Psychological and emotional aspects of gastroesophageal reflux disease

A synergy exists between the psychological and physiological aspects of esophageal and other gastrointestinal symptoms. Based on a biopsychosocial model of disease, several multidisciplinary concepts of interventions in gastrointestinal disorders have been evaluated. The role of psychological factors in gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) has been under study. This article reviews psychological and emotional factors influencing GERD symptoms and treatment.     

Psychological aspects of pain

The patients affected by critical limb ischemia (CLI) are patients generally considered difficult cases, destined to repeated approach to the sanitary structures. They are patients affected by many pathologies since years, that they know to be potentially lethal often have already faced many interventions, with partial and not long-lasting benefits, they go from one specialist to another and sometimes they entrust themselves to alternative medicine. Physicians have to take in charge not the pathology but to take in charge the patient. For the control of the pain it turns out essential, near the block of the perception of the pain, to act with psychological participation, in order to interfere with the perception of the pain and the meant one of the pain, modify the feelings associated to the pain, modify the behavior induced by pain.     

Psychological aspects of menopause management

The influence of endocrine function on the mood of the menopausal woman continues to be debated and researched. While many women present at the menopause with depression and anxiety, the reasons for these mood disorders cannot be attributed to menopause status alone. The influence of psychological factors, lifestyle, body image, interpersonal relationships, role, and sociocultural factors in predicting levels of depression and anxiety in the menopausal patient cannot be ignored. This chapter discusses the research to date on menopause and depression and anxiety. Included is a discussion of the role of psychosocial factors in the symptomatology of perimenopausal, post-menopausal and prematurely menopausal women. The importance of understanding the individual menopausal experiences of women within the context of their lives while offering support, education, and validation is highlighted. The need for a multidimensional approach to treating the menopausal woman who presents with mood disorders is examined. Finally, this chapter makes it clear that psychosocial aspects of menopause management require further research, particularly on the experiences of women who enter menopause prematurely.     

Psychological aspects of drug intolerance

A consecutive unselected series of 50 patients suffering from drug intolerance was evaluated by allergological and psychological tests. We wanted to verify the existence of a correlation between some psychological characteristics (hysteria, depression and Ego Integrity), and some clinical aspects (number and type of episodes, severity and probability of the reactions). We confirmed the prevalence of female sex in these disorders, particularly in middle-aged married women. The mean score of hysteria in the whole sample was lightly higher than normal. Moreover a relevant number of subjects (24%) scored higher than the cut off for clinical depression, with a significant difference in comparison to the overall prevalence of depression in the general population. Finally, the analysis of clinical variables considered in our patients showed that subjects with a history of less serious reactions and unlikely reactions scored higher in depression and hysteria scales. The importance of psychological evaluation of drug intolerance patients is discussed and confirmed.     

Psychological aspects of drug-taking behavior

A review of recent research identifying antecedents and correlates of drug-taking behavior is presented, together with a brief discussion of their implications for prevention of drug use. Emphasis is given to the need to perceive drug-taking behavior as a multidimensional phenomenon, in which the choice of drug, personality, and social factors, among many other variables, need to be interrelated. The efficacy of an interactionist approach is presented as a means of furthering an understanding of drug-taking behavior.     

Age and smoking dependency of the single-breath oxygen test in healthy subjects

Normal values for the standardized single breath oxygen test of Comroe and Fowler [2] were obtained in 106 males (38 smokers) and 48 females (non-smokers). There was a significant positive relationship between age and nitrogen gradient in male and female non-smokers, as well as in male smokers. No difference in the slope of the nitrogen gradient with age was observed between male non-smokers and females. The slope was steeper in male smokers than in non-smokers. The nitrogen gradient was significantly higher in smokers over 35 years of age than in non-smokers.