified they will be selected to one of the three study conditions. This research will be conducted in collaboration with the University of Illinois (UIUC), AmeriCares, and the Royal Health Awareness Society (RHAS) of Jordan. AmeriCares will work as the operational humanitarian organization collaborating with and providing support to RHAS and UIUC. RHAS's healthy community clinic is a community-based health project launched in 2011 conducted with the Ministry of Health (MOH). The project aims to build the capacity of participating Health Centers to provide better preventative services to empower patients to manage their diseases and reduce future complications. The Healthy Community Clinic, established within existing MOH facilities, provides medical practitioners with the training and resources necessary to implement management and prevention-based care to patients in underserved communities.
Hearing Impairment, Cognitive Therapy and Coping
Hearing LossTinnitus3 moreA randomized controlled study with hearing impaired workers, who have voluntarily signed up for an 8 session cognitive therapy (CBT) course The CBT intervention will be compared to a waiting list control group. Participants who are allocated to the intervention group will be offered to start on the CBT-course immediately, while the control group that will be offered the same course 12 months later. Main outcome measures are assessments of mental distress and vocational coping. We will also assess the distress associated with tinnitus, which is a potential moderator variable.
Effects of Antioxidants on Cardiovascular Risk Measures (Spice Study)
CardiovascularPsychological StressThe purpose of this study is to assess whether feeding highly antioxidant spices of providing these same antioxidants as capsules is able to affect cardiovascular risk measures. Because this is a new area of research, the investigators will use many measures to assess this question including blood markers, tests of blood vessel health, measures of blood pressure responses, measures of clotting activity, and other inflammation measures.
Pilot Internet-based Self-Help Program for Managing Corona (COVID-19) Stress
StressStress1 moreThe current study examines an adapted guided self-help stress reduction program, focusing on reducing stress in the time of COVID-19. Two studies are planned: 1) an international study in English in which individuals proficient in English throughout the world will participate and 2) a follow-up study in Hebrew.
Impact of Calory Restriction and Biofeedback on Endocrine and Mental Health
NeuroendocrinologyMental Stress2 moreBackgroup/relevance: Overweight and obesity, defined by a respective body mass index of above 25 and 30 kg/m2, are getting increasingly common in all regions of the world. Obesity is currently estimated to be present in more than 10% of the global population while overweight roughly reached an estimate of 40% in 2016. Overweight dramatically increases the risk for a wide range of disorders such as diabetes mellitus and other metabolic and cardiovascular disorders subsumed under the term metabolic syndrome, increasing the risk for life-threatening cardiovascular events such as myocardial infarction and stroke. Similar to other chronic diseases such as mental health disorders, prescribing medication was oftentimes insufficient and should be complemented by patient empowerment to reach sufficient treatment adherence and control of lifestyle factors. Thereby, overweight and obesity can easily be challenged by patients themselves without pharmacological intervention. Overweight may place central in the crossroad between metabolic and mental health for several reasons. Excessive body fat is known to cause subclinical inflammation that was also associated with many psychiatric disorders such as major depression. Similarly, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis relevant for stress response was shown to be dysregulated in both metabolic and mental health disorders. Study design: In this study, non-pharmacological interventions are applied in healthy women with overweight or obesity and self-perceived psychological stress. Women staying at the "la pura" women´s health resort (www.lapura.at/) are invited to partake in the study and receive a short-term intervention of calory restriction. Thereby, either F.X. Mayr or very-low-calory-diet (VLCD) will be applied, reducing calory intake to 700-800 kcal/die. Following random assigment to four treatment arms, half of the women also receive a 7-session clinical-psychological intervention consisting of biofeedback, individualized psycho-education on stress prevention and mindlessness training. Women are assessed at baseline and after two weeks of interventions for metabolic parameters such as insulin functioning, anthropometric parameters such as body weight and body fat, blood parameters such as sex hormones, fat metabolism and liver function, parameters of neuroplasticity such as brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), as well as psychological and biological stress correlates and mental health symptom dimensions.
Descriptive Study of Biological Stress and Perceived Stress at the Center 15
Physiological StressPsychological StressThe purpose of this study is to describe biological stress (cortisolemia) and perceived stress in Emergency Call Center Operators and Doctors while processing a center 15 call.
TU Tough: Mental Toughness Training for College Success
StressPsychologicalThe aims of this study are to (1) assess the extent of psychological distress for incoming first-year students at the University of Tulsa (Part 1), (2) assess the impact of "mental toughness" training on the trajectory of psychological well-being and academic success (Part 2), (3) assess the impact of mental toughness training on neural and behavioral reactivity to affective stimuli and decisions (Part 3), and (4) examine genetic markers of resiliency in college populations and interactions between genetic markers and response to mental toughness training (Part 2).