Background: Living with a neuromuscular disease has a negative impact on quality of life, partly due to increased psychological distress. Previous studies suggest that more self-compassion is...Show moreBackground: Living with a neuromuscular disease has a negative impact on quality of life, partly due to increased psychological distress. Previous studies suggest that more self-compassion is associated with less psychological distress. More stigma, specifically self-stigma and enacted stigma, is also associated with more psychological distress. The underlying mechanism of this relationship remains unclear. The objective of this study is to examine the possible mediating role of stigma on the relationship between self-compassion and psychological distress in patients with neuromuscular diseases. Method: We conducted a cross-sectional study among 249 patients diagnosed with a neuromuscular disease (mean age 55.7 (SD = 15.8); 51% males). The patients completed online questionnaires on self-stigma and enacted stigma (Stigma Scale for Chronic Illness), self-compassion (Self-Compassion Scale-Short Form) and psychological distress (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale). Regression analysis was used to investigate the relationship between variables. Mediation analysis was conducted using the PROCESS macro outlined by Hayes. Results: In sum 249 patients (33,4% response rate) diagnosed with one of the four core neuromuscular diseases completed the questionnaires. Self-compassion was negatively associated with psychological distress (B = -3.740). Explained variance of self-compassion on psychological distress was .40. Self-stigma was positively associated with psychological distress (B = .362) with explained variance of .45. Enacted stigma had a positive relationship with psychological distress (B = .327) and explained variance was .15. Both self-stigma and enacted stigma partially mediated the effect of self-compassion on psychological distress Conclusions: Higher self-compassion and less self-stigma and enacted stigma are associated with less psychological distress. Part of the association of self-compassion on psychological distress can be explained by self-stigma and enacted stigma. The underlying mechanism of self-compassion seems to play an important role in relationship with stigma and psychological distress. It may be of clinical interest to focus interventions on self-compassion for patients with neuromuscular disease. However, future work on the feasibility and effectiveness of compassion-based interventions in neuromuscular disease samples is needed.Show less
Background: Previous studies found that patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) perform worse on executive functioning (EF) compared to healthy controls (HC’s). EF plays an important role in the...Show moreBackground: Previous studies found that patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) perform worse on executive functioning (EF) compared to healthy controls (HC’s). EF plays an important role in the regulation of behaviour in daily life. EF impairment can therefore lead to problems with functioning in daily life. Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is a difference between AN patients and HC’s in EF. In addition, it was investigated whether there is a correlation between EF, eating habits and BMI-SDS. The final aim of this study was to investigate whether EF improves in patients with AN after a one-year follow-up. In each case, the total EF scores and the scores on the 12 subscales of EF were examined. Methods: The study population consisted of 126 girls aged 12-22 years (M= 18.42; SD=2.35), 57 girls belonged to the AN group and 69 to the HC group (M age AN=17.98; M age HC= 18.84). The participants completed the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF), the Eating Disorder Examination (EDE) and the Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated for the baseline measurements and for the follow-up one year later. Several independentsamples t-tests, linear regression analyses and a linear mixed model analysis were performed as analyses for the results. Results: No differences were found between the AN group and the HC’s with regard to total score of EF, but the AN group did show significantly lower flexibility (p< .001), emotion regulation (p< .001) and taking initiative (p= .001) compared to the HC. However, the AN group did report significantly more orderliness and neatness (p< .001) than the HC. BMISDS and eating habits were not associated with the total score of EF, even after adjusting for the confounders depression and age of onset. The subscales taking initiative (p= .029, inhibition (p= .006) and working memory (p= .010) turned out to be negatively associated with BMI-SDS and eating habits. Finally, there appeared to be no significant change in the total score of EF between the baseline measurement and the follow-up after one year for patients with AN. No significant change was found for the subscales either. Conclusion: AN patients showed impairment on certain subscales of EF, but the overall EF score was not different from the HC’s. The impairment found in subscales of EF did not change from baseline measurement after one year of follow-up. However, the participants in this study were all diagnosed with AN less than a year ago. Further research with a longer follow-up time is needed to find out whether this conclusion is the same for patients with chronic AN or patients who have recovered.Show less
Cognitive problems are associated with declined work performance. Interventions guiding cancer survivors in their return to work are growing, but evidence-based interventions for sustained...Show moreCognitive problems are associated with declined work performance. Interventions guiding cancer survivors in their return to work are growing, but evidence-based interventions for sustained employability are lacking. This study aimed (1) to evaluate the effectiveness of a novel cognitive rehabilitation program “Niet Rennen Maar Plannen-online” for occupationally active non-central nervous system cancer survivors with cognitive problems in the attainment of work-related rehabilitation goals 12-weeks post-randomization, and (2) to examine whether its effectiveness differs between survivors with and without objectified cognitive problems at study entry. A multicenter three-armed randomized controlled trial was conducted. Survivors were randomly allocated to 1) the waitlist control group, 2) the basic program group, which involved a brief self-help cognitive training program, or 3) the extensive program group, where survivors received an online strategy training and guidance of a cognitive therapist in addition to the basic program. The attainment of individual work-related rehabilitation goals as assessed with Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) was the primary outcome measure. As this study is part of an ongoing study, only survivors that finished the evaluation 12-weeks post-randomization before 29-11-2022 were included. One hundred and eighty-nine adult cancer survivors participated in this study, distributed over the control (N=73), basic (N=64) and extensive group (N=52). Survivors in the extensive group had higher goal attainment scores (M=53.90, SD=13.39), compared to the basic (M=44.39, SD=16.23) and control group (M=44.59, SD=14.90), F(2,185)=7.43, p=.001. The control group and basic program group did not differ in goal attainment. Compared to baseline, goal attainment scores were higher 12-weeks post-randomization for all three groups, t(188) = 21.59, p< .001. The effectiveness of the program did not differ between survivors with and without objective cognitive impairment. Preliminary evidence showed the effectiveness of the extensive cognitive rehabilitation program “Niet Rennen Maar Plannen-online” in attainment of work-related rehabilitation goals. In contrast, the basic program did not prove its effectiveness. All three groups showed higher goal attainment scores compared to baseline, indicating effects of the natural course and/or setting goals, regardless of the treatment effect. If replication proves its effectiveness, the extensive version of the program seems a valuable addition to long-term survivorship care.Show less
