Valentina Lucia La Rosa

Dr. Valentina Lucia La Rosa

Department of Educational Sciences, University of Catania
orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

11Years (2016-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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1 May 2017 in International Journal of Women's Health
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
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Antonio Simone LaganàAntonio Simone Laganà
Antonio Simone Laganà
Valentina Lucia La RosaValentina Lucia La Rosa
Valentina Lucia La Rosa
ARAgnese Maria Chiara Rapisarda
Agnese Maria Chiara Rapisarda
GVGaetano Valenti
Gaetano Valenti
FSFabrizio Sapia
Fabrizio Sapia
SVSalvatore Giovanni Vitale
Salvatore Giovanni Vitale
Endometriosis is one of the most common gynecological diseases and affects ~10% of women in reproductive age. The most common clinical signs of endometriosis are menstrual irregularities, chronic pelvic pain (CPP), dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia and infertility. Symptoms of endometriosis often affect psychological and social functioning of patients. For this reason, endometriosis is considered as a disabling condition that may significantly compromise social relationships, sexuality and mental health. Considering this point, the aim of this narrative review is to elucidate the impact of anxiety and depression in the management of women with endometriosis. Psychological factors have an important role in determining the severity of symptoms, and women who suffer from endometriosis report high levels of anxiety, depression and other psychiatric disorders. In addition, endometriosis is one of the most important causes of CPP; women with endometriosis suffer from a wide range of pelvic pain such as dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, nonmenstrual (chronic) pelvic pain, pain at ovulation, dyschezia and dysuria. Several studies have underlined the influence of CPP on quality of life and psychological well-being of women with endometriosis. Data suggest that the experience of pelvic pain is an important component of endometriosis and may significantly affect emotive functioning of affected women. It has been demonstrated that high levels of anxiety and depression can amplify the severity of pain. Further studies are needed to better understand the relationship between psychological factors and perception of pain. Treatment of endometriosis may be hormonal or surgical. Surgery is the primary treatment for more severe forms of endometriosis. There are few data in the literature about the influence of psychological factors and psychiatric comorbidities on the effectiveness of treatments. It is important to evaluate the presence of previous psychiatric diseases in order to select the most appropriate treatment for the patient.

Luigi Della CorteLuigi Della Corte
Luigi Della Corte
CFClaudia Di Filippo
Claudia Di Filippo
OGOlimpia Gabrielli
Olimpia Gabrielli
SRSabrina Reppuccia
Sabrina Reppuccia
Valentina Lucia La RosaValentina Lucia La Rosa
Valentina Lucia La Rosa
PGPierluigi Giampaolino
Pierluigi Giampaolino
Endometriosis is a chronic, inflammatory disease affecting more than 170 million women worldwide and up to 10% of women of reproductive age. As a consequence of inflammatory reaction and infiltration of anatomic structures, endometriosis can cause “pain symptoms” including dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, dyschezia, dysuria, and chronic pelvic pain. In this review, we summarized the impact of endometriosis on quality of life in all its aspects including sexual life, work, and social relationships. The data research was conducted using web-based search engines and/or various electronic research databases querying for all articles related to endometriosis and quality of life from the inception of the database up to February 2020. Endometriosis has not only physical but also psychological effects, causing depression, anxiety, and compromising social relationships. Furthermore, endometriosis negatively impacts sexual life and social relationships. At last, the economic burden of endometriosis should not be underestimated, both individually and for the community, as this pathology leads to a loss of productivity at work and large use of health resources. Thus, endometriosis-related symptoms control women’s lives compromising the quality of life in all aspects. In this review, we summarized the impact of endometriosis on various aspects of women’s lives.

8 April 2017 in Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics
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Journal Article
Closed access
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Sourav PatnaikSourav Patnaik
Sourav Patnaik
Antonio Simone LaganàAntonio Simone Laganà
Antonio Simone Laganà
SVSalvatore Giovanni Vitale
Salvatore Giovanni Vitale
SBSalvatore Butticè
Salvatore Butticè
MNMarco Noventa
Marco Noventa
VDVani Dandolu
Vani Dandolu

23 September 2020 in Frontiers in Psychology
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
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ECElena Commodari
Elena Commodari
Valentina Lucia La RosaValentina Lucia La Rosa
Valentina Lucia La Rosa
Since March 2020, many countries throughout the world have been in lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In Italy, the quarantine began on March 9, 2020, and containment measures were partially reduced only on May 4, 2020. The quarantine experience has a significant psychological impact at all ages but can have it above all on adolescents who cannot go to school, play sports, and meet friends. In this scenario, this study aimed to provide a general overview of the perceived risk related to COVID-19 and the psychological experience of quarantine in a large sample of Italian adolescents. Nine hundred and seventy eight adolescents (males = 339; females = 639) living in 13 Italian regions and attending upper secondary school (age range: 13–20, M = 16.57, SD = 1.20), responded to an internet-based questionnaire about perceived health risk related to COVID-19, knowledge and information on measures to control the pandemic, beliefs and opinions on stage two of the quarantine, and psychological experiences related to quarantine. 31.1% of the participants lived in “red zones,” which are places where the government has imposed stricter measures of containment due to exponential and uncontrolled growth in contagion cases compared to other areas in Italy. According to our results, Italian adolescents had a low perception of risk of COVID-19. Perceived comparative susceptibility and perceived seriousness were also very low. However, they were aware of the restriction measures necessary to contain the spread of the virus, and they agreed with the limitations imposed by the government. Females and adolescents living in a “red zone” showed more significant psychological negative feelings about the quarantine experience. However, no significant differences were found about the regions where the teenagers of our sample live and the other variables related to the COVID-19 experience. This is very interesting data, leading us to hypothesize that the participants’ negative feelings may be more related to the adolescent period than to the pandemic itself.

2 October 2016 in Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
SVSalvatore Giovanni Vitale
Salvatore Giovanni Vitale
Valentina Lucia La RosaValentina Lucia La Rosa
Valentina Lucia La Rosa
ARAgnese Maria Chiara Rapisarda
Agnese Maria Chiara Rapisarda
Antonio Simone LaganàAntonio Simone Laganà
Antonio Simone Laganà
The aim of this work is to propose a brief comment about the impact of endometriosis on quality of life and psychological well-being of women affected.

29 August 2017 in BioMed Research International
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
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Salvatore Giovanni VitaleSalvatore Giovanni Vitale
Salvatore Giovanni Vitale
FSFabrizio Sapia
Fabrizio Sapia
ARAgnese Maria Chiara Rapisarda
Agnese Maria Chiara Rapisarda
GVGaetano Valenti
Gaetano Valenti
FSFabrizia Santangelo
Fabrizia Santangelo
Antonio Simone LaganàAntonio Simone Laganà
Antonio Simone Laganà
Hysteroscopic surgery is the actual gold standard treatment for several types of intrauterine pathologies, including submucous myomas (SMs). To date, the availability of Hysteroscopic Tissue Removal systems (HTRs) opened a new scenario. Based on these elements, the aim of this article is to review the available evidence about HTRs for the management of SMs. We included 8 papers (3 prospective studies and 5 retrospective studies). A total of 283 women underwent intrauterine morcellation of SM: 208 were treated using MyoSure and 75 using Truclear 8.0. Only 3 articles reported data about procedures performed in outpatient/office setting. Only half of the included studies included type 2 SMs. HTRs significantly reduced operative time compared to traditional resectoscopy in some studies, whereas others did not find significant differences. Despite the availability of few randomized controlled trials and the cost of the instrument, according to our systematic review, the use of HTRs seems to be a feasible surgical option in terms of operative time and complications. Nevertheless, the type of SM still remains the biggest challenge: type 0 and 1 SMs are easier to manage with respect to type 2, reflecting what already is known for the “classic” hysteroscopic myomectomy.