Objectives: Until now little research has been done to answer the question of whether people with dementia experience stigma. No previous studies investigated possible differences between countries and cultures. Therefore, the aims of this study were to compare the experience of stigma (with social isolation, social rejection and internalised shame as components) among people with dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (n = 180) in Italy (n = 79), Poland (n = 47) and the United Kingdom (UK) (n = 54); and to investigate possible relationships with demographical and clinical outcomes. Methods: A one group multinational cross-sectional design was used. Stigma was measured with the Stigma Impact Scale (SIS), quality of life aspects with Dementia Quality of Life scale (DQOL) and Quality of Life Alzheimer’s Disease scale (QOL-AD), social support with Duke Social Support Index (DSSI), cognitive functioning with Global Deterioration Scale (GDS). Results: The level of stigmatisation (SIS) among study participants varied from 2 to 65 (median = 33.5; Q₁ = 27; Q₃ = 41). People with dementia in the UK experienced a higher level of stigmatisation than people in Italy and Poland. The experienced stigmatisation negatively correlated with social support (DSSI; rho = −0.42, p = 0.000) and quality of life (QOL-AD; rho = −0.39, p = 0.000). People who experienced a higher level of stigmatisation scored higher in negative mood DQOL subscale (rho = 0.28, p = 0.0002). Conclusion: There is a strong need for research into the individual experience of people with dementia across the world. This could help in providing support and care services that match their experience, needs, preferences; and in designing well informed awareness campaigns based on their voice.

Introduction: It is well proven that psychoemotional factors play causative role in development of many civilization diseases. Psychosocial stress is effecting with development of certain oral parafunctions like teeth grinding, bruxism, or cheeks biting. Eventually, all of those parafunctional activities may cause increase of masticatory muscles tone and provoke its intensification. Literature indicates that students must cope with greater level of stressful situations than the average representative of the society.Methods: The research group comprised Ist‐year physiotherapy and dentistry students from University School of Physical Education in Wroclaw and Wroclaw Medical University. The study consisted the following: psychological and health questionnaires, and stomatological examination with masseter muscles' electromyography.Results: In intraoral examination, symptoms of parafunctions were more frequently observed in physiotherapy students. The mean tone of masseters was higher also among physiotherapy students. The level of perceived stress was high in both groups, and the experienced borderline and incorrect results in Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were more frequently observed in dentistry students. The mean tone of masseter muscle was rising with the level of anxiety in physiotherapy group. Among dentistry, the tendency for rise of masseter muscle tone together with level of anxiety and depression was observed.Conclusions: Physiotherapy and dentistry beginners differ between each other's by prevalence of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and oral parafunction symptoms. The level of perceived stress is high in both groups. The level of experienced anxiety and depression is higher in dentistry group. In both study groups, there is significant growth and tendency for simultaneous rise of masseter muscle tone accordingly to stress, anxiety, and depression indicators.

Introduction: Accumulating evidence indicates the effectiveness of cryogenic temperature interventions in rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, and chronic low back pain. The application of whole-body cryotherapy (WBC) in psychiatric aspects of medicine was also noted. Nevertheless, the exact mechanisms explaining the beneficial effect of WBC on mood disorders remain unclear. The study aimed to assess the efficacy of repetitive short exposure to extremely low temperatures (WBC) on mood, quality of life as well as on biochemical measures among people diagnosed with depressive episode undergoing pharmacological treatment. Materials and Methods: Prospective randomized, double-blind sham-controlled protocol was used. The study enrolled 92 medically stable adults (aged 20–73 years) with a diagnosis of a depressive episode. The participants were randomly allocated and exposed to 10 whole-body cryotherapy (WBC) sessions (−110°C till −160°C [the experimental group (EG)] or to low, but not cryogenic temperatures −50°C [the control group (CG)]. Thirty participants in the EG and 26 in CG completed the whole study. The primary outcome measures were depressive symptoms evaluated with the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) as well as the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D 17). The quality of life, quality of sexual life, acceptance of the disease and self-reported mood, vitality, and sleep quality were assessed as secondary outcome measures. The study was registered at Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12619001600134). Results: The results show evidence for a statistically significant difference in the clinical assessment of depressive symptoms according to HAM-D 17 scale (T4 by group interaction p=0.02), BDI-II (T2 time by group interaction p=0.01), cognitive-affective BDI dimension (T4 by group interaction p=0.00), and somatic BDI dimension (T4 by group interaction p=0.028). Significant improvement was also noticed in life quality (p < 0.05), self-assessed mood (p=0.035), and disease acceptance (p=0.007). There were no statistically significant changes related to sexual satisfaction, self-assessed vitality, and sleep (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Whole-body cryotherapy is a useful method to improve standard pharmacological treatment. The WBC intervention reduces mental health deterioration, especially in mood disorders, such as depression, and can be beneficial for well-being and quality of life.