Purpose: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease, resulting in physical and psychological distress. Little is known about the health of ALS patients in South Korea. The purpose of this study was to assess the degree of functional impairment and depressive symptoms and their interrelationships in Korean ALS patients.

Method: In this cross-sectional descriptive study, a convenience sample of 62 ALS patients was recruited. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale (ALSFRS) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were used.

Results: The mean score of ALSFRS was 18.98 and 24.50 for BDI. Severity of depressive symptoms was associated with gender, employment, perceived health status, and ALS type. A greater functional impairment was associated with greater depressive symptoms.

Conclusions: This study reports high prevalence of depressive symptoms in ALS patients. The findings add to the body of knowledge on emotional health and provide motives for interventions to promote mental health of these patients.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/RNJ.00045DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

depressive symptoms
16
functional impairment
12
amyotrophic lateral
12
lateral sclerosis
12
als patients
12
patients south
8
south korea
8
korea purpose
8
als
6
depressive
5

Similar Publications

Violence experience, interpersonal and community-level, is commonly reported by people living with HIV (PLWH). Understanding the impact of the various forms of violence on HIV outcomes is critical for prioritizing violence screening and support resources in care settings. From February 2021 to December 2022, among 285 PLWH purposively sampled to attain diversity by gender, race/ethnicity, and HIV care retention status in Atlanta, Georgia, we examined interpersonal and community violence experiences and proxy measures of violence (post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression) and their associations with HIV outcomes (engagement and retention in care and HIV viral suppression) using multivariable analysis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Risk factors associated with depression in athletes include biological sex, physical pain, and history of sport-related concussion (SRC). However, although there are well-documented benefits of sport and physical activity on mental health, many sportspeople still take the risk of competing in contact sports. Therefore, this infographic, supported by scientific evidence, aims to provide sportspeople with an informed decision on their participation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Primary school students struggling with mental health are less likely than high school students to access mental health care, due to barriers such as mental health stigma and low mental health literacy among children and parents. The near universal reach of schools offers a potential avenue to increase access to mental health care through early identification. The potential risks of this approach also need to be understood.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Radiotherapy as a complement or an alternative to neurosurgery has a central role in the treatment of skull base grade I-II meningiomas. Radiotherapy techniques have improved considerably over the last two decades, becoming more effective and sparing more and more the healthy tissue surrounding the tumour. Currently, hypo-fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) for small tumours and normo-fractionated intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) or proton-therapy (PT) for larger tumours are the most widely used techniques.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The aim of the SURECAN trial is to evaluate a person-centred intervention, based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT Plus ( +)), for people who have completed treatment for cancer with curative intent, but are experiencing poor quality of life. We present the statistical analysis plan for assessing the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the intervention in improving quality of life 1 year post randomisation.

Methods And Design: SURECAN is a multi-centre, pragmatic, two-arm, partially clustered randomised controlled superiority trial comparing the effectiveness of ACT + added to usual care with usual aftercare.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!