The influence of marital status on the social dysfunction of schizophrenia patients in community

Objective:Estimate predictive associations of marital status with social dysfunction in schizophrenia patients.Methods:817 schizophrenia patients lived in the community of Dongguan,Guangdong province,China,were investigated with the Social Disability Screening Schedule(SDSS)during a three-month period(1.2010e3.2010).The demographic data were harvested.The c2 test,t test,and fisher's exact were used for comparisons between groups,as appropriate.Multinomial logistic regression(MLR)was used to analyze the predictive associations of demographic variables to the grading of social dysfunctions.Results:The study group consisted of male and female patients aged 16e59 years,407 females,and 410 males with the mean age(40.7±9.5)years.Analysis of the data revealed significant differences in course of disease and marital status among patients(with and without dysfunction).The married patient made a significant difference with divorced/widowed patient in mildlyemoderately social dysfunction.There was a significant difference in married and never-married patient with mildly and profoundly social dysfunction.Significant differences were noticed in the self care and occupational roles of the married patient with that of the never-married.Conclusion:This study confirmed that bad marital status is associated with higher odds of social dysfunction among patients with schizophrenia living in the community.These effects should be included in considerations of public health investments in preventing and treating mental disorders.

Association of marital status with takotsubo syndrome(broken heart syndrome)among adults in the United States

BACKGROUND The pathophysiology of takotsubo syndrome(TTS)is not well understood,however,it is often precipitated by psychological or physical stress.Marital status is related to emotional stress,but its associations with TTS are limited.AIM To explored the potential association between marital status and TTS.METHODS We conducted a case-control study using data on patients aged≥40 years with marital status data in the National Hospital Discharge Survey(2006-2010).The International Classification of Diseases Ninth Revision codes were used to identify cases with TTS and other comorbid conditions.Each case was matched to 5 controls by age,sex,year of TTS diagnosis and bed size of hospital.Two sets of controls were selected:Acute myocardial infarction(AMI)controls and noncardiovascular disease(CVD)controls.Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios(OR)and 95%confidence intervals(CI)for the association of marital status with TTS.RESULTS The 59 patients with TTS who had information on marital status were matched to 295 controls with AMI and 295 non-CVD controls,resulting in a sample of 649 patients.The average age of cases was 69.7±11 years with 90%being women and 88%reporting White race.In multivariable-adjusted models,compared to singles,patients who were married had lower odds of TTS(OR=0.86,95%CI:0.79–0.93)while those who were widowed(OR=1.14,95%CI:1.05–1.23)or divorced/separated(OR=1.32,95%CI:1.21–1.45)had elevated odds for TTS when compared to non-CVD controls.Similar results were observed when cases were compared to controls with AMI.CONCLUSION In this study,being married was associated with lower odds for TTS while being divorced/separated or widowed was related to elevated odds for TTS.These novel findings that underscore the potential importance of social factors like marital status in the development of TTS need confirmation in larger studies.

Poverty as a Determinant of Marital Status in the Douala Metropolis of Cameroon

This paper examines how poverty determines people’s marital status and their participation in the desired leading values of the metropolitan city of Douala.We used the quota sampling method in which the number of respondents selected from each division was determined by its population size,and then we divided the various divisions into clusters(neighbourhoods).We employed a systematic sampling method in the clusters in which we started with an nth subject and then selected every twentieth unit after the first.We sampled everyone:the married,divorcees,single and cohabiting people in order to understand how poverty determines their different marital statuses.We discovered that the more prestigious jobs people do,the more they earn and the higher the probability that they are married and either rent or own more expensive homes.Equally,the more people become jobless and have precarious jobs,the higher the rate of divorce,single,separated and cohabitating persons and the higher the probability that they are either dependent or homeless.However,marriage constrains people’s participation in the main values of their society,that is why married people diversify less their meals and leisure activities as compared to separated and engaged persons.

nfluence of Marital Status on the Quality of Life of Chinese Adult Patients with Epilepsy

Background： Epilepsy is a chronic disorder characterized by recurrent seizures and has significant psychological and social consequence for everyday living. Epilepsy affects various aspects of ones＇ social life. The present study aimed to investigate the influence of marital status on the quality of life of adult Chinese patients with epilepsy. Methods： This study surveyed 805 Chinese adults who have been clinically diagnosed with epilepsy for longer than 1 year in 11 hospitals in Beijing. In this survey, 532 （66.1%） participants were married. All of them completed the case report form with enquiries on demographic data, social factors, and illness. The marriage status of adult epileptic quality of life was the dependent variable, and demographic data and clinical data were independent variables, analyzed through the multiple linear regression analysis methods. The patients＇ quality of life was assessed using the Quality of Life in patients with Epilepsy-31 items （QOLIE-31） questionnaire, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 items （PHQ-9）, and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 items （GAD-7）. Results： The PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores in the unmarried group （PHQ-9 = 6.0 and GAD-7 = 5.0） were significantly higher than that of the married group （PHQ-9 = 4.0 and GAD-7 =3.0）. The scores of married adult patients with epilepsy on QOLIE （61.8 ±15.3） and social function （70.9 ± 22.7） were higher than the scores of the unmarried patients aged between 20 and 44 years. The scores of married adult epileptics on the QOLIE （58,4 ± 14.6） and the energy/fatigue （62.1 ± 20.4） were higher than the scores of the unmarried patients （QOLIE = 58.4 ± 14.6 and the energy/fatigue = 62.1 ±20.4） aged between 45 and 59 years. For the adult epilepsy patients, depression, anxiety, seizures within the last year, disease course, medical expense category, and marriage＊ age are negatively correlated with the quality of life. Occupation, educational level, and average monthly income are closely related to the quality of life. Conclusions： Married adult epileptic patients have better quality of life than that of unmarried adult patients in young and middle-aged age groups. Unmarried adult patients with epilepsy are more anxious and depressed than married adult patients.

Neighborhood Disadvantage and Self-Esteem—Do Socioeconomic and Relational Resources Matter?

Extensive research suggests that living in a socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhood is associated with poor mental health.Few studies,however,have examined(1)whether neighborhood disadvantage is associated with residents’self-esteem;and(2)the extent to which individual-level socioeconomic resources such as income and education,and relational resources such as marriage and social support moderate the association between neighborhood disadvantage and self-esteem.This study employs data from the Americans’Changing Lives panel survey(hereafter ACL),a 15-year panel study of the U.S.adult population ages 25 and older in original sample.Because hierarchical linear model was employed to analyze data,findings provide fixed effect coefficients for independent variables at both the individual and census tract levels while controlling for random intercepts between census tracts.Findings based on data from the 4th wave of ACL reveal that neighborhood disadvantage is not associated with self-esteem.We do,however,find that living in a disadvantaged neighborhood worsens selfesteem for those who have lower levels of informal social support and are currently unmarried.These findings imply that while neighborhood disadvantage does not necessarily impact self-esteem,neighborhood disadvantage is detrimental to the self-esteem of those who report lower level of relational resources.

Social support for and features of Chinese adults with epilepsy

Background:The lack of social support for adults with epilepsy(AWEs)is receiving increased attention,as it may result in low quality of life.This study was aimed to confirm the demographic characteristics of and clinical factors associated with social support for AWEs.Methods:AWEs were consecutively recruited from our hospital.The 10-term Social Support Rating Scale(SSRS)was used to measure social support.A linear regression analysis with stepwise selection was performed to analyze the independent variables associated with social support for AWEs.Results:In total,165 AWEs were consecutively included in the present study.Linear regression analysis showed that the marital status(t=-3.550,β=-0.272,P=0.001),the age at onset(t=2.545,β=0.192,P=0.012),and the QOLIE-31 score(t=3.144,β=0.221,P=0.002)were independent variables associated with social support for AWEs.Conclusions:Our findings suggest that the poor social support is associated with childhood onset of epilepsy and the unmarried status.This study also confirmed a negative influence of low social support on quality of life in AWEs.