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Irritable bowel syndrome is a chronic functional gastrointestinal disorder with a prevalence of 7-21%. It has a negative impact on health-related quality of life and work productivity and it is associated with increased psychological distress and mental comorbidity, like major depression disorder and generalised anxiety disorder. Due to biopsychosocial factors and the brain-gut axis playing a key role in the aetiology of the disease, the use of psychological treatments has great importance in the therapy of irritable bowel syndrome. These interventions focus on central mechanisms, like visceral sensitivity, pain amplification, hypervigilance and gastrointestinal symptom-specific anxiety. They significantly reduce damaging illness-related cognitions, the use of maladaptive coping strategies, catastrophic appraisals of bodily sensations and chronic muscle tension. The utilization of these treatments is associated with clinically significant symptom improvement and positive mental health outcomes. This review study focuses on the psychiatric comorbidity of irritable bowel syndrome and the use of evidence-based psychological therapies in the treatment of the disease. Using ScienceDirect and PubMed databases, almost 60 studies have been selected. A high number of studies investigate the efficacy of cognitive behaviour therapy and hypnotherapy with meta-analyses included. There is also growing evidence on the beneficial impacts of mindfulness-based stress reduction. Future research will need to concentrate on studying the utility of mind-body therapies such as relaxation techniques in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with meta-analyses on the effects of mindfulness-based interventions. Orv Hetil. 2018; 159(50): 2115-21121.

In the modern oncology care the subject of quality of life has an emphasized importance. In our research we assessed aspects which may predict the quality of life. We hypothesized that after controlling the demographical and some medical factors, psychological distress and illness representations would have significant roles as predictors. The research has been carried out in Budapest at the Radiology Diagnostic Department of the National Institute of Oncology; participants were women (N=221) treated for malignant breast tumour (C50). The research tools included the Shortened Beck Depression Inventory, Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30, QLQBR23), Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T), and the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R). In terms of functional (β=-0.705, p=0.000; β=0.493, p=0.003), and symptom quality of life (β=0.517, p=0.000) negative affectivity has an outstanding role as predictor. Among the illness representations, the functional quality of life is influenced by cognitions concerning the illness consequences (β=0.243, p=0.008) and by emotional representations (β=0.220, p=0.034). Cognitive representations influencing the symptom quality of life are serious consequences (β=0.240, p=0.016) and illness perception (β=0.212, p=0.011). In the improvement of quality of life, treating negative affectivity has determining and the modification of dysfunctional illness cognitions play important roles.

Study Question: To what extent are pain symptoms, psychological variables (anxiety, depression and distress) and emotion regulation associated with women's health in endometriosis?, Summary Answer: Physical pain symptoms and emotion regulation difficulties via psychological stress negatively affect the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of women living with endometriosis., What Is Known Already: There are some missing links in the definitive treatment and recovery from endometriosis. Women with chronic pain report a decrease in HRQoL and an increase in the frequency of psychological problems, but little is known about the complex relationship between these variables in the context of endometriosis., Study Design, Size, Duration: This cross-sectional study was conducted between October 2014 and October 2015 on 193 women living with endometriosis., Participants/materials, Setting, Methods: The sample consisted of women with a medically confirmed diagnosis of endometriosis who received treatment at the participating clinic. All participants completed the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale. Spearman's rank correlation was used to explore the associations between the measured variables, and structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed mediation models., Main Results and the Role of Chance: The response rate was 46%. In this study, 54.79% of the participants presented with anxiety and 20.3% with depressive symptoms. Pain symptoms, psychological variables and difficulties in emotion regulation were negatively associated with HRQoL. Mediation models revealed that physical pain, psychological stress and difficulties in emotion regulation explained 55% of the variance in the overall HRQoL, 41% of the variation in physical and 55% of the variation in mental HRQoL. Accordingly, severe physical pain (β = -0.39, P < 0.001) was directly, and difficulties in emotion regulation (β = -0.38, P < 0.001) was indirectly related to deterioration in overall HRQoL. Physical pain had a higher direct standardized effect (β = -0.51, P < 0.001) on physical HRQoL, and had no significant direct effect on mental HRQoL. Furthermore, both physical pain (β = -0.07, P < 0.001) and difficulties in emotion regulation (β = -0.46, P < 0.001) had a significant indirect effect on mental HRQoL., Limitations, Reasons for Caution: The data were heterogeneous with regard to the severity of endometriosis. The validity of this cross-sectional study is limited to correlations; therefore, further longitudinal studies using a more representative sample are needed to explore valid causal relationships., Wider Implications of the Findings: The results of this study indicate that HRQoL can be improved through pain management and emotion regulation strategies. The authors believe that HRQoL would increase with concomitant application of physical treatment and psychological care., Study Funding/competing Interest(s): There were no external funding sources for this study, and the authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., Trial Registration Number: Not applicable., (© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com)

The aim of the research was to assess the effectiveness of a comprehensive, complex psycho-social intervention program, operating on different levels of spiritual plane, life management and behavioural health, among women with breast cancer. The general objective of the study was to help in coping, promote cognitive and emotional processing, encourage psychological and spiritual growth, improve the quality of life, and reduce the chances of remission. The research has been carried out in Budapest at the Radiology Diagnostic Department of the National Oncology Institute, involving 173 women treated for malignant breast tumour (C50) (experimental group: n=86, control group: n=87). Thirty-four women from the experimental group participated in the complex intervention program. We carried out two tests: one before the start and one after the end of the program. Research tools: Shortened Beck Depression Inventory, Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30, QLQ-BR23), Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T), the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R), the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, and the Benefit Finding Questionnaire. The women participating the experimental program showed a significant positive change in comparison to the control group: in anxiety F (1, 65)=6.021, p=0.017; in depression: F(1, 72)=4.347, p=0.041; in experience of personal control: F(1, 69)=7.346, p=0.008; in EORTC General Health/Quality of Life Subscale F(1, 78)=7.531, p=0.008; in EORTC physical functioning F(1, 78)=4.874, p=0.014; in EORTC fatigue F(1, 78)=15.060, p=0.000; in BR23 body-image F(1, 79)=8.828, p=0.004; in BR23 arm symptoms F(1, 78)=7.229, p=0.009; in benefit finding F(1, 80)=21.171, p=0.000, and in posttraumatic growth F(1, 31)=24.186, p=0.000). The program has proven effective, its widespread use in practice is recommended.

This study aims to review the psychosocial characteristics of acne vulgaris. The biomedical literature on the disease is abundant, and the treatment of the disease tends to follow this approach. However, the scientific results point to the fact that a deeper understanding of the experience of the affected person, support for coping with the disease, and enhancement of quality of life can be achieved more effectively in a complex biopsychosocial framework. The paper reviews the evidence that illustrates the extent to which the quality of life of people with acne is most affected and in what areas and attempts to outline the psychological and psychophysiological processes that may underlie these interactions. It addresses the prevalence of mental disorders (depression, anxiety), the negative impact on body image, the experience of stigma, and the possible social consequences. It describes the findings and central mechanisms of stress and the most relevant lifestyle issues and highlights the importance of individual treatment plans and psychological interventions. The review concludes by attempting to argue for the need for complex, biopsychosocial treatment and outlines areas where psychologists or other mental health professionals may have a priority role to play. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psoriasis is the most common autoinflammatory skin disease. As a chronic skin condition, the primary concern is the proper management of symptoms and achieving asymptomatic status, which can now be achieved with modern treatments. However, the symptoms and challenges associated with the disease can also be associated with a significant reduction in quality of life. Symptoms can often affect body image, self-image, social relationships, and mental health, so people may need complex care and psychological support. The aim of this study is to present the disease from a biopsychosocial perspective, with particular attention to the potential role of stress, lifestyle factors, and possible health psychological interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Mental Health & Psychosomatics / Mentálhigiéné és Pszichoszomatika is the property of Akademiai Kiado and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Mental Health & Psychosomatics / Mentálhigiéné és Pszichoszomatika is the property of Akademiai Kiado and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Living with autoimmune thyroid disease is a longstanding challenge and can seriously affect the quality of life. We aimed to adapt and validate the Hungarian version of the Thyroid-Related Patient-Reported Outcome-39 (ThyPro-39) questionnaire, test its factor structure, and compare two frequent autoimmune thyroid diseases, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and Graves' disease. We tested the factor structure of ThyPro-39 with a series of confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs). To examine the validity of ThyPro-39 and to compare the quality of life of the two groups — Hashimoto's thyroiditis (N = 240), Graves' disease (N = 51) — CFA with covariates were used. Results: Our results supported a bifactor model with psychosocial and somatic symptoms as general factors, and 12 symptom-specific factors. Based on the analysis of omega hierarchical indices ranging between 0.22 and 0.66, the specific scales also carry information besides the composite scores and should be used when a more detailed analysis is required. In the multivariate analysis, perceived stress was significantly associated with the general psychosocial factor (β = 0.80), symptom factors (β = 0.34), anxiety (β = 0.43), depressivity (β = 0.37), and emotional susceptibility (β = 0.38) specific factors. Graves' patients reported more eye symptoms (d = 0.45) and cosmetic complaints (d = 0.40), while Hashimoto patients had more cognitive problems (d = 0.36) and more severe hypothyroid symptoms (d = 0.35). These group differences confirm the known-group validity of the questionnaire. Conclusions: The validity of the Hungarian version of ThyPRO-39 is supported. We recommend using two composite scores of psychosocial and somatic symptoms and the specific symptoms scores to measure the quality of life in clinical practice and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Endometriosis as a chronic gynecological disease has several negative effects on women's life, thereby placing a huge burden on the patients and the health system. The negative impact of living with endometriosis (impaired quality of life, diverse medical experiences) is detailed in the literature, however, we know less about patients' self-management, social support, the meaning of life with a chronic disease, and the needs of patients. To implement a proper multidisciplinary approach in practice, we need to have a comprehensive view of the complexity of endometriosis patients' life and disease history.Methods: Four focus group discussions were conducted between October 2014 and November 2015 by a team consisting of medical and psychological specialists. 21 women (age: 31.57; SD = 4.45) with surgical and histological confirmation of endometriosis were included in the study. Discussions were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim, and a 62,051-word corpus was analyzed using content analysis.Results: Four main themes emerged from the analysis: (1) the impact of endometriosis on quality of life, (2) medical experiences, (3) complementary and alternative treatments, and (4) different coping strategies in disease management. All themes were interrelated and highly affected by a lack of information and uncertainty caused by endometriosis. A supporting doctor-patient relationship, active coping, and social support were identified as advantages over difficulties. Finding the positive meaning of life after accepting endometriosis increased the possibility of posttraumatic growth. Furthermore, women's needs were identified at all levels of the ecological approach to health promotion.Conclusions: Our results highlight the need for multidisciplinary healthcare programs and interventions to find solutions to the difficulties of women with endometriosis. To achieve this goal, a collaboration of professionals, psychologists, and support organizations is needed in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]