The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine

This study examined the impact of physical activity on life satisfaction in middle-aged and older adults in China. Utilizing longitudinal data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) conducted in 2015 and 2018, a total of 6484 participants aged 45 or older were included in the analysis.

Data were collected on sociodemographic, health, and lifestyle variables, physical activity, and life satisfaction. Physical activity was categorized into 3 levels: low (71%), moderate (25%), and high (4%). Ordinal logistic regression and subgroup analysis were used to examine the effect of baseline physical activity on life satisfaction, including the examination of interaction effects.

After adjusting for age, gender, education, marriage, residence, smoking, alcohol use, depressive symptoms, and self-rated health at baseline (2015), compared to the moderate-intensity physical exercise group, those in the low-intensity group experienced significantly lower levels of life satisfaction on follow-up (2018). In the subgroup analyses, a significant negative effect of low-intensity physical activity on life satisfaction was found in all groups regardless of age, education, marital status, smoking, alcohol use, sleep duration, weight, presence of chronic diseases, or self-rated health.

These results support the promotion of physical exercise to enhance life satisfaction among middle-aged and older adults in China.

Postoperative delirium has many consequences and must be prevented when possible. Non-opioid pain treatments may help to prevent, and melatonin has also been shown to prevent delirium in non-surgical populations. The incidence of postoperative delirium was retrospectively compared in patients prescribed acetaminophen with and without melatonin following orthopedic surgery.

Retrospective data were analyzed in adults ≥ 65-years-old hospitalized in one health system following an orthopedic procedure. Patients receiving at least acetaminophen 1000 mg/day with and without melatonin 1 mg/day for at least 48 hours perioperatively were included. To reduce confounders, patients were excluded if they had prior delirium, an intensive care unit placement >24 hours, or other risk factors for developing delirium. The primary outcome was a positive CAM-ICU score indicating delirium. Key secondary endpoints included hospital length of stay and 30-day hospital readmission.

Two hundred patients were assessed, and 134 patients were included in the analysis (i.e., 66 receiving acetaminophen plus melatonin vs. 68 receiving acetaminophen alone). The rate of delirium was significantly lower in those receiving the combination vs. acetaminophen alone (5% vs. 25%, P = 0.001). There were no differences in 30-day readmission. Patients taking the combination had a longer length of stay than those taking acetaminophen alone (5 days vs. 4 days, P = 0.04).

Geriatric patients taking acetaminophen plus melatonin after orthopedic surgery had a significantly lower risk of delirium compared to patients receiving acetaminophen alone. Using a combination melatonin and acetaminophen before orthopedic surgery is a promising strategy for preventing delirium and should be considered in future prospective trials.

Dietary habits have long been known to be a critical factor influencing cognitive health, especially among older adults. Despite extensive research on various dietary supplements, the impact of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) on cognitive function has not yet been thoroughly investigated. This research seeks to determine whether taking more omega-3 PUFAs correlates with improved cognitive function in older adults.

Cross-sectional data were analyzed from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which included 2430 elderly participants aged 60 and above in the United States. The association between omega-3 consumption and cognitive outcomes was evaluated using linear regression models. Smoothing curves and threshold effect analysis were employed to examine nonlinear associations. Subgroup studies were conducted to demonstrate the strength and reliability of the association and factors affecting it.

The fully adjusted model demonstrated significant positive correlations between omega-3 intake and scores on all 3 cognitive assessments. Specifically, in the final model, the beta coefficients for the CERAD Word Learning test, Animal Fluency Test, and Digit Symbol Substitution Test were 0.53 (95% CI: 0.33-0.72, P < 0.0001), 0.29 (95% CI: 0.12-0.47, P = 0.001), and 0.61 (95% CI: 0.19-1.03, P = 0.0045), respectively.

Increased intake of omega-3 was positively and independently associated with cognitive function in older adults, suggesting that consumption of omega-3 PUFAs may help to prevent cognitive decline with aging. Prospective studies are needed to determine the direct of effect in this association.

This study evaluated the effects of the Bushen Yinao pill, combined with standard therapy, on gut flora, inflammatory markers, and cognitive function in older patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD).

A total of 136 AD patients treated at the department of neurology at a hospital in China from August 2022 to September 2023 were randomly assigned to two groups: 68 patients received standard treatment (control group, CTG), and 68 patients received the Bushen Yinao pill plus standard treatment (intervention group, ITG). Outcomes included Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) syndrome scores, gut microbiota composition, inflammatory markers, cognitive function, overall efficacy, and safety.

After treatment, the intervention group (ITG) showed significant reductions in TCM syndrome scores compared to the control group (CTG) (P < 0.05). The ITG also showed significant increases in beneficial bacterial flora in the gut and decreases in harmful bacteria compared to the CTG (P < 0.05). Inflammatory markers (Aβ, IL-6, TNF-α) were reduced, and cognitive function improved significantly more in the ITG (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in adverse reactions between the groups (P > 0.05).

The Bushen Yinao pill, when combined with standard therapy, may help to regulate gut microbiota, reduce inflammatory markers, and enhance cognitive function in AD patients, while also showing a favorable safety profile. Further research is recommended to validate these findings in other populations.

Job burnout among anesthesiologists has been consistently high. This study evaluated the association of calcium and vitamin D supplementation with burnout among Chinese anesthesiologists.

A cross-sectional online survey was conducted during April and May 2023. Burnout was evaluated using the Maslach Burnout Inventory, which assesses emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and low personal accomplishment. Data on calcium and vitamin D supplementations were self-reported. Sociodemographic information and medical history were also assessed. Binary and ordinal logistic regression were used to evaluate the risk of burnout and burnout levels, respectively. The excess risk and the attributable proportion due to interaction were examined to determine the synergistic effects of calcium and vitamin D supplementations on burnout risk.

Among the 4222 invited anesthesiologists, 3766 submitted eligible questionnaires (89% response rate). Just under half (49.8%) met the criteria for general burnout. Among anesthesiologists with burnout, 58.4% experienced emotional exhaustion, 35.8% depersonalization, and 61.2% low personal accomplishment. Anesthesiologists receiving calcium supplementation had a decreased risk of emotional exhaustion (OR = .83, 95% CI = .70-.99). Supplementation of vitamin D with or without calcium was not associated with overall burnout or any of its dimensions. No additive interaction of calcium and vitamin D on burnout was observed.

Job burnout among anesthesiologists is of concern in China. Burnout is negatively associated with calcium supplementation but not with vitamin D. Further research is warranted to confirm the mechanism and causal relationship.

Burnout among physicians negatively impacts the quality of patient care and provider's mental health. While many studies have evaluated burnout, factors associated with physician thriving are not well-defined. This study involved a qualitative exploration of thriving and career satisfaction among physicians in Pakistan.

A snowball sampling technique was used to recruit participants who completed a measure of job satisfaction, life satisfaction, and burnout between December 2022 and February 2023. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted to explore factors associated with burnout and thriving. Participants were physicians working in public and private hospitals in North Punjab.

Twenty-four physicians were interviewed. Six themes emerged that might help to explain factors involved in thriving: patients' affirmation, serving humanity, social support, spiritual connection, occupational prestige, and activities outside of work. Two themes were identified as challenges to thriving: excessive workload and lack of resources.

Improving the well-being of primary care practitioners requires a multimodal approach, which includes cultivating intrinsic virtues, such as resilience and spiritual resources, as well as improving social support and the workplace environment.

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI; ChatGPT 4.0) into medical workflow presents a great potential to enhance efficiency and quality. The use of AI in the creation of discharge summaries is particularly promising. The course of each hospitalization is described in the discharge summary, which is given to each patient and then to his general practitioner at the end of hospital treatment. An analysis of discharge summaries in psychiatric clinics indicates that these documents must fulfill diverse and specific requirements. Nevertheless, AI-generated discharge summaries provided an opportunity to optimize information transfer and alleviate physician workload.

This study evaluated the quality of discharge summaries produced by clinical staff compared to those produced by an AI model (ChatGPT 4.0). Clinicians who wrote the discharge summaries were not informed about the study's purpose or methodology. The completed summaries were subsequently assessed by four attending physicians using predefined criteria. These physicians were also blinded to the study's objectives and were unaware of the individual authors of the summaries. The evaluation criteria included consistency, completeness, and comprehensibility. Additionally, the time required to prepare these summaries and its impact on overall quality were analyzed.

The results indicated that discharge summaries generated by AI were more efficient than discharge summaries prepared by clinic staff. AI was particularly effective in terms of coherence and information structure.

Further research, training and development is needed to improve the accuracy and reliability of AI-generated discharge summaries.

This study investigated the association between Jewish religious observance and several indicators of mental health and psychological well-being among Jewish Israeli adults.

Data are from adult (18+) Jewish respondents in Israel (N = 2958) participating in the 1st wave of the Global Flourishing Study (GFS), a 22-nation population-based survey that will eventually involve five annual waves of panel data. The GFS Israeli data were collected via a randomized, stratified, probability-based sampling design, and contained dozens of indicators of sociodemographic, socioeconomic, political, religious, health-related, and other constructs.

Measures of Jewish religious observance, including religious service attendance, prayer, scripture reading, belief in God, and importance of Judaism, were statistically significant predictors of several single-item indicators of mental health (overall mental health, depression, anxiety) and psychological well-being (suffering, happiness, life satisfaction). Greater religious observance is associated with a higher self-rating of overall mental health, less depression and anxiety, less suffering, and greater happiness and life satisfaction. Nearly all results withstood adjusting for effects of several sociodemographic covariates.

These results offer confirmation of prior studies using smaller samples or non-population-based designs and with fewer mental health and religious indicators. These findings suggest that evidence for a positive association between religious observance and mental health or psychological well-being among Israeli Jewish adults is consistent with those in the literature for adherents to other faith traditions.