International Journal of Body, Mind and Culture
Volume:3 Issue: 2, Summer-Autumn 2016

"Jasad" is a Lebanese cultural magazine that I consider as a precious example of Merleau-Ponty's 'flesh-ontology", whereby recovering the body does not only mean to juxtapose mind and body. Rather, it allows for a completely new reconfiguration of all those spheres we have been using to consider separately. Moreover, "Jasad-flesh" remains always at the intersection of "what is set, although flexible". In sum, "Jasad" is a breathing body, living in its heterogeneous unity. My main focus of analysis is the psychosemiotic implications of the consideration of the body as a technological artifact and cultural object.

 Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal (GI) disorder associated with adverse mental status, impaired health-related quality of life (QOL), and high medical expenses. So, the impact of psychological factors on treatment-seeking behaviors in patients with IBS is not clearly defined. The aim of our study was to investigate the potential relationship between psychological factors and treatment-seeking behavior in patients with IBS.

 This cross-sectional study was a part of the SEPAHAN research project and was conducted on 4763 non-academic staff of 50 different academic centers in Isfahan Province, Iran. From among the study population, 1024 individuals with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) were evaluated. This process was repeated 15 days and a week before the distribution of the questionnaires. The demographic questionnaire, Rome III questionnaire, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12), and treatment-seeking behavior checklist were completed for each participant and the results were compared between participants with and without IBS.

 The participants with and without IBS were significantly different in terms of frequency of insurance coverage, visiting the doctor [general physician (GP) or specialist], leaving work because of somatic problems, leaving work because of gastrointestinal (GI) problems, visiting the GP, visiting the GP because of GI problems, visiting a specialist because of GI problems, and using medications (P < 0.001). Prescription of imaging and visiting a specialist were not significantly different between the two groups (P = 0.014).

 It was found that treatment-seeking behavior had a relation with socioeconomic status and comorbid psychiatric disorders. Moreover, patients with IBS who presented more treatment-seeking behavior experienced more anxiety and depression.

 Epileptic seizures have destructive effects on the brain, because they intervene in healthy and normal brain processes, and create interference at different stages of memory and cause malfunction in its performance and function, especially in the early years of life. The purpose of this study was to investigate memory as one of the important areas of cognition in patients with epilepsy.

 In this causal-comparative study, the subjects consisted of 52 children of 8 to 14 years of age with epilepsy. Among them, 15, 16, and 15 patients had parietal lobe epilepsy, temporal lobe epilepsy, and frontal lobe epilepsy, respectively. The participants were selected among the patients referring to the clinic of a neurologist. Rey-Osterrieth complex figure (ROCF) test was used to assess visual memory.

 The visual memory scores in the epilepsy group were lower than the healthy group and the difference between the two groups was significant (t = 33.76, df = 103, P < 0.001). No significant difference was obtained between the three epilepsy groups in terms of visual memory scores (f = 1.6, df = 2, P < 0.212). In the present research, no significant difference was observed in visual memory between the three epilepsy groups.

 It can be concluded that patients with epilepsy have impaired visual memory.

 The aim of the present study was to investigate psychometric properties of the Impulsive Behavior Scale-Short Form (IBS-SF) among undergraduate Farsi-speaking Iranian students. In this study, 201 individuals (95 men, 106 women) answered to the IBS-SF and the Problematic and Risky Internet Use Screening Scale (PRIUSS).

 The confirmatory factor analysis and internal consistency methods were used to compute the factorial validity and reliability of the IBS-SF, respectively. In order to examine the construct validity of the IBS-SF, the correlation of different dimensions of IBS-SF with PRIUSS was determined.

 The results of confirmatory factor analysis showed that a 5-factor structure of the negative urgency, lack of perseverance, lack of premeditation, sensation seeking, and positive urgency was replicated in the Iranian sample. The IBS-SF convergent validity was confirmed by a correlation between different features of impulsivity trait and problematic and risky internet use behavior. The internal consistency of the different subscales of impulsivity trait ranged from 0.67 to 0.80.

 The present study revealed that the IBS-SF is a valid and reliable scale for measuring impulsivity trait among undergraduate Farsi-speaking Iranian students.

 Psychosomatic disorders are a group of psychiatric disorders in which psychological factors play an important role in the development, maintenance, and exacerbation of medical conditions. The most important category of psychosomatic disorders is functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID). The present study aimed to compare anxiety sensitivity (AS) and metacognitions between patients with FGID and healthy individuals in Isfahan, Iran.

 This case-control study was conducted on 50 patients (13 men and 37 women) with FGID who were diagnosed by a gastroenterologist and had the study inclusion criteria and 50 matched healthy individuals (15 men and 35 women). The subjects were randomly selected. The data collection tools consisted of the Anxiety Sensitivity Index‎-Revised (ASI-R) and Metacognitive Beliefs Questionnaire (MCQ-30). The data were analyzed in SPSS software.

 The results showed that there were significant differences in all subscales of ASI-R and MCQ-30, except the fear of publicly observable symptoms subscale in the ASI-R and negative beliefs about the uncontrollability of thoughts and corresponding danger (UD) subscale in MCQ-30 between patients with FGID and healthy individuals.

 The results showed that AS and metacognitive beliefs about worry play a crucial role in psychosomatic disorders such as FGID. Anxiety has appeared as the common component between FGID. Hence, the management of anxiety in FGID by clinicians in the treatment of these disorders is recommended.

 Sleep disturbances are common, but widely underdiagnosed in cancer patients. Thus, the aim of the present study was to evaluate sleep quality and its associated factors among women with breast cancer.

 This cross-sectional study was conducted on women with breast cancer referring to 2 outpatient clinics in Isfahan, Iran. Sleep quality [Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)], severity of anxiety and depression [Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)], cancer symptoms [M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI)], and quality of life (QOL) [European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30)] were assessed in the present study.

 The study population consisted of 101 patients with mean age of 49.7 years and mean cancer duration of 2.3 years. The mean global PSQI score of patients was 8.5 and 80.2% had poor sleep quality. Factors associated with global PSQI score in univariate analyses were body mass index (BMI) (r = 0.445), severity of cancer symptoms (r = 0.580), anxiety (r = 0.363), and depression (r = 0.332). BMI and symptom severity were independently associated with poor sleep quality (standardized coefficient = 0.388 and 0.480, respectively). With regards to QOL, patients with poor sleep quality had lower physical and psychosocial functioning than good sleepers.

 Sleep disturbances are highly common in women with breast cancer in our society and significantly affect their QOL. Obesity, cancer symptoms, and psychological symptoms are important factors associated with and contributing to sleep problems in these patients. Cancer care programs must have a comprehensive approach, including sleep assessment and management, toward the treatment of these patients.