Background and Objectives: Phonoholism is the excessive and harmful use of a smartphone. We are now observing this phenomenon among adults more often. Using a smartphone for several hours may lead to somatic and psychological symptoms, such as headaches and depression. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of phonoholism and to assess the association between smartphone overuse and neuropsychiatric disorders. Materials and Methods: A total of 368 people (70.1% were woman), aged between 19 and 82 years (average age 26.1), took part in an anonymous questionnaire consisting of the following elements: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Mobile Phone Problem Use Scale (MPPUS-9), and original questions regarding headaches and sleep quality, along with a subjective assessment of the use of smartphones and an objective evaluation based on data from the applications “Stay Free” and “Screen Time”. Results: A total of 61 respondents (16.6%) obtained a score on the MPPUS-9 scale, which revealed their problematic use of mobile devices. Patients with phonoholism had significantly more headaches (85% vs. 58.7%, p = 0.027). Subjects with phonoholism had significantly shorter mean sleep duration (7.14 h vs. 7.42 h, p = 0.0475) and were less likely to feel sleepy during the day (43.33% vs. 59.73%, p = 0.0271). The group with phonoholism had significantly higher scores on the HADS-A anxiety scale (8.29 vs. 10.9, p = 0.015), but a statistical significance was not confirmed for depressive symptoms. Conclusions: The excessive use of the telephone negatively affects both somatic and mental health and can pose a significant clinical problem.
Background and Objectives: A growing number of studies correlated higher levels of serum uric acid (UA) with both: lower risk of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) occurrence and slower progression of the disease. Similar conclusions were made where studies correlated UA with atypical Parkinsonisms (AP) progression. A few researchers have studied the issue of the influence of serum UA on the occurrence of non-motor symptoms (NMS) in PD and AP. Our systematic review is the first review completely dedicated to this matter. Materials and Methods: A comprehensive evaluation of the literature was performed to review the relationship between UA and NMS in PD and AP. The systematic review was conducted according to PRISMA Statement guidelines. The following databases were searched starting in April 2021: MEDLINE via PubMed, Embase, and Scopus. During the research, the following filters were used: >2010, articles in English, concerning humans. The study was not registered and received no external funding. Results: Seven articles meeting all inclusion criteria were included in this study. Collectively, data on 1104 patients were analyzed. A correlation between serum UA concentration and a few NMS types has been provided by the analyzed studies. In four papers, sleep disorders and fatigue were related to UA for both advanced and early PD. Other commonly appearing NMS domains were Attention/memory (4 studies), Depression/anxiety (3 studies), Cardiovascular (3 studies), Gastrointestinal (1 study), Perceptual (1 study), and Miscellaneous (1 study). For AP, no significant correlation between UA and worsening of NMS has been found. Conclusions: Based on the analyzed studies, a correlation between serum UA level and the occurrence and worsening of NMS in PD and APs cannot be definitively determined. Large-scale studies with a more diverse patient population and with more accurate methods of NMS assessment in Parkinsonism are needed.
Determining the correlation between affective bipolar disorder (BD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents by choosing the most appropriate hypothesis explaining the nature of connection between these two diagnoses based on systematic review of literature. An overview of literature published in MEDLINE/PubMed database and Google Scholar search engine between January 2008 and February 2019 concerning the correlation between BD and ADHD was performed. We selected articles in Polish or English published in journals, which were closely related to the topic and could be assigned to at least one of the four hypotheses. Ultimately, 10 research papers were included in the review. The range of the papers' score was 3.5-9 according to adapted NOQAS scale, with mean score of 6.6 out of possible 9, which lead to a general average quality of the papers. In all the works the psychopathology of patients was evaluated according to DSM-IV diagnostic criteria. The relationship between ADHD and BD in the children and adolescent population is not clear and an unambiguous hypothesis defining this correlation is not possible at this point. Further prospective research that provides evidence facilitating correct diagnosis as early as possible is essential as it has considerable influence on patients' course of disease and quality of life.
1 January 2020 in Clinical and Experimental Hepatology