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Background: To the best of our knowledge, the Cyberchondria Severity Scale-12 (CSS-12) has not been translated into Arabic; therefore, our objective was to assess the psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the CSS (CSS-12-Ar) among a sample of Lebanese adults. Methods: Participants were enrolled in January 2021. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was carried out using the MPlus software v.7.2, reporting several goodness-of-fit indicators: Relative Chi-square (χ2/df), Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA), Comparative Fit Index (CFI) and Tucker Lewis Index (TLI). To evaluate measurement invariance across gender, we conducted higher-order multiple group confirmatory analysis using lavaan software. Results: 449 participants enrolled in this study (mean age: 24.34 ± 8.22 years, 70.6% females). Since the correlations between the four-factor model were very high (r > 0.8), we ran the higher-order CFA in which all first-order latent variables were loading a general factor. The analyzed model was well-fitted to the data χ2(50) = 173.34; p < 0.001; CFI = 0.926; RMSEA = 0.074 [0.062, 0.086]. The Cronbach's alpha values were good for the total score (0.92), as well as for excessiveness (0.80), distress (0.77), reassurance (0.81) and compulsion (0.76). The results provided evidence of full scalar invariance across gender. The comparison of latent mean scores revealed no significant differences across gender, in either the cyberchondria total score or its facets. The CSS-12 score was positively associated with anxiety (r = 0.10; p = 0.003) (convergent validity), OCD (r = 0.11; p = 0.016) and stress (r = 0.35; p < 0.001) (concurrent validity). Conclusion: The CSS-12-Ar was deemed a suitable scale to measure the severity of cyberchondria among Lebanese university students. We hope that researchers and clinicians can benefit now from this scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although many risk models have been tested in patients implanted by veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO), few scores assessed patients' prognosis in the setting of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) with refractory cardiogenic shock. We aimed at assessing the performance of risk scores, notably the prEdictioN of Cardiogenic shock OUtcome foR AMI patients salvaGed by VA-ECMO (ENCOURAGE) score, for predicting mortality in this particular population. This retrospective observational study included patients admitted to Tours University Hospital for STEMI with cardiogenic shock and requiring hemodynamic support by VA-ECMO. Among the fifty-one patients, the 30-day and 6-month survival rates were 63% and 56% respectively. Thirty days after VA-ECMO therapy, probabilities of mortality were 12, 17, 33, 66, 80% according to the ENCOURAGE score classes 0–12, 13–18, 19–22, 23–27, and ≥28, respectively. The ENCOURAGE score (AUC of the Receiving Operating Characteristic curve = 0.83) was significantly better compared to other risk scores. The hazard ratio for survival at 30 days for each point of the ENCOURAGE score was 1.10 (CI 95% (1.06, 1.15); p < 0.001). Decision curve analysis indicated that the ENCOURAGE score had the best clinical usefulness of the tested risk scores and the Hosmer–Lemeshow test suggested an accurate calibration. Our data suggest that the ENCOURAGE score is valid and the most relevant score to predict 30-day mortality after VA-ECMO therapy in STEMI patients with refractory cardiogenic shock. It may help decision-making teams to better select STEMI patients with shock for VA-ECMO therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To evaluate the associations between metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) and different types of incident cardiovascular events in a contemporary population. Materials and Methods: All patients discharged from French hospitals in 2013 with at least 5 years of follow‐up and without a history of major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE; myocardial infarction, heart failure [HF], ischaemic stroke or cardiovascular death [MACE‐HF]) or underweight/malnutrition were identified. They were categorized by phenotypes defined by obesity and three metabolic abnormalities (diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidaemia). Hazard ratios (HRs) for cardiovascular events during follow‐up were adjusted on age, sex and smoking status at baseline. Results: In total, 2 873 039 individuals were included in the analysis, among whom 272 838 (9.5%) had obesity. During a mean follow‐up of 4.9 years, when pooling men and women, individuals with MHO had a higher risk of MACE‐HF (multivariate‐adjusted HR 1.22, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.19‐1.24), new‐onset HF (HR 1.34, 95% CI 1.31‐1.37) and atrial fibrillation (AF; HR 1.33, 95% CI 1.30‐1.37) compared with individuals with no obesity and zero metabolic abnormalities. By contrast, risks were not higher for myocardial infarction (HR 0.92, 95% CI 0.87‐0.98), ischaemic stroke (HR 0.93, 95% CI 0.88‐0.98) and cardiovascular death (HR 0.99, 95% CI 0.93‐1.04). MHO in men was associated with a higher risk of clinical events compared with metabolically healthy men of normal weight (HR 1.12‐1.80), while women with MHO had a lower risk for most events than metabolically healthy women of normal weight (HR 0.49‐0.99). Conclusions: In a large and contemporary analysis of patients seen in French hospitals, individuals with MHO did not have a higher risk of myocardial infarction, ischaemic stroke or cardiovascular death than metabolically healthy individuals with no obesity. By contrast, they had a higher risk of new‐onset HF and new‐onset AF. However, notable differences were observed in men and women in the sex‐stratified analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]