Research from around the world shows important differences in the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns on mental health. This study examined the extent of mental health challenges ...(depressive and anxiety symptoms and daily life difficulties) and their associations with pandemic- and response-related factors during the first lockdown in Lebanon, which happened amid a severe economic crisis and socio-political turmoil.
Data come from a cross-sectional internet-based survey (May-June 2020). Association of depressive (Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)) and anxiety symptoms (Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7)) with outbreak-related worries and knowledge, information sources, and confidence and satisfaction in response measures were estimated using logistic regression adjusted for sociodemographic and socioeconomic indicators.
Among 510 participants (mean age 36.1±11.3; 69.4% women), 32.3% had elevated depressive and 27.3% had elevated anxiety symptoms; younger age, unemployment, loss of employment, and lower income were related to more mental health symptoms. Most prevalent daily life challenges were feelings of uncertainty (74.5%) and financial (52.2%) and emotional (42.2%) difficulties; these and all other daily life difficulties (work-related, caregiving, and online learning) were significantly higher among participants with higher depressive and anxiety symptoms. Higher outbreak-related worries were associated with higher depressive (OR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.20,1.53) and anxiety symptoms (OR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.30,1.67). Higher pandemic-related knowledge, reliance on and trust in local health agencies and professionals' information, and satisfaction and confidence regarding governmental and health institutions' response were all related to lower mental health symptoms.
Results show that mental health burden in Lebanon during the first lockdown (when the COVID-19 outbreak was still minimal) is among the highest reported worldwide and highlight elevated emotional and financial tolls and widespread impact on daily life. In this high-burden and multiple-challenges context, results suggest an important role for the healthcare body, knowledge, and trust in the institutions managing the response.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have identified brain changes associated with anxiety disorders (ADs), but the results remain mixed, particularly at a younger age. One key predictor of ADs ...is behavioral inhibition (BI), a childhood tendency for high avoidance of novel stimuli. This study aimed to evaluate the relationships between candidate brain regions, BI, and ADs among children using baseline data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study.
We analyzed global and regional brain volumes of 9,353 children (9-10 years old) in relation to BI and current ADs, using linear mixed models accounting for family clustering and important demographic and socioeconomic covariates. We further investigated whether and how past anxiety was related to brain volumes.
Among included participants, 249 (2.66%) had a current AD. Larger total white matter (Beta = -0.152; 95% CI -0.281, -0.023), thalamus (Beta = -0.168; 95% CI -0.291, -0.044), and smaller hippocampus volumes (Beta = 0.094; 95% CI -0.008, 0.196) were associated with lower BI scores. Amygdala volume was not related to BI. Larger total cortical (OR = 0.751; 95% CI 0.580;0.970), amygdala (OR = 0.798; 95%CI 0.666;0.956), and precentral gyrus (OR = 0.802; 95% CI 0.661;0.973) volumes were associated with lower odds of currently having ADs. Children with past ADs had smaller total white matter and amygdala volumes.
The results show associations between brain volumes and both BI and ADs at an early age. Importantly, results suggest that ADs and BI have different neurobiological correlates and that earlier occurrences of ADs may influence brain structures related to BI and ADs, motivating research that can better delineate the similarities and divergence in the neurobiological underpinnings and building blocks of BI and ADs across their development in early life.
The effect of the increasing lifetime burden of non-major cardiovascular conditions on risk for a subsequent major adverse cardiovascular event among survivors of childhood cancer has not been ...assessed. We aimed to characterise the prevalence of major adverse cardiovascular events and their association with the cumulative burden of non-major adverse cardiovascular events in childhood cancer survivors.
This is a longitudinal cohort study with participant data obtained from an ongoing cohort study at St Jude Children's Research Hospital: the St Jude Lifetime Cohort Study (SJLIFE). Prospective clinical follow-up was of 5-year survivors of childhood cancer who were diagnosed when aged younger than 25 years from 1962 to 2012. Age-frequency, sex-frequency, and race-frequency matched community-control participants completed a similar one-time clinical assessment. 22 cardiovascular events were graded using a St Jude Children's Research Hospital-modified version of the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (version 4.03). Cumulative incidence and burden of the primary outcome of major adverse cardiovascular events (cardiomyopathy, myocardial infarction, stroke, and other cardiovascular-related mortality) were estimated. Rate ratios (RR) of the association of major adverse cardiovascular events with 22 non-major adverse cardiovascular events were estimated using multivariable piecewise-exponential regression adjusting for attained age, age at diagnosis, sex, race and ethnicity, treatment era, diagnosis of diabetes, and exposure to cardiotoxic cancer therapies. The St Jude Lifetime Cohort study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00760656, and is ongoing.
9602 5-year survivors of childhood cancer, and 737 community controls were included in the longitudinal follow-up (from Sept 13, 2007, to Dec 17, 2021). The median follow-up was 20·3 years (IQR 12·0–31·4) from the date of primary cancer diagnosis (4311 44.9% were females). By the age of 50 years (analysis stopped at age 50 years due to the low number of participants older than that age), the cumulative incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events among survivors was 17·7% (95% CI 15·9–19·5) compared with 0·9% (0·0–2·1) in the community controls. The cumulative burden of major adverse cardiovascular events in survivors was 0·26 (95% CI 0·23–0·29) events per survivor compared with 0·009 (0·000–0·021) events per community control participant. Increasing cumulative burden of grade 1–4 non-major adverse cardiovascular events was associated with an increased future risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (one condition: RR 4·3, 95% CI 3·1–6·0; p<0·0001; two conditions: 6·6, 4·6–9·5; p<0·0001; and three conditions: 7·7, 5·1–11·4; p<0·0001). Increased risk for major adverse cardiovascular events was observed with specific subclinical conditions (eg, grade 1 arrhythmias RR 1·5, 95% CI 1·2–2·0; p=0·0017), grade 2 left ventricular systolic dysfunction (2·2, 1·6–3·1; p<0·0001), grade 2 valvular disorders (2·2, 1·2–4·0; p=0·013), but not grade 1 hypercholesterolaemia, grade 1–2 hypertriglyceridaemia, or grade 1–2 vascular stenosis.
Among an ageing cohort of survivors of childhood cancer, the accumulation of non-major adverse cardiovascular events, including subclinical conditions, increased the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events and should be the focus of interventions for early detection and prevention of major adverse cardiovascular events.
The US National Cancer Institute and the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities.
The growing community of childhood cancer survivors faces a heavy burden of late onset morbidities and mortality, with cardiovascular diseases being the leading noncancer cause. In addition to ...demographics and cancer treatment exposures, which cannot be altered, cardiometabolic risk factors (obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia) and frailty potentiate the risk of morbidity and mortality associated with chronic health conditions. Important opportunities exist to target these risk factors and improve late health outcomes for survivors. Unfortunately, limited evidence exists on the optimal methods to prevent, screen, and treat cardiometabolic risk factors among survivors, resulting in significant underdiagnosis and undertreatment. In this review, we discuss the prevalence of, risk factors for, current survivor-specific recommendations, and gaps in knowledge to mitigate potentially modifiable cardiometabolic risk factors and frailty among survivors of childhood cancer.
The growing community of childhood cancer survivors faces a heavy burden of late onset morbidities and mortality, with cardiovascular diseases being the leading noncancer cause. In addition to ...demographics and cancer treatment exposures, which cannot be altered, cardiometabolic risk factors (obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia) and frailty potentiate the risk of morbidity and mortality associated with chronic health conditions. Important opportunities exist to target these risk factors and improve late health outcomes for survivors. Unfortunately, limited evidence exists on the optimal methods to prevent, screen, and treat cardiometabolic risk factors among survivors, resulting in significant underdiagnosis and undertreatment. In this review, we discuss the prevalence of, risk factors for, current survivor-specific recommendations, and gaps in knowledge to mitigate potentially modifiable cardiometabolic risk factors and frailty among survivors of childhood cancer.
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•Cardiometabolic risk factors and frailty increase the risk of morbidity and health-related mortality among survivors of childhood cancer.•These conditions are important targets for interventions but remain underdiagnosed and/or undertreated in this population.•Survivorship research should focus on determining the optimal prevention, screening, and treatment modalities for cardiometabolic disease.
The growing community of childhood cancer survivors faces a heavy burden of late onset morbidities and mortality, with cardiovascular diseases being the leading noncancer cause. In addition to ...demographics and cancer treatment exposures, which cannot be altered, cardiometabolic risk factors (obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia) and frailty potentiate the risk of morbidity and mortality associated with chronic health conditions. Important opportunities exist to target these risk factors and improve late health outcomes for survivors. Unfortunately, limited evidence exists on the optimal methods to prevent, screen, and treat cardiometabolic risk factors among survivors, resulting in significant underdiagnosis and undertreatment. In this review, we discuss the prevalence of, risk factors for, current survivor-specific recommendations, and gaps in knowledge to mitigate potentially modifiable cardiometabolic risk factors and frailty among survivors of childhood cancer.
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Cardiometabolic risk factors and frailty increase the risk of morbidity and health-related mortality among survivors of childhood cancer.
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These conditions are important targets for interventions but remain underdiagnosed and/or undertreated in this population.
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Survivorship research should focus on determining the optimal prevention, screening, and treatment modalities for cardiometabolic disease.
Between 2011 and 2013, the Lebanese population increased by 30% due to the influx of Syrian refugees. While a sudden increase of such magnitude represents a shock to the health system, threatening ...the continuity of service delivery and destabilizing governance, it also offers a unique opportunity to study resilience of a health system amidst ongoing crisis.
We conceptualized resilience as the capacity of a health system to absorb internal or external shocks (for example prevent or contain disease outbreaks and maintain functional health institutions) while sustaining achievements. We explored factors contributing to the resilience of the Lebanese health system, including networking with stakeholders, diversification of the health system, adequate infrastructure and health human resources, a comprehensive communicable disease response and the integration of the refugees within the health system.
In studying the case of Lebanon we used input-process-output-outcome approach to assess the resilience of the Lebanese health system. This approach provided us with a holistic view of the health system, as it captured not only the sustained and improved outcomes, but also the inputs and processes leading to them.
Our study indicates that the Lebanese health system was resilient as its institutions sustained their performance during the crisis and even improved.
Congenital absent cartilaginous septum is an extremely rare condition. We are presenting a case of a 46 years-old female patient who presented with intermittent episodes of epistaxis, physical ...examination and radiology confirmed the lack of cartilaginous nasal septum.
Recent years have demonstrated the resurgence of a global commitment toward universal health coverage (UHC). The first step toward developing a sustainable primary health care (PHC)-oriented UHC ...program is the creation and service delivery of an explicit essential health care benefit package (EHCP). This paper aims to describe the development, features, and progress of the EHCP in Lebanon, in addition to outlining barriers, facilitators, and next steps. Building on the investments made in the PHC network, the ministry of public health in Lebanon piloted an essential PHC package program in 2016 targeting vulnerable Lebanese and was able to enroll over 87% of targeted population to date. In order to scale up the EHCP to the national level and achieve UHC, modifications need to be made to the package entitlements, provider payment mechanisms, and implementation arrangements. The paper also notes that further advocacy and lobbying are needed in order to place UHC and the EHCP on the national agenda and stimulate public demand.
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