Clonidine for post-traumatic stress disorder : a systematic review of the current evidence

Background: Clonidine is a centrally acting anti-adrenergic agent that may have applications in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), particularly for sleep.

Objective: In this systematic review, we aimed to summarize the effect of clonidine on sleep quality and duration, nightmares, and PTSD symptom severity in adults with PTSD.

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PTSD risk factors in earthquake survivors and their families : a systematic review

Background: Exposure to earthquakes can cause adverse effects on the mental health of survivors, including an increased risk of PTSD.

Objective: This systematic review aims to analyse the previous secondary studies to identify the risk factors for PTSD from children to elderly earthquake survivors. In addition, it aims to consider the complexity of the joint effects of the individual, relational, and contextual risk factors, to also detect the most at-risk families.

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Childhood maltreatment, genetic risk, and subsequent risk of arrhythmias : a prospective cohort study

Background: Emerging evidence has linked childhood maltreatment with cardiovascular disease risk; however, the association between childhood maltreatment and cardiac arrhythmias remains unclear. Moreover, any genetic predispositions to atrial fibrillation (AF), a common cardiac arrhythmia associated with an elevated risk of stroke, heart failure, and mortality, that modify such associations have been undocumented.

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Sex and gender in psychotrauma research

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is two to three times more common in women than in men. To better understand this phenomenon, we need to know why men, women, and possibly individuals with other sex/gender identities respond differently to trauma. To stimulate sex and gender sensitive research, the European Journal of Psychotraumatology (EJPT) was the first journal to adopt a gender policy. In addition, a call for papers entitled Integrating and Evaluating Sex and Gender in Psychotrauma Research was announced.

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Moral injury appraisals and posttraumatic stress symptoms in trauma-exposed police officers : a latent class analysis

Background: Police officers encounter various potentially traumatic events (PTEs) and may becompelled to engage in actions that contradict their moral codes. Consequently, they are at riskto develop symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), but also moral stress or moralinjury (MI). To date, MI in police officers has received limited attention.

 

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Three Prospective Case Studies Examining Mifepristone's Efficacy in Patients with Treatment-Resistant PTSD

Despite the availability of various treatment approaches for patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), some patients do not respond to these therapies, and novel treatment approaches are needed. This study investigated the efficacy of mifepristone, a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist, in treatment-resistant PTSD patients. Three patients with PTSD who were resistant to standard psychological and pharmacological treatments were prescribed mifepristone (600–1,200 mg/day) for 1 week.

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Individual and systemic variables associated with prolonged grief and other emotional distress in bereaved children

Most children confronted with the death of a loved one do not experience persisting psychological problems. However, for some, acute grief reactions develop into prolonged grief disorder (PGD) and other mental health problems. Research findings suggest that bereavement outcomes in children are associated with negative cognitions and avoidant coping and with different parenting behaviours.

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Development and validation of the caregiver-report version of the international depression questionnaire (IDQ-CG) and international anxiety questionnaire (IAQ-CG)

The International Depression Questionnaire (IDQ) and International Anxiety Questionnaire (IAQ) are self-report measures of ICD-11 single episode depressive disorder (DD) and generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). The present study sought to describe the development and psychometric evaluation of the caregiver-report versions of the IDQ and IAQ for children, referred to as the IDQ-CG and IAQ-CG, respectively.

 

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The mental health of Ukrainian refugees : a narrative review

There are currently over 6.5 million Ukrainian refugees worldwide and this number is growing. Previous research has highlighted refugees’ vulnerability and increased risk of developing mental health problems, and there has been a growing body of research focusing on Ukrainian refugees specifically since the Russo-Ukrainian war began in February 2022. The aim of this review is to explore the current literature on the mental health of Ukrainian refugees. A systematic search was carried out and identified 21 relevant papers that met inclusion criteria.

 

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eHealth implementation in Europe : a scoping review on legal, ethical, financial, and technological aspects

Background: The evolution of eHealth development has shifted from standalone tools to comprehensive digital health environments, fostering data exchange among diverse stakeholders and systems. Nevertheless, existing research and implementation frameworks have primarily emphasized technological and organizational aspects of eHealth implementation, overlooking the intricate legal, ethical, and financial considerations.

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