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The COVID-19 pandemic and the many associated socio-economic changes constitute a stressful event that required adaptation to new, dynamic, and often threatening conditions. According to the literature, coping strategies are one of the factors that determine a person’s degree of adaptation to stressful situations. A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed on the relationship between religious coping and selected indicators of mental health. Due to the large amount of data, this work has been divided into two parts: this first part discusses positive mental health indicators, while the second discusses negative mental health indicators (Pankowski & Wytrychiewicz-Pankowska, 2023). A systematic review of PubMed, Science Direct, the Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, and Google Scholar databases was carried out. In addition to the synthesis of information obtained from the research, a meta-analysis of correlation was also performed to determine the strengths of the relationships between the analysed variables, and selected moderators were assessed using meta-regression. Quality of life, well-being, satisfaction with life, happiness, and post-traumatic growth were the positive mental health indicators considered. Meta-analyses indicated a statistically significant relationship between positive religious coping and flourishing (well-being) with overall correlation values of 0.35 [0.30; 0.40]. Further calculations also indicated a relationship between negative religious coping and flourishing − 0.25 [− 0.34; − 0.15]. Data synthesis shows associations between religious coping and such indicators as satisfaction with life and post-traumatic growth, but these issues require further investigation.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a serious chronic disease that affects daily functioning and quality of life. Two studies were conducted to analyze the role of cognitive variables (namely cognitive appraisals and illness-related beliefs) in adaptation to life with chronic disease. A total of 150 people with rheumatoid arthritis (47 men and 103 women) were assessed both stationary (N = 69) and online (N = 81). The results of study 1 indicate that cognitive appraisals explain a greater percentage of variance than coping strategies with regard to the severity of depressive symptoms and the level of acceptance of living with the disease. In turn, the second study found that social support mediates the relationship between selected cognitive appraisals (loss, challenge and value) and anxiety. The latent profile analysis showed that the subgroups distinguished according to the illness-related beliefs levels differed in cognitive appraisals, but do not in the level of anxiety. The results indicate that cognitive appraisals, in line with theoretical assumptions, seem to be the key psychological factor determining the level of adaptation to life with rheumatoid arthritis. Social resources mediate the relationship between selected cognitive appraisals and anxiety. Cognitive appraisals are modeled through illness-related beliefs, which, in turn, can be modified, e.g. as part of psychological intervention.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic disease that negatively affects functioning; however, the relationship between cognitive appraisals and illness-related beliefs and adaptation indices remains unclear.The aim of this review was to assess the relationship between cognitive appraisals, illness beliefs and indicators of adaptation to life with a chronic disease, such as the severity of depressive symptoms, anxiety, and quality of life.A database search was carried out between May 13 and 18, 2022, with no time restrictions. Thirty studies (5 related to cognitive appraisals, 25 related to illness beliefs) were identified.The studies identified in the review were of satisfactory quality. An analysis of the articles allowed for a meta-analysis focusing on the relationship between the belief related to illness consequences and the severity of depressive symptoms, which gave an overall correlation estimate of 0.50 [0.44-0.56].Both cognitive appraisals and illness beliefs are related to indicators of rheumatoid arthritis adaptation, such as depressive symptom severity, anxiety and acceptance levels. Further longitudinal research would be crucial in further elucidating the impact of cognitive factors on adjustment level and its trajectories over time.Review was pre-registered at https://osf.io/gd9cw (DOI:http://10.17605/OSF.IO/GD9CW).

This commentary describes some of the aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland. The 1st part of the text covers issues related to actions introduced by the Polish government to minimize the risk of infection as well as statistics and difficulties resulting from the restrictions introduced. In the 2nd part, we present the results of our own research, including predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder symptom severity associated with the pandemic situation, and we discuss the results. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Numerous data indicate the presence of cognitive impairment in people who have undergone COVID-19, often called COVID Fog (CF). This phenomenon persists even 6 months after infection, and its etiology and pathogenesis are not fully known. The aim of this article was to analyze the relationship among cognitive functioning, clinical data and nutrition indexes in patients discharged from the COVID-19 hospital of the Military Institute of Medicine, Warsaw, Poland. The sample comprised 17 individuals—10 women and 7 men, with ages of 65 ± 14 years. Cognitive impairment was measured with the use of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). The nutrition parameters included: hemoglobin, red blood cells, total cholesterol and its fractions, triglycerides, total protein, albumin, urea, creatinine, phosphates, calcium and sodium. The analysis showed that albumin concentration significantly correlated with the total MoCA score and especially with the short-term memory test score. Conversely, total cholesterol, and especially LDL concentrations, were highly and negatively associated with the MoCA score. In conclusion: markers of nutritional status are correlated with the severity of CF. Individuals with malnutrition or risk of malnutrition should be screened for CF. Further studies need to be performed in this area.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many factors have simultaneously affected people’s psychological distress (PD). The most commonly studied types of factors have been those relating to health risks involving SARS-CoV-2 infection and sociodemographic factors. However, financial changes at both the national and global levels and these changes’ influences on people’s personal finances constitute another group of factors with the potential to cause symptoms of anxiety and depression. A correlation study of 1135 working adults in Poland was conducted to analyze the roles of a wide range of financial variables in explaining the extent of people’s PD during the pandemic. Three groups of financial factors predicted PD over and above sociodemographic variables and COVID-19 health-related factors: a person’s objective financial situation, their subjective financial situation, and their individual financial disposition, the last of these being the most important. The present study adds to the current state of knowledge by showing that financial variables explain a significant portion of variance in PD over and above sociodemographic and COVID-19 health-related factors. Moreover, the study also identified individual financial variables that were capable of predicting people’s psychological distress during the pandemic.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease leading to disability, reduced quality of life, and severe depressive symptoms. Theoretical models and research emphasize the importance of cognitive factors such as illness-related beliefs and cognitive appraisals in the process of adapting to life with a chronic disease. Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyze the role of age, disease duration, and cognitive factors in the level of acceptance of life with rheumatoid arthritis and determine the factors responsible for short-term (one week) changes without the use of interventions. We also assessed differences in predictors between rheumatoid arthritis, vascular diseases, and diabetes. Methods: Data were collected using a panel study. The first part of the analysis included 83 participants who declared a medical diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. In the second part of the analysis, in addition to people with rheumatoid arthritis (69 participants), two control groups were also included: diabetes (n = 26) and vascular disease (n = 26). The analysis examined basic sociodemographic and clinical data, cognitive appraisals, illness-related beliefs, and acceptance of living with the disease twice in one week. Results: The relationship between age and levels of acceptance of living with the disease was cubic, but the groups distinguished based on age and disease duration did not differ in terms of the analyzed variables. Cognitive appraisals (both baseline and changes over one week) were responsible for changes in acceptance of living with the disease, although other variables (sociodemographic, clinical, and illness-related beliefs) also played a role. The predictors of change in acceptance of living with the disease differed between analyzed diagnoses. Conclusions: Cognitive factors are an important aspect of the adaptation process to living with an illness. Potential clinical applications and future directions of research are discussed.

Background The literature indicates that cognitive appraisals and illness-related beliefs are the key cognitive factors that affect the outcomes of psychological adaptation to chronic illnesses. The main aim of the study was to identify which cognitive appraisals and illness-related beliefs are the best predictors of adaptation to living with chronic illnesses as well as which of these predictors are universal and which are illness-specific. Methods This study analyzed data collected online from 505 participants who reported diagnoses of rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, hypothyroidism, diabetes, and hypertension. Results Adaptation indicators (i.e., depressive symptoms and level of acceptance of living with the disease) differed significantly across samples with different medical diagnoses. Additionally, illness-related cognitive appraisals but not illness-related beliefs made a statistically significant specific contribution to explaining the variance in adaptation indices. Conclusions The predictors of adaptation to living with the disease differ between the diagnoses and the adjustment indicators. The results can contribute to a better matching of therapeutic interventions as well as social campaigns aimed at the ill people.

Objective An increasing number of studies have demonstrated cognitive impairment in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The literature indicates many factors play an important role in this clinical problem, such as the severity of depressive symptoms and the treatment used. The aim of this study was to systematically review studies comparing cognitive functioning between healthy participants and RA patients and to determine both the severity and potential moderators of cognitive impairment. Methods For this purpose, 16 studies that fulfilled all selection criteria were carefully selected. Altogether, 921 patients with RA (812 women and 109 men) and 700 controls participated in these studies. Due to the inability to perform a network meta-analysis, it was decided to determine the effect sizes for studies which used the same measurement methods. Results The analysis demonstrated greater impairment of cognitive functioning in patients with RA than in healthy controls, with effect sizes ranging from small to large, depending on the assessment method used in the study. Conclusions The study pinpoints potential biases, lack of replication, and inconsistencies in reporting data as possible confounding factors and suggests further recommendations for assessment methods, research directions and clinical implications. Clinical trial registration Not applicable.

OBJECTIVE As demonstrated in a pilot study, hypothyroidism has a highly stressful impact on some areas of functioning. This study aims to evaluate the connection between illness-related beliefs (IRBs) and the impact of hypothyroidism on fertility and close relationships, which were the strongest stressors, and the level of depressive, anxiety, and anger symptoms. METHODS Two hundred and thirteen women being treated for hypothyroidism took part in an online survey and completed the modified Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Hypothyroidism Symptoms Severity rating scales, and a measure of IRBs. Other relevant clinical data were also collected. RESULT Mean levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone indicated that the women were euthyroid. Four groups of participants were identified based on IRBs. The group holding a strong IRB about the negative impact of illness only on close relationships scored significantly higher on depressive symptoms than women in the other groups. The group holding strong IRBs about the negative impact of illness on both close relationships and fertility scored significantly higher on anxiety symptoms than the women in the other groups. Regression analysis showed that IRBs about the negative impact of hypothyroidism predicted anxiety, depressive, and anger symptoms. CONCLUSIONS Negative IRBs about the impact of illness on fertility and close relationships contribute to increased levels of emotional distress symptoms in women being treated for hypothyroidism.

Many studies suggest that psychological factors play an important role in chronic diseases. This study aimed to describe the role of certain medical variables (airflow obstruction indicators), personal resources, coping strategies, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in the process of adaptation to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The Brief COPE inventory, the General Self-Efficacy Scale, COPD Assessment Test, and the Acceptance of Life with the Disease Scale were completed by 111 outpatients. Groups of patients distinguished based on degree of airflow obstruction did not differ in frequency of use of coping strategies, General Self-efficacy, HRQoL, or level of acceptance of life with the disease. Groups distinguished in terms of frequency of the strategies used differed in terms of indicators of airflow obstruction and acceptance of life with the disease. General Self-efficacy was correlated with active coping, use of emotional support, and planning. The best predictors of Acceptance of Life with the Disease were coping strategies, HRQoL, and General Self-efficacy. The obtained data indicated that psychological factors play an important role in adapting to life with illness. This study also found that self-efficacy is a very significant personal resource which future psychological interventions for COPD could focus on.

We determined CA1 hippocampal field to be involved in self-exposure, a type of novelty‑seeking behaviour that has also been associated with short 22 kHz and flat 50 kHz ultrasonic vocalizations (USV) in adult male Long-Evans rats. Rats were habituated for three days to a self-exposure cage with two nose-poke holes. On day four, the animals from the experimental group were allowed to turn the cage light off for 5 s with a nose‑poke (test/self‑exposure session), while rats from control-yoked group had changing light conditions coupled and identical to the experimental animals. The experimental rats performed more nose-pokes during self-exposure session than animals from the control group. This effect was accompanied by a higher density of c-Fos-positive nuclei in the hippocampal CA1. There were no significant group differences in c-Fos expression in other brain regions analysed. However, possible involvement of several other structures in self-exposure (i.e., CA3, the dentate gyrus, amygdala, prefrontal cortex, and nucleus accumbens) is also discussed, as their correlational activity, reflected by c-Fos immunoactivity, was observed in the experimental rats. During test sessions, there were more nose-pokes accompanied by short 22 kHz calls and 50 kHz calls performed by the rats of the experimental group than of the control group. The CA1 region has previously been associated with novelty; short 22 kHz USV and flat 50 kHz USV could be associated with self-exposure, also they appear to be emitted correlatively.