Biomedical subjects

Ana Adan

Publications and source records attributed to Ana Adan.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Mood seasonality: a cross-sectional study of subjects aged between 10 and 25 years.

BACKGROUND: Most of the earlier studies on mood seasonality were conducted in adults and there are few available data on children and adolescents. In two cross sectional surveys, we examined the role of age and gender on seasonal sensitivity in subjects aged 10 to 25 years. METHODS: In survey one, the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (SPAQ-CA) was administered to 1709 subjects (845 females and 864 males) from 10 to 17 years. In survey two, the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ) was administered to 1867 subjects (1061 females and 806 males) from 18 to 25 years. RESULTS: Only in survey one was a significant positive correlation found between age and Global Seasonality Score (GSS) (r=.29; p<.00001). Significant gender differences were found at age 14 years and above in survey one, and at all ages in survey two. CONCLUSIONS: The results support the hypothesis that seasonal sensitivity is higher in female subjects.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Sleep Beliefs Scale (SBS) and circadian typology.

The aim of this work was to present the Sleep Beliefs Scale (SBS), a 20-item reviewed version of the Sleep Hygiene Awareness by Lacks and Rotert. We also examined for the first time the influence of circadian typology in sleep beliefs. Voluntary and unpaid psychology students participated in the study (n = 510; 182 men and 328 women), from Italy and Spain, aged between 18 and 33 (22.80 +/- 4.14 years). The mean score of SBS was 13.05 (SD = 3.46; range 2-20) in the total sample, with a distribution positive skewness to high score (correct beliefs) (Z = 1.82; P = 0.003). The internal consistency was good (Cronbach's alpha = 0.714) and factor analysis extracted three factors labelled 'Sleep-incompatible behaviours' (eight items), 'Sleep-wake cycle behaviours' (seven items) and 'Thoughts and attitudes to sleep' (five items). Circadian typology influences the total score and that of the three factors, as well the majority of the items that compose the SBS. The morning-type showed the best scores, the evening-type the worst, and the neither-type the medium scores. Moreover, in the men sample, the differences between circadian typology groups were higher than in the women sample. The SBS showed good psychometric properties; however, further studies in other countries, with clinical and non-student samples, and more aged subjects are needed so as to validate this psychometric instrument. The circadian typology is an individual difference that presented significant relationships with the sleep beliefs, the possibility of the evening-type being a risk factor for a worse sleep hygiene, and the maintenance of sleep problems such as insomnia may all be investigated in depth in future research.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Are seasonality of mood and eveningness closely associated?

It has been suggested that being an "evening type" might enhance susceptibility to non-seasonal and seasonal affective disorders (SAD). In a survey and a prospective study, we examine the relationship between mood seasonality and circadian typology. In the survey study, the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ) and the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ) were administered to 1715 university students from Spain and Italy. In the prospective study, 18 subjects, selected from the Italian sample, self-assessed their mood monthly for over a year. A slight but significant negative correlation between the MEQ score and the Global Seasonality Score was found in the survey study, with a significantly higher incidence of evening versus morning types among the students with seasonal depression. These results were not replicated when the Spanish sample was analysed separately. In the prospective study, evening types did not present a higher annual range of mood variations than morning types. Caution should be exercised in ascribing eveningness as a risk factor in SAD since other underestimated factors, including social-cultural conditions, might be involved in the pathogenesis of mood seasonality.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Transcultural properties of the composite scale of morningness: the relevance of the "morning affect" factor.

Morningness scales have been translated into several languages, but a lack of normative data and methodological differences make cross-cultural comparisons difficult. This study examines the psychometric properties and factor structure of the Composite Scale of Morningness (CSM) in samples from five countries: France (n = 627), Italy (n = 702), Spain (n = 391), Thailand (n = 503), and Australia (n = 654). Strong national differences are identified. A quadratic relationship between age and CSM total score was apparent in the Australian data with a downward trend after age 35 yrs. There was no age effect in any sample in the range from 18 to 29 yrs. Factor analysis identified a three-factor solution in all groups for both men and women. Tucker's congruence coefficients indicate that: (1) this solution is highly congruent between sexes in each culture, and (2) a morning affect factor is highly congruent between cultures. These results indicate there are national differences in factorial structure and that cut-off scores used to categorize participants as morning- and evening-types should be established for different cultural and age groups.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Effects of nicotine dependence on diurnal variations of subjective activation and mood.

AIM: To study the influence of nicotine dependence on diurnal variations of subjective activation and mood in smokers, without restrictions in their usual smoking habits, compared with non-smokers. We analysed independently the impact of the postlunch phenomenon, a semicircadian rhythm overlapped with diurnal variations. DESIGN AND MEASUREMENTS: Every hour, from 0800 to 2100 hours, 60 students, 40 smokers and 20 non-smokers, responded to questions on eight unipolar visual analogue scales; four referred to subjective activation and four to mood. Based on Fagerström's Test for Nicotine Dependence and on carbon monoxide expired air pre- and postsmoking, 20 smokers were classified as high-dependent and 20 as low-dependent smokers. At 0800 hours, smokers were in a state of nicotine deprivation. Circadian typology, sleep habits and other psychoactive substances consumption were controlled. FINDINGS: Subjective activation and mood of smokers improved after they smoked their first morning cigarette, and this effect was greater for high-dependent subjects. Mood scores were lower in high-dependent smokers throughout the day, intermediate in low-dependent smokers and greater in non-smokers. Smokers showed a delay in the diurnal maximum of subjective activation of 2 hours for low-dependent and 3 hours for high-dependent smokers. Moreover, high-dependent smokers showed a lower amplitude of diurnal function of subjective activation. We observed a greater postlunch interference in smokers, with a larger decrease of subjective feelings in low-dependent smokers. CONCLUSIONS: Our data confirm that differences exist in the circadian rhythmicity between non-smokers and smokers, and that the level of nicotine dependence in smokers is a relevant factor for the interpretation of the diurnal variations. The profiles obtained in smokers are consistent with models of nicotine deprivation-reversal and with the hedonic homeostatic dysregulation nicotine addiction hypothesis.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Quality of life in functional dyspepsia.

Our purpose was to assess the quality of life of functional dyspepsia patients using the SF-36 generic scale and the Gastrointestinal Symptoms Rating Scale (GSRS). In all, 328 dyspeptic patients were included in a multicenter, prospective, observational study. Both scales were filled out at baseline and one and three months after a prokinetic agent was given as a single-drug therapy. A total of 250 patients completed the study. An improvement in all SF-36 dimensions was observed, although the final scores were lower than the population reference values. Physical role (27% change), emotional role (20%), and physical pain (16%) dimensions showed the greater change. The GSRS total and domain scores also showed significant decreases. The best predictors of quality of life improvement were certain basal symptoms, drug compliance, and the absence of idiopathic dyspepsia. In conclusion, both the generic and the specific scales provide useful and sensitive measures of quality of life in functional dyspepsia patients on single-drug treatment.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Gender differences in morningness-eveningness preference.

Morningness-eveningness preference (morning-, intermediate-, evening-type) or circadian typology is the individual difference that most clearly explains the variations in the rhythmic expression of biological or behavioral patterns. The aim of this study was to analyze gender difference in morningness-eveningness preference using the Horne and Ostberg questionnaire in the largest university student population selected so far (N = 2135), with an age range 18-30 yr. Morningness-eveningness questionnaire (MEQ) score distribution closely correlated to the normal curve (range 17-78, mean = 48.25; SD = 10.11), with 338 (15.84%) morning-types, 1273 (59.62%) intermediate-types, and 524 (24.54%) evening-types. The men and women differed significantly in their mean scores (p < 0.0001) and distribution per circadian typology (p < 0.00001), with the men presenting a more pronounced eveningness preference. Three factors were identified by factor analysis: time of greatest efficiency (I), sleep time/sleep phase (II), awakening time/sleep inertia (III). The MEQ items sensitive to gender differences were essentially those included in factor I and factor II. The results are discussed in relation to recent models of circadian regulation of the sleep-wake cycle.

Circadian Rhythm↗

PubMed2002

Further results on the association between morningness-eveningness preference and the season of birth in human adults.

Morningness-eveningness preference by the self-rated Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ) has earlier been shown to be associated with the subjects' season of birth. Here, we obtain this result for a new sample of 2,125 university students and for the sample obtained by pooling the data with the earlier study, yielding totally 3,709 Italian and Spanish subjects. An nonlinear regression of MEQ as a cosine curve according to the month of birth, adjusting for age and gender, gave a maximum (morningness) around the transition between the birth months December and January, and a minimum (eveningness) around the transition between the birth months June and July. Multiple logistic regressions showed that for females as well as for males, the group born during the half-year April to September containing summer had a significantly lower proportion of morning types as compared with the group born during the half-year October to March containing winter. This was more pronounced for males. Moreover, a significantly higher proportion of morning types among females compared with males was found only in the group born during April to September, but not in the group born during October to March. There was a weak but statistically significant positive correlation between MEQ and age in the sample's limited age range of 17-30 years. We discuss the results in terms of the mutually inhibitory systems of melatonin and dopamine, and find further support for a hypothesis that it is the variation in the length of photoperiod during the gestational or perinatal period that contributes significantly to the season of birth variation found in the morningness-eveningness preference among adults.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

PubMed2000

Effects of smoking on diurnal variations of subjective activation and mood.

This study assessed the influence of smoking on diurnal variations in subjective activation and mood, with no restrictions placed on subjects' usual smoking habits after the first cigarette of the day. Forty-two students (21 smokers and 21 non-smokers) responded to questions on unipolar visual analogue scales every hour from 08:00 to 21:00 hours. At 08:00 h, the smokers were in a situation of nicotine deprivation. Each visual analogue scale was analyzed independently to determine whether they differ in sensitivity to time of day. We confirmed that subjective activation and mood improved after subjects smoked their first morning cigarette, with vigour, sleepiness and sadness being the most sensitive scales. Smokers' diurnal functions on negative scales of activation varied within a wider range than did non-smokers' and optimal moments were delayed 3 h as a result of worse morning ratings and greater post-lunch interference. The only mood scale sensitive to smoking was happiness, with smokers having a lower mean score than non-smokers, and a delay of 6 h in peak ratings. These results support reports of differences in the circadian rhythmicity of smokers and non-smokers, even when the former smoke at will. Smokers' presentation of suboptimal levels of activation and mood at critical diurnal periods is consistent with models of deprivation-reversal and acute nicotine depletion over the course of the day. Copyright 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Journal Article↗