Most knowledge about itch is derived from pain studies which leads to a lack of research on itch, especially on gender differences in itch. This study therefore investigated the mediation effect of...Show moreMost knowledge about itch is derived from pain studies which leads to a lack of research on itch, especially on gender differences in itch. This study therefore investigated the mediation effect of itch catastrophizing on gender and itch avoidance behaviour, in the context of a nocebo study. The participants’ itch catastrophizing levels were measured using self-reports and cowage spicules were used to induce itch in 11 healthy participants. Classical conditioning and verbal suggestion were used to induce nocebo effects. The expectancy acquisition phase comprised of conditioning the participants to believe that Cyclosol cream (the nocebo cream) evokes itch. The nocebo conditioning phase was followed by an avoidance acquisition phase where gripping strength was linked to a decrease in itch sensation, which served as a measure for avoidance behavior in the avoidance test phase. No nocebo effect or mediation effects were detected. Future research should expand on the influence of gender in the context of itch by expanding the sample size and by striving for a balanced gender distribution, especially by focusing on a clinical sample outside of a laboratory settingShow less
Itch is one of the most common conditions worldwide and can lead to higher anxiety and depression symptoms. There is ambiguity on whether anxiety and depression also affect it. This study...Show moreItch is one of the most common conditions worldwide and can lead to higher anxiety and depression symptoms. There is ambiguity on whether anxiety and depression also affect it. This study investigated whether gender affects itch ratings and if this is mediated by anxiety and/or depression. 11 healthy controls, 18 to 35 years old, participated in this study, whereby the DASS-21 and an additional four questionnaires were implemented to investigate the associations between the variables. A dynamometer measured itch avoidance and itch was evoked through cowhage spicules. Nocebo and verbal suggestions were also part of this study. Males scored higher on depression (M = 5, SD = 4.24), while females scored higher on anxiety (M = 6.67, SD = 5.74). The mediation analysis yielded no significant results, except for the indirect effect of depression and itch ratings at baseline, t(9) = 3.313, p = .011, and partial mediation: t(9) = 2.519, p = .036. The control condition of the expectation phase yielded a significant result regarding depression, t(9) = 3.453, p = .009. Overall, there were no significant relationships found between gender, anxiety, depression, and itch ratings, contradicting to previous literature. Due to the current small sample size, further research is needed to investigate the relationship between gender, psychological traits and itch ratings to improve treatment in clinical settings. This could be achieved through larger and more demographically varied samples.Show less
Background: Itch and scratching are distressing symptoms in diverse diseases. Both negative expectancies and stress have been shown to increase symptom severity. However, especially the role of...Show moreBackground: Itch and scratching are distressing symptoms in diverse diseases. Both negative expectancies and stress have been shown to increase symptom severity. However, especially the role of stress remains unclear as it has mostly been tested in pain studies. Methods: To investigate whether the effect of stress on itch is mediated by negative expectancies; cowhage, verbal suggestions and a video fragment were used to induce itch in a within-subjects design of 11 healthy participants. Itch, scratching and negative expectancies were measured on a scale from 0 to 10. Stress was assessed by the DASS-21 questionnaire. Results: Using mediation analysis, results suggested that stress was not predictive of itch symptoms at all, even when taking into account negative expectancies. Nonetheless, negative expectancies on their own were related to itch and scratching. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that negative expectancies should be treated as a key aspect in psychological treatment targeting chronic pruritus, such as rational-emotive therapy (RET). However, future research should still investigate stress in relation to itch, as the current study did not assess the impact of severe stress levels and experimentally-induced stress.Show less
The theoretical framework of this research was based predominantly on the itch-anxiety cycle and the role of the HPA axis. This study aimed to explore the role of anxiety and depression as...Show moreThe theoretical framework of this research was based predominantly on the itch-anxiety cycle and the role of the HPA axis. This study aimed to explore the role of anxiety and depression as mediators in the relationship between mindfulness and nocebo effects in induced itch on healthy controls. Itch was induced using cowhage spicules, and mindfulness, anxiety and depression were measured using questionnaires which were administered before the experiment. The nocebo effect was calculated using itch ratings which were taken throughout the experiment. This study found that there was no significant association between any of the variables. Previously, mindfulness has been found to reduce anxiety and depression as well as itch. Limitations of this study included a high non-responsiveness to the itch stimuli as well as a low number of participants. Future research should explore how nocebo effects may influence potential treatments of chronic itch and how mediating psychological factors play a role in patients suffering from chronic itch.Show less
Introduction: Dravet Syndrome (DS) is a severe epileptic encephalopathy, generally characterized by refractory seizures, cognitive impairment, and behavior problems. Health-related quality of life ...Show moreIntroduction: Dravet Syndrome (DS) is a severe epileptic encephalopathy, generally characterized by refractory seizures, cognitive impairment, and behavior problems. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) assesses the impact of a chronic disease on an individual’s well-being. This study investigates the course of HRQoL in patients with DS between 2015 and 2021/2022, and whether the course of HRQoL can be predicted by age, the course of minor and major seizures, cognitive impairment and behavior problems. Additionally, this study aims to explore the relations between parental empowerment, parental distress, and the HRQoL in patients. Methods: This study is partly longitudinal (N=41) and cross-sectional (N=51), and uses data from three different studies. The outcome variable HRQoL was assessed with the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL). Parental empowerment was measured with the Family Empowerment Scale (FES) and parental distress with the Distress Thermometer for Parents (DT-P). A multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to see which comorbidities significantly contributed to the prediction of the course of HRQoL. Moreover, a mediation analysis was performed to study the relationship between parental empowerment and parental distress, with the hypothesized mediating role of HRQoL in patients. Results: HRQoL scores improved significantly over time (t(40) = -3.40, p = .002, d = 0.53). Only predictive factors age (t(35) = 3.03, p = .005) and the course of behavior problems (t(35) = -2.46, p = .019) contributed significantly to the prediction of the course of HRQoL. Lastly, no relation was found between parental empowerment and parental distress, indicating no mediation. However, significant associations were found between parental empowerment and HRQoL in patients (r(51) = 0.31, p = .029), and parental distress and HRQoL in patients (r(51) = 0.54, p < .001). Conclusions: This study suggests an improvement of HRQoL is predicted by an increase of age and a decline of behavior problems. Therefore, it would be beneficial to involve multidisciplinary teams including psychologists to provide support for behavior problems. Lastly, this study emphasizes the crucial role of the well-being of the caregivers, and advises healthcare professionals to pay attention to the caregiver’s care needs.Show less
Visuospatial neglect (VSN) is common in stroke patients. Associations between VSN and negative rehabilitation outcomes, as well as a higher age, have been found. Therefore, the aim of this...Show moreVisuospatial neglect (VSN) is common in stroke patients. Associations between VSN and negative rehabilitation outcomes, as well as a higher age, have been found. Therefore, the aim of this multicenter cross-sectional study was to investigate differences between older stroke patients with and without VSN, and whether a model can be developed to predict the probability of VSN diagnosis, in the geriatric rehabilitation setting. Data was collected from 114 stroke patients from their medical files, and participants were assessed on physical functional independence, cognitive impairment, pain, fatigue, and mood, and VSN was assessed using the Star cancellation test, Line bisection test, and Catherine Bergego Scale, within the first two weeks in geriatric rehabilitation. A t-test, Chi-square test, or Mann-Whitney U test was used to examine differences between participants with VSN and without VSN. Multivariable logistic regression was used to build a model of statistically significant independent predictors of VSN. Participants with VSN had longer length of stay in hospital (p = .005) and geriatric rehabilitation (p < .001), and a higher proportion of participants without VSN went home compared to participants with VSN (93.2% vs. 61.5%) (p < .001). Participants with VSN also had lower physical functional independence on the Utrecht Scale for Evaluation and Rehabilitation (p = .002), the Functional Ambulation Categories test (p = .006), and the Berg Balance Scale (p = .045), and higher cognitive impairment (p = .003). Length of stay at the geriatric rehabilitation (OR = 1.016, 95% CI [1.003, 1.030], B = .016, p = .018.) and discharge destination (OR = .206, 95% CI [.060, .714], B = -1.579, p = .013) were significant independent predictors of a higher likelihood of VSN diagnosis. The information from this study can be used to increase awareness of the impact of VSN on older stroke patients, and thereby improve underestimation of VSN and interventions targeted at VSN in these patients.Show less
While itch and pain share several similarities in their working mechanisms and treatments, the role of mindfulness and catastrophising in the context of itch specifically has received limited...Show moreWhile itch and pain share several similarities in their working mechanisms and treatments, the role of mindfulness and catastrophising in the context of itch specifically has received limited attention in research. This study aimed to bridge this gap in the literature by investigating this relationship in healthy controls, using cowhage to induce itch across baseline, nocebo, and control conditions. The results revealed that mindfulness did not predict a reduction in itch ratings, and itch catastrophising did not mediate this relationship. Furthermore, no significant relationship between mindfulness, itch catastrophising, and itch ratings was found. These findings suggest the presence of underlying differences in pain and itch sensations, highlighting the need for further research on the role of the perceived threat value and neuroendocrine responses to itching stimuli. By better understanding the role of these factors, the development of more effective interventions to alleviate itch in acute and chronic patients can be developed.Show less
This cross-sectional study aimed to understand the role of age in the relationship of time spent on leisure activities (LA) and subjective well-being (SWB) with the data collected by the surveys of...Show moreThis cross-sectional study aimed to understand the role of age in the relationship of time spent on leisure activities (LA) and subjective well-being (SWB) with the data collected by the surveys of the LISS Panel in the late months of 2018 (N=5013). The mean age of the participants was 53 (SD = 18) with an even spread of male participants (46%) and female participants (54%). In this study a distinction was made between four types of leisure: digital, creative, sport and cultural. With the use of regression analyses and ANOVAs, this research analysed the relationship between time spent on LA and SWB (1), the relationship between age and time spent on LA (2) and the possible moderation effect of age on the relationship of time spent on LA and SWB (3). The analyses of the first research question showed a mostly positive relationship between time spent on different LA and SWB. Only digital leisure has a significant negative relationship, though the effect size was very small for all significant relationships found. Secondly (2), age related negatively to time spent on digital and cultural leisure, positively to creative leisure and did not relate significantly to sports-related leisure. Lastly (3), only the moderation analysis of age on the relationship between time spent on creative leisure and SWB came out significant (Beta = .05, t = 3.36, p = .001), even though the effect sizes were negligible. Overall, this results do not fully support the hypotheses. Either other factors and relationships play a larger role in predicting SWB or the limitations of this study make it not possible to produce clear results. The study gives the suggestion for future research to examine the relationship between age and the underlying mechanisms that make up the effect of leisure activity on SWB. If this study would be replicated, advice is given to use a longitudinal design and take into account the effects of the COVID19 pandemic on leisure.Show less
Objective: The present study aims to better understand possible multidirectional interactions between depressive symptoms, sleep quality and stress response. Although a significant amount of...Show moreObjective: The present study aims to better understand possible multidirectional interactions between depressive symptoms, sleep quality and stress response. Although a significant amount of research has been done studying the effect of sleep quality and depression on stress response, they provided mixed results and showed large methodological differences. We extend previous research by testing three hypotheses: (a) Poor sleep leads to increased stress responses; (b) Higher levels of depressive symptoms lead to increased stress responses; and (c) The effect of minimal levels of depressive symptoms on stress reactivity is greater for individuals with poor sleep. Method: In 46 participants (69,60% female; 18–29 years), we assessed sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (and depressive symptoms using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), a psychosocial stress task, was used to induce moderate stress in a controlled environment in order to assess stress reaction. Results: Participants with poorer sleep quality did not have elevated salivary cortisol response after being exposed to a social stressor compared to participants with better sleep quality. Also, no proof was found for (minimal) depressive symptoms being a predictor of salivary cortisol response to psychosocial stress. The results further indicated that individuals with poor sleep quality did not experience a greater effect of (minimal) depressive symptoms on stress reactivity. Conclusion: No support was found for a role of sleep quality and depressive symptoms in cortisol stress response. Future research should take person- and situation-specific characteristics into account when analyzing cortisol responses to psychological stress.Show less
