Tag Archives: stress

Testosterone deficiency is associated with clinically relevant depression symptoms

DOI: 10.2478/amma-2023-0008

Objective: To investigate the association between testosterone deficiency and depressive and/or anxiety symptoms.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the urology outpatient clinic from Ludus County Hospital. A set of validated questionnaires ((International Prostate Symptoms Score (IPSS), Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), Zung Self-rating Depression Scale (Zung SDS)) were self-administrated. Inclusion criteria: age > 40 years. Exclusion criteria: any relevant psychiatric, cardiovascular, or cancer comorbidity. Statistical analyzes were performed using the statistical software Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS, version 23, Chicago, IL, USA).
Results: From the total of 55 participants included in the study, 23 (41.8%) had testosterone deficiency. Most were from the 60-69 years decade, 23 participants (41.8%), and the mean age was 59.3 (SD 9.03) years. Eleven (20%) patients had depressive symptoms according to the depression subscale, of these, 7 had mild symptoms and 4 according to Zung SDS. Testosterone deficiency was associated with an increased DASS-21 global score, p=0.021, and depression score, p=0.047.
Conclusions: Patients with testosterone deficiency are presenting symptoms of depression. Therefore, these patients need a multi-disciplinary approach that should include a psychological evaluation before making a further management decision.

Full text: PDF

Biomechanism of Abfraction Lesions

Introduction: Caries and dental trauma are mostly responsible for the loss of hard tooth tissue. However, other destructive processes that originate on the external surface and affect the teeth and cause irreversible loss to the tooth structure are also described such as erosion, abrasion, attrition and abfraction.
Objective: The purpose of this study was a finite elements method study of the mechanism of abfraction formation caused by external loads.
Material and methods: A two-dimensional mathematical finite elements analysis model was generated for analysis, using intact normal human mandibular canine. The finite elements are type of 2D. A denser mesh with a large number of EF was build in the area of interest in order to obtain the best replica of the tooth and the most faithful analyses of the situation.
Results: As a result of the present study using simulations of different values and positions of the loads, both vertical and oblique, on a healthy tooth, it was evident that the most stress-prone area with the highest risk of mechanic damage is the cervical area of the tooth.
Conclusions: Oblique loads lead to lateral flexure of the tooth and vertical loads lead to axial compression. Vertical direction of loads result in higher values of the stress in the lesionned area. The study shows that one of the possible causes of cervical lesion is the direction and magnitude of loads combined with the morphology of the tooth in question.

Full text: PDF

Clinical and Psychological Correlations between Job Loss and Depressive Experience

DOI: 10.1515/amma-2015-0062

Introduction: Stressful life events have a negative effect on mental health. Job loss is an event with a psychotraumatic character. Identification of the main sources of stress faced by the individual is essential in the management of depression.
Objective: The aim of this study was to identify the main risk factors that play a role in the onset and maintenance of depression.
Material and methods: we made a prosepctive study including 68 outpatients aged over 18, recently diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), without psychotic features, with initiated antidepressant treatment, being in evidence of First Clinic of Psychiatry Tirgu-Mures, between 01.01.2013-31.12.2013. To assess the severity of depression and to measure the antidepressant treatment efficacy we used Hamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D17) at study onset, respectively at endpoint. The parameters followed were: HAM-D17 score, response to treatment, the mean number of hospitalizations in a year.
Results: The group included 82.35% women and 17.65% men, mostly from urban areas, aged between 35 and 68, with a HAM-D17 score between 24 and 27. The major stressful life events inventory shows that 20.58 % of the patients were unemployed. The observed effects were more extensive in men.
Conclusions: How stressful life events exert their influence on mood is complex. The onset of depression often seems to coincide with a stressful event, although sometimes the event is only the revelator of an episode ready to trigger. The findings indicate the need of prevention politics for relapse of the disease, which is a disadvantage regarding the re-employment.

Full text: PDF