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British Journal of Anaesthesia Jul 2014
Topics: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; Humans; Needles; Phobic Disorders; Syncope, Vasovagal
PubMed: 24574504
DOI: 10.1093/bja/aeu013 -
Neurotherapeutics : the Journal of the... Jul 2017Virtual reality (VR) refers to an advanced technological communication interface in which the user is actively participating in a computer-generated 3-dimensional... (Review)
Review
Virtual reality (VR) refers to an advanced technological communication interface in which the user is actively participating in a computer-generated 3-dimensional virtual world that includes computer sensory input devices used to simulate real-world interactive experiences. VR has been used within psychiatric treatment for anxiety disorders, particularly specific phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder, given several advantages that VR provides for use within treatment for these disorders. Exposure therapy for anxiety disorder is grounded in fear-conditioning models, in which extinction learning involves the process through which conditioned fear responses decrease or are inhibited. The present review will provide an overview of extinction training and anxiety disorder treatment, advantages for using VR within extinction training, a review of the literature regarding the effectiveness of VR within exposure therapy for specific phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder, and limitations and future directions of the extant empirical literature.
Topics: Humans; Phobic Disorders; Psychotherapy; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Virtual Reality
PubMed: 28512692
DOI: 10.1007/s13311-017-0534-y -
BMC Psychiatry Jan 2022Although tiny in size and mostly harmless, spiders evoke exceptional fear in a significant part of the population and arachnophobia is one of the most common anxiety...
BACKGROUND
Although tiny in size and mostly harmless, spiders evoke exceptional fear in a significant part of the population and arachnophobia is one of the most common anxiety disorders with prevalence 2.7-6.1%. Two standard measures have been widely used to reliably assess the emotional and cognitive component of spider fear, the Spider Questionnaire (SPQ) and Spider Phobia Beliefs Questionnaire (SBQ). We aimed to develop and validate their Czech translations, describe distribution of spider fear in the Czech population, and analyse its association with disgust propensity and other sociodemographic characteristics.
METHODS
In Phase 1, we developed Czech translations of both questionnaires using a back-translation procedure and then tested their psychometric properties against their English versions in a counterbalanced experimental design using the Mann-Whitney U test and two-sided t-test. In Phase 2, we analysed scores on the Czech SPQ and SBQ on a larger sample. We evaluated the effects of age, gender, level of education, biology background, and association with the assessments of snake fear (i.e. the Snake Questionnaire, SNAQ) and disgust propensity (i.e. the Disgust Scale-Revised, DS-R) using a Spearman correlation, redundancy analysis, and general linear models.
RESULTS
We have demonstrated that the Czech SPQ and SBQ are equivalent to their originals and show excellent test-retest reliability (SPQ: 0.93; SBQ: 0.87-0.90). In total, 398 (10.3%) out of 3863 subjects reached the cut-off point for potential spider phobia. In addition, SPQ and SBQ scores were highly correlated (0.73-0.79), significantly more than with the SNAQ (0.21-0.32) or the DS-R (0.36-0.40). Two multivariate statistical methods revealed a significant association between the gender, age, level of education, biology background, or disgust propensity and the SPQ scores.
CONCLUSION
The Czech SPQ and SBQ may produce reliable and valid assessments of spider fear, but they must be further psychometrically tested considering the limitation of this study before wider use. We corroborate previous findings that fear of spiders is significantly associated with sociodemographic variables, such as gender, age, or education, as well as with the individual level of disgust propensity.
Topics: Animals; Czech Republic; Fear; Humans; Phobic Disorders; Reproducibility of Results; Spiders; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 34991495
DOI: 10.1186/s12888-021-03672-7 -
PloS One 2021Little is known about the prevalence and best management of needle fear in adults with chronic disease, who may experience frequent and long-term exposure to needles for... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Little is known about the prevalence and best management of needle fear in adults with chronic disease, who may experience frequent and long-term exposure to needles for lifesaving therapies such as renal dialysis and cancer treatment. Identifying interventions that assist in management of needle fear and associated distress is essential to support these patients with repeated needle and cannula exposure.
METHOD
We followed the PRISMA methodology for scoping reviews and systematically searched PsychINFO, PubMed (MEDLINE), ProQuest, Embase and grey literature and reference lists between 1989 and October 2020 for articles related to needle discomfort, distress, anxiety, fear or phobia. The following chronic diseases were included: arthritis, asthma, chronic back pain, cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, and mental illness, or kidney failure. Literature concerning dentistry, vaccination, intravenous drug users and paediatric populations were excluded.
RESULTS
We identified 32 papers reporting prevalence (n = 24), management (n = 5) or both (n = 3). Needle fear prevalence varied in disease cohorts: 17-52% (cancer), 25-47% (chronic kidney disease) and 0.2-80% (diabetes). Assessment methods varied across studies. Management strategies had poor evidence-base, but included needle-specific education, decorated devices, cognitive-behavioural stress management techniques, distraction, and changing the therapy environment or modality.
CONCLUSION
Although needle fear is common there is a paucity of evidence regarding interventions to address it among adults living with chronic disease. This scoping review has highlighted the need for improved identification of needle fear in adults and development of interventions are required for these cohorts.
Topics: Adult; Chronic Disease; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Disease Management; Evidence-Based Medicine; Humans; Phobic Disorders; Prevalence
PubMed: 34111207
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0253048 -
British Medical Journal (Clinical... Jun 1988
Topics: Aerospace Medicine; Behavior Therapy; Humans; Phobic Disorders
PubMed: 3136825
DOI: 10.1136/bmj.296.6639.1756 -
Journal of Affective Disorders Mar 1994In primates, social stress is associated with activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Social phobia is a common, often disabling, form of...
In primates, social stress is associated with activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Social phobia is a common, often disabling, form of pathological anxiety characterized by marked distress in situations involving possible scrutiny or evaluation. Little is known about HPA function in patients with social phobia. We examined 24-hour excretion of urinary free cortisol (UFC) in 54 patients with social phobia and post-dexamethasone cortisol levels in 64 patients with social phobia and found no evidence of HPA-axis overactivity compared to normal controls, despite pathological levels of anxiety.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Arousal; Depressive Disorder; Dexamethasone; Female; Humans; Hydrocortisone; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System; Male; Middle Aged; Phobic Disorders; Pituitary-Adrenal System; Shyness; Stress, Psychological
PubMed: 8006242
DOI: 10.1016/0165-0327(94)90076-0 -
CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association... Jun 2014
Review
Topics: Animals; Diagnosis, Differential; Humans; Infections; Phobic Disorders
PubMed: 24847139
DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.140352 -
International Journal of... Oct 2010Blood-injection-injury (BII) phobia is an anxiety disorder that may be accompanied by vasovagal fainting during confrontation with the feared stimuli. The underlying... (Review)
Review
Blood-injection-injury (BII) phobia is an anxiety disorder that may be accompanied by vasovagal fainting during confrontation with the feared stimuli. The underlying pattern of autonomic regulation has been characterized as a diphasic response, with initial increases in heart rate and blood pressure that are typical of a fight-flight response, and subsequent drops in blood pressure and/or heart rate that may precipitate vasovagal fainting. Tensing skeletal muscles of the arms, legs, and trunk (applied tension) has been proposed as a technique to cope with this dysregulation. This review critically examines the empirical basis for the diphasic response and its treatment by applied tension in BII phobia. An alternative perspective on the psychophysiology of BII phobia and vasovagal fainting is offered by focusing on hypocapnia that leads to cerebral blood flow reductions, a perspective supported by research on neurocardiogenic and orthostatically-induced syncope. The evidence may indicate a role for respiration-focused coping techniques in BII phobia.
Topics: Humans; Injections; Phlebotomy; Phobic Disorders; Psychophysiology; Syncope, Vasovagal
PubMed: 20576505
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2010.05.007 -
International Journal of Environmental... Mar 2020The prevalence of anxiety disorders over the last year among seniors ranged from 3.6% to 17.2%. The most prevalent disorders are specific phobias. Data are needed...
The prevalence of anxiety disorders over the last year among seniors ranged from 3.6% to 17.2%. The most prevalent disorders are specific phobias. Data are needed concerning the consequences of specific phobia disorder on the level of functioning and quality of life of older people, the age of onset of specific phobia disorder, and the duration of episodes. In total, 555 community-dwelling people aged between 65 and 84 years who lived in Madrid (Spain) were assessed (Composite International Diagnostic Interview for people over 65 years (CIDI65+), WHO Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS II), Health of the Nation Outcome Scales for Older Adults (HoNOS65+), World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief (WHOQOL-BREF). Prevalence rates and odds ratio, t-tests, binary logistic regression, and point-biserial correlations were calculated. A total of 12.07% of the sample suffered a specific phobia disorder over the last year. The average age at onset of the specific phobia was 38.78 (sd = 21.61) years. The mean duration of the phobia was approximately 20 (sd = 20) years. A significant effect of the specific phobia was found for the current levels of functioning and quality of life: WHOQOL-BREF total score ( < 0.05), WHODAS II overall score ( < 0.01), and HoNOS65+ total score ( < 0.001). Having specific phobia disorder decreased the level of functioning and negatively affected the quality of life. These data suggest the need for primary healthcare professionals to include the detection of specific phobia disorders in their protocols because people do not receive treatment for this problem, and they might carry it throughout their lives.
Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Anxiety Disorders; Female; Humans; Male; Phobic Disorders; Prevalence; Quality of Life; Spain
PubMed: 32183487
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17061915 -
Journal of the American Academy of... Sep 2011Social phobia typically develops during the adolescent years, yet no nationally representative studies in the United States have examined the rates and features of this...
OBJECTIVE
Social phobia typically develops during the adolescent years, yet no nationally representative studies in the United States have examined the rates and features of this condition among youth in this age range. The objectives of this investigation were to: (1) present the lifetime prevalence, sociodemographic and clinical correlates, and comorbidity of social phobia in a large, nationally representative sample of U.S. adolescents; and (2) examine differences in the rates and features of social phobia across the proposed DSM-5 social phobia subtypes.
METHOD
The National Comorbidity Survey Replication-Adolescent Supplement is a nationally representative face-to-face survey of 10,123 adolescents 13 to 18 years of age in the continental United States.
RESULTS
Approximately 9% of adolescents met criteria for any social phobia in their lifetime. Of these adolescents, 55.8% were affected with the generalized subtype and 44.2% exhibited nongeneralized social phobia. Only 0.7% met criteria for the proposed DSM-5 performance-only subtype. Generalized social phobia was more common among female adolescents and risk for this subtype increased with age. Adolescents with generalized social phobia also had a younger age of onset, higher levels of disability and clinical severity, and a greater degree of comorbidity relative to adolescents with nongeneralized forms of the disorder.
CONCLUSIONS
This study indicates that social phobia is a highly prevalent, persistent, and impairing psychiatric disorder among adolescent youth. Results of this study also provide evidence for the clinical utility of the generalized subtype and highlight the importance of considering the heterogeneity of social phobia in this age group.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Anxiety Disorders; Comorbidity; Demography; Female; Health Surveys; Humans; Interview, Psychological; Male; Phobic Disorders; Prevalence; Socioeconomic Factors; Surveys and Questionnaires; United States
PubMed: 21871369
DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2011.06.005