Role of perceived family support in psychological distress for pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic has caused major public panic in China.Pregnant women may be more vulnerable to stress,which may cause them to have psychological problems.AIM To explore the effects of perceived family support on psychological distress in pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic.METHODS A total of 2232 subjects were recruited from three cities in China.Through the online surveys,information on demographic data and health status during pregnancy were collected.Insomnia severity index,generalized anxiety disorder 7-item scale,patient health questionnaire-9,somatization subscale of the symptom check list 90 scale,and posttraumatic stress disorder checklist were used to assess the psychological distress.RESULTS A total of 1015(45.4%)women reported having at least one psychological distress.The women who reported having inadequate family support were more likely to suffer from multiple psychological distress(≥2 psychological distress)than women who received adequate family support.Among the women who reported less family support,41.8%reported depression,31.1%reported anxiety,8.2%reported insomnia,13.3%reported somatization and 8.9%reported posttraumatic stress disorder(PTSD),which were significantly higher than those who received strong family support.Perceived family support level was negatively correlated with depressive symptoms(r=-0.118,P<0.001),anxiety symptoms(r=-0.111,P<0.001),and PTSD symptoms(r=-0.155,P<0.001).CONCLUSION Family support plays an important part on pregnant women’s mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.Better family support can help improve the mental health of pregnant women.

Different distributions of nerve demyelination in chronic acquired multifocal polyneuropathies

Background:Multifocal motor neuropathy(MMN),Lewis-Sumner syndrome(LSS),and many chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathies(CIDPs)are representative of acquired multifocal polyneuropathy and are characterized by conduction block(CB).This retrospective study aimed to investigate the demyelinating distribution and the selective vulnerability of MMN,LSS,and CIDP with CB(CIDP-CB)in nerves.Methods:Fifteen LSS subjects(107 nerves),24 MMN subjects(176 nerves),and 17 CIDP-CB subjects(110 nerves)were included.Their clinical information was recorded,blood and cerebrospinal fluid tests were conducted,and nerve conductions of the median,ulnar,radial,peroneal,and tibial nerves were evaluated.CB,temporal dispersion,distal motor latency(DML),and F-wave latency were recorded,and nerve conduction velocity,terminal latency index,and modified F-wave ratio were calculated.Results:CB was more likely to occur around the elbow in CIDP-CB than in MMN(78.6%vs.6.8%,P<0.01)but less likely to occur between the wrist and the elbow than in LSS(10.7%vs.39.3%,P<0.05).Tibial nerve CB was most frequently observed in MMN(47.4%,P<0.05).CIDP-CB was characterized by a prolonged DML in all nerves,and slow motor nerve velocity of the upper limb was significant when CB nerves were excluded(P<0.05).Conclusions:We report the different distributions of segmental and diffuse demyelination of the ulnar and tibial nerves in LSS,MMN,and CIDP-CB.These distinct distributions could help in differentiating among these conditions.