Adolescents with cystic fibrosis (CF) face unique stressors that require effective coping strategies. Although research suggests that coping may be an important moderator of adjustment to stress, previous studies have utilized generic coping measures that are not specific to the disease or context. Using the Role-Play Inventory of Situations and Coping Strategies (RISCS), a context-specific coping measure for adolescents with CF, the current study examined whether coping efficacy moderated the relationship between disease-related stress and health-related quality of life. Additionally, this study investigated the impact of two family-based behavioral interventions on adolescents’ coping skills: Behavioral Family Systems Therapy (BFST) and the Family Education Program (FEP). Although no direct effects of coping on HRQOL at baseline were found, resulted showed that effective coping buffered the negative effects of disease severity and stressor frequency on HRQOL in several domains. In addition, some evidence indicated that at the most severe end of the severity continuum, there may be thresholds at which effective coping strategies no longer exert their beneficial effects. Longitudinal models revealed that improvements in coping skills were associated with positive changes in HRQOL in different domains, depending upon treatment group. These findings highlighted the utility of using context-specific, sensitive coping measures when examining the moderating effects of coping, and the importance of identifying adolescents with poor coping skills and providing tailored interventions.

Abstract Dental diseases such as dental caries and periodontal disease could well be seen as being behaviour-related. The high prevalence of periodontal disease in the Finnish adult population mirrors the need for improving oral health behaviours in a comprehensive manner. Thus far, scant attention has been drawn to the underlying psycho-social factors that could, in part, explain oral health and oral health behaviours. Deficiencies in oral health behaviour may also be indicative of an individual's poor health behaviour in general. The aim of this study was to introduce the salutogenic approach, called sense of coherence, into the domain of oral health and health behaviour. The present study uses data from the nationally representative Health 2000 survey carried out in 2000–2001 by the National Public Health Institute of Finland. The subjects of this study numbered 4175 in article I, 4131 in article II, 4039 in article III, and 4096 in article IV, and were 30- to 64-year-old dentate men and women. The cross-sectional data was collected via home interviews, self-administered questionnaires, or clinical examinations. Sense of coherence was positively associated with oral health behaviours, such as dental attendance and tooth-brushing frequency. In addition to tooth-brushing frequency, sense of coherence was also positively associated with the level of oral hygiene. The association between sense of coherence and level of oral hygiene weakened only marginally after controlling for tooth-brushing frequency. A strong sense of coherence was strongly associated with a positive oral health-related quality of life (OHIP). Sense of coherence was also associated with all of the OHIP sub-scales, and the association was most evident in the psychological discomfort, psychological disability and handicap sub-scales. Among males, health behaviours seemed multidimensional, whereas they tended to be unidimensional among females. A strong sense of coherence was a common determinant of healthy behaviours in general, as well as of a good subjective health status. The present study recognizes the sense of coherence as a common health-promoting determinant of oral and general health behaviours, good oral health, and a good oral health-related quality of life. The results thus suggest that the role of psycho-social factors should not be underestimated in health promotion.

Class of 2016 Abstract / Objectives: To compare health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among stroke survivors by gender and race/ethnicity to identify gender and racial/ethnic disparities. Methods: This study adopted a retrospective cross-sectional research design utilizing data from the 2013 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a state-based telephone survey administered to noninstitutionalized United States citizens. Inclusion criteria for this project were adults aged 50 or older who: participated in the 2013 BRFSS survey; indicated they had ever been told by a provider that they had experienced a stroke (of any type); and reported data on seven questions aimed to assess HRQoL (general, physical, and mental health; life satisfaction; emotional support; activity limitations; and sleep quality). Chi square tests and logistic regression models were used to compare HRQoL responses by gender and race/ethnicity. Results: In the 2013 BRFSS database 20,391 of 491,773 respondents reported experiencing stroke. Of those, 16,561 met the inclusion criteria. The majority were female (61.1%) and identified their race/ethnicity as white (78.6%). Logistic regression analysis revealed females were more likely than males to report worse outcomes across the following three HRQoL domains: activity limitations (AOR=0.752, 95% CI 0.617-0.918); mental health (AOR=1.398, 95% CI: 1.110-1.761); and general health (AOR=0.764, 95% CI: 0.588-0.993). Minority populations (African American, Hispanic, and Other) were more likely to report activity limitations (AOR=0.766, 95%CI: 0.614-0.955) and fair/poor general health (AOR=1.837, 95%CI: 1.324-2.549). Conclusions: Analysis identified gender and racial/ethnic disparities in HRQoL indicators among stroke survivors. Females and minority populations were more likely to report poorer outcomes.

This study examined health-related quality of life (HRQoL) across weight categories in adolescents using both a general and a condition-specific measure sensitive to fatigue symptoms. Participants (N = 918) completed the Pediatric Quality of Life (PedsQL) Inventory and PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale measures. Actual height and weight were used to calculate body mass index for age and sex percentiles and assign weight categories. No interaction effects between total HRQoL and weight category and gender were found; however, main effects were found for both weight category and gender. Future research should examine the impact of using different measures to assess HRQoL outcomes across weight categories.

El texto completo de este trabajo no está disponible en el Repositorio Académico UPC por restricciones de la casa editorial donde ha sido publicado. / Purpose: To evaluate the evolution of perceived quality of life in relation to oral health during pregnancy and to determine the risk factors involved in this process. Methods: A follow-up study was carried out with pregnant Spanish women. Two oral examinations and an oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) assessment, using the OHIP-14 questionnaire, were performed in the first and third trimester of pregnancy. Data on sociodemographic characteristics, medical history, O’Sullivan Test measures, oral hygiene habits, history of caries, and periodontal status of participants were collected through structured medical-dental questionnaires. Results: A complete dataset comprising 246 pregnant women was available for analysis. Overall scores for negative impacts on the OHIP questionnaire were significantly higher during late pregnancy (74%). This indicated a deterioration in oral health-related quality of life amongst participants. Items describing “painful aching”, “self-consciousness”, “unsatisfactory diet”, and “interrupted meals” showed the greatest increase between the first and third trimester of gestation. Multivariate analysis showed that pre-gestational/gestational diabetes mellitus and poor oral hygiene habits during the first trimester of gestation were directly associated with worse oral health-related quality of life during the third trimester of gestation (hyperglycemia: OR 2.86; 95% CI 1.019–8.050: p = 0.043 / oral hygiene: OR 1.33; 95% CI 0.970–1.836; p = 0.076). Conclusions: In the present research, hyperglycemia during pregnancy and poor oral hygiene habits during the first trimester of gestation led to a higher risk of poor oral quality of life during late pregnancy. / Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades / Revisión por pares

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Individuals with fibromyalgia report lower levels of health-related quality of life (HRQL) compared to other chronically ill populations and interpersonal factors (i.e., social support) may influence risk. What is less understood is how intrapersonal factors (i.e., self-compassion) may impact the social support-HRQL linkage. We examined the association between social support and HRQL in a sample of persons with fibromyalgia and tested the potential mediating role of self-compassion. Self-identified adults in the United States with fibromyalgia (N = 508) were recruited from state, regional, and national organizations and support groups and completed an online battery of self-report questionnaires including: Multidimensional Health Profile-Psychosocial Functioning Index, Short-Form 36 Health Survey, and Self-Compassion Scale-Short Form. Individuals with greater subjective social support reported higher levels of self-compassion and, in turn, higher mental HRQL. These findings provide greater information about psychosocial constructs and HRQL and extend our understanding of self-compassion among individuals living with fibromyalgia.

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