Self-Compassion as a Resource in the Self-Stigma Process of Overweight and Obese Individuals

ObjectiveSelf-stigma in overweight and obese individuals has strong associations with impairment in mental and global health. This study sought to explore self-compassion as a psychological resource in the self-stigma process.MethodsIn a 2012 representative German population survey of N = 1,158 overweight and obese individuals, self-compassion was examined as a mediator between self-stigma and mental and physical health outcomes, including BMI (kg/m²), using structural equation modeling and controlling for sociodemographic factors.ResultsPsychological variables were assessed using validated self-report questionnaires. Self-compassion partially mediated the relationships between self-stigma and depression, somatic symptoms, and health status / quality of life, lowering the predictive effect of self-stigma on the outcomes by approximately one-third. In contrast, self-compassion, because it was unrelated to BMI, did not mediate the association between self-stigma and BMI.ConclusionSelf-compassion has the potential to act as a buffer against the mental and global health detriments of self-stigma in overweight and obesity and could thus represent a target for interventions to reduce self-stigma and prevent these health impairments. In order to influence the association between self-stigma and BMI, self-compassion should conceptually be linked to weight management.Key Words: Stigma, Weight bias, Self-compassion, Depression, Somatic symptoms, Health, Quality of life     

Effort–Reward Imbalance and Mental Health Problems in 1074 German Teachers,Compared with Those in the General Population

High degrees of premature retirement among teachers warrant investigating the occupational burden and the mental health status of this profession. A sample of 1074 German teachers participated in this study. Two samples of the general population (N = 824 and N = 792) were used as comparison groups. Work distress was assessed with the Effort–Reward‐Imbalance questionnaire, and mental health problems were measured with the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ‐12). Teachers reported more effort–reward imbalance (M = 0.64) compared with the general population (M = 0.57), and they perceived more mental health problems (GHQ: M = 12.1) than the comparison group (M = 9.5). School type was not associated with work stress and mental health. Teachers with leading functions perceived high degrees of effort and reward, resulting in a moderate effort–reward ratio and no heightened mental health problems. Teachers working full time reported more effort than teachers working part time, but the reward mean values of both groups were similar. This results in a somewhat unfavourable effort–reward ratio of teachers working full time. Moreover, teachers working full time reported more mental health problems. The results support the appropriateness of the effort–reward conception, applied to the profession of teachers. The higher degree of effort–reward imbalance and the level of mental health problems warrant preventive measures. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The quality of life questionnaire EQ-5D-5L: psychometric properties and normative values for the general German population

Purpose

The health state classifier EQ-5D of the EuroQoL group has been expanded to a 5-level instrument (EQ-5D-5L), but studies on psychometric properties of this new instrument, applied to the general population, are rare.

Methods

A sample of 2,469 subjects, representatively selected from the German general population, was asked to fill in the EQ-5D-5L and several other questionnaires. Crude sum scores of the EQ-5D-5L were calculated and compared with scores derived from two sets of utilities, one from a German and one from a UK sample.

Results

The mean sum score (0–100 scale) was 91.5. Males reported better health states than females, and there was a nearly linear age trend. The list of the 45 most frequent health patterns (those with at least 0.2 % of the respondents) showed that almost half of the participants (47.5 %) responded being in the optimal health state, indicating a ceiling effect. Correlations between EQ-5D-5L scores and other questionnaires were very similar for all three scoring systems of the EQ-5D-5L. Finally, normative scores are given on the basis of sum scores.

Conclusions

The applicability of the EQ-5D-5L in the general population is limited because of the skewness. Sum scores are useful because of their simplicity, international generalizability, and construct validity.     

Genetic structure of the Utah Mormons: A comparison of kinship estimates from DNA blood groups,genealogies, and ancestral arrays

Kinship estimates based on shared proportions of European ancestry are constructed for 284 Utah males born in eight geographic subdivisions. These “ancestral kinship” estimates are compared with kinship coefficients based on DNA polymorphisms, blood groups, genealogies, isonymy, and migration matrices. At the subdivision level, a high correlation is observed between ancestral kinship and kinship based on isonymy. Comparing individuals, a significant correlation is obtained between ancestral kinship and genealogy derived kinship. Kinship estimates based on DNA and blood groups do not correlate significantly with ancestral kinship. This is most likely due to the effects of several generations of random mating in this population. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Spontaneous (pathological) splenic rupture in a blastic variant of mantle cell lymphoma: a case report and literature review

Spontaneous (pathological) splenic rupture (SPSR) in hematological malignancies is rare. This report describes a 71-year-old male diagnosed with mantle cell lymphoma-blastic variant (MCL-BV) who experienced an SPSR a few days before the initial diagnosis. The patient underwent a splenectomy and recovered without incident. Partial remission was seen following several cycles of CHOP (cyclophosphamide/doxorubicin/vincristine/prednisone). However, relapse was rapid, with leukemic meningitis occurring several months later. It was successfully treated by intrathecal methotrexate and cranial spinal radiation. A progressive lymphocytosis developed, which responded to rituximab. Lymphadenopathy and skin involvement ensued, followed by pneumonia and death. The literature on SPSR in patients with MCL-BV and other lymphoproliferative disorders showed similar clinical and postoperative findings. Clinical presentation included Kehr's sign and acute abdominal pain. Postoperative findings included blood in the peritoneal cavity, multiple splenic hematomas, splenic infarcts, and splenic necrosis. Most strikingly, the majority of the patients reviewed appeared to have undergone some type of blastic transformation. One or any combination of these findings that has been noted above in addition to a bleeding diathesis could be the foundation to SPSR. We recommend consideration of splenic rupture in patients with a lymphoproliferative disorder coupled with rapid progression of marked or massive splenomegaly.     

Laser surgical unit "Glasser" (lambda = 1,54 microm) in otorhinolaryngology

The paper describes experimental and clinical results obtained with application of laser radiation (wave length 1.54 microm). The source of the radiation was a new surgical laser unit Glasser. The techniques and advantages of the above radiation treatment are characterized.